Character Creating Software

[riverfox]

"" (Watch on YouTube)

I think I've found the character creation software. It's 3D. Here's hoping I can actually work with it. Even better, create 3D models of Daniel, Jack, Jason, Adriann, Sam, Teal'c, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

See, back in the old days, before my goddamn carpal tunnel, I drew everything. I have my computer now, and so I have a tablet and pen, and I went about learning it all with glee. Trouble is, the carpal tunnel is bad with that, too. It's the holding of the pen (or pencil) that does it. Numbness, tingling, sharp zaps of lightning up the middle of the wrist... yada yada blah blah blah shit.

So, I've been looking for something that will let me skip all the flat drawing. Give me a generalized face, with the average placements of eyes, nose, mouth, and I'll take it from there, tweaking until I've got it all right. Then let me add hair, makeup, clothing, etc. I just might be able to render pictures of my characters, and then be able to use them for fiction headings and general art rendering pages instead of having to hunt through thousands of screen captures looking for something that looks right---in this case, SG-1 characters and episode pics.

*sigh* So, crossing fingers that the learning curve is for morons. ;)

Comments

[paian]

So I am coming in very late here to say, Woohoo! Did you get a chance to give the software a try? It has a bit of a learning curve, like any program, but there are good tutorials around, and there's a ton of free content at places like ShareCG dot com. Hardly anyone in fandom seems to be playing with it, which surprised me -- I only know one person here at Dreamwidth who uses it (and someone else who made some fun images for Kink Bingo a couple of years ago), there are only a few 3d images at AO3, and there's only a scattering of fanart around deviantART and some other sites. I'd love to see what you do with it, and if I can answer questions or help in any way, please let me know!

I've been working with the Michael 6 model to make Jacks and Daniels, but if you haven't committed to any particular figures yet, I'd recommend the Genesis figure. It's got a lot of flexibility, there are some great free morphs for it, and it works with FaceGen, a program that can shape faces and heads for you using photographic references. The free version includes a kind of watermark on the output, but it's not too hard to clone out with Photoshop or the Gimp. Here's a site with downloadable examples: relativitybook.com/CoolStuff/facebank.html.

[riverfox]

Hey! Thanks for all that input! Sadly, I gave up on those two pieces of software. They weren't doing what I wanted, even for a novice. Basically, I want a 3D *sculpturing* program that comes with a basic face I can tweak to my heart's content. Using meshes and models gave me a headache because I couldn't just jump in and "sculpt" what my original characters look like. FaceGen drove me crazy because the controls weren't expansive enough. *sigh*

If I had to work with a mesh, my idiot-level skill would require me to simply use my pen (or mouse) and move the grid lines around for basic structure, then allow me to work in a sculpturing model, as if I were working with clay. I love the programs (tho I don't know what they are) that forensic archaeologists use that enable them to build up a skeleton to find out what Richard III looked like (for example), but I don't need anything that complex. I need something with a base form (because I get lazy and aggravated when I get measurements wrong---like where the eyebrows go, the placement of eyes, the many types of noses with the upper lip bridge (forget the name) that forms the lips, the jawline, ears, etc., etc.

I could draw a 2D portrait, naturally. I've already compiled a lot of base face outlines and model bases (forget the name, but they're used in fashion designing). But it's just not enough for my crazy brain. It'll have to do, and I hate that, ya know? If I'm able to teach myself a program, then I'd like to try. I've been wanting a program that would allow me to create a 3D portrait (bust, mainly) so that I can create poses and not have the same old picture in a graphic header (for example).

At present, I'm having a look at Cinema4D, and watching videos on Youtube or Lynda.com. Interesting stuff, definitely. For now, Illustrator and Photoshop will have to do for the regular ol' 2D method. ;)

[paian]

Well, I'm sad that I won't get to cry and squee with you over ongoing projects with those particular programs, but I'm really glad that you discovered FaceGen and were able to try it out and rule it out for what you need.

I have the same frustration you did with morphing the DAZ figures. You can import them into a sculpting program and load the changes back as a custom morph, but you're stuck with the base resolution of the figure. There's not enough mesh there to sculpt, for example, Jack's lower lip.

What you're looking to do is IMO actually way cooler than modifying pre-made models. Have you taken a whack at Blender? It's pretty wonderful for clay-like sculpting, and you can switch back and forth between sculpt mode and polygon modeling. It also does that thing I can't remember the name for, where it automagically subdivides and gives you more mesh to work with when you zoom in to sculpt fine details. It's pretty full-featured, and it's open-source and free, so it might be worth considering while you're checking out Cinema4D.

There's also Sculptris for clay-like modeling, also free, and possibly more intuitive and accessible, depending on how your brain works.

Oh, and there are some good free bases for heads and busts, which could be just the kind of base form you're wanting. I can't remember if the ones I saw were .obj files or in Blender format, but I'll get you the links.

And Make Human! I have no experience with it myself, but it looks pretty cool, and you might be able to generate your own base forms for further sculpting: makehuman.org.

[riverfox]

I completely forgot about Blender! Am d/l that, along with Sculptris, and thanks so much for the rec. :) (hugs)

I forgot about Make Human, which I already have on the pc. It was interesting, but I wasn't satisfied with the performance or the limited selectors. For example, the lack of eye shaping quality. Honestly, eye shapes don't have three basic shapes, fcol. Plus the previewing of the program window was too pixelated (aka, not smooth--and fcol, I can't remember the name for smoothing, like we do with shapes, lines, and fonts)

I'm going to try Blender and Sculptris today, and see how they work. :)

Sculptris!

[riverfox]

OMG, this is perfect. Am currently watching tutorials on how to use the program. Brilliant. Thank you so much, sweetie, for telling me about it!
((((((((((( hugs ))))))))))))

Re: Sculptris!

[paian]

Oh, fabulous -- I'm so glad! Big, big hugs and a happy smile.

[paian]

Very interesting to hear about Make Human. I can't resist playing with things, so I suspect I'll be downloading it at some point, but it's good to know in advance about the bothersome aspects.

Anti-aliasing? (It took me a couple of seconds to remember that too! Weird.) Not cool at all, for a preview window to be lacking. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you really need to be able to see what you're doing. Humf.