American Revolution Soldier WIP

I’ve decided to take a stab at using Blender’s sculpting tools. Any critiques or suggestions would be very welcome.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8W6jSdLFJDl967cl35ukEt6wf6gA0rJnqXA2Lpq_-T1lGPkLQQNBwJa4U6PX32PGnlbllXlz7EstgOfEhbxDBab-GW2HAoO1zjjXFZgUvf1Ky5qwmeQoB49_-_Zvx5V13pDGDRIjcCSUd_zxBno2kFwDLOWSYL0JJznhgoVVudxuBZ4Q5sal7K1MH_OYu-esa2aCfPLuJuq65_oPm3zCBAODS88Elk7dQ2-Eb7K1zxwOR_Zt0JGQ5creAijgRd1CPn6hM1LDF8iQKCt8HvHXqC3Y3S7PBTJaCJHHn0dyderAZ-IAolhUEVKh81jiDvMF796e1vK9c_ZmxHjruWU8ptigxhc_ttT2DKbFNCxX0NimMg07Z5dYwv-v7ufzfaa4SzD5z8Om0ftdA91EnjL0xAZux1iOjX54tVSNL5rH8ZXHr8ORLGcENMbKtgX8gNeVo-ZXSEcqHdXvDgi4p9-Ffue1_AbastN4790KD6xIiubwEbjgte51L1tGuC0C7YsaiUbFDvl13FTrhx6luOPEqmSXBBWCYMHIDYTPelvUVpy4pRT2Nvbbh2V5q5fz1icD05B7r7bF04IT7uwxHkUpWmKMJ9TaOy92SToJdPq6RkvQfeb3jKmOLyRh=w556-h988-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/90kWr5kQu7h6xJEVwhIEcZ3sNuDbUiW6YZ8RVzQb_GEmMv-w5gfiLSIqXoDR19D9ydsGoPdG9qbOUXi1oKbwkQzEmPq1gUmyswkKyFgptQPxG4HfyCp3OyE_mwwMUkck67waI1yvjGsJ8k29jxf7ABO3dxs324Vv1xu19mdG2Td2SmN6vn8dEL5JAE6DB6hL9oUDJROV-xPsiDP5PSFxK0DOuPVW0kDU4f_UVvpbBW-HYy28BNsbxhEBxCdIhG-uex59Lwarhtp195efe6TsAISmNGPGpHZqz5arNxSJuc0LXw32jRFzQEq15tlohtUFvg-8NzLnHxm9-emRCu7Ho8IxVHzdRoj0Zng0FNNJv8f5fncu_aZp4cWHveAxIZaYarbNVXK9mYDTlXAla59nxlVHPvmjoo0c5ag23wiL4B71wvi2zo3b9IUuezeszd9koWD1hNsGVWIGZZZe1fKJB6NZdlxDnzExbrC7PKw1Qe0WO3VbPAvJZygDAYpDHxPFp7mDTyGuwJ6Vclj_ef0AHRcu-EdsRdhl1OFphzgylV9ynjCcGiHyOeFfhIrBg0EjA9zNxBQfQMeRyfVyICpfRX-I4TabEq8ilb0RRfOX15w7Hh8DlyQszsi2=w556-h988-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IHC9mHx4FbDM1QgRMUAuG8y5qubGrmBCD6OeId6X6fLM1ewfbnit7gtefuR0MgB_i81sWwQ0oOIkBw_t93BftoyB6uBPYbXozujEJioNA0fVZh_KQQbYd4IwmsHBCzo5WhuwR8MdGh87-pkByce7qyVQNBvTiez98qO9bUGNT3mVuUBEnFKz_3yXXQR_-AhCacIl-lLzr7rVvQYRkDOTIVd1s_T17hixaRszjS6r3Yf2xq-GjHCjb3UVioli-0xevYIW-i2YBCOuI-eh22GXkK5SzZio7z0kohCmOWH1Fte7AMMrwlY_tfUVRMGAqj4If2PZoUeazqPrFmqX8wSCNvm_ik6TjA6FWYjq3GguuCORhyEoo6G3VLmDbWtrGUS2eKHhnGWGywUvn-zXmqxeMrMsqMJE6duKU6DIGXSzXRtvdTTKwByJcbeu6sKTFKfiNxo_oznZh5_Ga3RfqrwpNiXPvf2fFf8JSlcRaSyKj328_xXwJwvATiy1FOqevKS1FsAg9TV211H6jeCFNqZt5TthYwRyDANpLcxtdUmm2LPUPdLr5IcU6IrC1jyX1gx_FROkWPM2YbjVq5Eb6ZmxoeG_WI8fYdAZLFfqzceuEKPvpbzU1v2iqHS9=w556-h988-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AZd3Z-T7C_G1KqM8yrs9-7AoAvx6e3_6SF2nmrVK5hPdy-ZvEE76hWV2W-DF3UOk8VxrVr8khEwycLjILPSa5Q1GBcx3wU47uNYwRcWUJRRGPgkU7bEU1NVGIyJSbJg8A0eUzJ5YEauD86JlZ0owjfWwv1Xobu3xdJ5SXkACzNOah4KXHzf1fkMdwqZsxYp3Ep1lSdgJy5aVTUqZ0BYz4sqUTHT56ezmU_j_SJUQKyOR_kRh5NVsQLBMBnaaQvFzGxzh5nbtT7q-hTP2n7oxnEi-HyVAOHXQbdfk1wVfgoxkfiKmHbyQ-m5Olt9PJ07HFdKbzVRXEYW8ySP1CJwdrgiQezJswVcb7ByKIhvQ5Wo1muht-mrt4Cx2laTWSXK6Vwyk5DkLlwu3a5Hyso3OOrNUtOOXA7MOLJ-72ajtFRFzfN-NJEY4GaZqbsirFvHQ1eGUMuqprqTXrQyCZ7LEXUj2d7mA_eQKp38ORs_UY8iGYteFy_ppF5-UHl7JMivO_Ku5UZ_m7lVjhbGna5X4lEXP714pBreHkzs0OrK-LQiKfwh57tiHDuyNTInrsqWXS0Z4QWqC3uXFFHuPB5mcjvsv7C-iCCnAmFtaNbYNTd9-ZQRh5a4AkTK9=w556-h988-no

