Character Concepting/Modelling
Character Style Mood Board
I used ArtStation to gather character renders/concepts that I had features that I enjoyed. All of these characters were listed as low poly and range from polys in the hundreds to the thousands. My personal favourite of these characters is the girl in the top left-hand corner. I was drawn to this design because of the characters silver hair and all-black clothes. Artist: LOLKAI LIS (ArtStation)
Character Concept
Using features from the characters I gathered for the mood board, I pieced together and traced a concept for the character I would like to use for my short animation. I will most likely go back and edit this concept; adding more features to further develop the silhouette will make the character, overall, more interesting.
When editing this concept, I will try to add more original ideas and shapes, rather than tracing from pre-existing characters/concepts. I have already added small details of my own to the concept, however. Such as the bottom of the coat having an underside peeking out, decorations were also added to the shoulders of the coat.
Character Background
World Setting:
Set in a fantasy world (Tales of series for example) dystopian society/government (think Mirrors Edge in terms of theme, not appearance). Character is part of an underground organization that is working to usurp the government, freeing people of this way of living. Operations mostly take place during the night; consist of destroying enemy equipment/bases; capturing targets for interrogation etc. Daytime operations consist of gathering intel on enemy movements and attacking out bases on the outskirts of the city as to not harm any members of the public.
Personality:
Free spirited, doesn't take things as seriously as she should on the surface; deep down knows her position and what it means, knows what she's doing etc.
Character Modelling
Today (15/11/18) I agreed to help with the modelling process - I will be modelling some of the minor characters that will be appearing in our team's animation; these models consist of a duck and chicken.
First Duck Model
I first modeled a duck from a box using references found on the internet; this first model ended up looking really blocky and not organic at all. Looking back, the images chosen probably were not the best references I could have found, as the reference was for a rubber duck and not an actual one.
First duck model
Revised Duck Model
After some advice from Geo I began work on a more organic model. Making use of the TurboSmooth modifier and working from two boxes (one each for the head and body) instead of modelling from one box for the entire model. I created an inset in the bottom of the head and top of the body, used the Attach tool and bridged the two insets together - creating the neck.
Once the neck was created, I created extrusions along the side of the ducks body for the wings and an extrusion at the back for the tail feathers. These were refined in later iterations of the model.
Less geometry + extrude
More geometry + additional extrusions
When it came to the fourth iteration of the model, I had trouble creating the shape of the beak. I first started trying to extrude the polygons on the front of the head, which didn't work.
After this I made the front of the head narrower and added more resolution to the area, then began creating the beak. This ended up being much easier and gave me a beak I was happy with.
Creating the legs was also a struggle as the geometry on the bottom of the model wasn't optimal. In order to create the legs, cuts needed to be made to create a hexagonal shape for the legs. The geometry here also had to be edited to be more organic and flow with the shape of the duck's body. Relax was used during this process to smooth out any geometry that needed putting in place.
Once the leg was created, I used relax again to thin it out, making it look more in proportion with the body. Half the model was then deleted and a symmetry modifier applied.
The ducks feet were completed after moving geometry on the legs into place and with a few extrusions. Further uses of Relax were used on the duck's head, beak and wings to have them rounder. After this, the model was at a state where I was happy with it.
Rendering Process
Arnold was used for the rendering of this model. Edges of a plane were extruded to create walls; corners of the walls were chamfered.
Finished model
Reflection & Conclusion
Looking back, there were a lot of issues with this model during production as I was not used to the organic modelling process - although in the end these issues did get dealt with. The only problems with this model lie with the front of the wings (seen in the picture) as they still have hard edges. The beak also has some hard edges left over, however, our team is aiming for a low-poly style so I believe this shouldn't be an issue.
This model was shown to our team leaders (Faiz and Matt) who both approved the model.
If I was to model this again, I would make sure to add correct geometry to the legs and beak for animation purposes. I would also have the wings separate at the bottom so they aren't entirely connected to the mesh, allowing for animation if necessary. I would also further define the tail feathers and add ridges rather than it being one block; though I think the block is acceptable in this scenario - as low poly is the art direction.
Chicken Model
My goal for this project was to create a model of a chicken that will be used in the same scene as the duck during our animation project. This chicken is to be up to the same standard as the previous duck model. Making use of the experience of creating the duck I made sure to keep the topology of the chicken rounded throughout the creation process. I also used a variety of reference images of low poly chickens to make sure I was being as faithful to the design as possible.
Modelling Process
Applying the same method I used for the duck model to this model, I began with two boxes, applied a TurboSmooth modifier, then began bridging the head and body together. The first iteration was used to only get the shape of the body and head on the right tracks; I then made a copy of the model and proceeded to create the chicken.
I further refined the chicken's body, making it fatter while making the head longer and thinner. More loops were put in place on the side of the body for the wings to be added; much more resolution was added to the head also.
The third iteration of the chicken had the wings extruded outwards slightly, tail feather poly added and resolution in place for the chicken's beak to be created.
The fourth chicken had the back lifted slightly as it was too diagonal and slumped compared to reference images. Tail-feathers became more pronounced; more resolution was added to the head to become rounder and a beak was created. Resolution was also added to the body to have the chicken appear rounder.
A circular cut was created on the bottom of the model for the leg; once done the model was split in half. Whilst the model was in half, a leg was created. I had a bit of trouble creating the leg and claw for the chicken, despite using the same method I used for the duck. This could be due to the fact the chicken's claws are smaller/thinner than the duck's. Referring to the reference images helped to refine the claws. The model was was put together by the use of the Symmetry modifier once one leg was completed.
Small tweaks were made between the two final chicken models (final on the right). The beak was capped inside to prevent viewers from seeing the back of any polys and Relax was used on the model (just like with the duck).
Overall I am pleased with what I have produced. The iteration method I used throughout production helped if I made any mistakes or had different ideas, as I always had previous versions of the model ready. I have shown the model to team leaders Matt and Faiz who both approved the model. The second to last iteration will be used in the project, as it is a more low-poly version than the final, which brings the correct art direction to our project. This version of the model also has more distinct wings, making them easier for the viewer to see.
If I was to model something like this again, I would make sure to have the wings separate, or at least detached in some way so they could be animated in the future. I would also make sure to add correct rings to the legs of the model if it ever needed a walking animation applied. Similarly, I would take necessary steps to model the beak in a similar fashion - so it could be animated correctly without problems.
Rendering Process
For this render I chose to use Arnold. Before rendering the chicken, I set up a backdrop using a plane, extruding it's edges to create additional walls. Chamfering was used on the corners of the plane to differentiate between walls as well as to have the light reflect off the chamfers.
