Complete Character Ceation ByRichard Tilbury from an originalcharacter by Seong-wha Jeong
The Swordmaster Is our new precise, step-by-step tutorial for highly polished, low polygon game character with detailed texturing for real-time rendering.We have had the tutorial created for the 5 major 3D applications, but even if you are not a user of one of them, the principles should be easilyfollowed in nearly all other 3D applications. Overthe next 8 Chapters we will outline, in detail, theprocess for creating the ‘Swordmaster’ you see on the left. Chapter 01 Modeling the head Chapter 02 Modeling the Torso Chapter 03 Modeling the Arms & Legs Chapter 04 Modeling the Clothing & Hair Chapter 05 Modeling the Armour Chapter 06 Mapping & Unwrapping Chapter 07 Texturing the Skin & Body Chapter 08 Texturing the Armour & Clothing Enjoy ...
SwordMaster page Chapter 01Part 1Modeling The HeadIntroduction:Welcome to the first of an ongoing tutorialwhich will run over the next eight issues andprovide a step by step guide to building a lowpoly character based upon a model by Seong-Wha Jeong. Over the next eight months wewill be covering how to build, map/unwrap andtexture the character based upon the original.As the original model is low poly and tailoredtowards a game environment the mesh is notmade entirely of quads and so we shall also bemaking use of a few “tri’s” in places to minimizethe mesh density. In this first section we will startby creating a simple box and then moulding itinto the final head shape using the editable polytools.1. The first step is to create a box with 4 length,width and height segments as shown on theright in Fig01. You will notice that the“GenerateMapping Coords”box is checked but as weare going to map our mesh later on this is notimportant here. Right click on the box and select“Convert to Editable Poly “from the dialogue box.2. With our box now converted to an EditablePoly we can now begin shaping it at the sub-object level, ie. vertex, face, edge etc. Select thevertex level under selection and begin by movingthe verts in the left or right viewports first to getthe rough profile shape. Be sure to keep the“Ignore Backface” box unchecked so that youselect all the verts across the mesh, evident inthe User viewport. In this way we can keep ourmesh symmetrical on both sides of the center(Fig02). I find it is best to work in a profile viewand move the verts into a reasonable shape andthen switch to the front view and do the same. www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster 3. Once you have shaped the existing geometry it is time to add a subdivision by selecting an edge (shown in black) and then clicking on Ring, followed by Connect (highlighted in red) in Fig03. By selecting the little square to the right of the tab you can bring up the dialogue box where you can alter the parameters. You can see in the top left that I have chosen just one segment in this case. Much of the modelling process will involve this procedure after which the new verts are then manipulated into better positions. You can see the variuos views of the mesh at this stage on the bottom right. 4. Now that we have a rough shape to our head it is time to add in some of the features. Select the two central poly’s (ringed in green) and then click on the Bevel tab on the right and bring them outward, scaling them down somewhat (Fig04).www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster5. The next step is to make a start on the eyes.Select the two poly’s that are ringed in green inFig05 and then click on the little square next tothe Inset tab (highlighted in red). Click on the“Group” radio button and then simply alter theinset amount to form the eye shape similar tothe image. If you select “By Polygon” each polywill be inset individually – something we wishto avoid.6. With the nose and eyes underway wehave just the mouth left to make a start on.Select the four poly’s highlighted in green inFig06 and then use the “Cut” tool on the rightto make four horizontal cuts (shown in red)emanating from a single vert. Once this isdone simply move the new verts into positionsto form a mouth shape as seen in the image.www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster 7. The features are now beginning to form, albeit in a rather crude way but there is still no evidence of a chin so pull up some of the lower verts to alleviate this (Fig07). 8. To help refine the cheek bone and nose shape use the “Ring / Connect” tools to add in a further cut around the head as shown in red in Fig08.www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster9. Now that we have a reasonable amount ofdetail it is time to delete half of our mesh andapply the Symmetry modifier in order that wecan work on just one half of the model andsee the results mirrored in a duplicate. In thisway we can ensure that the head is the sameeither side of the central line but reduce thenumber of poly’s that need manipulating. Beginby selecting the “Window/Crossing” icon on thetool bar along the top of the viewports (top leftFig09). Now in sub-object poly mode, select allof the right half of the head (make sure IgnoreBackfacing is unchecked) by including part ofthe left side just