good go on

I’ve never rigged before and the learning curve is turning out to be much more than I thought. Hopefully, somebody here might be able to point me in the right direction. I’m getting some distortion at the end of my model’s sleeve when I move the arm. Can anybody suggest a method for debugging what is causing the problem?

I initially tried to rig the jacket directly to the bones using automatic weight painting, but I got errors (I suspect some overlapping geometry in the collar and lapels might be the problem). I couldn’t solve that issue, so now I’m using a MeshDeform modifier and a lattice to deform the jacket. Here’s a screen shot of the lattice sitting over the rig.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4BPjN3oEPGRkNRVo0kPVLPq-XErxfU6hGpG1ck1J0Gfq-5Nsq_JsNycBzq0Ks-MvN4CwpvOwNH6ieTbxJ7SzDme8ncOXnPrS1TQjbTXY5_AzYF4_hFrG1JCUkHKtkMUZbv2_rN1UQX2D0ErmoxXdxmP9u_Q36WhjH2s-grq6GnDmqYWo27lj6FWnM2tDdGA0aSGKIgvy0s2jRjOahz4kMwSL5vqXu0GjFaEj9gbmKplbIGpKqJL9Fpuq4TZqvzpq6V5Ta8Fqac89skpTM_0bjP502eTQzy2D6K4h7KPsxyZSxxo3dzjkJXlUD0xUixYOyMFb8Jgj7Add6E6hR1o26g_nkcc7wZyFM3G3lKiOIC-qh3kJpE1sT4eYjeTjMZT9Z6M9YqWviGGvuXgDWcxWe2rX39hyyC8FUyhnXWHUwoPae6oTJ_PZXBYMS0prgpnrJpioTHS4HJbR7krl4uY_zZiTBjSsIZWdpLvV-cJh5vwbZgEriivZqGjFA1Agjb-SDLuNmsY7NqX1B0iQ5-KCVUKtJ4BxUnSijmALyxspsqI1MY4KaCrnCoPcfGemeQvoFgEqtrNQeFtOb4sUOBAYLPr_wPKexnZ6NJSxA_KqlUHzENXE6Uqc=w1795-h988-no

