Week Two

Another week finished - only ten to go!  The course is moving fast and some people are struggling: the first few weeks of learning 3D software, and learning to work in a 3D environment, are extremely difficult.  Most of the ground has been covered now so the next four weeks are to reinforce the concepts and ideas, continue to learn new tools, and work on our projects (more on those, soon).

This week was devoted entirely to polygonal modelling and was a real blast for me.  I love poly modelling and already know a lot of the tools intimately.  As from the start, it continues to be eye-opening how much of my time has been mis-spent on previous projects, and I am cursing my lack of knowledge!

The week started with a detailed look at the basics of modelling a human face.  This is an important skill and also showcases the tools better than many other things.  The head we made was very basic and extremely ill-proportioned but could be used as a foundation for any future projects: it's a good rough outline from which to start.  This exercise allowed us to go through most of the poly modelling tools in one way or another.

Looking quite alien this may look like a experiment in bad modelling
but the basic structure is the same as any head.  

The rest of the week was spent modelling a P-51 Mustang.  This exercise brought the 'theory' from the human head exercise into practice, using many of the same tools in a more refined, planned manner.  Working from basic schematics - front, side and top - over the course of a day and a half we modelled a simple but true-to-form P51.  This was great fun and really rewarding.  The model took shape quickly and the form of the plane is a pleasant one.  

Low-poly.

High-poly - subdivided low-poly model.

The two images above are formed from the same mesh - the top image is the low-poly mesh.  That mesh began as a cylinder, just behind the nose cone: that cylinder was reshaped and extruded back, with further reshaping, to form the fuselage; the wings were extruded out from the fuselage along with the rudder and tail fins.  Looking at the low-poly version the loops of lines that flow down the length, and across the width of the plane are obvious.  Those are edge loops and their (relatively even) distribution is key to the plane having a smooth surface.  That they line up on the wings, fuselage and cockpit highlight that the plane was built as one piece. 

Next week: UV mapping and texturing.  UV Mapping is one of the truly hated parts of 3D modelling - reviled by all.  The premise is the same as drawing a map of the globe: flattening a 3D structure into two dimensions.  It's difficult, impossible to get perfect, and slow.  We will also be making a start on our projects - which I outlined briefly in my post last week and which I'll write more about on Monday.