past the central line. Deletethese poly’s,go to the top of the stack and thenapply a Symmetry modifier from the modifierlist making sure the head is mirrored along thevertical axis as shown on the right of Fig09.When you go down the stack to the Editablepoly level the duplicate will now disappear.Toggle the “Show end result “button so thatyou can see the copy and now when you workin sub-object mode at the editable poly levelyou will see the results mirrored (bottom rightof the image).10. Now we are working purely on the leftside of the head select the poly’s highlightedin red in Fig10 and use the”Cut” tool to maketwo horizontal cuts joining the middle verts.This will help create a more convincing socketshape for the eye and remove the sharp angleapparent in Fig08.www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster 11. The eye area is somewhat improved but we need some more detail above the brow so move the existing line of verts up slightly (yellow line in Fig11.) and add a new subdivision below this and the brow (green line) which will help form a better forehead shape. 12. As we gradually refine our model we inevitably add more detail but sometimes it is useful in low poly characters to actually remove unnecessary detail that can be supplemented by a texture. At the moment we have six rows of polygons running over the top of the head – more than we really need. In Vertex mode click on the “Target Weld” tab and weld together the line of verts running upward from the corner and center of the eye starting with the one ringed in red in Fig12.www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster13. We have partially improved the eyes andso should refine the other features. First thingis to get rid of the harsh angle under the noseso select the poly and apply a Bevel (Fig13).As we are working on a mirrored half we nowend up with unwanted poly’s between theselected polygons. Delete these and thenmove the inner verts to line up with the centralline using the snaps tool. One other thing todo is add a cut below the lips to create a bettershape to the chin (highlighted in red).14. On the nose weld the middle vert to theone below and the one on the left to theadjacent corner one (Fig14).www.3dcreativemag.com page Chapter 01
SwordMaster 15. Select an edge in line with the green line in Fig15 and perform a “Ring/Connect” once more resulting in another subdivision as shown by the yellow line. 16. To improve the chin a bit more we shall make a further cut to help form the jaw line as shown by the red line in Fig16. You will also notice that the purple poly (the one we originally cut) is made up of two triangles. We can delete this and create a quad in its place using the “Create” tool in sub-object poly mode. This will leave only the one further back on this section of the jaw.www.3dcreativemag.com page 10 Chapter 01
SwordMaster17. To remedy the very flat underside of thechin we shall now make a further cut acrossfrom the vert in the middle (shown in red inFig17). The extra verts can now be pulleddownward to form a more rounded profile andthe the one left of the center can be welded tothe central one to reduce the poly count.18. To economise futher weld two more vertsto the outside edge as shown by the red dotsin Fig18. With this complete it is now time tocreate the ears so start by moving the vertsinto positions that resemble a rough shape asseen by the red outline.www.3dcreativemag.com page 11 Chapter 01
SwordMaster 19. Select the three poly’s that make up the ear shape and hold down shift and drag the selection outwards. This will create a copy and bring up a “Clone” dialogue box – select the clone to element radio button and hit OK (Fig19). This will keep the new polygons as part of the head and not as a separate object. 20. With these poly’s still selected in sub- object mode click on “Extrude” and give the ear some volume by an amount similar to that seen in Fig20.www.3dcreativemag.com page 12 Chapter 01
SwordMaster21. We now have a rough ear shape but youwill notice that on the opposite side there isa hole. To fix this, copy the same selectedfaces using the same technique we have justused and rotate them around 180 degrees.Now all we need to do is attach them to theother side. Select the 3D Snaps tool on thetoolbar (highlighted in yellow –top of Fig21),right click on it and tick vertex under the snapssettings. Now select the vertices on the newfaces and drag over to the correspondingones on the ear to patch up the hole indicatedby the green dots. With these verts now inplace select all the verts on the ear and clickon the little tab next to “Weld” in the modifypanel. In the dialogue box alter the thresholdto 0.001. You will notice that we have adiscrepancy of 8 between the before and after– this corresponds to the 8 verts that we havesnapped to the other 8. We can only see 8 butthere are in fact 16 separate ones and so byhitting OK we are welding this 16 into 8 and soreducing the count from 161 to 153. In otherwords if two verts occupy the same space theymay as well be one.22. We can now attach the ear to the side ofthe head using the same technique by firstmoving it into position, snapping the vertstogether and then welding them up. To givethe ear a better shape scale the outwardfaces down a little and then add in a verticalsubdivision using the “Ring/Connect” tools andmove the extra verts to form more of a curve tothe outside (Fig22).www.3dcreativemag.com page 13 Chapter 01
