I need an opinion on a 3D pony model..

[Jorichi]

I've been teaching myself to make 3D models for a few days now and it's going quite well if I say so myself.
My practice object is a pony:

(Outdated image, there have been made allot of changes to the general shape of the head).
I'm going for a general pony model with cartoon shading for now. The proportions are still experimental and will most
likely change.

My next step is the eyes. Now for the well known ponies of MLP:FIM the eyes are quite important. So I want to do this right.
I thought of various approaches to make the eyes, but I have my doubts about every one of them. Here are the types of eyes
I've came up with:
- 1: The face has a 'hole' in it, slightly dented inward creating an eye socket. It's filled up with a spherical object (the eyeball).
Eyelids are the edges of the 'hole' itself, which will be a big challenge to animate properly.
- 2: The face has a slight 'dent' in it representing the eye socket. The eye is 'drawn' on it and is animated through texture options.
- 3: The face isn't changed at all. A spherical object sticks out to represent the eye.
Either separate objects, representing the eyelids, cover the eyeball or texture simulates the eyelids.
- 4: The face has a slight 'dent' in it to represent the eye socket. A spherical glass-like object overlaps the dent, behind it
(on the surface of the dent) is the eye is drawn. (think of a snowglobe with a picture on the bottom). With good camera, texture
options and lighting this would look very realistic, but it would be nearly impossible to achieve for me.
- 5: Same as #1, but with a 'glass-like' layer tightly wrapped around the eyeball itself, to give it a realistic shine.

Sorry that I can't make any quick example pictures right now... Maybe, if I find some time, I will add some quick drafts.
But my question is, what type of eye will fit the pony the best in your opinion?

[renhoek]

I didn't know you were a "borny"!
yeah seriously though model looks good.
also first and last time I post in a aaaaa thread :P

[LightningFire]

I think you should do #3. Anyways, if I may ask, who are you making? Is it twilight? Is it derpy? *gasp* IS IT ME?!?!

[Jorichi]

I didn't know you were a "borny"!
yeah seriously though model looks good.
also first and last time I post in a aaaaa thread :P

I guess borny is new... >.< Damn this keyboard to hell...
Well this is not specifically a 'aaaaa thread'. I'm just making a pony using Maya and I wanted some opinions on what type of eyes to use.
However, a 'aaaaa opinion' is preferred as they most likely have a stronger opinion on which type of eye might fit the pony model...
But any opinion is welcome!

I think you should do #3. Anyways, if I may ask, who are you making? Is it twilight? Is it derpy? *gasp* IS IT ME?!?!

It's a template for now, I can use the base for anypony I wish to make.
I think #3 might look weird though, but it all depends on how far it 'sticks out'...

I'm working on examples right now...

[idiot9.0]

Nice model so far. I'd say either option #1 or #3 would be your best bet for eyes, more so #3.

[Jorichi]

Some examples:

From left to right: 1, 3, 2. The others take allot more work to make a decent example of.
Don't get fooled by 2, that can be allot smoother more easily, this is just an example.
The biggest problem are the eyelids... For #1 it will be the bent edges that will cover the eyeball or separate objects.
For #3 it will be either a separate objects or drawn on the eyeball.
And for #2 it will just be drawn.

[LightningFire]

Nevermind, I pick #1!

[Jorichi]

I applied #1 and 3 to the head of the model. This might clear up the differences.
These are just tests though, I can make them both look better with more a bit more time and shitloads of tweaking.

I've been thinking while making those examples, and with the paint option and cartoon shading I can make #1 look pretty nice by adding black lines around parts
of the eyes and adding eyelashes and such. I haven't experimented much with the texture/painting system though, so it'll take some time before I get there...

[LightningFire]

You do know that in the MLP:FIM world, eyes are way bigger that that... Right?

[Jorichi]

You do know that in the MLP:FIM world, eyes are way bigger that that... Right?

I'm very aware of that, don't worry :p
This is just a test/practice. The eyes can be as big as anyone would want them to be. I did it like this because of the amount of
vertexes and edges I needed to drag around for a quick example is just annoying to do... I'm lazy. xD

[Jorichi]

Sorry for the double post.

