Creating a head from a reference drawing in AC3D

Notes and sample model created by Dennis Hawthorne
February, 2005

All images and models contained herein may be used freely and for any purpose.

Tutorial source

I learned most of what I know about modeling heads from reference drawings thanks to the tutorial at http://www.3dtotal.com/ffa/tutorials/max/joanofarc/joanmenu.asp, originally authored by Michel Roger and translated from French to English (see link for credits/details). This link covers modeling an entire body in 3D Studio Max. I highly recommend this tutorial for not only modeling heads but for modeling an entire body. It's an absolutely priceless tutorial.

I've adapted the techniques for AC3D, but I only illustrate head modeling here. The following models (Zug and Buford) were created in AC3D version 5.0. Zug was created from a character sketch, while Buford was created using an altered photograph


Get the the Zug model here	Get the the Buford model here

Techniques used in AC3D

AC3D 5.0 comes with a new Extrude Edge tool as well as a Create Quad tool, which help immensely with face construction using the methods mentioned in the aforementioned tutorial. I've compiled some notes below illustrating parts of the creation of Zug (the above model).

Using Edge Extrusion

I started Zug in the same place the tutorial starts - the eye. I compiled my reference drawings of the model and set them up in my Front and Left views. Then I created a quad (rectangle).

NOTE: Making the rectangle one-sided is important for modeling heads like this. It's very important to do this as the first step, as all extruded edges you create from here on will face the same direction as your initial surface. Make your rectangle one-sided by clicking the "1S" button on the AC3D control panel under the "Set Surface type" group while the rectangle is still selected. The "Set Surface type" group is at the bottom of the control panel, or the bottom left side of the AC3D screen.

The next step was to extrude an edge - this was done by selecting an "edge" (2 adjacent vertices on a quad) and choosing "Extrude Edge" (Ctrl+E) from the Vertex menu. The new vertices are created in the same place as the old ones, so you have to drag them out as shown.

With a few edge extrusions (which go very quickly, especially using the shortcut key), you have the outline of an eye, following the reference drawing.

To close the gap we've left, select all four vertices of the opening one at a time in anticlockwise order and select "Create ordered surface" from the "Vertex" menu (or Ctrl+Shift+S). The order in which you select the vertices is important. If selected in clockwise order, this face will "disappear" when you switch to one-sided (it will actually just be facing the wrong way, leaving a hole in your model). If you select the vertices using the "rubber band" select with the mouse, the results are unpredictable (may or may not turn out like you want).

Below, I used an eyeball to guide the curvature of the eye (simply a sphere created where the eye would normally appear, using the front and left the reference drawings to place it). I hid the eyeball in by Ortho (2D) views (using "Hide" on the AC3D control panel), but kept it visible in the 3D view so I could see when I shifted vertices too far (i.e., inside the eyeball or to far away from it).

Using Create Quad

The below screenshot was done with a combination of Edge Extrusion and Quad Completion in AC3D.

Edge Extrusion created the outline of the mouth and to the set of surfaces going up the center of the philtrum (the area between the lip and nose). To fill out the rest of the philtrum, Complete Quad was used.

Here, I've selected 3 vertices belonging to 2 quads (rectangles( where a vertex is shared.

Invoking Complete Quad (Ctrl+r) from the Vertex menu, AC3D creates a new quad where I've selected these vertices, and has auto-selected the new vertex so I can quickly reposition it.

By repeating this step, the entire philtrum was filled out.

Multiple Edge Extrusions

Apart from single edge extrusions, you can extrude an entire "row" of edges at once (as well as any number of edges in any configuration, for that matter).

Here you see my construction of the ear. I needed to extrude all of the edges you see selected in the image here.

After a quick Ctrl+E to extrude the edges, the new edges were auto-selected and I could shift them and proportionally size them to fit them where needed (as with any AC3D selection).

Using "Hidden Guides"

With these new tools, the tutorial mentioned at the outset of this document was an easy port to AC3D, but there was one element that I found lacking in the tutorial (or at least not clear to me), and that's how to make correct curvatures around the face and head. With only a front and left view of the model, it can be difficult to keep your curves rounded once the Top/Bottom views get cluttered with polygons.

To get this right, I used solid objects in my 3D view (hidden in Ortho/2D) to judge how far to make my curves, just like I did for the eyeball earlier.

Here I used a "shaped" sphere for the head (slightly squashed, a little flat in the back) to emulate Zug's head.

By using Edge Extrusion, I was able to create the front of the skull using the sphere as a guide (see below). Like the eyeball before, the sphere was hidden in my 2D views but visible in 3D.

Using more extrusion around the back of the head with my sphere template, it was relatively easy to finish a smooth head.

Subdivision

Just in case you're not familiar with it, subdivision surfaces are often an essential part of building organic models in AC3D. Here you can see two images of Zug's ear, one in Ortho (2D) view as straight polygons, and one in 3D with subdision preview set to two.

Subdivision preview is set in the Object Property Editor (F9) for each object.

I normally set my subdivision preview to one for normal modeling; you can quickly turning it on and off with the "D" key while the mouse is over a 3D view.

Conclusion

It might take a few practise heads to get the hang of making characters you're happy with. I'm fairly new at this myself, and just after creating this model I've already found a hundred things about it that I'd like to change, but these things come with practise.

AC3D version 5.0 has some great new features that help make such modeling much easier.

Good luck, and happy modeling!