| Modeling
a head using Maya's subdivision surface
In
this tutorial I will show you how to create a human head using
Maya's subdivision surface.
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1)
Start with a sketch or picture so you have a clear visualization
of your character.
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2) Create
a nurbs sphere with 20 sections and 6 spans.
Delete half the sphere and tweak in the side view
to roughly match the profile of your character.
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3) Once
the basic shape is formed, you can add more spans to
add details to your character such as the nose and the
lips. Remember that less is best.
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4) The
next step is to create the eyeball which consists of
two nurbs spheres - the inner one deformed for realistic
pupils and the outer one transparent and used for specularity
only.
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5)
To create the eye area, use 6 nurbs circle with
8 sections and loft them as shown. Use the eyeball
you created in step 4 to help you model the eye area
correctly.
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6)
Create the neck and the cranium using modified nurbs
primitive as shown.
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7)
The
ear is simply a modified nurbs sphere with 8 sections.Start
with a simple nurbs sphere, inserting more isoparms
as you go along.
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8)
it is time to convert the surfaces into polygons. Click
the surfaces, select Polygons > Nurbs to Polygons'
option box and under tesselation method click control
points. When you are done, click tesselate.
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9)
Select the polygon faces as shown and delete them
to make room for the eye, ear and neck. Make sure that
they have the same number of edges so they will join
smoothly. If not, delete or add extra edges using the
delete edge or the split polygon tool
respectively.
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10)
Combine the polygons together. Using the Merge
Edge Tool, attach the pieces together as shown.
After you have completed, you should have a whole seamless
head.
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11)
Now it is time to convert the polygons into subdivision
surface. Click the surface and select Subdiv Surface
> Create Subdiv using the Proxy Object Mode.
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12)
To make the other half of the head. Select the head
and select Subdiv Surface > Mirror's option
box and tick the x box. Once it is mirrored,
select the two surface in hierarchy mode and select
Subdiv Surface > Attach. if the edges are
not merged together you may need to do it manually.
To do this, select the surface in polygon-proxy mode
and select Polygons > Merge Edge Tool and
use this tool to manually merge the edges together.
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13)
Congratulation! You have finally completed modeling
your character's head.
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