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Modelling a face - few newbie questions

Posted: March 22, 2012
ShyPanda
Hi guys Smile

I'm relatively new to the whole modelling business and I've hit a wall or two in my university assignment. I've modelled a head before, but it was a pretty wacky job - just poking around, getting to know the basics and stuff.

This time, I got a book which I'm *trying* to follow to make sense of things and do them right. But the book really doesn't tell much to a newb like myself (it's Ballistic - Essence series one).

So the point: Right now I'm finishing up making that low poly model. And my problems/questions are as follows (most of them come from reading the book):

1. what is a UV distortion and why should I export my low poly model and make this thing? What do the colors there mean?

2. it shows clearly that right after finishing the half of the face in the low-poly, I should have the entire head merged and then exported to this UV. How am I to further edit and make the model more complex without doing everything twice?

3. It is said under some picture that the fella who wrote this chapter was later finalizing his model using subdivisions and curves. What for? I'm much more comfortable with polygons, if I were to be honest, and I've seen weird things happen to my models if I were converting back and forth.

That will be it for starters. I'm sure the questions will pile up, but I'd need to get the basics done to bother my teacher later and not look like a compleeete noob

Thank you very much in advance, I hope someone will find a moment to help me Embarassed
Posted: June 03, 2012
3d artist gallery Andyba
You write supposing that we read the book your are talking about. Smile
That makes it difficult to understand what you are doing and what problems you have.
Exactly what 3d software are you using?

UV distortion will result in stretched textures and you do not want it to happen.

I don't know what process is described in your book..
Personally I have found the following workflow to work well for me.

1.) Create the low poly model in 3ds max or whatever.
2.) Work on details in mudbox.
3.) Only after the details in mudbox are finished. Export the lowest details level from mudbox, apply uvmapping to it, and import the UVs back to mudbox.

4.) Then you can do displacement baking, texture painting and so on.
Posted: December 27, 2012
ArcaneLight
A face can be a daunting task to start off with. Perhaps you ought to consider doing just a mask with minimal facial details. Then work from there.