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.
# 61 22-01-2007 , 08:12 PM
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yup. its done in xsi.

# 62 23-01-2007 , 04:05 PM
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Here's my t-rex W.I.P. from another thread... pretty much all quads I think...

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# 63 23-01-2007 , 04:50 PM
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pretty nice model.
the area near the eyes look a bit cluttered.

can we also post only base mesh wires.

its hard to read edge flow on a smoothed model in maya.

# 64 23-01-2007 , 04:53 PM
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yeah it can get a little cluttered but I don't want to loose the deinition. This is my base mesh, I didn't run a smooth at any time. I will use it on a smooth proxy later because this is suppose to be a very high res creature.

# 65 23-01-2007 , 04:57 PM
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Originally posted by Wishbonekenobi
yeah it can get a little cluttered but I don't want to loose the deinition. This is my base mesh, I didn't run a smooth at any time. I will use it on a smooth proxy later because this is suppose to be a very high res creature.

are you joking? its obvious its a poly smooth. come on... u dont get points fpr mesh density hehe.

# 66 23-01-2007 , 05:12 PM
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No I used some nurbs modeling and my the shrink wrap technique I talked abouth in the other thread. The way I made the topology even was by adding edge loops. also some of the shrink wrapped parts are from nurbs patches. The head was modeled basically vertex to vertex. I took a long time on every tooth doing extrude faces and adding edge loops and moving points. I never applied a smooth to anything. If you read the hyper realistic creature creation book it talks about how you souldn't use smooth's because you loose some control of the modeling...


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# 67 23-01-2007 , 09:38 PM
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here this is a close up of the base mesh...

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# 68 23-01-2007 , 11:50 PM
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Yeah a base mesh would be ideal really for this thread as its the starting point for the model itself albeit polys, subds, nurbs or even Lego! And Vlad is right, no points for a dense mesh LOL

This way its easier to help those interested in topology, about edgeflow techniques and how to set up a character for possible animation by optimizing the mesh in all areas, particularly those that will be deforming. Also taking in the importance of keeping uvs well balanced too for really good texturing and to avoid stretching, and more importantly a lower mesh will help with editing them instead of going insane!

The t-rex is a good model but perhaps you could lose a few edges, theres a bit of bunching on the thigh toward the top, I think you could lose evry other row of edges right now, but keep the deforming areas to four or five rows.

Do you not have a lower resolution of the mesh? The last image looks the same, just closer. I think the teeth should be modeled separately too, thiswill be easier for rigging too

Cheers
Jay

# 69 24-01-2007 , 12:08 AM
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there's no lower res. it was stiched to gether with the topology seen here. mayby you're right about loosing some edges. I usuall wait till I finish the model and get it how I like and then see what I could loose.

# 70 24-01-2007 , 02:47 AM
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Hey Wishbone

Yeah sure, it will help you for sure later on, uvs and all that stuff...

Cheers
Jay

# 71 29-01-2007 , 08:50 AM
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Not too sure if I should post this in here, but for me it goes under the "topology" research, its a series of videos from youtube going over drawing for anatomy study, which i'm sure will be helpful to everyone creating human models in 3d.

https://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RivenPhoenix

I cant take credit for the link as I got it from a post on ZBrushCentral, with the thread started by Cannedmushrooms.

Hope its ok to post this here and its useful to everyone.


"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle
# 72 29-01-2007 , 04:45 PM
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Great link Steve

I think everyone would benefit from a little '2d work' it really is the basic understanding of creating good form albeit 2d or 3d, clay sculpting is a good one too if anyone has a good link to share

good stuff
Jay

# 73 06-02-2007 , 02:50 PM
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going back to one of the first posts about facial muscles, here is a nice little flash movie that lets you overlay each of the individual face muscles over the head to get a better idea of where they are and what they do. There's also info on expressions and which muscles are involved in what:

https://www.artnatomia.net/uk/index.html
(click the application link to the right)

Si

p.s, it runs as an swf flash movie so you 'can' (even though I wouldnt condone it other than for personal use) grab a copy from your browser cache and use it offline as most of it is contained in the single swf.


Examples of bTraffic - a traffic animation tool for Maya
bFlocking - a tool for Maya 8.5+ to generate flocking and swarming behaviours
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# 74 12-02-2007 , 09:59 PM
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A quick question...
What if I wanted to create a character with three eyes?
How would the edge loops have to look¿?


"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

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# 75 13-02-2007 , 05:52 AM
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Well assuming you know how to create two eyes do exactly the same for the third, pretty straight forward when you actually think about it, just because its a third eye doesnt make the basic principles any different.

Jay

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