# Ember's 3D model thread!



## Ember_Kamura (Oct 21, 2020)

Ah! Hello everyone! I'll  be uploading a model for my game, Project Southpaw. This is merely a model of one of the enemies that the player will encounter in the game, though I can also say that it probably qualifies as a form of 3D model art. I know that the model is indeed missing it's arms, but I plan on adding them pretty soon, for now though feel free to enjoy some of the other detail and feel free to send me critque!


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## Kharne (Oct 21, 2020)

Nice job! What's Southpaw about, seems interesting!
Also, this looks like it was sculpted? If so, how do you plan on animating it?


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## Vinfang (Oct 21, 2020)

hmmm... you plan to pull out the arms, or sculpt them from a different brock?

should start with wider shapes, before adding small details. ( they get destroy easily, it is time consuming & annoying to apply / un-apply freeze continuously )


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 21, 2020)

Vinfang said:


> hmmm... you plan to pull out the arms, or sculpt them from a different brock?
> 
> should start with wider shapes, before adding small details. ( they get destroy easily, it is time consuming & annoying to apply / un-apply freeze continuously )


Ah, I plan to sculpt them from a smaller block. As for the wider shapes and stuff, I can make adjustments somewhat easily, I think I've got the idea down and I also like the challenge. The problem though, is me trying to figure out if it's _done_ or not.  But sure!


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 21, 2020)

Kharne said:


> Nice job! What's Southpaw about, seems interesting!
> Also, this looks like it was sculpted? If so, how do you plan on animating it?


I probably plan to use some kind of bone system, we shall see how I manage it as soon as I get there. Southpaw is basically a furry horror game set in an undergound facility located somewhere in North America, populated by crazed anthro whom wish to tear them apart. I started work sometime back in 2019, take it with a grain of salt, but I'm putting quite some work into it.


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## Kharne (Oct 21, 2020)

I like the sounds of it! Good luck with your project, I'm always jealous of people are start doing 3D modeling, I can't do it for shit


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 21, 2020)

Kharne said:


> I like the sounds of it! Good luck with your project, I'm always jealous of people are start doing 3D modeling, I can't do it for shit


I do use Blender, if you'd be willing to get that I could certainly try and teach you the basics sometime.


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## Kharne (Oct 21, 2020)

Ember_Kamura said:


> I do use Blender, if you'd be willing to get that I could certainly try and teach you the basics sometime.


I do plan on retrying it out sometime this weekend!


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## lazarus102 (Oct 22, 2020)

Ember_Kamura said:


> I do use Blender, if you'd be willing to get that I could certainly try and teach you the basics sometime.


I never did get into Blender, I find the UI (even the revamped one) to be very, not user friendly.. I mean, it's like trying to use Linux when all you've ever used is windows. Like, having to type in commands for stuff that have buttons or dropdowns in Maya. I have used Maya a fair bit, and that's prob why blender is so awkward for me to use. 

Sadly I nearly got a character fully modeled and furred, but then my Vray trial ran out, and Autodesk started asking for 'proof' that I actually attended Yale, lol... Since they only offer an educational license to the schools that pay them for it.. I'd have considered at least giving Blender another shot at that point, but I don't think Xgen fur is likely to transfer over too well, and the thought of having to redo all the fur seems like a bit of a nightmare to me..

Btw, sculpting is a fine method for adding detail to your model, but if you plan to animate it, I'd highly recommend converting to polys. 

Also, what kinda hardware do you got in that computer?


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 22, 2020)

lazarus102 said:


> I never did get into Blender, I find the UI (even the revamped one) to be very, not user friendly.. I mean, it's like trying to use Linux when all you've ever used is windows. Like, having to type in commands for stuff that have buttons or dropdowns in Maya. I have used Maya a fair bit, and that's prob why blender is so awkward for me to use.
> 
> Sadly I nearly got a character fully modeled and furred, but then my Vray trial ran out, and Autodesk started asking for 'proof' that I actually attended Yale, lol... Since they only offer an educational license to the schools that pay them for it.. I'd have considered at least giving Blender another shot at that point, but I don't think Xgen fur is likely to transfer over too well, and the thought of having to redo all the fur seems like a bit of a nightmare to me..
> 
> ...


Ah, nice to hear! As for converting to polygon, would I be able to do that without having to make an entirely new model? Not sure of my rig by the way, I'm running some kind of Windows Laptop, yet it seems to be running most of my stuff rather fine. Core i5 it says, and it hasn't quite failed me yet. I'm just hoping I can get the fur on, this is my first anthro model so I'm still learning quite a lot.


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## Vinfang (Oct 22, 2020)

I retypo using maya, here is how to do it on blender...


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 23, 2020)

Vinfang said:


> I retypo using maya, here is how to do it on blender...


I see, and I assume this well help in model conversion? I am somewhat worried about having to start from scratch. Is there a way I can convert the model to poly as was mentioned by Izarus?


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## Vinfang (Oct 23, 2020)

you ll have to extract n trace it plane by plane. in maya, you can make the vector of a column stick to a finger / limb / torso by putting the limb / torso inside the column. (magnetize on > drag) even so, you still have to trace the shoulder to connect arm to torso n neck.


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## zandelux (Oct 23, 2020)

Sounds like a great concept! Although I'm not sure if I'm personally ready to meet hostile anthros... I like them much better when they're friendly. Is the player also anthro?


