AIF Output
3D modelling
What I did:
I planned to create a model based on the character Goku from Dragon Ball Super, it is meant to be a simple model, as I am only beginning my blender journey. This output is an extremely shortened version of the processes that I used throughout my project, where I focus on the tools that I used rather than the obstacles that I overcame.
Glossary of Terms:
Name: | What it does: | Result: |
Extrude | A tool to extend or pull out a face, this creates new vertices, a group for the base and a group for the extended face. | |
Bevel | The Bevel tool rounds out an edge by pulling the vertices closer to the face; it can also increase the amount of vertices between the base and the top of an object to make curves. Mainly used after extruding a face. | |
Mirror | Creates a clone of the object along an axis, this clone is exactly the same as the original and even changes to the object such as extrudes and movements are all applied to the clone. | |
Loop cut | The loop cut tool creates a cut through a surface around an entire object, whenever it intersects with an edge, it creates a vertice at the point of intersection meaning that it is great for making a model more complex or adding extra parts into the model. | |
Knife project tool | Can project a mesh into an object, making it a set of vertices, this could be used to carve shapes into larger objects, like if you wanted a cut or tattoo on a model. | |
Chest modelling
To create the torso/chest area of my model, I first got a square and molded it to the rough area that the chest would take up, which was a rectangular shape.
After I had the rough shape, I used the loop cut tool to create cuts all along the surface of the rectangle, which helped to make vertices along the edges of the rectangle.
The next step was to move the vertices on the edges of the rectangle to mold the shape of the chest. Only half of the chest has to be made, as the mirror tool can be used to make this area perfectly symmetrical.
Now that the chest has its rough shape, the mirror tool to create a symmetrical version of the chest, making it complete, however it still lacks the finer details.
The next step is to model the features for the torso, in my case I needed to model the abominable muscles, as well as the pectoral muscles. I can do this by creating further subdivisions on edges connecting the vertices, and moving the vertices around to create the layout for where I am going to create the abdominals.
Chest/arms
After the layout has been made, the next step is to bring these features to life. This can be done by first extruding the shape of each feature (chest, abs). Once this is done, the protrusions can be rounded out through the bevel tool, and then changing the amount of sides to a larger number (around 20). After this is all done, to smooth out this area you can use the shade smooth tool when in the object mode, which will smooth out any rough areas.
For the arms, I used a mostly similar process to the torso, however I wanted to create better curves for the shoulder, without just judging it for myself. To do this, I watched a video on youtube and found that there was a tool that I could use to project certain meshes onto a face. With this tool, I would be able to create a curve mesh, and then project that onto the face to create a near-perfect curve. To utilise this tool, I first created a bezier curve, and then modified it to the shape that I wanted it to be, and the right size to fit onto the shoulder. After this was done, I placed the bezier curve in a way so that it lined up in front of the shoulder, and then used the knife project tool, which projected the mesh onto the surface, and created the curve that I wanted for the shoulder.
After this, I found the knife tool, which is a much simpler way of making curves, although they are not as accurate as using the knife project tool. The knife tool allowed me to create cuts along the surface, creating vertices with each click, which meant that I was able to create the layout for the arm. After this, I used the same process as used on the torso, which was to extrude and bevel the arms, which when paired with the torso, gave this:
Legs and final model
The next and final part of the model was to do the legs, I had pants to cover the legs, and so there was no reason to model the leg muscles, however I did need to still model the pants. To make the pants, I first needed to create their rough shape, which I did with the same method as the torso. Once this was done, I then created a hollow copy of these legs, and sized them so they were just a bit bigger than the legs so they fit over them.
Then, to try and replicate the creases and folds that most pants have, I used the sculpting tab and tool. Using the crease tool, I was able to create the creases I wanted in the pants, which I then followed up by using the grab tool to fit the pants to the hips. If anything ever went wrong, I was able to use the inflate tool to pull the pants back out to their original size.
This is my finished model, although I was unable to finish it, I am still proud of the progress that I was able to make. This was my first ever experience with blender, and took place over the course of around 10 weeks, with one 100 minute session each week. The skills that I have gained over the course of this have been extremely beneficial to me, and I believe that I will be able to adapt these skills into the future.