Week 3&4 - UV Mapping and Character Creation

Week 3

  During the third week we were introduced to UV Mapping. The goal here was to learn how to successfully unfold the topology of our models to be able to apply textures more accurately. It took a while to get accustomed to the tools during the first exercise with the wooden pallets, but I really started to understand them during the second exercise with the magnifying glass model. There were a few tricky mapping techniques that needed to be used especially on the rim of the model but I managed to figure them out relatively fast.



Magnifying Glass UV Maps


Week 4

  During the fourth week we learned about character creation and sculpting in Z-Brush. We started by listening to a talk by the visiting speaker about the character's shape language. Learning about how the 3 basic shapes (square, triangle, circle) influence our response to characters (sturdy, dangerous, safe). We then did a group exercise but since I was ill I made it by myself. The characteristics I chose from the list were: 48y/o, white, 4'6", male/lizard, slim, long hair, one-eyed, organized crime, smoking and unkept. I then started gathering reference images which you can see in a screenshot below. 

Reference Images

  Since I wasn't able to access Z-brush I relied on the video lecture to learn the techniques needed for next week. I also drew the design of my character based on the reference images I found. While there were certain points where I didn't adhere to the chosen characteristics, I was quite happy with the overall design of the characters and the workflow the visiting speaker introduced to us.




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