week 1

Character Designs: Ideas Generation

Pinterest resources:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rbrewerartist/elderley/

resources from research

https://www.animatorisland.com/character-design-practice-shapes/?v=3a52f3c22ed6

https://medium.com/media-reflections-past-present-future/the-shape-of-character-design-78c66eb97518

https://www.asifa-south.com/2016/12/27/character-design-great/

https://www.clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/archives/160863

Plan of action

ZBrush

Visual research - character design techniques

Over the first three weeks I will need to design a character that will be made into a 3D model, to start on the right track I will need to look at Concepts that are used in animation to understand how to best realise my potential character.

shape theory

An example of the how I would need to incorporate shape into my character, as well as the type of personality it could create.

Reference image from online:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/304626362300794520/

silluettes

These types of silhouettes create a sharp image of the characters personality as well as how memorable they would be.

The hunched over character and the very tall shape are ones I will use as a guide to making a unique shape.

online ref: https://www.asifa-south.com/2016/12/27/character-design-great/

shape proportions

Shape proportions give the character design process more options for what will work and how far an idea can stretch before it looks ridiculous.

online ref: https://www.clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/archives/160863

The use of shapes as a guide to build up the personality of the designs is something I will want to use in my design process to help me generate more ideas as well as having visual reference images on the same page to keep any ideas flowing.

online ref: https://www.asifa-south.com/2016/12/27/character-design-great/

Visual research - character inspiration

I have looked at photographs and paintings of people as inspiration for a character with a distinct look.

https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Portraits.html

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/famous-self-portraits/david-hockney-self-portrait-1954

research: https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Portraits.html

These paintings and photographs are great examples for distinctive looking appearances and expressions that could that influence the design of my character. I will try to incorporate some item of clothing or quirk to my model that would make them stand out.

different eras/styles can help to build an character

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/09/diane-arbus-smithsonian-museum-box-of-ten-photographs

the width and spacing of facial features can help me find the type of person my character is

https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/9-rare-diane-arbus-photos.html

quirks and exaggerated features can help to bring out more personality and an idea of who the charcter is

https://www.google.com/search?q=daine+arbus+photos&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiukNyS_v7rAhVO2OAKHfLUC3wQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=daine+arbus+photos&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJzoFCAAQsQM6BAgAEEM6BwgAELEDEEM6AggAOgQIABAeOgYIABAKEBg6BAgAEBg6BggAEAgQHjoGCAAQChAeULSlOVjVxjlgjso5aABwAHgAgAFIiAHbCJIBAjE4mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=OBhrX66UKs6wgwfyqa_gBw&bih=706&biw=1519&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB894GB894&hl=en#imgrc=VTkI1HhL2RX9sM

Initial ideas

Reference images didn't give me any clearer an idea of what I wanted my character to look like so I decided to begin sketching any ideas or visual characteristics that would come into my head and see what I could come up with.

initial ideas 1

The initial head thumbnails explored both the shape and most visually striking characteristics.

After some random ideas generation I found the visual language of an elderly person more interesting and so began some initial research by going outside and visually recording elderly people walking close by.

initial ideas 2

Here I looked closer at the bodies curved spine and moving the head lower down to exemplify the back as well as the contrast of a fat stomach with an thin fragile body and scrawny limbs.

To get a better idea of the shape I was looking for I looked at real life examples of elderly people walking to see how they steadied themselves and what their body language looked like.

Body shape initial ideas

Here I used the simple shapes (reference) technique to help build more ideas and options for how to exaggerate the shoulders, head and legs to see which combinations worked the best.

My focus for pivot points was the pelvis and chest, both needed to show they carried weight so the proportions would look more realistic. I also wanted to bring out the fragile frame of the character.

The middle design with the hunched shoulders will be developed as well as the heavy legs of the bottom row of designs to give the design a more interesting shape.

I also realised that a fisherman type character would be give me more interesting designs as well as connecting it to the early thumbnail sketch of the large round beard which can show some friendly aspects to the character.

reference links: PINTEREST

reference for character

This reference sheet was designed to be a collection of characteristics and poses to help me build up ideas to develop my character.

REFERENCE: PINTEREST

process

Using Photoshops artboards helped me to generate more ideas.

I tried to incorporate more of the personality and visual information from the images into the design shape. The large beard and sagging body as well as the short hands and feet bring a lot of personality to the character as well as tell a story about them and their life.

REFERENCE: PINTEREST

more refined

Here I started to experiment with clothes and the shapes of the legs to find which best fit the character.

More angular shoulders and an angular jawline helped to define a more understandable personality.

