Final Face Details

After the main shape of the face was completed, more complex areas which were skipped over previously were then finished. This included the nostrils, lips and eyelids. Using the bottom viewport, the holes in the nose were filled by selecting the edges around the gap. Then by using the shift key, the edges were copied to make new polygons. The create tool was then used to fill in the final gap by creating more polygons. Due to the shape of the nose and how it curves in the nostril, a new layer of polygons need to be added. This was done by selecting the edges of the polygons created using shift copy, then by using the connect tool to cut all the polygons in half.

The inner poygons which were insides of the nostril were selectedthen extruded into the nose and any final adjustments were made to the nostril.

The mouth and eyelids were created using the same method of selecting the oustide vertices and by using shift copy. The connect tool was used for the lips but not the eyelids. The colour of the face was changed to look more like skin.

Symmetry and Smooth

After the mesh was in the correct shape, symmetry was added to mirror the mesh. At first the mirror wasn’t in the correct place so it was moved to the very end of the mesh. Once the mirror was in the correct place, the middle of the face was slightly pointed. To fix these the vertices were simply moved slightly so the lines flow into the mirror without changing directions to much to produce a point.

After the mesh had been mirrored, it was turbo smoothed to seem more detailed. The smooth was applied after the mirror so that the middle of the face would smooth over to remove any more sharp points caused by the mirror.

Matching Side Reference Plate

After the flat mesh was finished, the next step was to individually move each vertices to the correct position using the side view as a reference. First the far left side of the mesh was moved to follow down the middle of the face.

Moving from the centre of the face, to the right, each vertices was moved to match the other plane. After all the vertices were in the correct postions, it was easier to add more details to the nose. After the face was rougthly the correct shape more details were added. These included indents between the chin and lips.

Drawing Boxes

Using the line tool, four sided splines were created over the front viewport following the reference plates as closely as possible. The snap tool was also used to make sure all the corners were directly on top of each other. Due to the high level of detail, the nostril was skipped due to the amount of polygons required in such a small place.

Once all the polygons had been created, one of the polygons was converted to an editable poly. All the other polygons were then attached to the one editable poly. With this all the polygons were recognised as one object. The weld tool was then used to merge all the vertices together so the polygons were now just one mesh.

Reference Setup

Two reference planes were created in the x and y axis and the lined up pictures were assigned to them. The gizmo of the plane was moved so that the image was not stretched.

Topology

When using the front reference plates in 3D studio max, the first task would be to make a 2D spline out of polygons. These polygons would then be repositioned using the side reference plate. Before drawing the polygons, there would need to be some sort of guide to where the polygons should be placed. The first stage of adding these guides is to draw the muscles in the face so the polygons will slow in the correct way. Key areas of the face will also be added like the nose and lips. After the key features and muscles are added, the next stage is to draw 4 sided polygons over the face following the flow around the muscles so that it will be easy to model and to animate later on.

Reference Plates

To model my face into 3D studio max, I first need to have references plates of the front and side of my face. These pictures can then be used on plans to create an accurate 3D model.

The next stage is to adjust the pictures’ size and rotation so both pictures line up with each other. This included the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.