Character Modelling (Personal Attempt)

In this process and production I attempted the tutorial that can be found in the help section in Cinema 4D that explains how to model a 3D character. This session was especially helpful for me because 3D animation is what I am interested in and would like to specialise with.

Preparation

The first thing the tutorial teaches a user is how to import a drawing into Cinema 4D to use as a reference so I can have my idea in front of me to shape the 3D model accurately.

  
This is how it looks in a 3D plain after the 2D flat image has been positioned properly in Cinema 4D. This step for me in the tutorial I struggled with, I felt the tutorial doesn't go into much detail with specifics so I had to skip this step and model without a reference on screen. 

Instead I used my physical drawing next to me to reference from.


Modelling The Shirt

The next step was to start modelling the shirt the character wears. I started with a normal cube and concentrated on the cube in the side and front view. I then made my cube editable so I could select the edges, points and faces of the cube to transform the object. First I edited my cube from the front view, using my drawing as a reference I pulled and stretched my object to get a similar shape to my characters jacket. I applied the same technique to the side view of my cube focusing on the side view of my drawn character. After that step I had a 3D object that was the rough shape of my characters body and then I had to clean up the shape and make it more accurate. Using the loop tool on my 3D object in the front view and the side view allowed me to create more points, edges and faces so I had more to work with and edit with more detail.

The next step after having a accurate shaped object to my reference was to create arms for my character. In the area of where the arm is going to be in the side view I used the inner extrude tool which duplicates the points around a face of an object and moves them to the middle of that face. With these extra points I attached them to the points of a spine of a hexagon so then the extra points are positioned in the shape of a hexagon. Next I extruded the face of the newly formed hexagon which allowed a long 3D shape to grow out of my characters shoulder. I then used the mirror tool copy the arm to the other side of my character.

Modelling the Jacket

I finished modelling the shirt but knew that my character was wearing a jacket so I started to experiment with transforming the shirt I had made to make it form a jacket. From what I have already done I learnt that if I want to edit more in a object I need to use the loop tool to create more points and edges to edit so that is what I did. I created two edges going down the front of the shirt at either side and then deleted the new formed faces towards the middle which formed the separation where the jacket would zip up. The points after doing this were dotted all over the front so the line going down where the zip would go were all jagged. I solved this by moving the points so they lined up going vertically down so now the lines on either side were straight vertically. Next I edited the collar of the shirt again by moving the points, I wanted to disconnect the round collar of the shirt and instead make the front of the collar on both sides connect to the separations going down on the front of the jacket. Finally I moved on to the back of the shirt where I wanted to have a go at forming a hood that is found on the back of my characters jacket. I did this by using the inner extrude tool again which duplicates the points around a face and moves them towards the middle but this time I made those extra points sink in to the object which creates a similar shape to a bowl, this created the basics of the hood. The remainder of my goal was just to move the points into the right place to correctly position the hood.


What Did I Learn And Summary

I learnt a lot during this time modelling because this was my first attempt to model a character. I learnt the whole basics of modelling and the vital tools and techniques required to accurately model from a reference. Taking matters into my own hands and experimenting with modelling my shirt into a jacket enhanced my knowledge and confidence of the tools and techniques I just learnt, which overall allowed me to think of multiple ways to approach modelling other objects.

This process and production session I am incredibly happy with. I amazed myself with how far I got and the result I got by working independently. My creative process after this session has completely changed because I now know what I need to do with the ideas I come up with and I am more confident with my skill in 3D.