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## shunaka (Oct 23, 2020)

That looks pretty good so far!  If you're going to use that model in a game, you'll need to retopologize then use the sculpt to create a normal map for the details.  I generally box model for my initial model then make a duplicate for sculpting details which saves time on retopo.
Keep up the good work!


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 23, 2020)

Vinfang said:


> you ll have to extract n trace it plane by plane. in maya, you can make the vector of a column stick to a finger / limb / torso by putting the limb / torso inside the column. (magnetize on > drag) even so, you still have to trace the shoulder to connect arm to torso n neck.


Ah thanks! That certainly helps a lot, I'll see what I can do.


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 23, 2020)

zandelux said:


> Sounds like a great concept! Although I'm not sure if I'm personally ready to meet hostile anthros... I like them much better when they're friendly. Is the player also anthro?


Yes, all characters in the game are anthro. Humans may be in the universe but they'll likely never be seen as that would take away from the furriness. Not all creatures will be hostile to the player even, some may be friendly, neutral, ecetera.


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## Deleted member 115426 (Oct 23, 2020)

Looks like a good wip! I wish you luck! 3D modelling is pretty fun. I can't seem to wrap my head around sculpting though so well done!


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 23, 2020)

Ovidia Dragoness said:


> Looks like a good wip! I wish you luck! 3D modelling is pretty fun. I can't seem to wrap my head around sculpting though so well done!


Thanks!


shunaka said:


> That looks pretty good so far!  If you're going to use that model in a game, you'll need to retopologize then use the sculpt to create a normal map for the details.  I generally box model for my initial model then make a duplicate for sculpting details which saves time on retopo.
> Keep up the good work!


Thanks! I'll see about retopologize, I assume that it must be some kind of tool, correct? I may have to download it, but I guarantee that I'll look into it.


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## Deleted member 115426 (Oct 23, 2020)

Ember_Kamura said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Thanks! I'll see about retopologize, I assume that it must be some kind of tool, correct? I may have to download it, but I guarantee that I'll look into it.


Rotopology is where you basically make it lower poly while still keeping detail. It's very taxing to calculate all the geometry in a game engine so retopology is used along with bump maps to still keep detail. I think.


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## Vinfang (Oct 23, 2020)

i recommend using XNormal (free software) to create bump maps for models, it is better than the inbuilt ones in mudbox.


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## shunaka (Oct 24, 2020)

Ember_Kamura said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Thanks! I'll see about retopologize, I assume that it must be some kind of tool, correct? I may have to download it, but I guarantee that I'll look into it.



Retopology is not a tool specifically but a technique for correctly reducing the polycount of a model so it can be used in game engines or animation.  There are addins to Blender to help with retopology but they're not necessary.  Highly recommend looking up Blender tutorials on YouTube about the subject.


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## Ember_Kamura (Oct 24, 2020)

shunaka said:


> Retopology is not a tool specifically but a technique for correctly reducing the polycount of a model so it can be used in game engines or animation.  There are addins to Blender to help with retopology but they're not necessary.  Highly recommend looking up Blender tutorials on YouTube about the subject.





Vinfang said:


> i recommend using XNormal (free software) to create bump maps for models, it is better than the inbuilt ones in mudbox.





Ovidia Dragoness said:


> Rotopology is where you basically make it lower poly while still keeping detail. It's very taxing to calculate all the geometry in a game engine so retopology is used along with bump maps to still keep detail. I think.


Thanks! As a matter of fact I'm looking into it as we speak. In the meantime, I'm also rolling out a fresh, albeit untextured model as of now. It's a Carrier for my Darkwolf Empire setting. I think I'll actually make this into a 3D model thread so I won't have to make another.


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## lazarus102 (Oct 24, 2020)

Ember_Kamura said:


> Ah, nice to hear! As for converting to polygon, would I be able to do that without having to make an entirely new model? Not sure of my rig by the way, I'm running some kind of Windows Laptop, yet it seems to be running most of my stuff rather fine. Core i5 it says, and it hasn't quite failed me yet. I'm just hoping I can get the fur on, this is my first anthro model so I'm still learning quite a lot.


A laptop with an i5, I would say not ideal for animation for sure.. Typically PC's are used for animation since only top end lap tops can handle that kinda workload. I mean, just to render a single image of a detailed model (especially with fur applied) could take hours, even days depending on how long you leave it to render. Hmm, but in retrospect, you did say gaming and not so much 'animating'.

Tbh I'm not sure exactly how the process works for gaming, and of course it would also depend somewhat on the type and style of game you're trying to make, and if visual quality/detail maters at all, or if you're doing it more for the experience, and just to see if you can.

It's certainly not my intentions to dash your hopes or anything of the such, but one thing I've learned with 3D modelling is to manage my expectations based on what my PC is capable of. I had a bit of an awakening in that regard before I upgraded my PC. With my current PC, I can render a pretty fine image in 5-30 minutes. The same image before I upgraded, would take me like, 12-16 hours (iirc) to get an image that wasn't quite as good.

Meant to send this days ago but kept getting errors when trying to add an image, then forgot about it..


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## Vinfang (Oct 24, 2020)

I used to crash my old computer all the time with 3d sculpts. My current one cost about $2000, and I have yet to crash it with 3d Sculpts. I can't make guarantee about 2d animation though.


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