The Process ( Shaping Part 2)

[fig 7]

So now we can make a bit more progress. In the diagram above, the deleted template upper limb is reformed into our metallic mechanical left 'arm' of our character. It is a cylindrical contraption. I do like the process of modelling mechanical objects because the modelling is precise in nature. There's a lot of edge division, selection and extrusion of polygons. Bevelling or chamfering are features as well. Above, we selected the open edges of the hole created by the deletion, and duplicated them, before extrusion sideways. We made sure the cross section of the edges was as round as possible before doing any of this. (this was achieved by adjusting vertices from a side view)

[fig 8]

In [fig 8] above, all of the polygons of the right leg have been selected. Our aim here is to delete them, then completely reform the characteristic emaciated type legs that our alien sports in [fig 1 & 2], from the remaining undeleted left leg. Once this is done. we would then proceed to select and duplicate/mirror the left leg to form a right limb.

[fig 9]
Remember all the general modelling principles you have to apply whilst modelling movable or animatable parts of a real time 3d character. Some of these are:

• Always keep the highest density of geometry clustered around the actual parts of the model that undergo deformation.
• The edges of the geometry that surround these areas must be angulated in such a way that even with a fair amount of deformation, the shape or topology would be maintained or preserved to a reasonable extent.
  
  
  

[fig 10]

In the picture above, the lower limb has started to take shape. Some polygons were selected and scaled down around the knee area, whilst a boot was shaped. Take a closer look at the foot in [fig 10], and compare it to that in [fig 9], you would see that it has a fewer number of faces/ polygons. We had to look for areas where we could reduce the polygon count to compensate for the polygons created by forming the demarcation between the knee and the boot. When actively modelling any real time 3d object, your brain is constantly trying to work around issues relating to polygon count form and function. If you decided to switch to modelling characters that were intended for a short movie or some pre-rendered animation, then its a whole different ball game, as you would not be restricted by normal real time quotas.

The real time 3d modelling principles and skills I describe here could take some time to perfect. It is an art in itself, and the true art will be revealed in my forthcoming e-book about character design which I would be announcing on this blog to all my readers in the future.