Wonder Warthog, part 9 - refining the head geometry

(I'm redesigning, modeling, and rigging Gilbert Shelton's classic cartoon character, "Wonder Wart-Hog.")

head geometry, test render

I love doing this, but it sure takes a long time. Ideally, you want a team creating a character this complex.

Above is a test render of the "finished" head geometry. It will certainly require further geometric adjustments down the line, but this is good enough to move it into texturing. If we continue the architecture analogy introduced in the previous chapter, all the walls, floors, and staircases have just been installed.

construction of new topology

At this refinement stage, the first development was overall topology. This means that the edge flow needs to conform to the contours of the underlying muscles and bones, which aids in realism and good deformation during animation.

face areas: blocked out, then refined

The most extensive head modeling is usually done in the mouth, which includes lips, teeth, gums, and tongue. Following that, the neck and the eye area needed the most work. (The ears often need much work, but I did most of that in the blocking stage.)

mouth insides

turntable

This turntable video demonstrates the progress between the rough "blockhead" model and the finished geometry.

There's much more work to be done on the head.

next: texturing

Testing the Waters, ep. 4 - oil & water

(experiments in fluid dynamics)

composite

It's time to try interaction between multiple particle systems. This test simulates immiscible fluids, like oil and water.

combined MV data

Because the oil's motion vector and specular data are obscured by the water, each fluid needed to be rendered separately. The data was then combined in a compositer.

video