SwordMasterwww.3dcreativemag.com page 14 23. We are almost there now! Add an Edit Mesh modifier on top of the stack and then go into sub-object edge mode as seen on the right in Fig23. Select “Turn” and then start to swap the direction in which some edges traverse certain polygons by clicking on them. You can see in the image where edges in red have been turned to follow a more suitable line (shown in green on the right). In this way we can create better contours across our mesh and make sure the numerous planes read more accurately too. 24. In Fig24 we can see the final version of our head. There are a few verts here and there that could be tweaked somewhat to refine the shape but we have a reasonable head to build on. It is important with low-ply models that we have smooth transitions between polygons so that we conceal as much as possible the low level of detail. Hopefully you will have learnt enough techniques to go on and improve upon my model. Chapter 01
SwordMasterHere are some progress shots from theviewports, and a render of the flat shaded withwireframe over. Next month we will continue bybuilding the torso.www.3dcreativemag.com page 15 Chapter 01
SwordMasterPart 2Modelling theTorsoIntroduction:Welcome to the second part of an ongoingtutorial which will run over several months andprovide a step by step guide to building a lowpoly character based upon a model by Seong-Wha Jeong. In this installment we shall startwith the head model covered in last month’sedition and build upon the mesh to create atorso. 1. If you have followed the previous tutorial onmaking the head then open that file and beginby selecting the bottom row of edges as shownin green in Fig01. Now hold down the “Shift”key and using the “Move” tool drag this row ofedges downwards to make a copy. Rememberthat we still have the “Symmetry” modifier ontop of the stack and so are only working on theleft half of the mesh.2. When you have done this start to pull theverts outwards to form the top of the shoulders(Fig02). You can see in the illustration that thesmall picture shows the positions that the newverts have taken up.www.3dcreativemag.com page 16 Chapter 02
SwordMaster 3. We are now going to make a cut across the front three poly’s to form the clavicle as seen by the red line in Fig03 using the same technique as before – selecting the poly’s in sub-object mode and applying the “Cut” tool. 4. Now once again select this bottom row of edges and “Shift copy” them down and re-arrange the new verts to form a better shape (Fig04). It is a good rule of thumb that whenever you add more detail by way of copying edges or adding subdivisions you should move the new verts into suitable positions before adding any new edges. It can save time and is a lot easier to work this way.www.3dcreativemag.com page 17 Chapter 02
SwordMaster5. We have made most of the shoulder areaalready by simply copying edges and re-positioning the new verts and now it is time tostart to form the top of the arm area. We needto make two new cuts on the front and backpoly’s that form the outer edge nearest theleft of the image. This is so we have enoughedges from which to “Extrude” an arm lateron. In Fig05 you will notice that these arerepresented by the first cut in green and thesecond in red – the new verts are then moved(red dots). We have now created two trianglesby the last cut but these could be deleted andreplaced by a quad if one so wished.6. Now it is time to begin forming the chestarea by selecting the bottom row of edges onthe front of the torso (green line in Fig06) andduplicating them downwards (red line in Fig06)using the same method.www.3dcreativemag.com page 18 Chapter 02
SwordMaster 7. We can do the same thing to also form the upper back (Fig07). 8. Back to the front now ! Grab that bottom row of edges under the chest and copy these downwards once more but this time pull them inward to form the lower part of the chest (Fig08). Also add in a small cut indicated by the red line.www.3dcreativemag.com page 19 Chapter 02
SwordMaster9. If we look at Fig09 we can begin to see theshape that the upper arm will assume when iteventually materializes from the hole. Beforewe close the bottom edge copy the edgeshighlighted in green to start off the abdomenand lower back areas.10. With this done it is time to seal the bottomof the arm area. In sub-object poly modecreate a poly that bridges the gap and oncethis is done add a “Cut” and pull the new vertdown slightly to help form a better shape underthe arm (green line in Fig10).www.3dcreativemag.com page 20 Chapter 02
SwordMaster 11. We now have a complete upper torso with a hole ready to build our arm. All that we need to do now is extend it downwards to form the lower back, abdomen and pelvic area. Once again grab the lower ring of edges and copy them downwards (green line in Fig11). 12. To help shape the muscle form on the back you could weld the vert shown in green in Fig12 to the one to its left. This will form a triangle and follow the shape of the muscles running downwards from the shoulder blades.www.3dcreativemag.com page 21 Chapter 02