I did some variations for the head to spread out my options. I chose the beanie, beard and wind cheater to contrast the elderly posture.

Items to use?-

wind cheater coat/jacket
beanie/padded hat
wellies or padded boots

feedback - week two

Good variety of research
A good look into outside influences (photography, art)
Some very good ideas
Put more detail into the designs and better resemble a frail old man
Add more visual information to the character
Put mood board visual information into my character to make a more distinct shape
The more visual information the better!

reference

Here I looked at more examples from Pinterest, looking for examples of my type of character to integrate into my character to get more realistic proportions and detail.

REFERENCE FROM PINTEREST

Character designs (Refined)

body shape 1

Here I tried incorporating the body shapes from my research into my characters shape.

I also looked at the proportions as well as how long the head should be placed to bring out the hunched over look of my character.

use both ref to get what i want

ADD details to character from REF

body shape 2

Here I wanted to further push the old man proportions and give him a more frail body.

The last circled thumbnail would be the best to persue with as it has more visual information; the pot stomach, hunched shoulders, legs spread apart to help him balance.

development

Here I took this idea and developed it more, finding that I needed to make the shoulders less exaggerated. Higher boots helps to bring out the fisherman aesthetic, The last thumbnail and the bottom is the one i will persue with as it combines all the elements I want to incorporate from all my thumbnails.

Week three notes

Plan of Action

Have a to do list
Plan out days and keep a schedule to help organise
Put in time to relax - Don't put so much pressure on myself that I lose track
Use the trials and issues of Year Two to help me prepare for how to manage employment demands
Understand DEEP LEARNING
Use course PDFs to help me understand how to approach reflective writing
Note/write down my problems, thoughts, processes and solutions
Look at Navy seal CHUNKING method to help me organise
Look at ZBrush and ArtStation to help me understand the processes I will need to consider in my work

Extra feedback on designs

Exaggerate proportions of character
Look at Fisherman characters to help me
Ideas are moving in a good direction

development

The main elements I will take from these and put into my own designs:

round shapes in characters body.
stretched out and exaugurated facial features that show the aging process (ears and nose growing continually through lifetime).
focus on creating a distinct silhouette that describes the personality of my character.

reference 3

Now that I have the basic design for my character, I looked at collecting reference of how old or fisherman characters have been designed.

REFERENCE from PINTEREST

Developed the legs and arm shapes to see what would work best with my model.

Trying to intergrade more developed shapes and complex shapes into the limbs to make it function better as a model.

The Hunched over pose works well to show the characters age in a silhouette.

The fisherman's face will need to be more cartoony in the proportions as the design will be more stylised based on my recent visual research.

Face Development

I struggled to know how best to move forward with my designs as a whole, to find a way around it I worked on each section of the character independently to focus on bringing in the anatomy to the design.

Here I went back to the head, developing the shapes to bring out the expression that would show the age of the character.

I went back to work on the shape of the legs to show how the fabrics would drape over the muscles of the legs.

Finalised face

I looked back at my stylised character research to better understand how to approach the face.

Taking inspiration from real life people in a coffee shop allowed me to test different facial features for my character.

The design process was a lot of trial and error, testing what features brought out the fisherman archetype.

The more realistic head shape wasn't working as well as expected. I then decided to exaggerate features, my mistake earlier in the design process was trying to keep to an idea in my head instead of experimenting where I was uncomfortable in the design process.

I kept testing the design until I found that the final head design captured the aesthetics I wanted to incorporate from from my research.

The Beard was originally supposed to fit closer to the jaw line of the fisherman, The final changes to make it hide the jaw and help stretch out the face worked a lot better.

Body shape development

Here I was incorporating body shapes and characteristics from my research material into a figure that could work with the face design but also the hunched over body language.

Here I wanted to see how far his knees would be spread apart to see whether he works well in a square shape or triangle shape.

I wanted to see how much I could hunch the character before it looked unnatural. I also decided on wide shoulders as the character would of at one point been at sea regularly and would of done a lot of physical work.

Here I'm looking at balancing the limb proportions with the sagging body weight that comes with old age.

