Hi everyone. It’s been some time since I posted a thread here at this forum.
I’m using Blender’s Skin Modifier to create a simple base mesh for characters I’d create in the future. I have three modifiers applied in the Modifiers panel (in this order) - Mirror Modifier (top of stack), Skin Modifier (middle of stack), and SubSurf Modifier (bottom of stack). The problem I have is creating the fingers (I’m not worried about creating toes on my model - I know they can’t be individually rigged like fingers can).
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I could easily model fingers on my base mesh? I have two pictures of the ‘hand’ - one for the mesh, and the other just shows the wireframe so everyone can see the skin modifier inside the mesh. Right now the hand just looks like a simple mitten worn in winter; I was hoping someone would have any ideas on how to make the fingers easily; I’ve tried already, and the fingers ended up out of place (making the hand look like it has tentacles instead of fingers), or there were creases in the mesh do to the fact that I tried to resize the fingers and repositioned.
I don’t know if anyone else has had any troubles like this - there were many Skin Modifier threads here at the forums. But anyway, I’ll post my screenshots and hope someone has some suggestions on how to easily model my base mesh’s fingers.
If you put a single vertex to act as the center of the hand, select it, go to the Skin modifier in the modifier stack and click “Mark Loose”. Then extrude the fingers out from there. That center vertex should act as a sort of center point for the fingers rather than another complete chunk of the mesh. I hope that made sense. I just learned the technique a few days ago from one of Jonathan Williamson’s tuts over on Blender Cookie. Tried it for my latest character attempt and it worked like a charm (with a little tweaking involved to get it to look right).
It does make sense Josh. I’ve used a center vertex for the hand, but I never thought about marking it as loose. I’ve seen it done in a few YouTube Tutorials I’ve watched for the modifier, but it never occurred to me to use it that way. I’m pretty new to using the modifier, so I guess it shows - I need to get used to the modifier.
But I’ll give it a try. What do I have to lose after all>
Thanks Josh. This is important to me - not just to have my own base mesh, but to be able to pat myself on the back for a job well done. It’s a way to boost my self esteem, as well as a creative outlet.
You’re lucky Josh. I don’t have the money to be a citizen on CG Cookie, so I can’t see the series that Johnathon (at least the one I think you’re talking about).
I re-did the mesh Josh. I looks a lot better than previous attempts. I did tinker around and did what you suggested about making the center vertex inside the hand a loose vertex. After that, I had to do a lot of positioning and resizing of the individual finger AND the thumb - no easy task. It’s a lot better looking, but I think it could look a lot better still (although I may just be picky).
Would sculpting make the hand look better after I turn the modifier into a mesh? Not that I plan to turn it into a mesh right now, I just thought I’d ask. Maybe I need to do a little more tweaking of the part of the modifier that will be the hands. Oh well, at least I’m putting my best effort into it. :yes:
That’s what I thought Josh. I didn’t want to go any further without making sure.
Now all I have to do is readjust the shape of the head, which is pretty easy compared to the hands. I’ve got a few vertices inside the head to help gain more control of the head’s shape.
And considering my birthday is this month, maybe I should think about asking for a subscription to CG Cookie - at least a month’s subscription to the site. There’s a tutorial series on that site on how to make a Transformer (I’m a big Transformers fan, by the way).
