WIP: Aphrael Sculpt 6

Greetings and salutations. I believe I am at the point where I am going to begin modeling the lo-res model for Aphrael. While her props have not been modeled yet, this is good because it will allow me to bake the normal maps in areas that would normally be blocked by props such as the scabbard and gun holster. In addition, those items are so simplistic that I would probably be better off just modeling them lo-res directly.

So, since I am done sculpting at this point, let me go ahead and showcase her hi-res model one last time before I begin the modeling process for the lo-res model. What I have is shown below:

Front View

Side View

Back View

I only had a few little details left so there isn't much difference from the previous post. However, it's those small details that help define a character design.

Now for the lo-res model, as I have stated before, I plan to try to keep the model below 10,000 quads (four sided polygons for the uninformed) or 20,000 triangles. When modeling a lo-res model for rigging and animation, close attention to edge flow is very important. Therefore I have to plan in advance where the polygons are going to flow at. I don't have a plan to show just yet, but I'll show that next time so I can give an example of what I mean for planning out an efficient edge flow. Good edge flows take into account how the mesh is going to morph and bend. This is especially important for joints and the face. Knowing anatomy is crucial at this stage because the knowledge will help plan your edge flow.

While modeling, I will also have to determine how to triangulate the mesh. All game engines require that the mesh be triangulated before importing it in. Unreal Engine 4 will be what I use for the final render and it is no different from all of the others. So while I am modeling, I also need to pay attention to vertex normals so that way there aren't any strange artifacts with the shading method when I begin the texturing phase.

I guess next time I will highlight my plan for the edge loops that I will utilize for the lo-res model. It will be fun and informative so stay tuned!