Essential LightWave 3D- P10 pptx

That’s all there is to it! It just takes time and patience. (With practice, the time requirement drops considerably — though the patience allocation must always remain high if you’re going to enjoy doing any - thing.) When broken down into “next logical steps,” even someone who is rela - tively new to 3D can model heads with the best of ’em. Remember that the finding of the “next logical steps” is the single, most important key to doing anything (3D or otherwise). If you’re not sure how to get to your ultimate goal, just figure out what you can do that moves you a little way toward that goal. Do that thing, and then figure out what you can do next! Now, granted, it is much easier to have a guide to show you the trail, point - ing out where to step and where not to step, but that doesn’t mean that you really need one. Your creativity is your single most important asset; it allows you to be your own guide. Learning is a skill (just like any other skill). By practicing this skill, you learn how to learn. Problem-solving is also a skill. You can learn how to use what you already know to get you where you want to be! It’s as simple as that. Chapter 10 ······················· 258 259 Chapter 11 Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head This chapter presents another take on mod - eling a face and head. It’s the technique I use when I’m asked to model an animal. We create a very simple, basic sketch in this exercise, one that you can “work back into” with BandSaw, Spin Quads, and Smooth Shift to create a model of incredible detail. 1. Start with a symmetrical box centered along the X axis. Under the Segments setting, set X to 4,Yto4, and Z to 5. Note You may notice that I’m leaving more and more up to your own artistic sensibilities. If you compare your confidence level before reading this book with how you feel about what you can handle now, you will sense a pronounced evolution. I am going to continue to leave more and more of the artistic decisions up to you, helping you to expand and trust your own sensibilities and judgment. Figure 11-1 2. In a Left viewport, use Magnet and Drag to get the rough shape of a wolf’s profile. 3. Now, working from a Top viewport with Symmetry active, use Magnet and Drag to get something that looks like a top-down view of a wolf (or a bicycle seat — bet you won’t ever think about a bicycle seat in the same way again!). Chapter 11 ······················· 260 Figure 11-2 Figure 11-3 4. Working our way from the tip of the nose backward, start pushing points to give some roundness to the front of the muzzle. Surface the four polys that we smooth shift into the nose with some- thing “nose-like.” 5. Having smooth shifted the nose to give it some definition, activate sub-patches for your model and tweak the points of the muzzle to define the smooth, rounded masses of a wolf’s snout. ···· Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head 261 Figure 11-4 Figure 11-5 6. Now, working with the first “ring” of points that defines the skull mass of the wolf, push points to create the eye ridges, cheekbones, and jawline. 7. The next “ring” of points back sees the crown of the head rise above the eye- brow ridges, while the sides of the head angle down to the receding cheek line. Chapter 11 ······················· 262 Figure 11-6 Figure 11-7 Note As someone who has drawn many wolves and spent a lot of time around them, I’m familiar with the “shorthand” that defines a lupine form. You’ll probably want to sur - round yourself with as many photographs of wolves from as many different angles as you can find as you work. Whatever way you tilt your Perspective viewport to evaluate your work, you should have reference material in a similar angle to compare and contrast. You may also want to load my wolf sketch model from the CD: Objects\Chapter11\ WolfHead _F.lwo. 8. Using Magnet (almost exclusively), shape the points that make up the back of the wolf’s head. (Notice how I’ve indicated the back of the skull as a bit of a bump, where the neck goes.) ···· Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head 263 Figure 11-8 9. Next, select the eight polys at the rear of the underside of the skull and smooth shift and move them down- ward, reshaping the points of the neck, muzzle, and throat as you do to create the beginnings of the neck. (I’ve deleted the polys I smooth shifted after positioning them to create the sharp, clean line for the bottom of the neck in Figure 11-9.) You’ll want to work a lit - tle with the underside of the muzzle where it meets the skull to suggest the esophageal area rather than just leav - ing it flat and “boxy,” as it is after smooth shifting. 