Well I've been modeling stuff lately.. more on the end of simplicity than amazing-ness. But anyway... I decided this morning.. hey.. I think I should model a head.. (oi) I didn't know it was as hard as it would be.. and I didn't bother with that whole.. reference image deal.. So I fired up wings3d and started working.. and working... and working.. I didn't really have any idea where to start with this, and it's a pretty messy wireframe... But here's my first attempt at modeling a head... Took 2 hours.

Not bad. At least it resembles a head. Better than some people when they first try this kind of stuff. Almost looks like it was done with metaballs or sculpted in Z-brush.

That's really good for a first attempt.

I agree, for the first attempt and only 2 hours it looks quite ok. In all cases better than I could do it g.

Hey, that's not too bad, Ornlu! It's funny you did a head today, because I just started one myself only a few minutes ago! It's not my first, but I'm not very fast at making them. This will be probably my 3rd or 4th attempt at a realistic human head. Here's the WIP screenshots so far (not much to show yet)of the box taking the shape of the head. I just started adding my edgeloops. (sorry for the large screencap sizes)

And here it is with the meshsmooth modifier applied... I'm on my way to doing the eyes and nose next I imagine.

'normal' modeling hurts me head, I just do everything by splines. Here's my first 'head', although it isn't human.

Ever since I went through my first tutorial on the subject, I box model my characters without reference. I tried spline modeling over a photo reference and got all screwed up rather quickly. Somehow I ended up with tri faces all over the mesh and had to scrap it.

I have to figure out eye lids.. as you can tell mine are just sockets and it looks pretty weird.. Also my head's too deep and the ear is too far back.. The ear was the hardest part... It looks really messy on the mesh.

well thats why its called mesh right great head for the first try though.

ONLY TWO HOURS! That would take me all night and into the wee hours of the next day. Maxxxmodelz and sparr your models are looking mighty fine as well!

Message edited on: 08/30/2004 19:21

Attached Link: Human modelling tutorial

Ears are tough... luckily my only organic critter models have never had ears ;) My human/eyeball/organic modelling got helped a bit from looking at that link above... or you could try this one... http://cal.jmu.edu/ratner/tutorials/

lol, those tuts make it look so easy.. Oh just pull a few points here, extrude a poly there. Bam box modeled human in no time. Anyone care to point out the spline method too, I'm just curious. Going to try to model something else tonight, not sure what it will be, probably another head though. I think that in all actuality.. a realistic human face is one of the hardest things to model.. mainly because we see so many of them every day and use them as a main source of recognition. Next time I'll try using a reference image.. although I've never really done that before or had a whole lot of use for it..

Attached Link: spline modelling

I've never tried spline modelling - have enough issues with pulling a few points here, extruding a few polys there lol. That (link) is the best tut I found way back in the past that describes spline modelling in easy and really simple terms for me (it's probably not the most detailed/complex tut out there).

Gotta agree - I think modelling humans to be realisitc, as opposed to caricatures, is the hardest of the modelling, simply because human faces are so familiar to everyone.

EDIT - though on the other hand, yesterday I had my first attempt at playing with a TA dome for lighting... it may be finished rendering sometime later today....

Message edited on: 08/30/2004 21:16

/me wants to have ornlu's babies

Looks like he had a head-start on Drac.....

fascinating head Ornlu. i can actually see this as the lead character in a 3d cartoon scifi series. The ship captain charcter. Suggest a star trekish clad body.

Attached Link: Character Process

I stake my life by this guys methods,give it a try.Trust me.

Also, i would suggest starting with low poly numbers while making the overall(and initial) shape of the head.This way,the shape is right from the start,and when you go to an area(like the nose for example)it is already right in shape.you simply add detail and further define the planes of the face.It goes quite fast.

did this in 20min,using the method in that link.1 sphere,3 cylinders were used.

When it comes to detailing the eye region, just use lots of edgeloops. Works out great.

I added some eye detail to the model, and put an eyeball in to test it out. Next is the nose.

I don't know if I'll make this male or female yet (I'll decide when it comes time for the lips and detailing the jaw area), but it's going to be more stylistic than realistic I think.

BTW: Twisted, I like that cylinder technique!

;-)

Message edited on: 08/31/2004 03:08

And the wire again (smoothed).

Message edited on: 08/31/2004 03:11

Thanks for the links guys - while we're on it check out the tutorial at the link below.

Subdivision Modeling

20 mins in Wings. Eyes and teeth are Bryce. Made this just now to show cartoonish is easy for me, but realistic organic modeling in Wings is hard. Maybe I'll improve with practice. :^)

Attached Link: My first (and only) face model

I did a sort of half-baked spline modelling technique for my first (actually, ONLY) "head" model, based on a tutorial I read long ago in an old 3D World issue (they made the head of a Native American character). Essentially, you use reference sketches as templates, like in the spline modelling link that Flak provided, but instead of extruding the spline (is that what the dotted line is called?), I just made a bunch of splines and connected the dots. In other words, I did it the hard way -- creating the individual polygons in Amapi and then welding them together. Sheesh! It's no wonder I haven't tried modelling another head since.

That's a great face, aprilgem! I've given up on trying to do any organic modelling in 3d programs, I just can't do it. In The Real World I can model anything in clay in the blink of an eye - the face in the attached image is 5 ft high, the original master was modelled in clay in 5 or 6 hours. But no matter what software I try, I'm lost when it comes to modelling in CG :o( I can manage basic modelling in Wings, but that's it.

Pog: Really terrific. I tried some work in clay years ago, but I might as well have been a 5 year old with a can of PlayDoh. (envy)

Pog, you do awesome work in clay! Have you thought about getting one of those 3D scanners so you can create 3D models out of your real world ones?

Attached Link: http://arcana.daz3d.com/index.php?id=821

rotfl!! that would be kick-ass, but I don't think they make scanners that big... I keep intending to follow the attached tutorial, though, looks like it might be an easy way to go. Also, it could be exported to other 3d programs.