All images from Inspired 3D Modeling and Texture Mapping by Tom Capizzi, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.

This excerpt is the next in a number of adaptations from the new Inspired 3D series published by Premier Press. Comprised of four titles and edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford, these books are designed to provide animators and curious moviegoers with tips and tricks from Hollywood veterans. The following is excerpted from Modeling & Texture Mapping.

In this chapter the focus of the discussion will be the character and not the development of the environment. This is not to say that the environment is not important, but the process will be easier to detail if the focus is limited to one character.

James Van Der Kyle created the storyboards in Chapter 12 to produce an animated short film. This short animation was created for the tutorials in this book and other books in the Inspired series. The design for this character shown in these storyboards was not the original design. Figures 1 and 2 show the original designs.

[Figures 1 & 2] The concept and the model for the character that were originally created for the book series.

Process for Building the Character
The sketch shown in Figure 1 was created by James van der Keyl. This sketch has an appeal that was exceedingly difficult to capture in 3D. The model shown in Figure 2 was created by Daniel Dawson. This model has a certain appeal, but it does not quite have the appeal of the sketch. In truth, although the design did capture the original better than the other models produced during the design process, this model still had many problems.

Aesthetically, the model lacked a certain amount of realism that the sketch conveys. The details and proportions are simplified to create a cartoonish look. Technically, there were problems with the construction that would make the model hard to animate, specifically, the mouth and eyes are not in neutral positions. When a character’s face is modeled, the eyes and mouth are usually modeled in a relaxed position. This position appears as a 50% open and 50% closed position. This makes the construction of face targets easier; the mouth is already halfway open, so it is simple to open it, or it can be closed just as easily.

In defense of the modeler who created this model, Daniel Dawson, the problems associated with this model were directly attributed to the direction he received, and this model represents a first pass at the final model. Daniel was given no opportunities to finesse this model.

This model was chosen to proceed with the series illustration. Now that this decision was out of the way, I still needed to create a model for a tutorial. The model shown in Figure 2 used a polygonal construction process, and a subdivision surface smoothing pass to finish the model. Although this is a valid way to create a character model, I wanted to write a tutorial that used NURBS surfaces as a base for the subdivision polygons.

The model that eventually became the one used for the book was originally constructed as a model that used patch modeled surfaces as a basis for the final construction.