SwordMaster13. Now select the bottom row of edges oncemore and copy these downwards by quite away (Fig13).14. What we will do next is add a fewsubdivisions across the new section of poly’swe have just made. So in “Edge” mode selectany of the vertical edges (green line in Fig14)and click on “Ring/Connect” and add in threesegments as shown in the dialogue box.www.3dcreativemag.com page 22 Chapter 02
SwordMaster page 23 15. The next thing to do is to simply manipulatewww.3dcreativemag.com the newly created verts into positions that form the shape of the lower torso and top of the buttocks (Fig15). Is is best to do this in the same way we began moulding the cube into a rough head shape, ie. move the verts first in the front view and then in the profile view before tweaking them in the User or Perspective viewports. The illustration shows a profile and front view which will give you a good idea about the positions of the verts. 16. The last thing to do before we start to make the arms and legs is add a small cut across the base of the buttocks in order that we have a little more geometry to deform when the character is eventually animated. This will help smooth the curve of the leg when it is extended (Fig16). You can see in the illustration that the added cut (in green) has helped the curvature when the legs are extended, evident in the screen shots above. You will also notice that I have added another cut (in red) above to help the creasing in this area. It is always worth remembering that it helps to have more detail around all joints as these polys are subject to more stretching and movement. In the case of the red cut, I have created two triangles on the side of the leg as this pattern will be used around the knee (the reason for which we will see in the next tutorial) but you could in fact have just made a cut to the lower vert creating only a single triangle. Configuring poly’s around joints is often determined by the types of animation required and it is sometimes worth attaching a skeleton to the model before it is finished in order to test the mesh. This concludes the torso section of the tutorial and next month we will go on to build the arms and legs to complete the body. Chapter 02
SwordMasterwww.3dcreativemag.com page 24 Chapter 02
SwordMasterPart 3Modelling the Armsand LegsIntroduction: Fig01Welcome to the third part of an ongoing tutorialwhich will provide a step by step guide tobuilding a low poly character based upon amodel by Seong-Wha Jeong. In this installmentwe shall start with the torso covered in lastmonth’s edition and build upon the mesh tocreate the arms and legs. 1. If you have followed the previous tutorial onmaking the torso then open that file and beginby selecting the edges as shown in Fig01. Nowhold down the “Shift” key and using the “Move”tool drag this row of edges downwards tomake a copy. Remember that we still have the“Symmetry” modifier on top of the stack and soare only working on the left half of the mesh.2. In the next step move these edges inwardsand join them together with another poly inbetween as indicated by the red poly in Fig02.This will now form two holes from which we willextend the legs. You can do this by either using“Create” in poly mode or simply target weld oneedge to the other and then add in a new edgeusing the “Ring / Connect” tools. Either way isfine. Fig02www.3dcreativemag.com page 25 Chapter 03
SwordMaster 3. Make sure you reposition the verts to form a decent shape and then extend the edges downwards using “Shift” and dragging as we have done previously to begin creating the upper thigh ( Fig03 ).Fig03 4. Using this same technique extend the leg downwards to create the upper part of the leg. Remember to tweak the positions of the verts as you do so in order to form the best shape as we go along. You can see in Fig04 that I have formed two additional edges down to the knee area.Fig04 page 26 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster5. The next stage involves applying exactlythe same procedure inorder to extend the legdownward to form the knee, calves and ankle.In Fig05 you will notice that this comprised of sixnew edges all of which were shaped differentlyin accordance the parts of the leg. Fig056. We have now built the leg and it is time tocreate the foot. You will notice that the poly’sthat make up the leg are open ended and needto be capped in order to form the sole of thefoot. We do this by either selecting one of theedges in sub-object Border mode and thenclicking on “Cap” or simply creating three extrapoly’s that run across the foot in Poly mode asseen in Fig06. Fig06www.3dcreativemag.com page 27 Chapter 03
