Human base meshes

[Naklajat]

For which Engine - Current-gen and next-gen engines
Current Polycount - ~1400
Max Polycount - aiming for ~6-7k
Texture Size - N/A
Description of background information on piece -
I've decided to create a set of meshes that I can use as a starting point for characters. I'll probably do two (or more) from scratch of both male and female, one fairly detailed [6-7k tris] and one pretty rough [2-3k].

My overall goals for them are b) well-animatable b) realistic and c) can be used in a high-poly sculpting program such as Zbrush or Mudbox.

I'll probably rig them at some point in the future, possibly this summer.

Where are you looking to receive criticism - Topology, topology, topology, particularly where animation is concerned.
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I started with the hi-poly male, modeling was started from a quad.

[doylle]

I think you did a very good effort there. the shapes are there, but your loops are a complete mess. The basic stuff is more or less there, you just need to connect them differently...

Once again we bring out this great image...



In a nutshell, mouth, mouth+nose, eyes and entire face should have a loop if possible. Cheeks can be just squares, going down from the eyes and forehead, and sideways from the mouth.

The idea behind the loops is that they folow the human mussles (more or less), so if you want to rig and animate your model, it will act like a real human face. I've done only one full headrig so far, but trust me on this, you realy want the loops. They will make your life alot more pleasant...

keep us posted

[TheoLogic]

I agree with Doylle on this one. You have way to much polepoints and not enough loops...
This helps me to follow some basic topology:

[hapaninja]

Doylle,
do you have the link to the original tutorial that image is from? Looks like it's a good one. Good start Naklajat! Once you get the topology flowing better, it'll be a great base model to use. I'll be watching this one, as I need to work on my topology as well. =)

[doylle]

No, sorry. didn't even know it was from a tutorial tbh. I just google "face edgeloops" every time i need it... but if anybody else know where it's from i'd appreciate an url to

[Talon]

I'm not sure it's from a tutorial... as far as I'm aware, it's just some example images worked up to explain the principals.

[Naklajat]

Those images are extremely helpful, thanks a lot. I'm amazed how much difference that makes.



Fixed up some of the loops, and improved the overall shape. (and knocked the saturation out of the skin shader so it's not so pinky this time :P)

[TheoLogic]

Looks better and better
You still have a strange artefact just beneath the mouth, just above the mouth and at the eyes. Just keep the loops going. I know you think it is probably better because it just looks good, but it isn't. Try keeping quads too, so it's really a basemesh so you can use it in ZBrush, etc.

Maybe this can help:


Good luck!

[Naklajat]

OK this piece is actually the beginning of an art test but at this stage it fits here just fine. Obviously a very different approach, but again animatibility is high-priority. I'm about 1.5 hrs in at this point, trying to be very deliberate with every edit.

Current poly count is ~250 tris, I'm aiming for ~1.5k for the base mesh and ~2k for the finished character. SubD is less of a concern right now.

[Filbot]

If you are looking for a good tutorial to explain the principals of edge loop modeling the human form for games I suggest you pick up a copy of HEAD MODELING FOR GAMES from the Gnomon Workshop. Its for maya but I picked up a copy being a 3ds Max user and it was great. Mayan Escalante really goes over the principals so I found it really easy to follow the tutorial and do it in Max as he did it in Maya. Hope that helps. By the way there is also a DVD on modeling the body.