The head position pointing further down with a curved back is turning into a design I think could work really well in ZBrush.

final front and side

Looking at how my character will look in 3D. making sure this side view is covered is hugely important.

needs to stand up from weight
Wider legs with a hunched top half
head lower down to show sea weary character
pipe doesn't obscure facial features
side view gives a lot of insight into how he will look as a model
I want to exaggerate the nose and belly

poses

expressions

Initial Turnaround

colour studies

Colours inspired by reference
want an wooly and old tattered look
want clothes bring out his age

T pose turnaround

asymmetrical face to show their age through their features

character simplified for modelling process

My 1st turnaround:

Crotch and bottom anatomically correct
straighten model
legs apart for T pose
make face symmetrical

feedback to improve

draw character more straight/upright for modelling
wellies need more closer to real wellies, more of the toe, more narrow, add heal from wellies
LOOK AT wellies to get the proper look
draw leg first then boot over leg
crotch and bottom more anatomically correct
crotch place it more lower to look reallistic
straighten out character
legs apart for t-pose, LOOK AT t-pose
make top of boots more natural and connected to leg
hips more anatomically correct
make face symmetrical - can adjust later
DO Zbrush tutorials
Get on top of Zbrush

Reference from Pinterest

research for the look

how they hug the leg - needed in design

which would best fit my character

primary ref

These two images are my own pictures

wider side view

narrow front view

pulled in around ankle

which bits dont baggy or stretched

will use this information with ref to refine

Adding anatomy

guide for old anatomy and stance

posture and body language ref

Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/810577632928263869/ (Accessed: October 2020).

how belly sticks out

head against skinny body help for sketches

Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/810577632928263854/ (Accessed: October 2020).

will need this more than large shoulders

proportions and width will help with more realistic

Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/810577632928263898/ (Accessed: October 2020).

Reference research for anatomy

https://www.google.com/search?q=old+man+leg&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB894GB894&sxsrf=ALeKk02x77QGgL9nlEBB3HSv5-lPhFRp-g:1602874786139&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE4Pzx5bnsAhWFtHEKHcjcCwoQ_AUoAXoECAQQAw&biw=1536&bih=754&dpr=1.25#imgrc=XQT6r97NHORkgM

http://sandramwarner.blogspot.com/2012/12/old-man-feet-and-legs.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=bones+of+the+foot&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB894GB894&sxsrf=ALeKk01RyiW4hOLTFsy99kmlSKWzU6ih-w:1602928609516&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwju-vqyrrvsAhXCShUIHfLlCn8Q_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1536&bih=754#imgrc=PI5Ojd0-xeFr3M

body posture design sheet

get right leg shape from ref

research help understand old anatomy

will help when boot is over the top of it

refined design

getting the right foot shape

more realistic shape

needs to show non prime age body

where muscle has deteriorated - will make model more real

refined design

best shape to continue

getting welly that best fits research

physics match reality

make sure front fits the toes properly and isn't too tight

best has excess room

ruckled from whats inside works well

side and front refined

testing other ideas before integrating into designs

ruckled jeans to bring out legs back muscle

refine to better work

more developed heel that matches real world example

give more space for crouch

adding muscle to legs

more realistic

adding muscle from research

body shape to best fit my ideas

not too much fat or too skinny

getting the proportions and anatomy right

making sure its functional from any angle

making sure it fits the male body shape

making it closer to reality

making beard and nose more standout and prominent

getting body shape more realistic to elderley age

getting the head placement right

using research to help get it right

READY to correct turnaround

turnaround revised

face symmetrical for modelling

making all the alterations needed

fixed the problems with the last turnaround

add bend in leg to give character balance

Refined/Final Turnaround

turnaround with pipe

adding a pipe which can be sculpted at the end

Head Sculpt Test with basic ZBrush head

smooth tool

clay tool

trial and error

assessing what went right/wrong and choices

Zbrush Modelling

version 1 - clay brush and smooth brush

dont scale mannequin

adding reference images

moving sliders

match up

scale down head

add from onedrive

clay buildup tool

move topology tool

not great

the legs need a lot of tinkering if its going to work

will need try different method

Jaime feedback -

continue with 2nd model version ZBRUSH

seperate object from heel - try different methods

look at linkedin tutorials

Linkedin to work around issues

BLENDED APPROACH

Old Lady vids as road map

problem solving IN BLOG

will use maya essential training

will learn processes till automatic

LEARN ZBRUSH AND MAYA!!!!

