Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
...
Nearly all character modeling follows the
same basic steps that we followed here.
When building my own characters, I
always
start with a base like this — something that
has only as many segments as needed to
hold the geometry in place. Often, I'll save
my base for later, just in case I want to have
a “stand-in” model if my scene becomes so
thick with objects that animating slows to a
crawl.
For making my final, “super-mega-ultra”
high-res models, I take this base, whose
proportions I know are correct, and start
working at it like a sculptor chiseling away
at a rough-hewn marble likeness. Because I
know the
proportions
are good, I can lose
myself in the
details
for days, knowing that
what gnarly stuff I've done won't have to be
scrapped because I wasn't paying attention
to the rest of the character.
I suppose what we're doing here could
be called “deductive modeling” — modeling
from the
general
to the
specific
, just like
Sherlock Holmes' reasoning to solve a
mystery. Because we've created such gen-
eral forms to work with, with only a few
more hours of working, you can quickly
turn this base into nearly any bipedal,
humanoid character imaginable!
