Book description
In this update to his best-selling character modeling book, professional modeler and animator Paul Steed shares a number of tips, tricks, and techniques that have made him one of the industry’s most recognized 3D artists. Modeling a Character in 3ds max, Second Edition provides readers a professional-level skill set as it chronicles the creation of a single low-poly real-time character from concept to texture mapping, and gives insight into the process of creating a high-resolution character.
Learn how to model with primitives; use extrusions and Booleans; mirror and reuse models; optimize the mesh; create and apply textures; loft shapes.
Table of contents
- Book Cover
- Title
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I: Design
-
Part II: Modeling
- Thoughts on Modeling
- Chapter 3: The Guide Objects
-
Chapter 4: The Head & Face
- Step 1: Create a Geosphere
- Step 2: Scale the Geosphere to Fit the Guide
- Step 3: Delete Half the Geosphere
- Step 4: Tweak the Shape of the Geosphere (1/2)
- Step 4: Tweak the Shape of the Geosphere (2/2)
- Step 5: Add Vertices by Dividing Edges
- Step 6: Tweak the Shape Some More
- Step 7: Switch Viewports and Tweak Some More (1/2)
- Step 7: Switch Viewports and Tweak Some More (2/2)
- Step 8: Mirror the Head Half as a Reference Object
- Step 9: Shape the Mouth (1/2)
- Step 9: Shape the Mouth (2/2)
- Step 10: Build the Eye Area (1/2)
- Step 10: Build the Eye Area (2/2)
-
Chapter 5: The Hair
- Step 1: Extrude Faces from the Head
- Step 2: Move the Vertices to Match the Guide
- Step 3: Add Vertices Using Edge Cut (1/2)
- Step 3: Add Vertices Using Edge Cut (2/2)
- Step 4: Weld Excess Vertices
- Step 5: Just Match the Guide
- Step 6: Weld the Two Halves Together
- Step 7: Make Final Face Tweaks
- Step 8: Shift-Drag Edges to Add the Bangs
- Step 9: Flip “Wrong” Facing Normals
- Step 10: Connect the Bangs to the Head
-
Chapter 6: The Torso
- Step 1: Create the Spline Cage Object
- Step 2: Apply Surface Tools
- Step 3: Move and Adjust the Vertices of the Spline
- Step 4: Delete Any Unnecessary Geometry
- Step 5: Create the Breast Shape
- Step 6: Boolean the Breast onto the Torso
- Step 7: Cap the Faces of the Torso
- Step 8: Perform the Boolean
- Step 9: Clean Up the Boolean Result (1/2)
- Step 9: Clean Up the Boolean Result (2/2)
- Step 10: Add Some Clothing (1/2)
- Step 10: Add Some Clothing (2/2)
- Step 11: Use Soft Selection to Reduce the Chest Size
-
Chapter 7: The Legs
- Step 1: Make a Cylinder
- Step 2: Shape the Cylinder to Match the Guide (1/2)
- Step 2: Shape the Cylinder to Match the Guide (2/2)
- Step 3: Boolean the Leg to the Torso
- Step 4: Clean Up the Vertices of the Boolean Seam (1/2)
- Step 4: Clean Up the Vertices of the Boolean Seam (2/2)
- Step 5: Shape the Hip Area (1/2)
- Step 5: Shape the Hip Area (2/2)
- Step 6: Shape and Position the Rear for Attachment (1/2)
- Step 6: Shape and Position the Rear for Attachment (2/2)
- Step 7: Attach the Rear and Complete the Shape
- Step 8: Copy and Mirror the Lower Torso and Leg (1/2)
- Step 8: Copy and Mirror the Lower Torso and Leg (2/2)
-
Chapter 8: The Back, Neck & Shoulders
- Step 1: Shape the Back (1/2)
- Step 1: Shape the Back (2/2)
- Step 2: Create the Neck Mass Using Face Extrude
- Step 3: Refine and Optimize the Neck Mass (1/2)
- Step 3: Refine and Optimize the Neck Mass (2/2)
- Step 4: Prepare the Torso for the Shoulder
- Step 5: Extrude and Shape the Shoulder (1/2)
- Step 5: Extrude and Shape the Shoulder (2/2)
- Step 6: Copy, Mirror, and Attach the Shoulder
- Step 7: Make More Refinements
- Step 8: Build the Neck/Shoulder Strap (1/2)
- Step 8: Build the Neck/Shoulder Strap (2/2)
- Step 9: Prep the Neck Surface and Attach the Strap (1/2)
- Step 9: Prep the Neck Surface and Attach the Strap (2/2)
-
Chapter 9: The Arms
- Step 1: Merge an Arm from Another max File
- Step 2: Shape and Attach the Arm (1/3)
- Step 2: Shape and Attach the Arm (2/3)
- Step 2: Shape and Attach the Arm (3/3)
- Step 3: Mirror-Copy the Arm to the Other Side (1/2)
- Step 3: Mirror-Copy the Arm to the Other Side (2/2)