version 2 - using move topology, smooth and clay brushes

same mannequin

scale areas to better match reference

add from onedrive

clay buildup tool

move topology tool

clay build up tool

smooth tool to get leg muscle shape

much better

move topology and clay buildup w/ smooth

same tools

better shape without too much pulling

will see if best to continue with this model

feedback

continue model
look at tutorials to help me understand how best to continue sculpting
try importing a separate object from Maya for the boot heel
use LinkedIn and YouTube tutorials to help understand how to sculpt footwear
update blog
include thought process in blogs
use tutorials and videos to work around zbrush issues
take a blended approach to sculpting
use Onedrive videos as a road map

adding more shape

move topology to move head into shape

make sleeve more in shape

getting more to the look of the silhouette

shape is looking good

seeing how looks a full model

getting cheek bones in shape

smooth tool see where can add more

fix the gap from sculpting with side view

move topology tool, small size

fits jeans better

how arm looks

make sleep more prominant for silluette

smooth the muscle to give more defonition

need fix un-even

fixed through move topology

nose stretching poly too much

smooth tool

snake hook tool

move topology tool

getting it to match

LOOK AT WHAT THIS IS

Zremesher

testing how it looks, checking for overlap

creating reference in maya

setting up multiple views

primitive cube

adding subdivisions

delete planes, multi cut and target weld

delete extra planes

select sides and extrude, connect with target weld tool

right click>vertex face to see any hidden faces to delete

changed approach, multi cut tool

subdivision doubled

go back before subdivide and multi cut

setting up to export

problems having zbrush floor locked, can import model but cant put it with zbrush model, couldnt find reason why, tried using layers but was problem

new approach, import model into maya

back in zbrush, preparing for maya export

look in videos and onedrive tutorial to help me

(my notes)

import through subtool to replace a simple primitive cube added next to model

seperate subtool

want to connect the heel properly (check if this is needed)

go back maya

alter it

export from maya, freeze transformations

import into zbrush to replace another object and it stays with the model

use this setting throughout to make sure that dont cause (ADD) when sculpting

clay tool, smooth tool, move topology tool

clay build up (z intensity 20)

smooth tool (z intensity 20)

duplicate heel OBJ and mirror as seperate

heel with character

Will need to smooth out more and continue looking at research to help me get the best results

using multiple sub tools

snake hook tool

move topology tool

clip curve tool

face modelling video

Using Facial Plane Research

Here I looked at facial planes to better understand how the face is constructed.

Marcontell, R. (no date) Planes of the Face. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/431430839296808967/ (Accessed: November 2020).

These helped with the face modelling and helped improve my modellng as an artist

Hendrix, H. (no date) imgur.com. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/507992032941335567/ (Accessed: November 2020).

face modelling video

seperate legs subtool into two - using same technique as head from body

Imported hand object from module OneDrive 'hands_objs' folder

large hand needs to be reduced

reduced scale

use large size of move topology tool to move wrist inside the model

footalk. (2020) 'Potted history of Wellington Boots', History of Boots, Sunday/May. Available at: http://historyofboots.blogspot.com/2010/04/potted-history-of-wellington-boots.html (Accessed: December 2020).

End of Semester One Show and Tell:

What will need to do -

finish my model
model the heel
try to get through it by semester two
Use Linkedin Learning Videos to help me make heel

modelling research resources from linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/using-the-gizmo?u=57075897 Using the gizmo tool/move tool

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/additional-gizmo-tips?u=57075897 Gizmo tips. 2:10 - 3:15 Making the basic pipe shape

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/activating-dynamesh?u=57075897 2.50 scale object

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/using-zsketch?u=57075897 4.55 scaling an object

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/the-most-commonly-used-brushes?u=57075897 different brushes to help with modelling

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/using-symmetry?u=57075897 symmetry settings

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/inverting-brush-effects?u=57075897 use to invert brush effects for sculpting

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/sculpting-with-undo-history?u=57075897 1:18 - 2:00 fading out effects ive done/through history - USE!

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/splitting-subtools?u=57075897 option to select one area to model

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/combining-subtools?u=57075897 merge sub tools into one - cannot reverse

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/selecting-parts-of-an-object?u=57075897 selecting aspects of object to sculpt seperate from mesh without effecting rest of model

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/making-masks?u=57075897 making masks as a refresher when sculpting

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/extruding-faces?u=57075897 using zmodeller

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/bridging-holes-and-edges?u=57075897 in case my model has holes in

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/activating-dynamesh?u=57075897 using dynamesh to avoid stretching in model

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/sculpting-with-dynamesh?u=57075897 sculpting w/ dynamesh, possibly make nostrel from it.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/limitations-of-dynamesh?u=57075897 limits of dynamesh

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/deleting-part-of-a-model?u=57075897 deleting bits of model dont need - possibly the wrist of the model to leave room for hands.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/flipping-and-doubling-surfaces?u=57075897 clipping and joining two objects (check if i need it to how i could have used it)

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/decimating-models?u=57075897 do i need it when exporting models?

