week 10 A

For the most part, the term is over. I finished my model, my textures, my rigging, "my" backdrop, my process book, and my presentation. All I needed was a base to ground the model and some re-adjustments in the model to fit it, correctly. All I have left to do is burn a disc to turn in before we leave, Wednesday.

week 09B

My newest model sheets are missing, somehow. I had to redo the measurements, but I got really lucky on the walrus face, last time.

week09 A

My model, texture, rigging, pose, and final snapshot are finished.
I got a good start on my process book, today. I am glad that I did so because it looks like it is taking a lot longer than I expected. I inserted my storytelling PowerPoint, original reference images, concept art and rough sketches. I'll have to finish the rest on Monday and Tuesday.

week 08B

I got some help on Friday adjusting the Walrunite's bone envelopes.
The rigging should be able to be fixed in time for the final pose.
I also was able to fix the texture because I had cloned a backup mesh, beforehand, that I had forgotten about.

week 08 A

I got the Walrunite character textured and rigged.
I really like the rigging because I added extra bones for her interesting anatomy.
I may have to bring in an earlier skin form before the boning, though, because cloning off the pieces for some of those bones may have corrupted the unwrap.

week 07

I didn't get much done this week because I was very, very sick.
However, I still managed to create a nice texture for the Walrunite model with the help of a walrus texture online that my instructor recommended.

week 6B

After getting the project finished in time (I think?), I went back to the Grobo to add his clothes that I had missed, before. His geometry is a mess! I think the FFD added a bunch of extra vertices that all stacked on top of each other. When trying to fuse all the loose vertices together, I somehow managed to delete a huge section of his face. Now, I can't figure out how to reconstruct him.
I hear the next step is to rig our characters, but I have no idea how to do this. We saw a demo on placing a biped to sit on a block, but I don't know how this translates to what we are to be doing.

week 6A

I feel this week has been very productive. I was able to model the head out of the detailed face I'd drawn. I attached the head to the body, touched up the boob some more, mirrored the whole thing over and attached it.
I was able to clone the dress out of the Walrunite's body and cut out the necessary pieces. I went a little too far in simplifying the edge loops, however. The dress was going in a straight diagonal from her shoulders to her tail. At the time, I thought that would be right. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a lack of gravity to that area. So, I had to re-cut them out.
I am happy with the results and the fill-in textures. So, I will feel good about showing this off in class.

week 05A (Tuesday)

Yesterday, I made good progress. I added the tail, which was good, and the breast, which wasn't. I didn't get a chance to add the head, yet. Since the school is closed tonight and tomorrow, I don't think it will be ready by Thursday. I'm hoping the clothes will be much easier for this one.

week 04-B (Thursday)

I made good progress, today, on my female Walrunite character. When I started, I had a start of a belly and arm and leg stubs to work with. The arm was rounded out and toned a little. I tried getting the elbows in there, too, but I don't like them, at all. That is okay because I made some very good progress on the legs. They were very blocky and went straight down. I rounded them out, turned the forelegs forward, and even began to shape feet. Somehow, I think the legs ended up in more of a cowboy pose, instead of the dog leg I was going for. That is okay because it seems to make more sense for it to balance its weight that way.

week 04- A (Tuesday)

I was hoping to start on the Grobo's clothes, today. Unfortunately, our model sheets for the female character were due, today, and our instructor was not happy with what I had. The retouches took the entire 2 1/2 hours, but now I'm glad I did them because the details are much easier to use in the modeling.

week 03 B

I was not able to get the male Grobo's clothes and accessories done for Thursday. I was hoping I could get them done in class after the presentations, but there were a lot of people-- plus, lecture.
I already have a start on my female character, so I should be able to catch back up.

During my presentation, my colleagues quickly spotted deformities that I had not. My Grobo's neck and butt were too flat. These can be easily scaled out.

In class, I learned that if a body is modeled in segments, the joints can be filled in simply by exporting out of Max, importing into Z-brush, then re-exporting and importing back into Max.
I haven't tested it yet, though. So, I'd like to see how it works.

We also learned how to face model. I guess the face can be attached to the head. Two methods were shown. One used planes. The other used splines. I think I prefer the spline method, just because it is easier to see. The thing to remember with splines, however, is that the result should be converted to an editable mesh when finished.

week 03-A

After getting a big help from my friend Rob, I was able to see the flaws in my modeling sheets and models. I was able to redo the male Grobo character rather quickly. Plus, he looks sweet, about as he could probably get from me. Tonight, I was able to finish the figure in time to print and drop by the end of class. His clothes and equipment are also due for Thursday. I think I can pull it off, Wednesday, along with the redone presentation for team project, Thursday.

week 02-B

I made the torso for the large female body, but if one didn't know, s/he might think it is a head. I grabbed a sample model to work from to build my other guy. So, it looks like I may be in good shape.

week 02-A

I finished my presentation for the planet Teflar Ismaedo Vatlova, but I didn't get to present it, yet. I think it's an interesting backstory. Today, we learned how to make a torso from scratch in 3Ds Max. I'll be working on that, next.

week01-B

Progress:
I viewed over 50 images off the internet for research & reference.
Nice color depictions were painted in photoshop.
Then, model sheet sketches were drawn freehand in blue pen.

Story:
I decided the evil Grobos should be very tall and skinny, about 7 feet tall and 2 feet wide. They have big rocky faces with large mouths and intense glowing blue eyes.
To annoy the Grobos, I decided the Gadzooks would be molelike, goatlike creatures that enjoy burrowing through the terrain and pop up on the alarmed Grobos to mess with their stuff. Unfortunately, this character design is quadrapedial. They are supposed to be bipedalhumanoid.
The solution was to make up another race, the Walrunites, a race of royalty and festiveness. They make their homes in caves and live off the Gadzooks and lava worms that pop out of the walls. The Walrunites don't need to eat much, for the temperatures are molten hot. But, they do anyway, as they are biologically inclined.
Long ago, the planet was a stellar satellite covered in ice. Later, it was barely picked up by a rarely nearby solar system and was passed around from star to incoming star like a planetary racquetball. The heat from the stars expanded the gasses in its core, ravaging the surface cataclysmically as it expanded. The Grobos refer to this planet as "Teflar Izmaedo Vatlova."

week01A

We're starting a project in character modeling class. It's about a story that takes place in a hot, fiery world. The planet is desired for residence by the evil, tall and skinny Grobos. However it is already populated by the Gadzooks, who veritably annoy their incoming invaders.