Investigation Blogpost: Week 8

 This Week's Work:

Monday (12/6): Finish robe

Tuesday (12/7): Work on fur coat

Wednesday (12/8): Finish fur coat; Test finished armature

Thursday (12/9): Begin making second character

Friday (12/10): Continue to work on second character (body)

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How to Create a New Character Model (from an Old Model!):

In order to speed up the process when making multiple characters, it's best to not start from scratch. Instead, use a pre-existing model and mold it into what new character needed. This will not only save time, but also prevent you from having discrepancies in a new topology.

The first step is to use your original base for the parts of the new one.

Segment the mesh into four parts: The head, body, arms, and legs. To do this, select a loop and highlight the part that you need.

From there, press "P" to separate and choose "Selection". This will (as advertised) make the part into a new mesh. It is best to apply the mirror modifier for all the parts. This can be done before or after beginning the segmenting process.

Make the parts in a way that makes sense for you. My process was:

Select the loop that joins the legs and the crotch. This is the starting point for the leg part.

Select the loop at the beginning of the neck. This is the starting point for the head.

Select the loop that connects the arm to the body (the loop next to the armpit). This is the starting point for the arm.

After disconnecting the body, you can transform each part according to how the new model is supposed to look. Sculpting works well as it maintains the topology while still drastically changing the shape of the mesh. The smooth tool found under the edit tab is also very useful, especially when you modify any vertices or edges. Do this for each part and then align them, getting ready to rejoin them into one mesh.

To join them together, get the part as close to the body segment as possible, use it as a base. Make sure the vertices align. Then, select both parts in object mode and join them. Both meshes should be available to manipulate. Select a vertex on the part and select its adjacent vert on the base (body) mesh. 

Pressing "M" should bring up the merge menu. Choose the "At Last" option. Continue to do this until the two meshes are joined together. Modifications might be necessary.

This simple process makes it very easy to continue with the animation process without having to completely start over. It is very efficient! To see a video tutorial, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSdKpYtNy_U&list=PLL3OEv6vd5VA4owAPOI0QdCcEmvl1f3BT&index=10