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/zbrush-2020-essential-training/using-zremesher?u=57075897 extra help with zremesher.

making the heal

Michael Pavlovich (2018) 032 ZBrush ZModeler Basics. Dec 3. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ1-UfKfzh0 (Accessed: December 2020)

Semester Two

Reflecting where I am

Need to finish model in ZBrush

Import into Maya to begin next stage

S2: week 1 notes

Self reflecting is very important

Look at how progressed

Use the chunking method to help catch up

What will do:

Character designs
ZBrush sculpting
Maya Retopology, clean up, UV mapping, texturing the model, Arnold materials and Photoshop textures. Maya scene Lighting, Rigging model, posing my character, rendering character sheet.

To prepare:

Research Textures

Keep positive

Resources to plan:

Onedrive videos

Linkedin Learning (Maya Essential training course in Maya) - adding Arnold materials and Photoshop textures. Use to help with the Retopology

Tutor - Checking suitable research

Plan to manage work

ZBrush Review

Task I was assigned –

- Sculpt my character in ZBrush using turnaround

· What my intentions –

- To adapt to ZBrush quickly and work on the model

· What I did –

- Followed learning resources provided as a guide

- Initial head model sculpting test to familiarise myself with initial tools

- Did two initial versions to help me make sure I don’t start out with technical issues in ZBrush

- Used a few initial brushes to keep the basic shape

- After initial shape started testing snake hook tool, experimenting with Zremesher as wasn’t familiar with software

- Modelled jacket sleeve, this was a mistake from being new to the software.

- Began modelling clothes

- Followed facial planes to help with modelling the face, using my own face as a guide

- Modelling hair, initially doing it symmetrically wasn’t working

- Modelled it different the second time to match the silhouette of the turnaround

- Initial heel done with maya object as was familiar with this method, didn’t work too well with inconsistancys

- In the end needed to learn Zmodeller to make heel, took time over the holiday to do

- I didn’t want to use zmodeller as it slowed down the speed of finishing in zbrish but was the best way to get results

· How it went –

- Using mannequin to start the model helped me to have a rough layout instead of building the model from a primitive object

- This process applied over the holiday, took too long

- I enjoyed the process as it was interesting software to build a character

- Exported two versions, 1 high topology, 1 lower topology in case 1 didn’t working in Maya.

- In the end I used the lower model export which meant had guide for the retopology

· How would improve –

- Wouldn’t have the same technical issues

- Wouldn’t of needed two versions

- Wouldn’t been as apprehensive to use the tools and settings as wasn't sure what would effect the model

- Less elements to the character as it added to the workload. Would again only have 1 bit of hair and not have so many clothes to the character

Zbrush export

HP model

LP model

MAKING SURE TO DELETE HISTORY BEFORE

Maya import (obj and clean up)

- Not a difficult process

- Character pivot was imported to centre, half model under the grid, needed to adjust the pivot to feet to fix model position

- Cleaning up character was relatively simple

exporting 2nd model (lower topology using zremesher), didnt want to lose detailed topology in legs so would fix in maya

messy edgeloops and topology

adjusting crossing over edgeloops using multicut and delete edgeloops,

finished when all unseen faces in final model are deleted

deleting every second edge loop on the legs to reduce topology

how topology looks now, top of body will be deleted

how it better matches topology of the wind breaker

Week 3

- After I got used to the routine I was able to repeat the process

- Needed to delete extra materials in the hypershade

- Merged some objects such as the hat as it would be one piece

Feedback

doing well
keep density around knee
delete some topology around leg
look at linkedin polygon density
use linkedin to help with onedrive videos

attempt 1

attempt 2, matching it to head mesh

reduce face topology

Maya Retopology

- Reduced topology on original to give me a clearer idea of how should look

- Reduce density of mesh for when deforms

- Remembering to keep edge loops of areas where character will bend

- Lots of back and forth testing

- Accidently made triangles with eyelids through misunderstanding, fixed this with edgeloops

- Do each piece then extrude inward

- Issues with hand retopology

- Trying to get it right so wouldn’t have issues in future

· How it went –

- Took until around or after progress week to be able to finish it

- It was difficult as the polygons collapsed inside the mesh, I needed to redo them

- Took too long

- I needed to change eye for Blink Morph targets. Used linkedin videos to adjust eye with soft selection so that it would work better, despite me not animating face this was important to understand

· How would improve –

- Try and avoid 6 pointed stars and improve the topology of the face, this year was learning to see what would work

- Getting topology right was very difficult but the zbrush model as a guide was extremely helpful

begin topology

model one piece on top of head and multi cut

relaxed topology with quad draw tool

all joined up and soften edge

alterations to reduce looping topology

REMEBER TO DELETE HISTORY AND FREEZE TRANSFORMATIONS EVERY SO OFTEN

help w/ retoplogy

CG school (2018) [Maya] Character Modeling and Texturing : Part A- Modeling - # 021 (Retopology a hair mesh). Jan 21. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41lTSxzhqBU (Accessed: 2 March 2021)

