pulsarbird

Pulsar in 3D

Published: January 2nd 2021, 1:10:25 am

When I started working in 3D this week, I expected to just fool around for a day or two, do a few simple things, and then work on other stuff. But I got so engrossed in it I made an entire bust of Pulsar. I've linked a few shots to this post, and there's also a turn-around video attached.

There are so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to begin. But it turned out well enough to get me excited and encourage me to work on more in the future.

I learned a ton about how (not) to structure facial topology and how to add detail to meshes after the first and second subdivisions. This is the first time I've ever modeled an organic form (opposed to the spaceships and buildings and stuff I've done in the past). All things considered, I'm surprised it didn't end up more janky. But I included a screenshot of the mesh so people who know what they're looking at can see all the mistakes. There are a lot of poles and pinch points; places with too much detail where there shouldn't be and other places where the mesh doesn't follow the form the way it should. 

As such this makes it totally unsuitable for rigging and animating. Even Pulsar's intense stare is a little off-putting. But the mesh is complicated and difficult to handle enough that I didn't bother trying to modify his expression too much from the default "creepy model stare". It's a little bit disappointing to know that if I want a 3D model of Pulsar, I pretty much have to start over from scratch after doing this one. But I already know I could do it a lot better, and in the process probably get the proportions of Pulsar closer to what I have in my head.

All things considered though, this was far too much fun, and modeling was quite relaxing! There's a very real possibility I'll be offering commissions in 3D in the future. I've already had some big plans for 2021, but this gives me an entirely new avenue to explore, and I might end up doing a lot more with 3D than I imagined.