Ronnie Leah, BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts, UCA Rochester.

 Today I brought the character in to show my tutor. They said that the character is good so far however I need to be careful when modelling around areas such as the waist, which is a high point of flexibility.  Currently although the character follows along with the drawing accurately, there is not indication that the character has a waist. Furthermore, the placement of the belt currently poses a problem with how the character is going to bend down, in terms of what is realistic and what is possible within the skinning process.  Reflection of project Below is an illustration my tutor drew in order to explain what they meant. My tutor explained the importance proportions when modelling the character, especially when referring to my project. As I am completing a fight scene for my project, both my characters need to be flexible to accommodate for the poses they will be doing. For this reason my tutor advised that instead on focusing on creating final models which are fully ...

 Today I continued to model the Samurai by completing the pouch around the characters waist. I was able to use the legs I had created for the first iteration of the 3D character as there was nothing wrong with them. I also imported the characters unfinished head in order to help with scale.  After making the pouch I then duplicated it and attached it around the characters body just like the drawing.  So far the character resembles the drawing very accurately. With every change I make I ensure to refer back to the front view in order to see how it effects the characters overall shape. 

Today I gathered textures to be used on my Cyberpunk Character. This turned out to be a lot easier when compared to the Samurai character, mainly due to metal being accessible in Substance itself, which is what the character is mainly made up of.    I decided to look around for additional textures online anyway in order to ensure I wasn't limiting my options, they can be found below. I mainly want to create my textures for this character by building up layers of wear and tear using substances layering. The material down below could be a good starting point for this. I particularly like this material called Neon Edge, which I think could be used throughout the model to add a glowing effect in areas. This will help to make the character stand out more and emphasis the cyberpunk world its from.  Below I have linked all of the materials I found on the Adobe Substance Community Assets.  Adobe Substance 3D Community Assets Frosted Metal - Francesca scarpati ct armor collec...

Today I decided to map out all of the textures I will be using on the Samurai character. This was important as the drawings are not detail enough to offer an insight as to what they man be. I used  Substance 3D Community Assets  in order to find textures which I will use for the base material in Substance Painter. I will then add my own variations to the textures, such as ware and dirt, based on how I feel the material would be treated if it was real.  Below is a clearer view of the individual materials, as well as a link to all of the original downloads and credit to creator.  Adobe Substance 3D Community Assets   Damast Muster Stone Metal Rainbow - F Krzon Metal Old Silver - Rokviz Studio Practice 02 Snowy CliffRock Face - Stephen Mulligan Wood Stylized Clean - BlenderGames 3D Aluminium Bumped - Fabrice Piquet Silk Generic - Baptiste Manteau worn used scratched blade metal - Caio Trindade Carbon Fibre (карбон) - Румен Пенев Technical Mesh - Malte Resenberg...

 Today I began remodelling the Samurai character using the new drawings as reference. This time I'm going to build the character up in layers rather than as one model, starting with the main body and then the armour on top as advised by my tutors.  I re-watched the Jetpack Jones body modelling video as I went to ensure I was modelling the character correctly.  After completing the main body. I then began modelling the armour on top. This was done by duplicating the model and then cutting out the shape I wanted.  Overall I am happy with where I have got to so far with the model. I will continue to build up the model using this method. 

 In terms of what was needed in order to improve the Cyberpunk characters design, I was told that the arms and legs would need to be changed in order to ensure the rigging process would work smoothly.  I started firstly with the arms which needed more substance so that the model would not break when the character bends its arm in a dramatic way. I decided to research arms which matched the style of my character and took elements I liked as influences for the new design. The arm is now a lot thicker and carries across the ideas of the skeleton arm in a different way. I like how the design now carries the tubes from the chest into the arm, as if the joints are connected and have covers protecting them. For the legs I tried to find a different design which would either make the legs meet at a point or provide a thicker part at the knee so that the character could bend down without breaking the model. I experimented with different looks, however found that I did not like any of th...

 Today I made the improvements on the Samurai character, changing the characters shoulders, armour, glove and shoes.  After learning that not everything has to be done in the modelling faze, I added more depth to the characters armour, giving it a more varied look. This took reference from the samurai character models I found online and implemented the parts I liked to my design. Not only does this now look more interesting, I now understand how the armour fits together in a logical way. This is essential for the modelling process as you want your models to make sense and fit together. I will also be able to create a better model with a greater depth, having more layers which were added for a purpose to aid in the Samurai's combat.  I really like the tip added to the armour shield which prevents swords from slicing off the wearers head if the opponent slides their sword upwards. I really want to show this off in the animation and may go back and add additional frames to m...