Organic Modelling – Cute Character
For this assignment, I want to create a cute pigeon and pose it with a few objects that add context to it. I want to make a city pigeon because they are usually portrayed as gross and dirty and I think it could be fun to present one in a more positive light. This will also allow me to experiment with making objects that look like rubbish such as cigarette butts and wrappers, but making them bright, colourful and appealing to look at.
I began by sketching out a few ideas about what I want the pigeon to look like. The first sketch didn’t look very cute, so I drew sketches that have shorter legs and rounder bodies/features.
Before I started modelling, I wanted to take a look at some reference images for inspiration.
I started modelling my pigeon in Maya. I used simple shapes and ensured the model stayed symmetrical. Then I took the model into blender and used the inflation tool which did a great job at rounding off the character even further. I used the inflation tool and the crease tool on the pigeons’ legs to give them the lined effect. Once I was happy with it I took the model back into Maya so I could start UV unwrapping it to be ready for texturing.
The UV’s were very messy meaning any textures I made in Substance 3D would not translate onto the model very well – nothing would line up and I wouldnt be able to texture it.
Here is my model after I had sorted out all of its UV’s. Now it is ready to be brought into Substance 3D Painter to be textured.
I went for a very cartoony style by using bold black linework all around my model. I think this decision has transformed my pigeon from being really boring to look at to being fun and cute. It also added expression to the character’s face. I really enjoyed designing this texture and I think I have found a new art style by drawing on 3D sculptures. I used a range of different materials to create this texture – the eyes are glossy plastic, the linework is a metal material with the ‘metallic’ and ‘roughness’ turned up to one, the dark purple head and body are a ‘fine rust’ material, the feet use a ‘Plastic Fabric Bands’ material and the rest of the body uses a ‘Fabric Rough’ material.
I baked my textures, exported them and applied them to my model in Maya. In the future, I would make more complex shapes in blender and then retopologies my pigeon in Maya.
I moved on to creating some other models for my character.
I want to sculpt a pumpkin and a hill in blender for my final model. Here is my hill after I had imported it from blender to Maya before it had been retopologised.
Doing the retopology for this sculpture was made difficult by the fact it wasn’t symmetrical and the little points were tricky to retopologise, but overall it didn’t take too long and the online tutorials made the process really simple.
The UV’s for this model were easier to unwrap. I deleted the faces on the underside of this model to help lower the polygon count.
I didn’t like the ridged texture I put on this model, so I left that texture out when I was applying my textures in Maya.
I like how this texture turned out, I think it fits the ‘cute’ description and it was fun to stylize grass.
I moved on to sculpting the pumpkin. I watched a YouTube tutorial on how to make a pumpkin, however it looked too simple and wasn’t detailed enough when it was finished. I started from scratch and made a really high poly model and just played around with the blender sculpt tools until I got the desired look for the pumpkin. Then I went back to the YouTube tutorial to see how to carve the pumpkin and add thickness. I was really happy with how it turned out so I brought the model into Maya for retopology.
I had to delete the stalk faces because they were messy and overlapping. I made a simple cylinder model instead, selected every other edge and brought them inwards to create ridges that looked like a pumpkin stalk.
UV unwrapping this pumpkin was tricky and I needed a little help from Alec because I couldn’t decide where would be the best place to cut the edges. I learned that it is a good idea to first cut around the features of a model or a face – in this case the eyes, nose and mouth openings – and then cut around the rest of the model to make textures as seamless as possible. Once I had this worked out, I was ready to bring the FBX into Substance and start working on a texture.
I painted on the textures using different brushes to apply a range of materials that replicate a pumpkin skin.
Then I brought this into Maya and applied it to my model.
I brought all of my models together into one file and combined them all, then reapplied my textures.
Finally, I imported this model to Sketchfab as an FBX and uploaded my textures. Then I applied the textures again to each model. I experimented with the different lighting, setting and filter effects on Sketchfab until I was happy with the final appearance.
Reflection (216)
This module has taught me so much since the last modelling assignment. Before, I had many problems with UV mapping one model and now I can confidently UV unwrap and texture more complex models. My ability to create textures using Substance 3D Painter has improved and I can now use the available tools and materials to create textures that are more true to the real life object I am replicating. I enjoyed changing the settings on tools to create one that serves a new purpose, like the black linework on my pigeon textures. I enjoyed learning how to retopologise a model in Maya as I especially think those skills would come in handy if i were to rig my model and animate it. When I look at my final ‘Cute Character’ Sketchfab model I can see how much my skills have improved from the previous one. In the future, I will continue to practice retopology and texturing further so that I can create more detailed and complex textures and make models that can be animated. I will also continue improving my ability to sculpt and pose models in blender, so that I can communicate a character’s personality better when it is posed. Overall, I really enjoyed this semester and look forward to learn more next year.