Modeling Begins!

So I started Modeling as soon as I received my copy of An Essential Introduction to Character Rigging. Its a really good guide and really explains the modeling process.

I started buy creating the torso with an EP curve and then using the revolve tool. It creates a nurb surface which you can manipulate using a Lattice Deformer for a really nice organic shape. I then converted the nurb to a polygon and had to adjust the vertices to roughly model it back to the same shape. I am now Block modeling the rest by extruding faces etc.

Cornelius Character Sheet

Cornelius' Final character sheet.

Im running slightly behind on my schedule as i have yet to finish Pocahontas' character sheet. However today I will be focusing on making a basic low-poly model of Cornelius on Maya. Finally taking the plunge into modeling.

Pocahontas Concepts

Whoop! I really like how these came out... rough but they are only ideas. I promise i used no reference, but I'm shocked at how much the fat one looks like Lilo. whoops!

Cornelius Concepts

More concepts for Cornelius; (click for fullview)

Just a few different shapes for the head and a few colour experiments before i move on to the final design. I chose these colours as they are bright and appealing. My personal favourite is the blue guy, i think the tartan waist coat works well with him.

More Research!

Look what just arrived!!! It's in pretty bad shape, but it was darn cheap. The Art of The incredibles will help me along with my concepts hopefully!

UPDATE: It's an amazing read, I'll try and take some photos of some of the character concepts. It was so nice to see how many different styles they chose and how they went about finding textures. One of the best buy's ive even made.

A Couple of Concepts;

Here are some concepts for this project, these are very very VERY early stages, just doodles whilst thinking about the characters.

These are examples of my experimenting with gorilla heads. I personally like the top left sort of disney-esque style.

Here is a small full body concept. I actually really like this image and would like to follow this up. (please ignore the doodle of Freddy Gaffney!)

The following two concepts are for Pocahontas Billiams. I have to say I absolutely hate the image on the left and I'm not overly fond of the image on the right either. However I feel i should show my progress in design. I DO h-

owever LOVE the idea of Banana Hat, so expect that in further designs.

Research; 3D Films

To get me started looking for inspiration and style I sat myself down to watch a few animated movies, this helped me as it was a good chance to look at character models at professional level. It also helped me look at styles I like and point me in the right direction for concept artists to look at.

The first film I watched was Up, I found this exceptionally inspirational and though there were no sign of monkeys or gorillas (but there was some pretty show stopping dogs), the children in this film rocked my world.

Literally everything about

them was incredible. This couldn't have come at a better time as, I must admit Pocahontas' design was playing on my mind a lot as of late. Hopefully seeing this movie will steer me towards some design ideas and some research towards the concept art.

Here is an example of some concept art for up which i found via the internet, there was no information on whom it is by, but i can hopefully find out with a bit of research and by purchasing this book.

After thinking about the

brief, and knowing that I would be using a

gorilla in my project I decided that i should watch a film involving creatures. I decided to watch Monsters vs Aliens. However much I love the film, I do not feel it benefitted me a great deal, although the use of colour in this film is magnificent and watching the animation on Dr Cockroa

ch was a little helpful as he is a civilized character (most of the time).

Lastly I watched possibly one of my favourite Pixar movies. The Incredibles. I knew I HAD to look at this movie since I completed my research on gorillas. The reason for this is because after studying the silver backs frame in the images I chose, their powerful stance and body shape struck me and reminded me instantly of Mr Incredible. I knew I had to watch this movie so I could study Mr incredible's frame and see what sort of model I could work with. I have to say this helped me great deal and i can already visualize the sort of frame i want to give Cornelius.

The incredibles also include the characters Dash and Jack Jack, who were definitely good to look at for some additional help in designing Pocahontas. I especially love some of the concepts I found for some of the characters. More art I must look into.

Research; Pocahontas

For research on Pocahontas I looked online for some references, but mainly for clothing. For her actual character however I am just going to throw myself into design and see what I com up with.

I will however make a short list of things i would like to see come through her design;

• Missing Teeth
• Bright Colours
• Tatty Clothing
• Pigtails
• Mismatched Socks
• Freckles
• Converse
• Banana Hat
• Mock Monkey Poses

Research; Gorillas

I have been researching gorillas for my project and have chosen a few images as reference for my designs. The images i have chosen are all of male silver backs and all are in strong poses. These images give me a good idea of how they stand and the proportions of their limbs etc.

The first image shows a

silver back standing in a very intense and powerful pose. I love this image as it gives me a great view of his arms and back legs. Which I now feel would look amazing exagerated.

I chose this image because its quite similar to the first and it offers me

a side perspective. This image also has a lovely view of the curve of the back and mighty shoulders.

I chose this image as its a nice shot of the head and allows me to see how large his head is in comparison to his body. It also offers a lovely chance to see fur coverage on the gorillas body.

I chose this image as its a brilliant reference for the facial and skull structure of the gorilla. It is also good as there are lots of apparent details on the face which stand out. Hopefully this will help me when designing the face of my character and allow me to emphasize it's features.

Timetable

Here is a brief over look of the weeks to come, I know its simple but it helps me monitor my work flow. I've given myself a lot of time to model as I'm going to try integrating both Maya and Z Brush.

The Brief

Hey guys,

Welcome to my Blog for this terms project, Industry Exercises 1. This blog is my design journal where i will be posting research, ideas and progress from this terms project. So first up I'm going to discuss the brief.

The Brief;

I've decided to go with the character design brief, like most people in the class. I've chosen this brief as I have fairly strong skills in drawing and feel that it would be best suited to me. I also believe that the modeling and rigging involved in this unit will push me further and help me develop skills in both these areas. This will be challenging and exciting as i have never modeled and rigged a character before, let alone seen any of my designs taken from 2D to 3D. I will also try my hand at texturing which will benefit me in the long run as I feel Concept and Modeling may be my preferred path for the future.

Characters;

Looking at the characters from the brief I feel most drawn to Cornelius the Gorilla (like most people I'm sure) and Pocahontas Billiams. I think i feel most drawn to these two characters because reading through their descriptions, i notice that Pocahontas wants to be a gorilla, and Cornelius is the most civilized member of the zoo. I can really see character dynamics between these two characters, i can imagine them interacting. More clearly than any of the others.

Research;

I'll will be researching gorillas to look at the way they move, the way they look and their proportions. I will be researching other artists representations of gorillas, along with other artists styles which i would like to take influence from. I will also be looking at colour, lighting and will be looking for tutorials on rigging and modeling.

Concepts;

I will be producing several concepts for each character and then a final character sheet to help me model. These concepts with include colour experiments, proposed textures and a few facial expressions.

The Next Step;

The next step for me in this project is to produce some sort of timeline to help me plan my work, from research to modeling to rigging etc...

Hopefully this will help me manage my time on this project and allow me to see where I'm falling behind and arrange my time accordingly.

BLAH!

Finally Have this set up... i've so far spent all day changing the layout... Time well spent!

Next i have to complete some sort of re-written brief and a timeline, followed by posting all my research, which i have to narrow down to make relevant for my concepts. Normally I'm used to using sketch books, however I must admit, i'm quite liking the idea of blogging.