FlippedNormals (2018) How to Retopologize the Body in Maya. May 29. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TYOgI9kJtU (Accessed: 2 March 2021)

Retopology site to help me:

Josh Petty (no date) What is Retopology? (A Complete Intro Guide For Beginners). Available at: https://conceptartempire.com/retopology/ (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

UV Mapping Help

Aneta V (2019) Autodesk Maya 2018 Quick UV Mapping and Unwrapping Tutorial. July 24. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Efs6TZIdQ (Accessed: March 2021)

adjusting areas of original to better fit with sole

NOTES:

during UV - target weld vertices that I didn't see before

using Texel Density get and set everything the same size

Collapsing quads was an issue and needed to redo most of the head

blink morph targets - adjusting with soft selection

I did this to make sure to cover that practice even though I wouldn't be animating the face this year

Character scaled up

Finished character scaled up - the character would later be scaled down for advanced skeleton later on

UV Mapping

- Mirrored UVs

- Layed them into groups so I could be strategic with texturing

- At this stage didn’t know much about texturing

- This process was difficult but once I understood where the seems would be that helped a lot to break it down

· How it went –

- Issues with mirroring the UVs

- Lots of back and forth

planar

unfolded

cut and sew

UVs in GEO groups for Body, Hair, Clothes, Boots and Jacket:

character UV un wrapped

Texturing: Arnold materials and Photoshop image textures

Import model into lighting scene provided by module resources

techniques used in photoshop:

multiple layers

blending modes

paint tool with adjustments to brush

warp (distort) option

completely reduce contrast to reduce diffence in colour on model

faded paint overlay on texture to get both sides to match

Textures from online:

Heathered Teal T-Shirt Texture (2021) Available at: https://www.freecreatives.com/textures/t-shirt-fabric-texture.html (Accessed: 22 March 2021)

Texture from internet:

Lavrova, Y. (2014) Dark blue jeans texture background. Available at: https://se.depositphotos.com/58952843/stock-illustration-m%C3%B6rkbl%C3%A5-jeans-konsistens-bakgrund.html (Accessed: 22 March 2021).

Hat internet texture:

blue knitted wool fabric background texture (no date) Available at: https://www.myfreetextures.com/knitted-wool-fabric-background-texture-3/ (Accessed: 22 March 2021)

Colour map process

Colour map process - adding more depth

Maya materials process

I used Arnold materials for the jacket and boots.

Using Eye ramp, new sphere was imported.

UV set to this for ramp to work properly

Clothes material in Hypershade

beard and eyes used material ramp

Photoshop Texture process

tex1

tex6

tex 9

tex10v10

tex16 bump

tex22 bump 3

Texturing Evaluation

· What my intentions –

- Face with blodd and skin colour to fit real world face. Wanted more realistic look to give my texture on face more dimensions and closer t as well as fitting with the temperature the character is set in, i.e.e winte/ cold seaside front environment

· What I did –

- Decided on colour and bump map in photoshop for the body group

- Using brushes and blending modes for photoshop texture

- Testing it in different ways to make sure its working through multiple tests

- Because of UV map layout needed to test the texture constantly to check it works properly int final texture

- Most of face hidden in model from facial hair and hat so ok

- Left the heands texture as wanted to keep workload low

- After feedback I decided to change the bump map to a normal map for the body group BECAUSE OF THE BUMP ON THE FACE despite playing with noise

- Made a new sphere to UV and texture as original was cut in half in UV shell, understand now that the It would be better to unfold a sphere – using YT vid

- Fabric textures online to get as close to original

· How it went –

- Used Arnold materials to fill in most of the model, would of textured all of it if had more time

- IPR render was handy to see how it would look when rendered

- Only wanted subtle level of bump

Full character imported into Advanced Skeleton scene

model scaled down to fit rig

character fully rigged

Rigging with Advanced Skeleton:

· Task I was assigned –

- Rig the model with advanced skeleton 1

- Test the rig with animation settings 2

- 1

- First attempt the model too big, had to move joints a lot to get there, wasn’t working properly, joints were too small

- Reduced my model size to fit the size of TunaMesh model

- Re-did the rigging to better match, followed the video provided

- 2

- Model moved well, rig worked well

- Did my own test animation as well to test how the rig moved.

