Advanced Tech: Character Modelling

Advanced Tech has come again ... this time it's part 4,5,6.
If I had to describe the project in 1 word i would say ... STRESS!
But, it's crazy how much I've learnt from an intense 3 week project ... so the stress was worth it I guess :)

This Advanced Tech was all about Character Modelling.
We learnt how to properly Model a character from a box, Texture with UV Unwraps and Rig it with bones.
I decided to build my Monster character from my Advert so that I didn't have to worry about building him through the Production stages of the project.

To get the marks I needed to pass the project I needed to give him 3 different textures which would show off the different bump and specular maps ... so that's why he has some crazy tank top thing going on and a metal arm! He will NOT be looking like this in my Advert haha!
I UV Unwrapped his body, then did a projection map for his smoky skin and used the UVW Map to create the tank top and metal textures on Photoshop. I used Photoshop to create the Bump Maps and Crazy Bump to create the Normal Maps


Bump Map:


Normal Map:


Rigging was FUN! *add sarcasm here*
It's such a pain in the ass to create a rig and get it to deform nicely with Skin Modifier!
This was the most stressful part of the project, but I'm really glad we were taught how to rig a character because now I know how to do it, and I can use it again :)

All in all Advanced Tech was ridiculously stressful and intense! But, it was totally worth it considering the amount of stuff I learnt!
Sooo ... Advanced Tech = WIN! (but stressful!)


Here's everything put together in 1 nice video with a character pose at the end:

Monster Turnaround from Aled Matthews on Vimeo.

Pre-Production: Snake & Rocket

My initial idea for the 3rd Guardian friend was a springy Snake.
He could jump great heights to protect the Boy from any dangers which came from above.
I decided to scrap the Snake idea and go for the Rocket instead as it would be easier to animate




The Rocket character has the same concept as the Snake ... as in, the Rocket can fly around at great heights to protect the Boy from above, just like the Snake could.
I found designing the Rocket very challenging as it's an inanimate object. There are a lot of scrappy drawings here which I did to help me with the design of the character. I found that I didn't like any of my designs, so this method helped a lot.
After a long design process, I finished with him being long and nimble, so that he could protect the Boy by bending and flexing his body as he shoots towards his enemies.
In the final render the Rocket will look as though he is built together from Lego, so that he looks like a toy that the Boy could play with

Pre-Production: Bee

Another one of the Boy's 3 Guardian friends is the Bee ... or Bees, as there's 3 of them.
The Bee was difficult at times to design. I played with the idea of having them part vehicle like the Elephant ... but in the end I decided against it just because I didn't like the idea.
I ended the design with them being small, cute ... but deadly!
They may be small, but their thick, sharp stingers make them dangerous! They work together and use their stingers to protect the Boy from harm.
In the final render the Bees will look like they are made from Play-Doh to fit with the childish theme

Pre-Production: Elephant

One of the Boy's 3 Guardian friends is the Elephant.
At the end of the designing process he was designed to look big and strong, and built like a tank.
I decided to give him wheels instead of legs so that he would be easier to animate, and it fits well with the character being part of the Boy's imagination.
The Elephant protects the Boy with his strong structure. His wheels allow him to gain speed and attack the Monster with a powerful stampede.
In the final render he will look like a soft toy with monster truck wheels.