Cadet WIP

[JB1]

Hi, this is the first model I've built with A:M, started out as a simple sketch for a rotascope

[Fishman]

He's cute. Are the sword and shield separate models that you've incorporated for the render or were they modeled along with him? Have you looked into rigging him yet?

 

Nice effort.

 

Scott

[jamagica]

OH MY GOODNESS YOUR FIRST MODEL??? That's so incredibly good you don't even know. And the fact you were ambitious enough to use a rotoscope really shows us A:M users what your journey through AM will be like.

 

Great job..my first model was a plain or somethin' like that

[KenH]

Yep. I see good things ahead for you.

[oakchas]

Great Start!

 

good job!

 

Keep it up!

[MattWBradbury]

That's a fantastic start. The first models I bulit were spheres, and all I did was mess around with lighting.

[JB1]

Thanks.

 

I've got the 2001 rig rigged up except the hands, and the character is all one model.

heres with the rig

 

this was after doing TaoAM

[MMZ_TimeLord]

Nicely done! Can't wait to see more from you!

[Dhar]

Sooooooooper

 

Great start. I like the armor texture, and that bandaid on the leg is an awesome touch.

 

Way to go.

[CreativeAustinYankee]

In NO way, do I want to discourage you and the progress you're making. I've been gifted with a critical eye and I find it more helpful to receive (and give) carefully thought-out criticism. For your first model, this is extremely well-done. I really like the stylistic look of this model. The first character I modeled was a robot, nice easy geometric shapes. Anyway, here goes.

 

I recommend adding a pic showing us the splines, helps to give us an idea of how you put this together. One beginner mistake is to use too many splines to accomplish the job. Also, I would recommend separating the sword and shield from the rest of the model. This should help when you go to animate more complex scenes.

 

Looking at the character, two things really struck me as out of proportion. His legs seem a bit too short and his hands look too small. Considering that part of animation is exaggeration, larger hands would help you convey more personality.

 

Also, looking at the first pic, the arm pit areas look like they could use some work to smooth them out.

 

I'm not sure what it is, but in the first pic, the pupils of the eyes seem strangely "off" somehow.

 

Three toes? I know that it's common in animation to give characters only three fingers and a thumb on their hands, but three toes just doesn't look right.

 

Looking at the second pic, his head (face area) seems a bit flat. Study some of the available models, there's several of cartoony-type boys, that would help in this area. Also, his mouth seems wrong, deformed unnaturally.

 

On the plus side:

 

I really like the look of the textures and materials that you've used. The skin tone (though perhaps a bit shiny) is nicely done. The wood grain on the shield is good as well. Above all, I like the character. It has alot of appeal. Now all he needs is a wooden dragon for him to practice with.

 

Keep working on this guy. All the best.

 

Steve P.

[trajcedrv]

Great first model!

 

Drvarceto

[dborruso]

This is a good first model. Very cute character. I like what it says on the sheild I agree the hands should be larger, but the three toes doesnt really bother me. My first model was a head which came out ok but took me a month to figure out. I think you are off to a fine start and you will only get better. Congratulations on your first model.

[JB1]

Here are some wireframes.... the head and torso were done with lathe cross sections at 16, so by the time I got to trying to work on the face there was a lack thereof haha. thanks for all the comments.

 

 

 

most of the eye and mouth splines are peaked to keep shaded view smooth

[Fishman]

Just a quick suggestion to help you. Your splinesmanship in the face and the arms to the body are really going to give you problems when you animate. I would recommend studying some of the models on the CD to see how to tackle these areas in a more elegant way. Also, check out the Make a Face exercise in The Art of Animnation Master manual that came with the software (you won't need to be quite as complex as that, but there is a boatload to learn from the technique). Then you won't have to peak splines to try to keep things smooth.

Additionally, your body is such a simple shape that you could eliminate quite a few of the longitudinal splines with losing anything.

In the future it is usually easier to rig your models hands if they are in the horizontal position with the thumbs facing forward. Most premade rigs are set up this way and will make it easier to adapt the rig. You can then pose it to hold other objects.

 

Good first effort!

 

Scott

[JB1]

updated

[JB1]

having a little fun animating, will work on eyes/eyelids next. got the hands rigged so they can open n close and removed other objects from model.

 

[attachmentid=15533]

cadet.mov

[JB1]

[pengwin]

I love the model JB1. You've definately got a knack. However, in your animation I noticed what appears to be a hole in the model under the right arm pit.

 

Still a great model though, and much better than my first (second, third, fourth, etc) attempt.

[attachmentid=16542]

[JB1]

That hole was a 5point patch, recreated it by adding and removing a spline through it. thanks.

 

here is a wallpaper@16passes [attachmentid=16820]