- Did walk designer to see how the model moved

· How would improve –

- If again would know to scale model down as that delayed me

character fully rigged

AnimTester

WalkDesigner

skinning

made sure to fix beard with paint skin weights

fixing crouch skinning issue

scaled up after published and imported after into lighting scene

· Task I was assigned –

- Use paint skin weights if any issues with skinning

· What my intentions –

- Only to do the beard as the rest was fine

- Tried with the jeans at the bent knee

· What I did –

- Painted skin weights to stop the beard from sticking to the torso

- Issue under the beard will be hidden when posing but I couldn’t fix it

· How it went –

- This process was relatively easy once I understood my mistakes

· How would improve –

- Generally the topology and rigging was very successful and caused few issues so I am glad

- The rig and Skinning was implemented well, this was a process I would use if I was going to rig a model again

Rendering and posing character

Working with poses

issues with render, needed longer for final render

Best poses with hand changes

· Task I was assigned –

- multiple character poses, best show off my character, posing thinking about contra pose/twinning

· What my intentions –

- Poses from pose sheet

- Best fit fisherman and elderly poses

- Characterful poses without moving the face.

- Changes to poses to incorporate contrapose

· What I did –

- Limited by how much could bend the limbs, skinning worked great but could only push the rig so far

- Mindful of beard on outside of model and not pointing inwards

- Did more poses but only picked the best.

- Look at contropose and twinning

· How it went –

- Decent for first time posing my character

- Lots of trial and error, initials were more stiff

- Character looked great in the lighting scene

· How would improve –

- Would do more testing if had more time

· Add from blog –

- Future improvements –

Create small maya objects to dress my scene and interact with character to make poses more dynamic and help build upon contrapose

3D character sheet

Learning Report

Learning Report :

During this module I have learnt the process for creating a 3D animation character from an initial idea to a finished animation ready model.

For this module I decided to create a fisherman character that would fit in a traditional Cornish seaside town setting. I drew inspiration from real life people I observed as well as existing animation character designs to enforce professional practices such as Shape Language into my design. During this process I found myself constantly refining my design to incorporate anatomy and functionality to my character. I also continually worked on keeping the design characterful. I had to change from a stylised design to something more realistic to make it more manageable to model in ZBrush. However, this meant that the beginning of modelling my character was delayed a week or two which affected my planning.

I learnt as I went along to be more economical with time, I struggled with time management on the ZBrush modelling process as the software was completely new to me. The video resources made available to me were extremely helpful in providing a framework to then solve individual problems with my design and how to create these design elements in my independent study.

Zbrush is a software that I enjoyed and would continue to use and practice outside of this course. This is because the Zbrush tools were much more exciting for me to use and test compared to Maya. The advanced skeleton rig provided a much more time effective rigging system compared to the rigging I worked on in another module.

Throughout the module I wasn’t very confident in exploring new aspects of the creative process without research that could be followed rigidly. After this year I would be much more confident to repeat this again as I am now comfortable with the process and how each stage affects the final model.

During these processes I came across new techniques that presented challenges to me and often took more time for me to complete which meant other stages of the module needed to be scaled back to keep myself on track.

During the retopology process I learnt a lot about how the model can be fixed and adjusted to create a better model for the purposes of animation during this stage. I looked at blink morph targets to help me create a more defined eye using the soft selection tool to create an eyelid shape. I constructed the head as if I was going to animate both the eyes and the mouth to get a better overview of the full process despite not doing facial animation this year. I left space inside the model for where objects of teeth and a tongue would go. The thin strands of hair to my character’s beard caused issues with the retopology stage, this was where my research into understanding topology was important to fix this issue that was holding me back.

When approaching the Colour Map I wanted to bring in skin tones to the head of my character using blending modes in photoshop to build up a faded beige skin tone with red patches to resemble the darker tones of the face to help emphasize the features of my character. I chose to do this because I felt that element of human appearance isn’t always present in 3D models and so I wanted to explore this as it would also help to bring more colour to my character and help him stand out.

During the rigging process I had initially misunderstood how the rig worked. To correct this I referred back to the Advance Skeleton Resource multiple times to properly process the rig set up so my character would be properly rigged. After I had rigged my character I discovered that I could scale up the rig joints to better match my model but my rig was sufficient for the purposes in posing the character.

Despite knowing that I wouldn’t be animating the face, it helped to give me a better idea of how the modelling process relates to allowing the character to be animated.

I applied different types of texture to the character to get best results. Initially I had decided to create a bump map in photoshop. However, this caused issues with my test renders which could not be resolved by simply adjusting the bump in the hypershade window so I generated a normal map instead which gave much better results and was also more effective in the limited time I had at this point.

