Bibliography

Osipa, J. (2007) Stop Staring: Facial Modelling and Animation Done Right, 2nd Ed.
Sybex.

FLORES, V.C. (2005) ARTNATOMY. [Internet] Available from:
<  http://www.artnatomia.net/uk/artnatomiaIng.html > [27 February 2011].

Subdivision Modelling. [Internet] Available from:
<http://www.subdivisionmodeling.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907> [Accessed 27
February 2011].

Final Sculpt

After two weeks working on the digital sculpture of Dominic, it is finally complete. From a personal perspective, the growth has been huge this unit. On the digital sculpting I have progressed from no knowledge of Mud box -to a relatively high level, while Topology (seemingly terrifying at the beginning) is now a term and theory I not only recognise, but can also map out my own models with.

Of course with any steep learning curve there were issues (one such being in the sculpting of human mouths) but each has been overcome either taking advice from others on board or working through it. The final sculpture lines up almost perfectly with the reference photo – as shown below, which I was incredibly impressed with, considering using a method of sculpture which required estimations of perspectives– rather than layering a stencil directly over the model.

Unfortunately, since most of the time was spent modelling and researching topography, two things I did not get to explore was the resource “Stop Staring: Facial Modelling and Animating done correctly” and also the area of texturing. The final image below does have some level of texture – but it was done via projecting the photo directly onto the model. This is not really a texturing technique and was only done to showcase the model in an optional fashion. However in this case it is not a huge loss as the sculpting technique and understanding of topography are the key aspects being marked. Still with facial animation/ modelling and texturing being important areas that are sure to be revisited at a later date, I will likely look at the two more – even if out of term time.

Topological Preparation

Thus far my understanding of topology as a concept is somewhat solid – especially since the Monday lecture. But the final step in Dominic’s digital sculpt is to apply this concept onto the face directly. This is something which will require much more than an understanding of the concept so before I begin work on a topological mesh, I will look again at two resources which have been somewhat underused and understated in my blog thus far but will be crucial assets for the task. These are:

http://www.artnatomia.net/uk/artnatomyApplication.html 

http://www.subdivisionmodeling.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907

                                                                                                                                                  

Artnatomia is a brilliant website which allows the user to look at a generic human face in relation to the placement of the skull and also the underlying muscles – being able to freely move between the two using sliders:

The reason that this is an important tool for the construction of a topological study layer is that the shape and prominence of the facial muscles and skull shape essentially craft the topology of the face – and in turn the mesh. By identifying those muscles in my own sculpt, and my model Dominic, it will mean that I can identify how my mesh should flow.

Still beyond knowing where a mesh will flow, it is also an important to know how these meshes should look. This is one of the reasons subdivisionmodeling’s forum discussion is important.  The forum discussion is full of topological examples – which highlights the flow of particular areas in a mesh, in addition to how the use of ‘Poles’ can manipulate that flow.

(Two types of Poles - E: (When a square is protruded from a flat object you get four E poles (one at each corner)) and N: (“The nose pole”))

(Images sourced directly from 'SomeArtist' posts)

 

Taking this information, I looked at my model and identified the key muscles before placing the mesh over the top – making sure that it flows well.

This was my final topological mesh:

Thursday's Modelling

                Wednesday and Thursdays modelling sessions were varying in success. Wednesday I largely worked at home, but through frequent software closing issues did not get much that I had done saved.

Because of this while doing the necessary tweaks on Thursday, I saved frequently – meaning that most of the edits done can be clearly seen:

Using a large stamp brush on low strength, I attempted to add texture to the model - but this ended up adding unneeded detail and age to the face

Began bulking out the cheeks and area around the mouth

Bulked out areas smoothed - face starting to take shape

Evened out the hair line - an issue which had been bugging me for a while. Lowered corner of mouth for a serious expression, more smoothing

Final detail and material in place

This final sculpt is almost perfect and aside from the topology layer – which will be addressed tomorrow, the digital sculpture is done. Looking through the steps taken, sculpting can clearly be attributed to not taking any kind of compromise over particular features. Even now looking over it, I think that tomorrow I will also edit the eyes as they are not quite as defined as I would like.

Tuesday Modelling

Today’s session was an independent session in the media lab, meaning I could solidly focus on getting the face sculpted – beginning with yesterday’s issue of lips.  After seeking advice from others modelling, I made several realisations about modelling lips correctly.

The main element I had not taken into account was the rise from the bottom of the nose to the tip of the upper lip. This rise for inexperienced artists is often ignored/misconstrued as the upper lip rising – but in fact the upper lip begins at the dip. By knowing this it meant my mind-set for crafting that lip was different and the result was an accurate recreation of the lip.

The bottom lip was next and again the crucial area to think about was the maximum point of ‘rise’ in that lip. Once I had worked that out the lips had been almost perfected.

It was at this point that Dom, my facial model once again appeared – meaning I could photograph him again – this time with eyes shut. These were the two shots which would be the reference material for the digital sculpt:

With these photographs, I could safely begin modelling eyes knowing that the position of the eyebrows would also be accurate. These came out really well – however from the profile view there was a definite issue.

 With half a week still to go, I feel that there is only a small amount which needs to be done to complete Dominic’s facial sculpt to a high standard.

Mondays Late Night Modelling

After the last post, I decided to begin work on Dominic’s sculpt early so I had a solid foundation to continue work with on Tuesday.  Using the reference photos taken on Wednesday proved somewhat difficult as I had not told Dom to close his eyes – an action which would undoubtedly cause a number of movements in the eyebrows. Because of this I couldn’t start work on the eyes so I focused on working with the nose and mouth. The nose was relatively easy to sculpt correctly but the major issue was the mouth – which despite numerous attempts I could not get accurate – or even on some level successful. Still, the nose was a solid basis for the work tomorrow so I was happy with this late night session.

(Update: would upload a photo of this stage but deleted the file by accident [24/02/2011])

Monday's Topology Lecture

The morning lecture today was largely based around explaining the concept of Topography. Having been asking around over the weekend about the topic, most of the responses related Topography to the geographical term for contours on a map. This meant that I roughly knew that it was going to be a similar vein to that response – but in relation to the contours on the human face.

Marks explanation was almost this. Topography is about the understanding of contours on the face, and the overall flow of the face around key areas such as the eyes and mouth. By knowing this, the mesh can then be converted into a form which reflects this. Why is this necessary? Well topological meshing means that low res facial models can retain a huge amount of detail as each face is optimised in its use – a crucial property in the games industry for placing characters into a game engine. The more polygons a character has, the more the computer has to work – meaning that keeping a low count can be crucial on a game project. Furthermore, simply understanding the presence of topography on the face can improve an artist’s work at a fundamental level. From my new found understanding of Topography means now I shall be able to revisit the link from before and use it to aid me.

From today’s lecture it is clear three tasks still await me:

-Start and complete the high-res facial sculpt

-After Completion, analyse the topography through a paint layer

-Continue to study topography.

Tomorrow’s Media lab time means that I will be able to get started on the high res facial sculpt, while Stop Staring is a resource I shall read on and off this week, dependant on if any issues arise during the modelling stage.