i’ve been trying to create low poly characters for my game (think: ocarina of time characters) for my game for quite a while and i still cannot get the shapes to look nice, sometimes i feel like everything i try screws up in one way or another and i have to restart the process once again
for example, i don’t really know how to start with the torso, i try shaping it in conjuction with the outline of the concept art for the characters that i draw and it’s pretty difficult to get the block’s shape right.
(now, i would show progress photos, but i chose not to because the characters im designing are for a project i plan to reveal in the future)
if possible, please give some tricks or advice that i could use in order to develop the skills myself instead of having to watch youtube tutorials that don’t end up teaching me in the long run
Modeling people is kinda a weird experience as you know what a human looks like but the slightest inconsistency just makes it look weird. My tips would be:
Working with references is always a big help even if you combine multiple into one character. Blender has a cool plugin called Images as planes which can help set up quick views to the X and Y grid.
Use modifiers. The mirror plugin will cut down the amount of time needed to build the other side of the character.
Ask a friend or other team Dev. While you may think it looks bad I think everyone doubts what they make sometimes so having others look it over can be a great help.
Youtube tutorials are annoying to watch but some can be slightly helpful.
It’s all trial and error just keep trying and you will get a great looking character
yeah ive got the basics covered, only problem is i suck at being accurate with the body proportions lol but thanks for the reminder about trial and error, because even after experience in certain fields of game development, i still forget that xd
Model with intention - Plan what you’re going to do with your model. How much geometry do you really need to achieve your goal?
Model to scale
Flow - Make sure the faces flow together nicely, this will make or break your animation. Your faces should loop, not spiral. Edge loops should mimic the folds in the knee, elbow, hand, etc.
Model for compression and elongation - Less geometry at the compression and more geometry where it elongates. This allows the knees and arms to maintain their volume.
Model with a centre line - If you need to make a change you can easily break one side and mirror the change.
Use a reference image to block out the torso, then add more detail as you go.