Around week six of the second semester I found that I was stagnating with my work and decided to simplify the work I had intended to do and be strategic and ruthless to cover the remaining processes as quickly as possible to make sure my work was finished on time.

During the first semester I had issues adapting to these new processes and experimenting with sculpting to get this basic model to best match intentions. I was not aware of where I could save time with the model as I needed to move to the next process to understand.

In the beginning of Semester Two I was still in Zbrush and needed to adapt to make sure I could move on from this. I gave myself no time limit as I was aware that the processes would take time to implement properly and I did not have an idea of timescale as these practices were new experiences for me.

Towards the end of semester two I set a target to utilise the time I had left by aiming to complete the remaining processes within one to two weeks and utilising the weekly sessions to gain feedback that would avoid any potential delays from any mistakes I might have made.

I found that each stage was difficult when learning the software. However, there were milestones in the course and each stage gave me a greater idea of the finished piece. It was helpful to be able to take steps back and see where I was going wrong. Once the model was made in maya with retopology I could then see how I would break it down into the final stages.

Once I understood my mistake in trying to perfect the retopology of the model to avoid any rigging issues I was then able to move faster through the second half of Semester Two and move forward in a more effective way. My texturing worked well once I was able to experiment from Photoshop to Maya to see how it would look on my model (See Texturing section of my blog).

I used Linkedin Learning to assist me in how best to apply industry standard practices to my practical and this was beneficial to me in critical moments when I was behind or lost in how best to resolve an issue.

I feel the overall project was successful despite delays in some stages. However, these were beneficial to the final result. The extended amount of time (from my initial intention) spent on the design, sculpting and retopology of the character ultimately meant that the final rigged character would not have many issues.

While my research into Shape Language informed my designs and outlook to creating a character, looking back I could have looked at pre-existing Zbrush models online to build a better understanding of how my 3D design would function.

On reflection I was too ambitious with what I wanted to create although I was glad that I could explore new avenues of approaching the development of a character. I think my work on this project was successful, I was able to prioritise and streamline my work to make it more manageable as I went along. I have learnt to adapt to gaps in learning as well as issues I might encounter and I found that by prioritising and limiting my workload I could be more efficient.

One of the strengths was in the designing of my character and incorporating real life reference and anatomy that I had initially learnt about on my other modules both this year and in year 1. I found that while the design process was extended longer than I wanted as I needed to incorporate anatomy and physical traits of an elderly human body, this showed a strength in capturing real life in a stylised way that could function as a model.

The texturing process was initially worrying for me as I was unsure how I would correctly apply a 2D texture to an unwrapped 3D model using a UV snapshot of a UV group. Once I worked on testing the colour map over multiple tests as well as the fabric texture I was able to enjoy the process and was very happy with how I implemented them.

My weaknesses revealed themselves when I hit obstacles that affected my ability to move forward. There were issues such as a modelling with the density of the mesh, difficulty with the bump map when the model was rendered or mistakes in my turnaround that would be impractical with the process. Issues such as these put me behind or took a lot of time to resolve with the workload from my other modules. ZBrush and the retopology and cleaning up the model took longer for me to adjust to and properly understand as the implementation of these practices required testing and non-destructive experimentation with the software.

Zmodeler and Linkedin videos have helped me to understand how to approach problems such as modelling the heel which took a lot of work using different methods. If I was able to do that subtool again I would have looked at two or three methods for modelling it instead of trying one and getting stuck on a method that wasn’t working.

This year I have discovered that I enjoy working in ZBrush more than in Maya. I especially found that I had a strength in modelling with the ZBrush software. I enjoyed the face modelling using sculpting tools to create the structure and organic features of the human face.

Throughout the module I met many obstacles such as some processes or techniques taking longer to understand or implement correctly. When these issues surfaced I would look for online resources on YouTube or Linkedin Learning to help me or find another aspect of the current process and direct my focus to that which would help me bridge those gaps in the process.

In future If I was to redo this module to produce an animation character, I would not suffer the same issues with the processes as I now understand the theory having seen how it works when a rig is applied to my model. I would be able to implement the techniques without the same issues and would also make sure to revise my design to reduce any technical issues that surfaced during the character creation process.

I would not return to anatomy as often as I did in the initial design phase. I would have the anatomy and shape worked out first in the designing. I would also simplify the design, having multiple hair subtools in ZBrush as well as the multiple layers to the character (boots, fingerless gloves and a woolly hat as well as a pipe before it was abandoned) as this delayed me in the modelling process over into semester two. I was not aware of this side to producing a digital character and would keep this in mind in future.

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