I feel just absolutely horrible... I have to confess, the guilt is quickly becoming unbearable - I already started on this project last night, despite having created the blog today. I was just too anxious. On the plus side, it means I already have some in-progress work to share and a laundry list of character construction topics to discuss, so... let's discuss!
There are two types of characters you can construct a 3D model of - those that have been created by someone else (recreations), and those that you've created yourself (originals). There's a considerable difference in each approach and varying amounts of liberties you can take with either. Of course, if the character design was created solely by you, and you're not under the watchful eye of an omnipotent superior who manages your every decision, you can go crazy with your creation. Give him horns. Give him Jay Leno's chin and Kristen Stewart's lovely smile. If there aren't any restrictions you've imposed on your character design phase, the only limitations are your imagination... and er, what's possible through your 3D modeling package. Though I don't do it nearly as often as I should, I enjoy working in this manner - sketching out the 3D model as I go, adding whatever I please - despite how jarring or aesthetically distasteful it appears - and sitting back while laughing uncontrollably at the monstrosity I've given life to. It's a mental exercise of sorts to enhance artistic creativity and knock the boundaries off of visual character exploration. Plus, it gives you a chance to hone your 3D modeling skills and create bizarre, organic forms you'd most likely never encounter in reality.
Recreating a character from reference images is a bit of a different game. The reference images serve as a specific map of sorts, giving you detailed visual instructions on the appearance of a character, but a considerable problem exists - the references images exist in only two dimensions. They're drawn on flat sheets of paper, sketched out on used napkins, or even painted as hieroglyphs on a deserted papyrus scroll (thanks a lot, Egypt!). Whatever medium your reference images exist in and on, your task always remains the same: recreate a flat image into something three dimensional.
You have to observe the images, analyze them, think them through, literally toss questions around as you brainstorm an efficient approach. How will this character's nose translate to a third dimension? How will this other character's tentacles freely angle as they reach his base? And how about this jawline, does it recede as it travels towards the cheekbones, or is that an illusion visible only in a flat, 2d drawing? These questions don't exist only in the pre-modeling phase; as you really dive into the character, adding faces, cutting loops, pushing verts around, you'll begin to stumble upon heaps of other visual anomalies - features that seem to defy what the reference images suggest. And sometimes, depending on your reference images, the 2D drawing just can't translate 100% into the third dimension without making some noticeable modifications. Perhaps the character design artist wasn't fully aware of how a character's lock of hair falls over her eyes in 3D, while the 2D references images suggest something else. It becomes a task of problem solving, which is a good way to summarize the beefy work aspect of 3D modeling:
3D modeling is a huge game of problem solving.
But that's not all it is; seeing a character come to life, given personality, constructed from one vertex into a full sized behemoth - all throughout the entire process, reaping the visual rewards of your hard work and determination, literally watching as a seemingly incoherent mess of faces and edges are carefully moved and shaped into a valiant dragon hunter, a cartoon puppy dog, or even an alien named Mort with an insatiable desire to envelop the entire world with nonstop dubstep (I'd surrender immediately). It can be a tolling process at times, reimaging something into 3D, but when it all comes down to it, it's fun. Plain and simple. And if you can't have fun, why are you even pursuing it?
One more quick topic I'll touch on before I conclude this post - design liberties. Basically taking what the character design artist made, and modifying it in ways you believe holds aesthetic benefits. Sometimes you'll be handed a design to emulate in 3D without any say as to how the character should translate. Think the eyes are too big? Too bad. How about the mouth, could it be angled slightly to increase the character's uncertain personality? Too bad. And sometimes, you just want to thrash away at the reference images and completely make it your own, consequently equipping yourself with a muzzle and handcuffs to restrain the artistic beast within your mind. Fortunately, in some situations, you'll be able to discuss with the design artist some modifications that would, plain and simple, look better in 3D. Unless the character design artist also spends some considerable time with 3D modeling packages or has a strong sense of 3D visual space, they might not necessarily always be aware of things that just won't work... focal points in 2D that get completely lost when overpowered with other features in 3D... or perhaps how unusual the character looks from a specific angle in 3D, while on paper, it looks just fine. These are things you'll definitely want to keep an eye out for to save some headaches along the way.
In time, you'll develop an eye for picking out features that seem to convert well with an extra dimension while recognizing other features that serve as problem areas. Try to be aware of these areas early on in the 3D modeling stage, as making one seemingly minor adjustment could require hours of pushing verts around if you've gone too far in the modeling process. Look at your reference images, imagine the topology, and think, "will this work?"
And last note, edge flow. It's always a good idea to, if your references images were constructed in Photoshop or other similar image editing software, open it up, add a new layer to the image, and in a contrasting color (usually red or blue work, depending on the character's color scheme), sketch out some basic topology over the character's image. Sometimes it's easy to visualize beforehand the edge flow without even needing to do any preliminary topology sketches, but for more complex, organic figures with a demanding design, sketching some faces here and there can only help.
Fall asleep yet? No? Good. After reading this massive blog post (without any pictures, mind you!), I recommend grabbing some aspirin, dressing up in your leopard skin tights, and jammin' out to a few sessions of Richard Simmons' Sweatin' to the Oldies.
In the next blog post, I'll start discussing some character elements and design decisions specific to the standard zombie in PvZ, as well as introducing my reference images and touching on certain areas that need focus before the modeling phase.
As the Pussycat Dolls once said, I'll Stickwitu. But only if you stick wit me.
-Jon
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