Introduction to Maya - Modeling Fundamentals Vol 1
This course will look at the fundamentals of modeling in Maya with an emphasis on creating good topology. We'll look at what makes a good model in Maya and why objects are modeled in the way they are.
# 1 02-01-2007 , 03:33 PM
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Joan of Arc

I've been working through the Joan of Arc tutorial for a little while now and have finally plucked up the courage to post a few progress shots.

Still trying to work out whether to do the hair with polys or with real hair, and I'd be really gratefull for any suggestions on the matter.

Though, by the looks of it perhaps I should devote a little more attention to the knees, shoulders, breasts and hands first. I have attached the hands facing palm up, though am a little unsure now if this was the best thing to do. It seems to me that there would be less rotation of the wrist and shoulder if they were the other way up, causing less twisting and stretching.

Any suggestions ladies & gentlemen?
Simon.

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# 2 02-01-2007 , 06:36 PM
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hey simon, looks good so far... only thing which worries me which you have already pointed out is that the knees... especially the back of it lol user added image also about the buttox, they seem fairly high and end up half way up the back user added image though your working off a tutorial and they may have said that it was that high etc so no fuss about that user added image

just wondering were you going rig her up abit or just leave her as a model? about attaching the hands palm up seems abit odd and wierd for me since all my models and the rest which i have seen soo far are facing down... but it may work out right anywhom though im abit worried about that lol... it also looks like there is no wrist bone kind of.

also about the head, i personally like real hair... gives it more of that look if you get what i mean :p well thats my suggestion.. im sure whatever you pick will be fine user added image

well thats my say in this, keep us updated and posted on your work simon, looking foward to seeing more... Marlon


Last edited by marlonjohn; 02-01-2007 at 06:39 PM.
# 3 03-01-2007 , 06:12 PM
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Thanx Marlon, hadn't even noticed that thing with her buttocks, funny how you can miss the trees for the forest sometimes.

Yah, it is my intention to give her a skeleton and animate her, which is probably gonna bite me on the backside, with all the extra (badly placed) verts around the knees, shoulders and elbows, but we'll see.

I've just been fixing up the knees a bit tonight and trying to make the face look a little less tense and more natural, just been doing the area above the eyes at the moment. I've also picked up a few more pointers from the **TOPOLOGY** thread, and have now got a head that's a little eaier to edit.

Lol, no wrists. Didn't even notice that :lmao: "Nah, there's no trees here, just a forest"... Oh well, guess I'll fix that when I reattach the hands the other way up.

Anyway, here's a quick pic of tonight's progress. + a really lame texture of her ready to go to the beach..

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# 4 03-01-2007 , 08:36 PM
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Thats further than I got on that tutorial. Yours looks alot better than mine too! Haha


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# 5 09-01-2007 , 09:42 PM
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Thanks I-Iybrid, your Spongebob's looking good too. Much better than anything I started from scratch so far..

Well, have just about finished fooling with the body and needed to work on something fresh to keep me motivated. I've completed the surface of the head, and stuck on the ears the other night(mare). Talk about badly planned topography. I departed from the tute in an a bid to develop my own skills of placement. Shall we just say that there's plenty more improvement to be made.user added image

Thought I'd 'ave a go at doing the bust armour since that's reckoned to be one of the trickier parts of the thing. I'm also prepared to admit that it'll cover the breasts, which in the case of this model I'm not particularly happy with.

Still playing with the eyes too, can't decide on a colour yet although I think they're a bit 'out there' in both cases and should probably be a little less intense. Any thoughts??

Anyway, here's where she's up to.

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# 6 13-01-2007 , 06:41 PM
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Had a bit of spare time over the weekend, so I've been playing with textures for the sword and Joan's clothing and armour.

Any crits or comments appreciated.

S.

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# 7 13-01-2007 , 10:23 PM
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Managed to make a start on the hair, just a quick shot before bed.user added image

S.

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# 8 14-01-2007 , 12:43 PM
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hey simon,

ahaha sweet bikini on her dude lol user added image also nice work with the armor and the sword... just wondering with the finish result are you going to add some shiney material to the sword and also about the armor to give it more of that realistic feel to it?

about the hair looks like a great start from here, can i have a snapshot but with a closer view, also from the back aswell? thanks simon, keep up the work.

(quote me if im wrong, wasnt joan of arc white? some of your renders where of a darker skin toan. lol :p no offence to anyone btw)

marlon

# 9 14-01-2007 , 02:10 PM
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Marlon, thanx man.

Yeah, gotta play with the whole shininess thing at some stage. Both the armour and the sword are identical materials except for the texture at the moment - just trying to get a feel for the model in colour, you know.

Same with the sword texture, It was done as something of an exercise in learning the ropes of uv mapping. and the considerations worth keeping in mind whilst modelling. Hadn't even occured to me that it would be shinnier than it is, thanx for that.

Well, in case you didn't guess by now, I've just been using default lighting and no/very low edge antialiasing up to this point - basically, just a Preview quality Software Render. I really am a cheap-ass. user added image
Hence the lack of shadows, general darkness of the model, and the lack of any control over where the specular highlights fall.

Have added a little more of a natural colour to her skin and dropped the (incomplete) gloves roughly into place.

Anyway, here's those pics you asked for Marlon, bit more work on the hair and a blueish tint to the armour.

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Last edited by enhzflep; 14-01-2007 at 02:18 PM.
# 10 14-01-2007 , 02:24 PM
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Hey man, starting to really come together now.

Looking good so far. Jou planning on rigging then animating? Would be a nice little model to have a practice on.


"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle
# 11 14-01-2007 , 02:45 PM
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Cool, thanx Gster123.

Yup, I _think_ so. The more I do, the more I realise how much trauma some people must suffer at the hands of blendshapes and binding.

I've got the black clothing and the vest _really_ close to the body at points. It'sjust starting to dawn on me user added image how little fun it's going to be to prevent interpenetration errors between the individual pieces of the whole character, once I chuck a rig and some movement in there.

I may have modelled her somewhat differently if I'd had this in mind, but not to worry, guess I gotta start somewhere.

Cheers mate,
Simon.

# 12 16-01-2007 , 04:16 AM
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looking very good mate, been watching the progress. still waiting before i make further comments user added image


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# 13 16-01-2007 , 04:21 AM
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blendshapes?? is she going to talk?? is 'blendshapes in the tut??

the texture on the face, let me guess 'mental ray??' looks like she's made of gold, I mean literally user added image maybe a simpler shader?? even a simple shader and a ramp to bring out the shape of her face?? check it out. try some of the toon shaders maybe, worth a try 'toon does not necessarily mean 'toon' hey are good for shading, cant remember much about them, a had a run of a few weeks on them sometime ago, was great.

you gonna tell me you made that sword?? user added image

cheers mate


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# 14 16-01-2007 , 04:23 AM
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Originally posted by mirek03
blendshapes?? is she going to talk?? is 'blendshapes in the tut??

the texture on the face, let me guess 'mental ray??' looks like she's made of gold, I mean literally user added image maybe a simpler shader?? even a simple shader and a ramp to bring out the shape of her face?? check it out. try some of the toon shaders maybe, worth a try 'toon does not necessarily mean 'toon' hey are good for shading, cant remember much about them, a had a run of a few weeks on them sometime ago, was great.


For Skin Steven Stahlberg has a great tutorial, that goes into the "peach fuzz" effect that helps to eliminate the "golden Idol" look (if you read the tutorial it makes sense, its available on his website.


"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle
# 15 16-01-2007 , 04:27 AM
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cool, is it mental ray, what shader is it?? user added image so the tut is a PDF ???


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