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[Kain]

Hello, I'm new to Anim8or and 3D Animation in general, and I'm glad I found an easy and free program to help me satisfy my creativity.

After I tried the Eggplant and a random plant, I wanted to experiment in making characters. I, of course, did not know how, so I started by adding points. As a reference image, I used a comic character of mine, based on my cat, Lila.



My first try was a real mess, so I deleted it. After some search, I found the "Joan of Ark" tutorial, that gave me a good way to start. That tutorial is, so far, doable and very easy in Anim8or. This is how far I've got, in about 3-4 hours of work.



It is very early, I assume, to make a judgement, so if anyone has any useful tips to help me continue, they would be appreciated. I use only the shown reference image.

Also, I have to say at this point that I work   v e r y    s l o w l y , so I guess it would be some time before my next addition.

Also, please excuse any errors you may find in my writing, since English is not my native language.

Glad I found you all.  

[Arik_the_Red]

Very nice start, and I look forward to seeing more!  If you are a "furry fan," you should get in touch with TT_Snim (oldtimer here, but not around alot). TT has a large collection of furry art she has done in 2D.

[3Dgeek11]

Very good for a first! I'm somewhat what you may call a "furry fan".

Nice start, and thanks for saying that the Joan of Ark tutorial is easy in Anim8or. I've never looked at it to be quite honest. Thought it'd be too hard.

I don't really have any advice. But I will say it's looking good, and I can't wait to see more.
Welcome the Anim8or Community! Enjoy your stay here!
3DGeek

[Kain]

Thanks everyone. 
I'm not really into furries, at least not more than I'm into anything else I like. I made this character inspired by a comic I like, called "Blacksad", where the hero is a cat and all the characters are animals, even though the stories are dark and serious, and I used my own cat as a model.

I worked a bit more on my model, following, as always, the Tutorial stap by step, and I ran into my first problem. The eyeball does not exactly fit in the eyelids. If I start rotating the model, there are some gaps between the eyelid and the eyeball, and that's probably bacause the sphere I used is very Low-Poly. I'm afraid, though, that it might be too much work to adjust the eyelids after I finish and subdivide, especially since I'm planning to animate the character afterwards to make short movies, which means that the eyeball has to fit perfectly on every angle, and be able to rotate so the eyes can move. Any advice?

[ADSohr]

I'm not much of an expert modeler, but what you could do is reinforce the eyelids some more to help after you subdivide, and then close the hole for the eyes.

To make the eyelids "form" to the eyeballs, select all of the edges that make up the hole for the eye and then fill with a face. Then select the new face where the eyeball is supposed to be and use the triangle extrude(the one that creates a single point in the middle of the face and moves it along the face normal pulling the face out into something like a pyramid) to pull the eyelid inside the head of your charachter. Now when you put the eyeball in there should be no gaps. Don't worry about the overlaping areas.

[ENSONIQ5]

Why does the eye ball have to fit the socket exactly?  Why can't the socket edges extend into the eyeball itself a little bit?

[Kain]

I had the impression that overlapping edges would produce problems in animation. If I was mistaken, then the problem solved itself, I'll just have to extend the socket edges a little inwards and move the eyeball a bit forward. Thanx.

[hihosilver]

There will be no issues if edges overlap.  So no worries your problem is solved!
Also keep in mind that you can subdivide before you finish modeling.  If you select the model and go "Build>Convert to Subdivided" your model will turn into a subdivision object.  Afterwards, if you would like to return to the original mesh you can double click the object, and change the "working" setting to 0.  You can then convert to mesh after that, leaving you with your base mesh again.

[$imon]

Can I just state an obvious fact: Thats some awesome modeling for a beginner! The joan of arc tutorial is a great way to start & set a high reference point for yourself from the beginning.

Your model is looking great, a note about the 'edge loops' , the forehead area has a bit too many points together, this will be hard to smooth out when subdividing. Here is how you could fix it by spreading the lines a bit (sorry for drawing over your model!):



It's just an idea, you might want to move the points around a bit to fit your model.

Fewer points = better control over the model. Basically only add points if they are completely necessary, so only to add detail to the model. The forehead is a smooth surface usually, so keeping the point count low will allow for a better flowing model.

Also, in the area I just drew the points, make sure the forehead is one big flowing line, and doesnt go inwards above the nose. from brow-brow is one straight line, if that makes sense :p

Great job & good luck with the rest of your character! i can't wait to see it.

[Josmic8or]

Welcome to the Anim8or Forums!
First of all I must say that this is some excellent work for a beginner
I was just wondering why you didn't put a side view reference image of Lila?
It would make it more easier for you to model her sideways.

Anyway I think you're doing a great job so far!
Keep it UP!

[daniel99]

You are progressing. Soon, try a clay render.

[Kain]

Thanks everybody!    I worked a bit more on my model, and almost finished the scull.

@$imon: I knew there was something wrong in that area. I'm not quite sure what exactly you mean by the forehead being a big line, though. I also decided to keep all my points, since that way it would be more loyal to the Tutorial. Thanks for the helping hand there. 

@Josmic8or: I'm not a very good artist, and I could not draw a side sketch of Lila with exactly the same proportions, so I could only use one image for a reference. The problems with using only one image, though, are starting to show, since the scull came to be too stretched on the vertical level, and I had to do some more work to get it right, stretching it horizontally line by line. Also, the face is way too flat, as you can see on the Top view, so I'll have to make extra effort to round it some time.

[rellik420]

lookin good so far. what i think you should work on is the brow. in your ref image the bunny looks mad. if you focus on that part right now it will be better off if you want to try and animate it or pose it.

and for the side. it doesnt look like the character is meant to be round. i think it is supposed to be a little flat. maybe when u get the cheeks in youll be able to adjust it better since you dont have a reference for it.

good luck your doing great so far

[3Dgeek11]

I believe he/she is modeling the skull mostly, right now, rellik. I think later they'll add the ears, hair and such. But what do I know..?

Good job so far, keep it up.

[rellik420]

yea i kinda figured that. but ive worked with models that lacked ref images. and its easy to get lost. but from what i found when u dont really have anything to go off of, is find a focal point. for me it makes it alot easier in the long run.

but its all a learning process im sure every has something that works for them. just dont do what i do and give up on it so quickly. just keep plugging away at it and you will defenitly get good results. have fun