3D Image

[Chimp]

Hi there,

I'd like to take some 2d photos of a character, where one is the back side, and other is the front, and create a 3d character from it. I've been looking at tutorials and such, but many don't explain it properly. And I know it's possible. The only reason I want 3d, is cause, I don't know how to draw side and 3/4 turns. Does anyone have a decent tutorial or advice you can point me at for this procedure?


Thanks

[Greenlaw]

For 3D, you'll do better to have a front and side photo, so you have width and depth information to work with. Having front and back tells you nothing about depth--in short, you don't have any info about the character's profile. Of course, it's even better when you have all three views.

If you're going to work from photos, why not capture a 3/4 view as well? Place your camera on a tripod and have your subject sit in a swivel stool or chair so you can take pictures from any angle. Make sure the subject sits fairly straight and the neck is centered over the post so that the head rotates in place--this will make it easier to align the photos.

[Chimp]

Thank you. I may have misguided, or not explained my original post clear enough. I plan to trace this image (below) in Illustrator, each part separately, then importing those separate body parts as a group in ASP, then piecing those back together with points of articulation and rigging them. However, I do not know if I can scale the 3/4 turns to create a substantial 2D model/character. So, I thought it would more effective as a 3D model, then just add that to my library. That way I can rotate my turns more fluid in his movement.

I am new to ASP and learning the internal properties, as well as limitations of the program. I did think about importing this into Blender, then exporting as a readable format for ASP, as the interface in ASP is much easier to work with than Blender. But I can see this may be more complicated than I imagined.

Thanks

PS - The image is cropped here, but if you open it in a new tab, it's the full image.

[Greenlaw]

That's okay. I still don't see how you plan to construct a 3/4 view with only front and back poses--you would still need a profile to do this accurately. And I'm speaking about 3D modeling in general, not ASP. You can't accurately construct in 3D what you can't see in the drawings.

IMO, if you're really want to construct this in 3D, you should do it in a real 3D program and import the parts. However, ASP is not meant to animate 3D objects like this--you can't rig 3D objects with it's bones system--so I'm not sure that will be worth the effort. If you want to do 3D character animation, you really should be using a 3D program where you can rig and animate with a 3D skeleton system.

That said, it is possible to simulate 3D character animation using clever 2D tricks in ASP. I've had to create several smoothly turning characters at my workplace, and some of them looked somewhat like actual 3D animation. Constructing characters that mimic 3D turns is generally done using morphing shapes and sliding textures (painted or photographed) within those shapes, and controlling the '3D' motions using Smart Bones and Smart Bone Dials. To do this smoothly and credibly however, it's critical that you use drawings that are optimally constructed to morph and deform to shapes as seen from different angle views. It's not really difficult to do but it's definitely a lot of work and should be considered fairly advanced use of the program.

As for using Illustrator, I think you'd be much better of drawing the character directly in ASP rather than in Illustrator. If you create the artwork in Illustrator, you're going to find that no matter how carefully you construct the shapes, the point placement and curvature is going to change during import, and the resulting geometry will be inefficient and likely to deform poorly. If you create the art in ASP however, you can be more certain that the shapes are going be efficient and deform properly (assuming you've constructed and rigged them properly.) If I was doing this, I'd be inclined to use morphing vector masks created in ASP and create a 'pelted' version of the character's textures that I can slide through the shapes to simulate a 'rolling' effect. (Use Image Texture to fill the shapes. If you use large masked texture layers instead, you risk blocking accessibility to some features, like the ability to Ctrl-Alt Shift-Click in the workspace to pop up the Switch Layer list.)

BTW, I've found that every character poses it's own unique problems to solve, usually regarding physical shape, clothing or hair. In the case of your Halo character, it's probably going to be the lack of a side view to work from, so I would track that image down first. It's shouldn't be too hard to find since this is a very popular franchise. I'm sure you can even find the actual 3D model on the web is you really search for it.

Also, I highly recommend trying out your methodology with a much simpler subject first, to work out the technical issues you're going to face. I would only attempt something this complex after solving the workflow issues. Otherwise you may be in for a great deal of frustration.

Hope this helps get you started.