- Step 4: Add Detail to the Left Arm
- Step 5: Loft the Tubing for the Left Arm
- Step 6: Build the Left Shoulder Pad (1/2)
- Step 6: Build the Left Shoulder Pad (2/2)
-
Chapter 10: The Boots
- Step 1: Merge a High-Res Boot
- Step 2: Identify Key Vertices of the Boot
- Step 3: Hide More Non-Essential Vertices of the Boot (1/2)
- Step 3: Hide More Non-Essential Vertices of the Boot (2/2)
- Step 4: Build the Low-Res Boot (1/2)
- Step 4: Build the Low-Res Boot (2/2)
- Step 5: Optimize the Low-Res Boot
- Step 6: Mirror the Boot to the Other Side
-
Chapter 11: Optimizing the Mesh
- Optimization Explained (1/2)
- Optimization Explained (2/2)
- The Head (1/2)
- The Head (2/2)
- The Body (1/12)
- The Body (2/12)
- The Body (3/12)
- The Body (4/12)
- The Body (5/12)
- The Body (6/12)
- The Body (7/12)
- The Body (8/12)
- The Body (9/12)
- The Body (10/12)
- The Body (11/12)
-
The Body (12/12)
- Step 1: Detach the Arms
- Step 2: Use Polygon Counter
- Step 3: Optimize the Throat and Upper Shoulders
- Step 4: Detach the Asymmetrical Chest Geometry
- Step 5: Delete Half the Body
- Step 6: Optimize the Back, Sides, and Midsection
- Step 7: Optimize the Chest
- Step 8: Optimize the Rear
- Step 9: Optimize the Legs
- Step 10: Give the Body One Last Look
- Step 11: Copy, Mirror, and Join the Optimized Body Half
- Step 12: Tweak and Attach “Frontal”
- Step 13: Optimize the Arms
- Step 14: Optimize the Hand by Turning It into a Fist
-
Part III: Texturing
-
Chapter 12: Mapping the Head
- Texturing Explained
- “Skinning” Your Character (1/2)
- “Skinning” Your Character (2/2)
- The Head (1/11)
- The Head (2/11)
- The Head (3/11)
- The Head (4/11)
- The Head (5/11)
- The Head (6/11)
- The Head (7/11)
- The Head (8/11)
- The Head (9/11)
- The Head (10/11)
-
The Head (11/11)
- Step 1: Apply an Edit Mesh Modifier
- Step 2: Arrange the Elements
- Step 3: Adjust the Vertices for a Planar Projection
- Step 4: Apply a UVW Map Modifier
- Step 5: Use Texporter to Create a Bitmap Template
- Step 6: Create and Apply the Material
- Step 7: Apply Unwrap UVW and Turn Off Edit Mesh
- Step 8: Tweak UV Problem Areas
- Step 9: Use Texporter, Make a New Bitmap, and Reload It
- Step 10: Refine the Bitmap in Photoshop
- Step 11: Load the New Bitmap and Tweak the UVs
- Step 12: Assign Mapping Coordinates to the Bangs
- Step 13: Create and Apply the Material to the Bangs
-
Chapter 13: Mapping the Rest of Callisto
- Minor Adjustments…
- Creating a Quick and Easy Leg Texture (1/3)
- Creating a Quick and Easy Leg Texture (2/3)
-
Creating a Quick and Easy Leg Texture (3/3)
- Step 1: Apply an Edit Mesh Modifier
- Step 2: Position and Adjust the Elements
- Step 3: Apply a UVW Map Modifier
- Step 4: Make the Bitmap Template with Texporter
- Step 5: Align the Mapping Gizmo to the View
- Step 6: Merge Lights into the Scene
- Step 7: Apply a Material
- Step 8: Set the Background Color to Gray
- Step 9: Render the Scene
- Step 10: Create and Apply a New Material
- Step 11: Apply Unwrap UVW and Turn Edit Mesh Off
- Arranging the Body Pieces (1/4)
- Arranging the Body Pieces (2/4)
- Arranging the Body Pieces (3/4)
-
Arranging the Body Pieces (4/4)
- Step 1: Arrange the Torso Elements
- Step 2: Arrange the Leg Elements
- Step 3: Arrange the Right Arm Elements
- Step 4: Arrange the Left Arm Elements
- Step 5: Arrange the Boot Elements
- Step 6: Arrange the Elements and Assign the UVW Map
- Step 7: Attach Head to Body and Reorganize the UVs
- Step 8: Make a New Bitmap Template with Texporter
- Step 9: Create and Apply the Template Material
- Step 10: Create the Final Texture/Material
- Step 11: Copy, Mirror, and Attach the Missing Geometry
-
Chapter 12: Mapping the Head
- Final Thoughts
- Appendix: Building Cover Callisto
- Index (1/2)
- Index (2/2)
- About the CD
- CD/Source Code Usage License Agreement
Product information
- Title: Modeling a Character in 3DS Max, 2nd Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: January 2005
- Publisher(s): Jones & Bartlett Learning
- ISBN: 9780763798130
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