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GA 3324 : Character Modeling This course covers advanced modeling techniques for building 3 dimensional characters. Students wil explore techniques of character modeling to include various approaches to figure construction.

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Week 3: Torso and Limbs

PLEASE WATCH THESE VIDEOS (click on image below):

TORSO ANATOMY: click image below for larger

SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES OF THE CHEST
Pectoralis Major: The Pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped muscle, situated at the upper front (anterior) of the chest wall. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles in the male and lies under the breast in the female.
Rectus Abdominis: a paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the human abdomen.There are two parallel muscles, separated by a band of connective tissue called the linea alba. The Rectus is crossed by fibrous bands, three in number, which are named the tendinous inscriptions. If well-defined, the rectus abdominis is colloquially called a "six-pack."

SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES OF THE BACK
Trapezius: the trapezius is a large triangular shaped muscle region on a person's back, that also runs and extends into the neck.

Because the fibers run in different directions, it has a variety of actions, including:
scapular elevation(shrugging up or lifting the shoulders),
scapular adduction (drawing the shoulder blades)
scapular depression (pulling the shoulder blades down)
Different fibers control different actions:
The superior (upper) fibers elevate the scapula. the middle fibers retract it. The inferior (lower) fibers depress it.
When the superior and inferior fibers act together they superiorly (upwardly) rotate the scapula.

Deltoid: The deltoid muscle is the muscle forming the rounded contour of the human shoulder.
Latissimus Dorsi: the large, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm. It wraps around the side of the torso towards the anterior side of the chest, over the ribcage.
External Oblique: is the largest and the most superficial of the three flat muscles of the lateral anterior abdomen. The external oblique functions to compress the abdominal cavity, which increases the intra-abdominal pressure. It also has limited actions in both flexion and rotation of the vertebral column.

Modeling the Torso- Five Edge Loop Strategies

1. BELLY BUTTON DUDE
   

   FEATURES: -Pectoral/Deltoid Toplogy: Edgeloop for neck contained. Pectoral gridflow continues over the deltoid. 5pt star located below deltoid in armpit. -Abdominal Topology: contained edgeloop, continuous extrusion into belly button -Trapezius Topoloy: no seperate structure, narrowing center line of faces. good 5pt star location on shoulders. -Strengths: nicely defined abs and pecs. -Weaknesses: high polycount bellybutton, no seperate traps.

2. FRONTSIDE ELIMINATION DUDE
   

   FEATURES: -Pectoral/Deltoid Toplogy: edgeloops from neck continue out over pecs and delts. 5pt star at the edge of delts. -Abdominal Topology: gridflow from face flows down over abs, where it recirculates on the opposite side of the chest. -Trapezius Topoloy: no seperate structure, as faces from the front are eliminated towards the back causing multiple 5pt stars at the base of the neck. -Strengths: Very good pectoral-deltoid flow. Contained abdomen. -Weaknesses: little organization on the back. 6pt star at the base of the spine.

3. DUDETTE
   

   FEATURES: -Pectoral/Deltoid Toplogy: For the breasts, the pectoral region is extruded towards the nipple. -Abdominal Topology: single edgeloop present to divde between abs and external oblique muslces -Trapezius Topoloy: no seperate topology. Geo narrows between shoulderblades. -Strengths: Takes into consideration separte form for the breasts. -Weaknesses: Porely define lowerback / butt.

4. BACKSIDE ELIMATION DUDE
   

   FEATURES: -Pectoral/Deltoid Toplogy: edgeloop from neck stops before pecs and delts. Smooth line across, fanning geometry through shoulders. -Abdominal Topology: one edgeloop along the abdominal wall, then straight horizontal and vertical gridlflow inside. -Trapezius Topoloy: faces from head and shoulders eliminated on the backside causing triangular trapezius formation. -Strengths: Trapezius shape forces correct streching from the lats of obliques. Ab edge loop forces correctness from obliques as well. -Weaknesses: Pec/delt formation. high frontal polycount

5. BELLY DUDE
   

   FEATURES: -Pectoral/Deltoid Toplogy: edgeloop from neck stops before pecs and delts. Smooth line across, fanning geometry through shoulders. -Abdominal Topology: no seperate structure need as topology responding to fat instead of muscle. -Trapezius Topoloy: no seperate topology. 5pt stars for shoulders located below shoulderblade. Convergind geometry happens at the base of the spine. -Strengths: well considered for stockier characters, good stomach flow. -Weaknesses: doesn't allow for much side to side stretching.

Click image below for a full-screen view of Character In Progress:

 

SOME TUTORIALS WORTH LOOKING THROUGH:

 

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