Fig07 SwordMaster 7. We now need to level these poly’s so in a profile view (left or right) select them and then right click the “Select and Non-uniform Scale” tab on the toolbar. This brings up a dialogue box as shown in Fig07. Right click on the bottom arrow in the Y axis (highlighted in red) and the poly’s should all align nicely. 8. To start the feet off select the two front poly’s and “Extrude” them forward, scaling them down as you do so (Fig08).Fig08 page 28 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster9. Make a further extrusion to add the toes andin order to add a little more curvature add afurther cut as seen in green in Fig09. Fig0910. We now have two complete legs and feetbut there is one last thing to do before wemove on to the arms. In order to get a betterdeformation around the knee area we are goingto add in two new cuts which will help maintaina more consistent shape at the back of the legwhen we bend the knee (assuming off coursethat we are going to attach a skeleton). You cansee in Fig10 that I have made two diagonal cutsand when we attach a skeleton and bend theknee backwards you will notice in the two insetson the right that the lower one is more realisticas a result. The upper diagram shows a kink inthe mesh and is due to a cut intersecting thebend (green line on the left leg). For this reasonit is best to choose the configuration on the rightand add in the two extra cuts. Fig10www.3dcreativemag.com page 29 Chapter 03
Fig11 SwordMaster 11. With the legs finished it is time to extend the arms. Continuing from our torso in the previous tutorial select the top seven edges and extend them to make a new set (green line in Fig11). Now weld the two verts in red to the corners indicated by the arrows. 12. The next step is to extend these edges out once more and then weld the two outer most verts (highlighted in red in Fig12) to the verts highlighted by the green dots.Fig12 page 30 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster13. Now select only six of the edges leaving outthe one nearest the chest (marked by the twored dots in Fig13). Weld the marked verts inthe direction shown at both the front and backresulting in configuration seen on the right of thepicture. Once this is done add a cut across thefron poly indicated by the purple line and thenmake the two triangles below into a quad. Fig1314. Remember to reposition the new verts asand when you create them in order to get agood shape. When you are satisfied select thepoly furthest back in the new group and add acut from the corner downward as shown by thered line in Fig14. Then select the ring of openedges and extend downward to form the top ofthe arm and a new section (green line). Fig14www.3dcreativemag.com page 31 Chapter 03
SwordMaster 15. Now that we have a start to the arm we can continue by shift dragging edge selections and transforming the verts until we get to the wrist as seen in Fig15. In this case I have added a further eight extrusions.Fig15 16. As we did with the foot we are going to cap the end of the arm with five poly’s as shown in Fig16. You will notice a single triangle on the left but do not be concerned about this at the moment.Fig16 page 32 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster17. In order to prepare for the thumb extend thetwo right most verts outward as shown in Fig17. Fig1718. Next add a cut on the underside (Fig18) inthe position numbered 1. This will leave a fivesided poly on the palm side of the hand andso to alleviate this continue the cut upwardsin the position mumbered 2. Now to give thethumb area more shape add a further cut inthe position numbered 3. This will add a littlemore curvature to the thumb when we extend itdownwards eventually. Fig18www.3dcreativemag.com page 33 Chapter 03
Fig19 SwordMaster 19. When we look at Fig19 we can see the underside of the hand on the left. We have four poly’s that can be used to extrude the four fingers but the shapes including the thumb area need re-shaping slightly before we do this. First make a cut as indicated by the red line (inset 2) and then move the new vert down slightly. Follow with a cut from this new vert to the outside of the hand (red line on inset 3). Now delete the two triangles next to it and create a quad (shaded in green) which will result in a row of four quads ready to create the fingers and the beginnings of a thumb. 20. Select these four poly’s and extrude them downwards making sure to select “By Polygon” (Fig20).Fig20 page 34 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster21. Rotate these new poly’s a little and thendo a further two extrusions, scaling them downsomewhat to shape the fingers (Fig21). Fig2122. The next step is to shape the thumb whichwill involve the same procedure and so selectthe lower poly’s and extrude downward makingsure to select “Group” this time. In order tocreate a better flow from the palm make sureyou re-orientate the hidden edge to correspondwith the red line in Fig22. You can do this byselecting the polygon in question and clicking on“Edit Triangulation” and then clicking on “Turn”and selecting the edge. This will cause the edgeto flip in a different direction or alternatively youcan make a cut as we have done in the past. Fig22www.3dcreativemag.com page 35 Chapter 03
