The Process (Round up Part 1)

[fig 11]

In the above diagram, both the lower limbs are in place. We did duplicate the left leg as we said. The entire model is asymmetrical in nature, thus we had to do things in phases. Remember that this 3d model is really just a basic one, and as our experience grows, we would be able to move on to even more complex geometric shapes.
We are now going to focus on the head.

[fig 12]

The head we want should have certain features. Although you cant see it from the 2d drawings [fig 1 & 2], the back of the head is actually elevated. ( I did not supply a side shot, which would have shown it ). We have revealed the hidden head which was there all along, and started some modifications. The back of the head is elevated above the rest of the skull, thus it is lifted. The aliens nose is lifted as well. This model is not going to have any moving mouth parts, and also, the eyes would be stationary. All of the fine facial detail would be applied using the texture when we get to that stage.

[fig 13]

In the picture above, the nose is flattened, we tried to use the limited polygons we have to mould the general shape of the head. I mentioned that the features would be painted on, but I also want to point out that in a 3d real time model, there should be no holes in the geometry. This I believe would cause problems during the real time rendering or compilation.

[fig 14]

So here we have the finished modelled alien head. You have to join this to the main torso, so it's important that the number of vertices around the rim of the lower part of the neck matches that on the torso. Also try not to create an extra line of unneeded polygons around the neck when joining together.

In the next post, Ill talk a little bit about laying the uvs, and texturing our game character.