Alright Guys,

After doing a few tutorials and a few test with tools and there operations. I am gonna have a go at a character (see below) which I have wanted to do since starting maya I was just wondering if some of you would join me on this venture, I was hoping that you would advise me with guidance and direction on how to start and tools of suggestions to start and finish the projct.

As I am working on it I will be sure to post pics every step of the way,I hate to burden this on you guys but I am as passionate and optimistic about doing this than I have any others projects I have took on before. I am just in the process of finishing the dog tutorial.. then I hope to start this Wed/Thurs. All assistance is appreciated of the up-most.



Thanks in advance from the

Nuisance newbie

Jason

Attached Thumbnails

Ok first off don't get tempted into going too detailed to quickly, it's a classic new user mistake.
What you need to do is block out the form of the character using as few polygons as possible and only add resolution if you need it.
once you have the character shaped out completely then you can add some resolution to define certain areas.The rule is add res then use it until you can't do anymore then add some more.
This is the most effective way to model because if you make a mistake you have the lowest amount of polygons to tweek to correct it at any time.
Once you have the model blocked out you can delete half and work on one side only for speed.If you intend to rig the finished character it is advisable to model in the T pose which means with the arms outstretched horizontal as this will make it easier to rig, also try to stick to quad faces as tri's and ngons will be unpredictable when deforming.
Hope this helps you to get started, and don't be afraid to ask questions.
It might also help you to start a thread in the WIP forum for crit and comment.

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2 x Modeling Challenge Winner

John's right.

Good luck with your project!

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"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

Yeah the guys are right. Keep it low and blocky and push the shapes until you cant push them any further then add more, but slowly 1 level at a time. Its like adding a layer each time

Jay

Some guidance. This for me is the basic outlay for the body

J

Attached Thumbnails

So would i start the character piece by piece(head,body etc) then attach them piece by piece?? similiar to the human form??

I am a newbie and know it will take a while to configure what tools and shapes are best to model to the level you guys are at...

I have done 3 tutorials so far and figured I would take a walk in the woods and see if i could find my way out.

Jason

I make the head first then make the body, and attach the two just my worflow, so its really up to you, if your happy with making bits sepperate do that.

Also try not to get dishartened when you start out if it's not looking how you want I thnk theres a point in every model where it looks messy, just push past and it sorts itself out!

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"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

would you recommend getting this drawn out on plane/grid paper then scanning it into my computer before attemting this fete???? And using that as an imiage plane?

I have a side view also,would I put both images in maya?

Jason

Why, when you can just use that image as an image plane?
the workflow in Kurt's basic human form should do fine for that...
Benny

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When in doubt, delete history and freeze transformations.

My latest snake game
(Requires DirectX9 SDK and Framework)

This might be of some inspiration, though it's mostly z-brush:

https://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorial...ulk/hulk01.asp

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"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."

That is pretty inspirational

I can only wish to get it that close, as a newbie to the 3d world, I am beginning to imagine mine will come out representing the blob.

I'm really counting on you guys to hold my hand through this.

Jason

Get a lot of bodybuilding images for reference and don't get discouraged—you have to learn to walk before you can run. Human modeling is very very difficult to get right.

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"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."

This Joan of Arc tute is very popular with most people who want to learn character modeling

Its done in max but the principles are the same in maya. Its a great little tute to do, I remember doing it in my Lightwave days many moons ago

https://mroger.net/frameset.htm

Jay

you speak french?

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that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

Computer skills I should have:
Objective C, C#, Java, MEL. Python, C++, XML, JavaScript, XSLT, HTML, SQL, CSS, FXScript, Clips, SOAR, ActionScript, OpenGL, DirectX
Maya, XSI, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Motion, Illustrator, Flash, Swift3D

That tut is very popular and has been translated in English and for all the various 3D apps. 3D Creative magazine featured them as a series a couple years ago and now 3Dtotal sells them as ebooks, Here's the one for Maya:

https://shop.3dtotal.com/product_info...products_id=62

That being said, it's still not too difficult to decipher and translate max to maya using the original French version.

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"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."