Fig23 SwordMaster 23. You can then go on and extend the poly’s to build the thumb. In Fig23 you will notice that I have re-orientated the poly’s at the end to form a more even split compared to the original seen in the inset. This is not entirely necessary and may even inhibit a better shape when adding the curvature at the thumb tip but we are not adding much detail here so it should be ok. 19. The final stage is to select the six poly’s that make up the tips of the fingers and add a “Bevel” with the amount similar to that shown in Fig24. This essentially wraps up this particular section and we now have a complete figure.Fig24 page 36 Chapter 03 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMasterThis concludes the tutorial on creating thearms and legs and next month we shall goon and add clothing and hair.www.3dcreativemag.com page 37 Chapter 03
SwordMasterPart 4Modelling the Hairand ClothingIntroduction: Fig01Welcome to the fourth installment in the serieswhich will provide a step by step guide tobuilding a low poly character based upon amodel by Seong-Wha Jeong. Now that we havefully built the character it is time to add in thehair and clothing which we shall do this month. 1. If you have followed the previous tutorialson building the character then open the last fileand begin by adding an “Edit Poly” above theSymmetry modifier and then select the poly’shighlighted in Fig01. Now hold down the “Shift”key and using the “Move” tool drag this selectionupwards to make a copy. You will notice fromthe image that I have selected “Clone To Object”from the dialogue box but this is only to keepthe hair separate at the moment. What we willdo for the hair is model the various elementsseperately and then group them together at theend and mirror them over to the other half.2. The next stage involves copying these newpoly’s over the the side and “Snapping” thebottom row of verts to the top of the foreheadin the positions marked in blue in Fig02. Copythis group once more and then again snap thebottom verts (in red this time) to the edge of theface. This is so this front group can eventuallybe unwrapped with the top of the face to createa seamless texture for the hairline. Fig02www.3dcreativemag.com page 38 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 3. We can duplicate these extra two sets over to the other side of the face once they are doneFig03 and begin on the second row of hair which falls directly behind the front row but offset slightly to intersect with the front set (Fig03). You can use a group from the front set to create these and simply delete two rows of poly’s resulting in four quads as seen in the picture. Then it is just a case of snapping the verts to the line across the forehead and re-shaping them slightly. 4. For the next step we are going to duplicate this new set of poly’s and move them behind the second row except this time we shall ignore snapping the verts to any on the scalp (Fig04).Fig04 page 39 Chapter 04 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster5. Now we have made a start on the front weshall begin building the back section of the hair.In Fig05 you can see a large yellow piece ofgeometry that has been positioned. You willnotice that it is in two pieces and this is becausewhen we finally map and unwrap our meshwe can copy a section of mapped geometryand it carries with it the mapping co-ordinates.Therefore to save on texture space it is best tounwrap parts of the mesh before duplicatingthem and so enabling us to use a single areaof our template to paint numerous parts of ourmodel. In this case it will mean mapping onlyone half of the yellow area and then copyingthat half over and welding the two up. This issomething we shall explore in more depth duringthe texturing phase but for now we shall justmodel all the parts so you can see how thay willeventually look together. Fig056. Now to build the central sections – threerows of nine quads as seen in Fig06. Onceagain do not worry about the verts aligning, justconcentrate on shaping the mesh to follow theshape of the head in the same way we havedone before. Fig06www.3dcreativemag.com page 40 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 7. To finish this section add two more rows as seen in Fig07.Fig07 8. The front, back and central section of the hair is now complete and all that remains to do is add in a group of planes that will form the sides. A few pieces of the geometry will eventually be mapped later on before being duplicated but for now simply add in two rows along the side of the head similar to Fig08. You will notice I have placed a couple of planes just behind and below the ear to mimic Seong’s model but basically put in enough to mask the scalp.Fig08 page 41 Chapter 04 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster9. When these pieces are copied over to theother side we end up with the finished article(Fig09). Fig0910. Now it is time to add the clothing, the firstpart of which shall be the trousers. First thingto do is select the group of poly’s that will formthe trousers as shown in Fig10. Detach theseand make them an element in the dialogue boxso they remain part of the main mesh and thenuniversally scale them up slightly. Fig10www.3dcreativemag.com page 42 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 11. With this done add in a row of verts at the top to join the trousers back onto the body and then proceed to transform the verts into positions that resemble Fig11.Fig11 12. Then add in two subdivisions using the “Ring /Connect” in