Rockstar Tutorial

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Simon
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Rockstar Tutorial

Post by Simon »

Rock Star
Overview


Ever made a sketch you can't imagine being able to make in 3D? Here is a step by step guide to making a cool looking rockstar quickly using Curvy.
The original modelling took 2 hours, texturing 2 hours.

Details advanced Lathe usage, Lines, Lofts, Curvy maps, Textures, Glows and more!

From Sketch to 3D

Image

To get a good composition I worked out several ideas in thumbnails on paper before picking the design here.

Then I sketched the design into Curvy as you see on the left.

The rest of this tutorial will explain how I got from the sketch to the finished image on the right in just 4 hours.

The Guitar - Basic Shapes

Image

In the top half of this picture you can see the progress of the model so far.

In the bottom half, you see the four view description of how to draw the shapes in Curvy.

The Guitar body is drawn as a Curvy Lathe object. Just draw the four stokes as shown here. For each stroke you can always adust the position using Shift-drag and the rotation using Ctrl-drag to match the images you see here.

Note with each object I start in the front view - to make sure it matches my original sketch.

Don't worry about textures and details at this stage - we are just blocking out the character.

Getting Up to Speed - Mirror and Copy

Image

Once you have learnt the basics of creating lathe objects it is really fast to create new shapes.

Again, progress is at the top of the picture and instructions at the bottom.

Head (a)
The head is symmetrical - so we need to make use of this fact when drawing it in Curvy. The first two lines are drawn in the side view - the first two lines always define the symmetrical centre of the object.
Then line 3 is drawn in the front view and "Symmetry" is checked by pressing 'M' (You can also use the toolbar or activity menu to select symmetry)

T-Shirt body (b)
The T-Shirt body is drawn like the head - start with the centre lines in the left view, then add the side line in the front view and press 'M'

T-Shirt Sleeve (c)
Two lines in the front view are all we need for the sleeve.
Copy and paste this to make the other sleeve. (You can do this quickly with Ctrl-C then Ctrl-V)

Upper Arm (d)
Again just two lines and a copy/paste.

Belt (e)
The belt is not a Curvy Lathe object. Select "Mode: Line Create" from the menu or toolbar.
Then draw the first curve to define the overall shape.
The second and third curves define the start and end width of the Curvy Line Object

Full Speed Modelling - A Shape a Minute

Image

Now we are up to full speed on modelling. You know how to create curvy lathes and create curvy lines; you can mirror and copy to add similar items.

This stage of the tutorial has 19 primitives and took me 33 minutes when I was originally modelling it... so Curvy is close to the shape a minute mark.

Hair (a)
Draw a first line to define the shape.
The second line should be quite long to make the base of the hair wide.
The third line should be very short to make the tips of the hair narrow and pointed.

Lots of copies made of the hair. If you right click to select then right click on the centre curves of the Curvy Line you can then redraw the shape - this helped me make all the hair shapes very quickly.

Torso (b)
The torso is not quite symmetrical so we can't use 'M' symmetry. Instead draw all four lines around the shape to define this lathe.

Forearm (c)
This is a simple kind of Curvy Lathe object drawn with just two curves.
The other forearm is a copy.

Pelvis (d)
A simple 'M' symmetrical Curvy Lathe.

Short Trouser Leg (e)
Two curve lathe

Leg Bones (f) (g) (h)
More two curve lathes

Leg (i)
This is as complicated as Curvy Lathes get in normal usage - four curves drawn to define the shape.

Shoe (h)
Another four curve lathe.

Adding the Details - Complex Lathes

Image

Before I started texturing I added lots of little details using more Curvy Lathes and Lines. At the end of this stage the model had taken 2 hours.

Palm (a)
4 curve lathe

Fingers (b)
Curvy Lines

Guitar Head (c)
3 Curvy Lathe with 'M' Symmetry front to back (So I drew lines in the front view first)

Guitar Detail (d)
This is a tube, drawn in Curvy with a single curve. In curvy make a C shape while in "draw precise curves" mode, and hold 'V' to draw straight lines for the ends and side of the curve.

