So a couple of months back I decided to graduate from compulsive tutorial addiction (nearly 2 years of simply watching youtube tutorials and blender cookie tutorials) and finally decided I would brave character modelling. I began scouring the internet and finally found a concept that i immediately found very awesome. a character that was simple enough to realise given my skill set but achievable. It just so happened i was also having an introductory course on 3D animation where we had to create something. So this was a perfect opportunity for me.
Meet Alyssa! I learned so much in creating her, but i need to seriously give her clothing another attempt. But i am leaving her alone for now and i will begin another character (perhaps one of my own design) Let the learning continue!
Really nice model!
Well done to a beginner or maybe your first character modeling as you’ve said The eyes may need some change and the hair too some tweaks if you aiming to high-res model but if it’s low poly then awesome like that.
You may too want to decrease the amount of these brown dots on her nose and cheek.
Is that some special grain texture in her eyes or just cycles noise? I dunno why but I kinda like it
Also, how old are you? I’m 16 and I can only dream of making animation with my classmates (none of them knows what a polygon is…)
I really like it, nice work! The only thing is eye textures, it would be better if you increase the brightness of eyes… Anyway great modeling, well done!
thank you! Yeah the eyes were a challenge! It’s really hard to get it just right, but it’s the most important part because that’s where the viewer first looks. I wanted to try particles for the hair. But opted to go for the stylized look instead because it was easier and quicker to render! as for those brown dots! They are freckles! Some people have loads, some have very few! I personally love freckles on young children, so that’s why I went slightly overboard with them! she is a cartoon character anyways x)
Unfortunately cycles noise lol but you’re right I does kind of look good! Breaks up the usual super shiny look of Pixar eyes (I was trying to go for Pixar eyes) I followed the blender cookie Piero tutorial for her eyes x)
i am 22 I’m in university studying Creative Media, so this was an assignment which I grouped up with two other students to do. We each created our own characters and then put them together in an animation. Wait till you get to university! Being around so many people with the same interest is amazing! I was like you in high school!
Thank you for the kind words! Yes the eyes were a challenge for me because they were two objects one inside the other! The outer one was a reflection and refraction material, but unfortunately it blocked most of the light from the scene from going into her eyes, so they ended up looking darker I’m the final image I actually cheated by putting a tiny emission on the texture (glow in the dark eyes XD)
Any tips on how i can improve the hair? the main thing that stopped me form pursuing character modelling before was getting proportions and form correct while also maintaining good topology… because i noticed modellers on the internet al ways emphasise the importance of having good topology without actually explains how or why.
I began modelling alyssa without worrying about the topology at. all. i modelled her knowing i would do a retopology later. this allowed me to use poles and triangles, and not worry about edge flow (i still tried to practice good modelling techniques). I fully focused on form and proportions without worrying too much on the technical stuff. it was a huge learning process.
Also another advice i can give you, this is quite general to be honest, is to keep as many iterations as possible! i saved several instances of my project at different stages, so when i did something i didnt like, i knew i could go back.
oh that was a weighting problem from the rigging process… its really finicky and i still dont fully understand the workflow, i used rigify to make a rig and i did some weight painting. i spent very little time on this step because i was afraid to make a mistake and mess the whole thing up!
I remember this one as W.I.P. It looks really good 
as for those brown dots! They are freckles! Some people have loads, some have very few! I personally love freckles on young children, so that’s why I went slightly overboard with them! 
I’m the final image I actually cheated by putting a tiny emission on the texture (glow in the dark eyes XD)