Modeling within Mudbox

This was the first time I have modeled a whole character, previously only a head has been modeled. Getting the limb length very easy just by using the Grab tool. The difficulty came when modeling the hood.

Before modeling the hood, I know it was possible to model something in Maya and then import it into Mudbox. Difficulty arose when trying this however.

The hoods that were modeled in Maya didn’t work properly, they were either the wrong shape or the normals gave the affect of a cloth within a cloth, becoming visible when looked at, at a shallow angle. It did not look like one solid object.

Here are some Maya modeled hoods that were not used in the final character.

If there were more time on the project, it would have been spent on learning why the imports didn’t work.

The Hoods were not a total waste of time however; it was learnt that polygon primitives (basic shapes) could be imported with no problems. This was the process used to Model the belt, which is supposed to be made of flowing fabric (more decorative than practical).

The design process changed while modeling, as it would be hard to Model a gun holster. Within the context of the game it would be viable that the character hid his gun holster (and gun) under his decorative belt. Therefore only the belt would need to be modeled.

It was satisfying, finding a practical solution to a time restraint problem that fitted within the context of the game.

Importing a primitive cylinder that had been flattened to the basic oval shape of a waist created the belt. One end of the cylinder was rotated to resemble the belt flowing over one side and being clumped together at the other. After that, more edge loops were inserted to create more polygons to work from, as the end was rotated, there was a high concentration of polygons near one side. This was a benefit, as more detail would be needed there to model in Mudbox.

A simple flattened cube was used for the length of fabric that hangs from the characters waist; edge loops were inserted so it could be moved in Mudbox to appear as though it is flowing in a breeze slightly.

In the real world of game modeling, there is no right or wrong way to model any one thing.

In reflection the way the belt was modeled meets the same criteria as other modelers. The character has a relatively low polygon count and was done within a short amount of time. With more practice the same results could be achieved within a shorter time frame, or more detail and attention to detail could be added.