How should I approach modeling?

[BuddyB309]

Ok bud I will help you out. Through a series of steps and guides.

1. Change the graphics mode to Direct-x in 3ds max. It handles actively rendering the textures in the view ports better.

2. Create to planes that will serve as to show the picture of the object you are trying to create. One plane will show a front view. The other will show the side. Apply the pictures to them through a material and check mark the show in view port box. Right click on the planes and go to properties, uncheck the renderable box and then uncheck the show frozen in gray box. Now check freeze box and click ok. These are your guides.

3. Create a plane in the middle of the head. Apply edit poly then symmetry modifier. Now in the edit poly modifier choose the segment option and now you can hold shift and drag out polys where you need them. If you need to slice polygons you will want to right click and choose the cut tool. Don’t use the slice plane or quick slice.

4. Create the basic shape of the head and body. Then refine it from there. You will want to create it in a series of passes. It’s all a matter of moving vertices and creating polys where you need them.

Rules to go by when modeling

1. Your faces should only have four sides. NEVER FIVE. And rarely three.
2. You need at least 3 slices at the joints in order for you mesh to move correctly.
3. Mesh smooth will NOT fix your model. Do not rely on it. You must make a model that looks good in the view port that you can skin correctly. Then you can apply a sub-division.
4. No 1,000,000 poly models. My ted boardmen model ran around 1,000 polys.


Make your model and post it here when you are done complete with a wire frame render and we will tell you what you need to fix. When you are ready for rigging I will tell you the procedure I go through to rig a character.