Here’s a close-up of the problem area. The lattice completely surrounds the jacket mesh.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s7yHButEzzDIipn3ECmAhsoWkm3rSI9Jd57QPu6erpj__oueTU1PPoD0Pt2XH4WhcKTbKSekpK5DjkGgVtKVoQ87jBTdQrRS9zplwfYp9ENnDukAdJ0gsiVPdNi5VyHYxDl0C4YX1fcm-xmdem5MaL3JFO4qaDPTV3njp9BeQxcl0_wcJt7eHXhIXw1rXoZIgUANZdyGtHAXAQjRPXFtyFhbVuPb7xdsYnr9xH2mZu3ciXjZV88ewTQBCE1lZhOjChwK43_IU8CY9no4We3YyyyPwojys2jAZThYhuybqf484C25seC3AIzbSJXuDRGce64aYB85T8jKZ29UITA0vwHjzlp5SM-NRUhQ2tug6KyKdO8d5oDvYO3V92iSTuD9aQvWrW9LwTFKilmjbz4VT18W4_Zwo6rqmp6LzhHCcRPPigtkTtVny1Pl8pP48v32BWrRkabuZRsVXbBuBTtnQg2mvlFGcm3d1LGbfYr0rpejjdgUVQOsC9ftShm_kQvqtIRLNp3Wd7viN0Omf5pY51mYdVdlzX1h_Hg9tC1MXE-EHU1_6sdqlkUFyQOpT1u7JLGDtTv9212WyP49GwS8AnYl4e6E_Qn4zdqxdA5D84RhokZUBL-R=w1795-h988-no

When I raise the arm, however, the cuff of the jacket becomes deformed.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/myfD0LBsmtrwffUgeZYvP2RQX8retCDW-8AF772OJ3wkEUqA0vcNzQ6dL1g44aYWZ1WYV1jtSqKKP-CCA8AD35nYWI0bmDBzrcqgtmMwnYXlLsOfVDPPuiP5dVVO7uO-eddApXf02lWHFW4oOsI9oyzWmBeif0PhlJbrL2SN0CkCoRnYW9mEsd3Kzr9uGlCZS5dkj_4FnPn0VcWJmWP9Fv_30syLCpkY0Q6nGeGCvrYf367nxKLzKkaggh9aXKVHgwCjmSfXKtUSz0qNWvs3GUT0CfLZmogjHzUGyiyARX7CRYmklBBc023q5a8Zh3LWubaWF7au6WM5CFC6-xebNKWc9PNf01T6VlSoHCs5xINbSXqPurQG9GswyuyHE52_jkarlzZ6lP5D9g9ZPaAtYGpUdY1h-Z4rSsCkNKV87Tk3QSGMKrWS7rF-0CQ1uxTdoAtDaXPtWV7IPA1epKiSEYS27BvqSqhq0on0Btxne-L8mbjSzrDAklEL7QiH-0MUTwD2n_TpB0ZscY_dxL8DlKTI-RP4BHrvj0HfdT4PBWBsD2Tg9LBYL4DAUojPpR2nePRocgHMZqtiIHiRlKrlOK_LNBcDxev_gAmM-A2S-7KDbNmA9lJF=w1795-h988-no

Can anybody recommend a workflow for identifying the underlying problem? I’m stumped. Thanks.

I have not sculpted before, but, to my knowledge, you need to retopologise a mesh before attempting to animate it? That might help.

Thanks for the tip.

I did retopologize it. The mesh is probably heavier than I needed it to be, but it’s pretty much all quads. The sleeve certainly is.

I was expecting a tri-corner hat, but this design works too.