I’m going to be making another portrait of myself but this time without skin. 
Starting with the skull, number of polys isn’t an issue, I’m just trying to keep clean geometry. I’m actually using a large portion of the points, to get irregularity. This is about 7 hours of work. Skulls are hard! They make feet and hands seem simple.
Looking forward to the finished project . . . after seeing the other parts of your skeleton.
But, what’s up with those wire-mesh screenshots? Is your realtime display in Blender jacked up?
My laptop which I was using has been artifacting really nastily. I can’t send it in for repairs until after the semester ends. Apparently the screenshot function in blender captures the artifacting 
Thanks for the compliment though!
Its been awhile, but here are the latest updates. I’m slowly forming my teeth. yes they aren’t even and I have an overbite. Its also hard to model a skull without being able to see the actual skull. I have to use other references and pictures of myself to try to aproximate it. The wires are a bit dense, but I’m trying to pull out as much detail as possible.
Amazing… really great work! Saw your arm too… you really rock at this!
Would love to see the whole human, one skeleton, onewith muscles and one with skin and stuff… :] Would be great!
Keep up the really good work!
He he. Thanks although don’t expect to see them soon! Bones take quite some time to model. The muscle model I would do in Zbrush, although I would probably rough out a character in blender and unwrap him in blender. If blender gets SSS and micropoly displacement by the time I make him than I will render him in blender. The skeleton will probably be done over a long period of time.
Wow- this looks very nice! How long have you been modeling? I sure wish I could do something like this. Keep it up :)…
i don’t know about that…you could rip out your skull, take some shots, and replace it…great work!
@antiguy- hahahhahahaha! I was considering that, although what would I think with to model? Ohh I know… :o Be a bloody mess too.
@Icarus- 5-7 years. I started with CAD modeling, I bought a cheap CAD program called IMSI CAD which was around 10-20 bucks. I learned a lot about modeling from that. Than I started using blender. Sometime around than and 2001 I must have done every tutorial available at the time. Than I stopped in 2003. Went to art school, and last semester started modeling again! I think I learned a lot at art school. I couldn’t really tell by my traditional skills except in color knowledge. And when I started taking figure anatomy courses I really learned a lot. This is from the second part of my figure anatomy course. I made a she-devil/12" woman muscular last semester. The thread should be in the finished projects section, my only finished project posted here to date. Sorry about the ramble.
Here are ortho views of the skull and teeth.
Very good project. I also just had a look at your foot, which is coming along nicely.
Some comments:
The styloid process is really a striking feature (quite literally) when you’re holding a skull, so it’s really something you shouldn’t leave out.
About references: the best thing is examining a real skull, or a replica made from plastic. Perhaps you can contact a local school or university if they’ve got one. They’re usually quite forthcoming in helping somebody out.
Some corrections in proportions, corrections to the zygomatic arch, added stenoid processes, corrected shape of eye socket and fixed depth of the nasal bone. Starting to add muscles and cardilege (sic).
I am using references, Just takes awhile to refine the shape.
You’re gradually improving your work with each step.
I just noticed one more thing about the skull itself though (I hope it’s not too late, since you already started on the muscles):
The mandible seems to be formed too much into a chin. You’ve given it an extension at the front pointing down, if you understand me. It’s too pointy, which can both be seen in the front view and in the side view.
For comparison: 1, 2, 3
I hope I’m making myself clear, because I find it a bit hard to explain.
Of course this is just as I see it. Do with it what you like. You’re doing a great job on this project.
You were right about the mandibles. I fixed the lower jaw so its wider at the bottom. Here are yafray renders and wires of the latest progress. C&C is most welcome! Crouch you have really been on the ball with your crits! :DThank you!
I’m kind of afraid of this one. lol. Looks very scary without eyelids. Good work on the musclature so far.
lol very nice work, but I am with streen. This dude is scary lol.
~Misfit
Nice progress.
I can’t really see whether you attached the Temporal Muscle correctly, but it should be attached to the coronoid process [1]. And an image of the deeper layers of muscles over there [2].
All muscles seem to be as thick as the others, while some are in reality much thinner than average (or much thicker). This might be a problem for the final shape in the end.
An example: the frontalis muscles are attached to the skull and the orbicularis oculi. The end where they are attacked to the skull is very thin near the end [3]. They also don’t end as suddenly as you have it. Besides, why are there four of them? [4]
The mentalis muscles should be attached to the orbicularis oris [5][6].
As always: you’re doing a nice job.
For the frontalis, in both my Eliot Goldfinger Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of form, and my teacher’s drawings the frontalis was represented by 4 muscles. I will check out the body worlds book too, I haven’t looked at the actual pictures of cadavers yet. Yes I do have to thin the muscles out. they are rather hard to get them skinny enough and not poke through the skull mesh. I’m still not sure how to get them thin enough so they look like they are attached to the surface. I could remove the back side and use slight bevels at the edges to get it closer. I might have to try that. Or more of a hassle, I may have to attach the meshes to each other. This can be a pain to vertice paint though, if I go that route.
The mentalis my teacher present to me as projecting from the chin, I will have to see some real life examples to make sure its wrong before I change it.
The temporalis muscles are attached to the coronoid processi. The real deep muscles aren’t quite as important for this excercize. These are the muscles that effect the overall form. Remember I’m learning the anatomy for art not for anatomical purpose. If I get a job illustrating anatomy books or creating medical animations (which could happen), I will definetly learn everything. However I just want to learn what effects form and what can be seen in movement for now. So not every muscle will be modeled.
I think the eyes are far too small. At least my eyes stretch from the edge of the eye socket to the other.
And I dunno if it was intended, but the skull in general looks a bit squashed Z wise.
This outter sides may need to be pushed in a bit… Although an eye is 1/8 the size of the head, or about 1" in diameter. There is other muscles in there that you feel, your eye doesn’t fill the entire socket. I’m not sure if the depth of the skull is an issue though. I will check it out though.