Wrist Strap (e)
A Curvy Line Object

Guitar Strings (f)
A Curvy Line, select the shape line and choose "Straight Line" from the activity menu to make the line you drew into a straight line.

Plug (g)
Another tube, drawn like the Guitar Detail (d).

Cable (h)
This is a Curvy Line Object. It onle took two curves to draw - the second curve defined the width for the whole length of the Line Object.

Leg Details (i)
These are fun to draw in Curvy, this is a lathe with just one line - a wobbly zigzag line.

Knee Guard (j)
This used three E shaped curves and 'M' symmetry.

Foot Cover (k)
This used two E shape drawn in the front view, then a C shape in the top view - with 'M' symmetry.

Foot bars (l)
These are simple two curve Lathes

Toe Cap (m)
This and the other foot parts are 3 curve 'M' lathes

Ankle (n)
This is a sphere. To make a sphere draw a single curve as a Curvy Lathe, then select that curve and choose "Semi-Circle" from the activity menu for "Edit Curve"

Textures - Hair and T-Shirt

Image

Now to add the textures to the basic model. Curvy generates texture mapping coordinates as you draw so I did not have to do any mapping or unwrapping by myself. All i had to do was make the textures.

T-Shirt:
I wanted a big logo on the front so I selected "Sketch on Image Map" and drew the logo I wanted directly onto the 3D model. This was saved and you can see the very sketchy logo in "A"

I drew the logo again in painter over the image map I exported - "B" and added an alpha channel as seen in "A" for the tattered look. Save the image as TGA to get the alpha channel into Curvy as part of the image map.

I added some underlying detail with the detail map shown in "C"

Hair:
I used the Curvy Map in "D" with 0.2 displacement, 0.2 smooth and a resolution of 64.
Then I added a TGA with alpha channel shown in "E" as image map. NB: Set "Fog" to use soft Alpha mapping.
Finally I set the base-lightmap to be smoke_light.TGA which has an alpha as shown in F. This Softens the edges of the hair model.
Also I set base colour to black and highlight to black.

Advanced Curvy Maps - Head, Leg, Chain

Image

Curvy Maps are the key to producing complex geometry quickly.

Head (A)
At the top is the image I drew on the head while it was displayed in the 3D view using "Sketch on Image Map"
Mid Left is the Curvy map I used.
Mid Right is the Image Map for the head to add extra shadows.
At the bottom are two views of the head.
It is easy to use Lathes to add the teeth, tongue and eyes.

Leg (B)
This was much quicker than the head because I had a rough leg texture lying around from an old model. So just set the Curvy map up and it is ready - or paint from scratch if you don't have suitable maps in your own library.

Chain (C)
This is a simple Curvy map of stripes, but with the right Curvy Map settings it makes a good effect

Using Lofts and Lightmaps: The Background

Image

It is easy to create all sorts of interesting surface materials with Curvy.

Sky (A)
I used a Loft Object for the sky - Just pick "Create Loft" and draw the lines as shown.
Then I set the resolution to 128 and applied the Curvy map and lightmaps shown.
The Base colour was orange and the highlight colour was whiter.

The Orange Glow (B)
The glow is a simple one curve Lathe with a smoke_glow.TGA base map and black highlight. NB: Remember to set "fog", "glow" and "double sided" in properties.

The Landscape (B)
This is another loft, this time the third line is wavy and defines the horizon for the scene. Again Curvy maps and Lightmaps are shown.

Final Notes: Some Useful Lightmaps

Image

Bringing it all together and adding afew more lightmaps to perfect the look of different objects is easy.

A - used for shirt
B - used for skin
C - used as highlight on Guitar body
D - Used as a detail map on the skin

Adding the logos at the top was a quick Painter job.

And that rounds up the creation of this image. Texture and Lighting took two hours for this guy. So in total it took four hours start to finish to make the finished image.
Last edited by Simon on Fri May 07, 2010 10:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
bigH
Curvy3D Professional
Posts: 795
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:34 pm
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Post by bigH »

Thanks for posting this again - remember it - super .

Henry
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