3D CHARACTER MODELLING PROJECT
PROJECT FOCUS: 3D ASSET CREATION
SOFTWARE: KRITA, MAYA, SUBSTANCE PAINTER, UNITY
Kelpie Kalamos is the name of a character I designed and created in 3D. This was the first time I ever modelled, textured, and prepared a character in 3D from start to finish. I was able to apply my existing character design and 2D art skills for this project, in order to get to a higher skill level in 3D character creation.
Prior to this project, I had only made simple 3D models for class, such as chess pieces and barrels. Thanks to the learnings from those past classes, my third year asset creation class, plus the research I did on my own, I was able to make a low-poly model, fully textured and integrated into a game engine. In the future, I will likely recreate this model, and try learning how to rig and animate her.
FINAL PRODUCT
Since I was working on this model while I still had other classes, I spent 4 months on it. During that time, I created a pitch for my project, collected resources for learning about character modelling, used Krita, Maya and Substance Painter to create my character, and then imported her into Unity. I decided to make a low poly character this time because I wanted to start small, and then keep practicing 3D modelling after this project, based on what I learned.
Due to this being low-poly, I was able to finish this project, and I learned why low-poly doesn't necessarily mean easier. It's a lot more focused on efficiency and looking good with the least amount of faces/vertices/edges possible. I learned things about using Maya, the importance of good topology, and more over the course of production. Scroll down to see the wireframe and my process work, both for making the model and designing this original character.
MY WORK
WIREFRAME
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UVs & TEXTURES
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The final textures that are being used to render Kelpie in Unity. I went with a somewhat painterly style, but still tried to keep it simple, considering that this model is very low-poly. It also took me a while to get used to the tools in Substance, as there were far less painting tools than in the 2D art programs I'm used to using. Since my character wasn't super detailed, I found myself using only 1 or two brushes with various opacities.
The textures I painted using Substance Painter 3D. Once I got into the flow state, I found myself painting directly on her 3D model in Substance, and switching back to the flat UVs when needed.
The UV maps I created and edited. They took the longest to do, only second to modelling!
The final textures that are being used to render Kelpie in Unity. I went with a somewhat painterly style, but still tried to keep it simple, considering that this model is very low-poly. It also took me a while to get used to the tools in Substance, as there were far less painting tools than in the 2D art programs I'm used to using. Since my character wasn't super detailed, I found myself using only 1 or two brushes with various opacities.
TOPOLOGY
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The front and back of Kelpie's arms. The elbows' loops and overall topology are made to reduce awkward deformations from bending limbs during animation.
The front and backs of the knees are made similar to the elbows, to ensure that during animation, bending looks more natural, and doesn't cause too much deformation.
The character's face is modeled like a mask, since most of it is always covered by her hair. It's more low poly than it used to be, to match with the rest of her body. The parts of her modelled like this (face, hips/legs) can potentially allow for more unique and easy animation, without having to worry about things like her head clipping through her hair at the back.
The front and back of Kelpie's arms. The elbows' loops and overall topology are made to reduce awkward deformations from bending limbs during animation.
CHARACTER DESIGN
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A simple illustration of my character, Kelpie Kalamos, the envious swamp witch. Drawn using Krita, this was the illustration that mainly got me excited about making this character in 3D. It took a while to get to this point; look through the slides to see the process work behind her design!
The coloured turnaround I made for Kelpie.
The earliest concept sketches I have. These were made when I was still deciding what kind of character to do. Originally I was going to go with a Steampunk-themed character, but realized I wanted to do something simpler and more recognizable. I ended up drawing the tiny witch girl in the bottom right corner at some point, then realized I really liked it. She had the triangles, puffy lower half and creepiness I wanted. That's what I moved forward with and developed into Kelpie later on.
A simple illustration of my character, Kelpie Kalamos, the envious swamp witch. Drawn using Krita, this was the illustration that mainly got me excited about making this character in 3D. It took a while to get to this point; look through the slides to see the process work behind her design!
TAKEAWAYS
By working on this project, I feel like I learned about myself and my creative process, and how I can improve it. For example, I now know more about 2D character creation than I did before, along with 3D modelling, due to my time concepting & making turnarounds. When I first started, I went in just thinking about making a cool looking character, but after working on this, I realized that the best character designs come from a place of intentional design. Planning out Kelpie's backstory, personality, aspirations and woes really helped me figure out how I wanted to present her visually.
Working on this project also taught me a lot of new things about Maya and Substance Painter, which I think will be helpful in my career. I will be practicing what I learned here to get faster in the future, and make even better 3D models. Even things I didn't move forward with for the final product, like face loops, are something I'm planning to use and improve in future works of mine.
I'm really happy with how this model turned out, and I can't wait to make even better 3D models for games and animations in the near future.