the areas marked in red in Fig12.Fig12 page 43 Chapter 04 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMaster13. Add a further cut in sub-object poly modefrom the front of the mesh and around to theback as shown in Fig13. Fig1314. The next stage involves making furthercuts in along the lines shown in red in Fig14at the back of the trousers. This is to providethe correct creasing in the right areas andonce done you can create quads in the areashighlighted in green which will finish off thetrousers. Fig14www.3dcreativemag.com page 44 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 15. The next item we shall create are the shin guards. Simply selest the group of poly’s that make up the front of the shin as seen in Fig15 and click on “Extrude” making sure to select Local Normal and bring these out somewhat and that’s it!Fig15 16. Now onto the footwear. Start the boots off by detaching the foot as we did with the trousersFig16 and again scale the poly’s up a little as before and then create a group on the top joining them www.3dcreativemag.com back to the leg (Fig16). Now we need to add a heel and sole to them so first select the two quads at the back and extrude them down as seen on the left highlighted in red. Now repeat this for the rest of the poly’s as shown on the right of the picture. You will now have some extra depth to the boot but the sole is still flat with two hidden poly’s so grab the two verts furthest back on the second extrusion and weld them to the ones at the upper front of the heel (green dots on the right). This concludes the footwear and next onto the kneepads. page 45 Chapter 04
SwordMaster17. Referring to Fig17 select the poly’s shownin red and holding down shift in “Select andMove” mode select Clone to Object from thedialogue box and name the object kneepad.This will create a new object which we can thenscale according to the one shown on the left. Fig1718. You will notice that at the moment it hasno depth at all and so to amend this we willadd a “Shell” modifier from the modifier list. InFig18 you will notice this at the top of the stackand when you alter the inner amount by about0.2 it creates a set of inner faces as seen inthe middle image. All that remains is to selectthe front two top poly’s and do two extrusionsscaling inwards slightly to form the upper partshown on the right. Fig18www.3dcreativemag.com page 46 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 19. This brings us to the final piece of clothing that we shall add in this tutorial; the belt. Start by creating a shallow box, convert it to an “Editable Poly” and place it in front of the upper part of the trousers, rotating it slightly as seen in Fig19. This will form the beginning of the object and what we shall do next is create a spline that wraps around the body from either end of the box and then extrude one end of box along this spline to form a belt shape.Fig19 page 47 20. Under the “Shapes” tab in the Modify panel click on “Ellipse” and then left click and drag outFig20 a shape in the top view. Right click on the object and select “Convert to Editable Spline”, (you www.3dcreativemag.com will notice this is the name in the modifier stack now). In sub-object “Vertex” mode select the bottom most vert and then click on “Break”. This will now give you access to two verts wherer there was once one. Move them apart slightly and then after selecting the left one click on “Make First” (this will now add a small square around it as opposed to a crosshair). Now what we need to do is position the spline around our character in a manner that follows the path of our belt (Fig20). Use the “Snaps Toggle” (set to 3) and tick the boxes shown in the inset dialogue box. Now move the two broken verts to both ends of the box and centralize them midway down. Now turn off the snaps tool and move the verts to roughly the middle of the end faces – does not need to be perfect. Chapter 04
SwordMaster21. In sub-object poly mode select the left endface of the box and click on the settings tabnext to “Extrude Along Spline”. This will openup the dialogue box seen in Fig21 with a pickspline tab in the top left. Click on this and thenselect your spline shape. You should now see abelt magically appear around your character’swaist. Change the segements to 10 so it has areasonable shape and then delete the two endpolys making sure to snap and weld the vertstogether afterwards. Fig2122. Now that we have the belt wrapped aroundthe character we just need to transform the vertsand fit it properly around the mesh (Fig22). Fig22www.3dcreativemag.com page 48 Chapter 04
SwordMaster 23. With this done all that remains is to extrude four of the lower faces that make up the left underside and create the cloth that will eventually hang by his side (Fig23). You can see in the picture that I have made three extrusions downwards which completes this section of this months tutorial.Fig23Fig24 page 49 Chapter 04 www.3dcreativemag.com
SwordMasterNext month we shall go on and finish themodelling stages by adding the Armourelements before readying ourselves for thetexturing phase.www.3dcreativemag.com page 50 Chapter 04
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