A little more help

[Hisako 100112]

i'm still working on that same head from another topic, but i've deleted most of so i could start over. I added two rings around the eyes and one around the mouth ( i was told to do that in another forum). but know i'm not sure how to go about connecting the eyes nose and mouth. i managed to connect them earlier but the face wasn't smooth and the lips didn't come out quite right.

 

First- how do i connect the parts?

 

Second- how do i make the lips protrude naturally?

 

thanks if you can help

 

~Hisako

[John Bigboote]

It's difficult to demonstrate over the net... I'll give you the same advice I gave my apprentice, who was modeling his 1st-ever automobile and was discouraged...:

 

Do what you have to do to finish it... just remember, it's your first attempt...it's SUPPOSED to be bad. NEXT--- try again, start over- from scratch. This one will be poor too, but will be noticeably better...THEN- do a third, and a fourth. Finish them all. By about then, you will have improved MARKEDLY and will be very happy with your modeling skill. Hate to say it...perseverance.

 

Open-up a model from the DVD/CD and emulate what you see done there. OR- draw the splines the way you think they should go. You are starting in the right direction! My apprentice's skills ZOOMED with this advice, hope it helps you.

 

GOOD LUCK! Keep us abreast of your progress!

[Caroline]

This was the tutorial that give me that lightbulb moment of what 3d actually is:

http://www.hash.com/users/jsherwood/tutes/SkyLark.pdf

 

It's very old, but the concept of making a flat face that you then move into 3d made me appreciate 3-dimensional space.

 

When I saw your face, it looked just like this one, and the tutorial shows you how to go about joining the parts.

 

And a quote from it: if your a perfectionist like me, you spend hours on just moving the control points just millimeters - that is certainly part of modelling

 

Have you tried the TaoA:M exercises? 11.5 is about making a face - a bit differently from this way.

[Hisako 100112]

okay i attached the face a second time. it really does look a little better; but from the front only. The profile is icky.

 

here's the image of the first and second (most recent) ways i attached the parts.

 

any suggestions?

[Fuchur]

You need to have a look at the marked parts.

It is most often okay to use a 5-point-patch if you want to combine a round form with a more edgy one. (for example if you want to create a mouth / eyes in a face.

 

*Fuchur*

[Caroline]

2 - not 3 - splines should almost aways cross, so you should never have that mess of lines just above the nose. If you just got rid of those, as Fuchur has marked, you would be left with a 5 point hole, to be filled with the 5 point patch tool.

 

To bring out the profile - did you know that you can tile windows? Have your window in front view (2), then click Window Menu > New Window, click Window Menu > Tile Vertically. Have the second window in side view (4). You can now see what you are affecting when you move a CP.

 

You could also try magnet mode on the cheeks and chin. Click the magnet at the top, and when you click a cp, you should get a circle indicating the sphere of influence. You can resize this circle to influence more/less cps. Then pull a cp in the middle of the cheek forward. Other ones will follow.

 

Remember to turn off magnet mode when you are finished!

[phatso]

First tries usually turn out very flat-fronted. People of European descent have very oval-shaped heads, looking down from the top; asian faces are a bit less curved. If the eye areas were regarded as planes, they would be turned to the right and left by about 30 degrees. I find it useful to draw an oval in top view and superimpose it on the model. Next make the model conform to the oval. Then add all the bumps and dips representing cheekbones etc. This isn't a good way to model, but it's a good way to learn to model.

[Hisako 100112]

thank you for the suggestions.

 

about those five point patches, i tried to do that with some of the points (even some of the ones suggested), but the five point patch button wouldn't light up when i clicked the five points; that's why i put hooks there.

 

is there another way to access the five point patch option?

 

also i hear that five point patches don't animate well that's the other reason i didn't use them... is that true?

 

p.s. - Fuchur what do you want me to do with that entire line in the cheek? am i to delete it?

[Rodney]

is there another way to access the five point patch option?

 

I've only seen the following method fail approx. 1 in 1000 times. (Assuming I didn't make a mistake and try to select an invalid area to assign as a 5 point patch):

 

Once the 5 Control Points are selected whack the Period key.

Then whack the Period key a second time.

 

What this does is deselect the 5 points and then reselect them (apparently in the correct order required?)

 

Works (almost) every time.

[Hisako 100112]

i got the five point patch to work using the period key (thanx rodney ), but it didn't work in the marked places... maybe it's that one out of every 1000 times thing.

 

i'm going to do the face again though; i like the forehead, but i'm going to redo the the cheeks nose and mouth.

 

gotta keep working on it.

 

~ hisako

[Caroline]

5 point patches won't work with hooks - are they hooks in the patch? You could take the spline a little further and hook it lower down.

[Hisako 100112]

okay i did the face again for a 4th time... the profile looks a lot better (still not what i want though; gotta keep working)...

 

added some eyes and decals to help it look less alien

 

this one has some annoying creases i don't like however; don't think i'll be posting again until i get what i want in a final form.

[robcat2075]

the profile looks a lot better (still not what i want though; gotta keep working)...

 

There's a simple solution to something not looking like you want it to... change it!

 

Where's your reference for the profile view? If you're modeling without reference pics... you're going to keep making flat faces.

[Hisako 100112]

i have some reference pics but they are all drawings; do you think i need some of real people?

[Jeetman]

i have some reference pics but they are all drawings; do you think i need some of real people?

 

Depends on the quality of your drawings. I've made faces without using a rotoscope and I've never made one I liked. However, when I use a good reference rotoscope, it's like night and day.

 

So if your goal is to create a realistic human face then the answer is definitely yes.

 

Tracing (which is pretty much what you do with ref pics) a rotoscope is pretty much the way it's done professionally and if you look at really good work, you can be sure reference pics were used in the creation.

 

George