10. The thing about canine and feline ears that surprises so many people is how far down on the skull they actually start. (They aren’t just these little “tabs” that are stuck on top of the head.) Select the seven outer rear polys on each side of the head, as shown in Figure 11-10. (You’ll want to group these polys now, setting their Part Name to Ear, so you can select them quickly later on if you need to isolate them from the rest of the points of the head.) Chapter 11 ······················· 264 Figure 11-9 Figure 11-10 11. Smooth shift the ear polys, and move them upward just a bit. 12. Using Stretch, “squish” the ear polys down so they become more of a plane described by the X and Z axes (though not totally flat yet). The bottom row of points of the selected polys should be even with the top of the muzzle. 13. Smooth shift again, moving the polys upward just below where the tips of the ears will be. Use Stretch to “flatten” the selected polys so they are “flat” along the XZ plane, and drag the points around so the backs of the ears are rounded and the fronts are flat, as shown in Figure 11-13. ···· Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head 265 Figure 11-11 Figure 11-12 14. Smooth shift these polys one more time, stretching and moving them to become the pointy tips of the ears. Chapter 11 ······················· 266 Figure 11-13 Figure 11-14 15. Now, selecting just the polys of the ears (so you can “filter” their geometry from the webwork of the rest of the wolf’s head), push points so you have something that reflects the graceful angles of lupine ears. 16. Select the polys that make up the (cur- rently flat) fronts of the ears. (For my model, this is nine polys for each ear, going right up to the edge where the ear turns toward the back of the head.) Smooth shift them, and then use Mag- net to push points so the ears become little “cups.” ···· Organic Modeling Exercise 4: Modeling a Wolf’s Head 267 Figure 11-15 Figure 11-16 [...]... modeling, but there are still many opportunities to use spline modeling; it is still a very handy thing to have as a part of your toolset Note LightWave was one of the first software packages to implement subdivision surfacing Back then, it wasn’t real time, and in LightWave, it was called “metaforming.” The “Rules of the Game” pe·dan·tic adj Characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book... spline modeling as it exists in LightWave Your job, should you wish to integrate this powerful but pedantic modeling tool, is to take the information from the next three chapters, understand it, and make it your own I’m just getting you started — where you go from there is up to you! · · · · · · · · · · · · Modeling 4: Spline Modeling Basics The rules are: • Spline modeling in LightWave is not real time... curve(s) or polygon(s) By altering the positioning of the knots and using the Knots setting for defining our Figure 12-6 274 parallel segments, we can “sculpt” the ways our segments lay over our surface (LightWave interpolates its segmentation in a “connect-the-knots” fashion.) Note You’ve probably noticed that the direction in which you select the curves (clockwise or counterclockwise) determines whether... the simple applications we’ve gone over so far, spline patch modeling can have a lot of variance in its outcome, even when patching the most modest of cages Spline modeling requires your input to tell LightWave what you want it to do As the documentation in the LW manual says, when using Auto Patcher MK, “To insure success, never have more than four knots in a curve.” Remember that you can often spend... points in a Back viewport in a shape somewhat like that in Figure 13-3 This represents the underside of the “nose” of the kayak Then, use Create | Curves | Make Curve | Make Open Curve (remembering that LightWave will “connect the dots” in the order in which the points were created/selected — so, if you get something weird but your points look right, undo, reselect the points in a linear order, and then . as a part of your toolset. Note LightWave was one of the first software packages to implement subdivision surfac- ing. Back then, it wasn’t real time, and in LightWave, it was called “metaforming.” The. I’m going to do here is lay out before you my understanding of spline modeling as it exists in LightWave. Your job, should you wish to integrate this powerful but pedantic modeling tool, is to. getting you started — where you go from there is up to you! The rules are: • Spline modeling in LightWave is not real time. You must use your splines to cre - ate polygonal “patches,” which, if