But here is an update. This might be something I'd use (still needs loads of tweaking though):

They still look a bit weird, I'm working on it.
Dang, I really need to start working with reference images xD

Anyone got any pointers? :p

[LightningFire]

It's starting to look okay...

[Jorichi]

It's starting to look okay...

I'm taking baby steps. One at a time xD

[LightningFire]

It's starting to look okay...

I'm taking baby steps. One at a time xD

LOL!filly steps...Ok, so now that I think about it, why are you making this?

[Jorichi]

LOL!filly steps...Ok, so now that I think about it, why are you making this?

I've always had an interest in animations (2D and 3D). At first I thought I could never do 3D, so I started
to try Flash and other type of 2D animation programs. It quickly became clear that none of those were 'my thing'
to do. I kept on searching for what might be something for me to do, so I tried Blender (a free to use 3D program).
The program itself was a mess and annoying to work with, but I really liked making 3D models. Thus later I stumbled upon
Autodesk Maya, I grew to love this program. I got drawn in by MLP for their animation style during my search in the
2D animations and grew to like it. I'm not a huge fan, I just like and watch the show (later ended up drawing ponies here and there).
So I thought it would be more then appropriate to make a 3D model of a pony to practice my 3D modeling skills.

I'm practicing my current abilities with this program and experimenting with everything else.
I really want to try to get as far as I can with this. I hope I would be able to apply IK Bones and make an animation.
But I would be happy enough with just the modeling skills. It's time consuming, but aren't all hobbies supposed to? xD

Who know, maybe I can make someone happy with a 3D pony model or animation someday.

[trosh]

reminds me when I discovered sketchUp like 6 ys ago or something and I realised how awesome 3d modeling was. I made a bunch of kinda detailed 3d faces with the basic tools then and it was super fun getting things into shape.

[Jorichi]

After I went through some experiments with the eyes in a separate file I turned my attention to the ears to keep myself from going insane.
I went through allot of trouble getting the ear to render properly, which taught me allot on how to keep an eye on certain changes you make to the model.
I hope you guys approve! However, it's still FAR from done.

Filly steps... One at a time.

I'm also open for suggestions on what pony (from the show or not, doesn't matter to me) I should try making first. But don't expect to see a completed version soon though.

[rokit]

Fluttershy?
(that's the only one i know apart form RD)

[LightningFire]

They kinda look like cat ears.....

[Jorichi]

Yeah, I guess they need to be thicker...
But someone did point out that the pony ears are a pointy at the tip. I might have overdone that.
I'm working on making them 'rounder'/more curved on the sides. Maybe that will make it more 'ponyish'.

[Jorichi]

[Update] Again I apologize for the double post.
I enlarged the ears a little. I made them thicker and wider.
I also applied the (beginning of the) eyes. I'm gonna use method 2 in combination with a cartoon shader. It creates the feeling that the eye is a separate object and I can, and most likely will, give the eye a 'wet' look by making them reflect more light and such. For now texturing is a bit of a problem as my PC is having some trouble with it.
However, I still have nostrils and a mouth to make, which will probably require me to slightly change the nose in its general shape.

The general shape of the eye (which you see here as a basic oval) will be changed according to the eye type of the pony who's being made.

Perhaps I will show a quick example of a cartoon shaded render later on.

There still is allot of minor changes to make on the general shape of the head, something seems off...

EDIT: Eyes are WAY to close together. I'm fixing that right now.

FIXED:

[LightningFire]

Not bad, not bad.

[Lawnboy]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67827108/vector-fin.svg I want opinions on my vector....

[Jorichi]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67827108/vector-fin.svg I want opinions on my vector....

Awesome! :D

[LightningFire]

[Jorichi]

Getting there. I've been crawling for so long my knees are bleeding. Just a few more (most likely thousands) inches...

I added the mouth:

This has been the easiest to do. No trouble at all. The only thing that took quite some time was the plan of approach.
I'm thinking of making the lips thicker (rounder) though, another thing to experiment with...

Feel free to throw your criticism at me, I can use it.

Next step: Nostrils. I might need a magnifying glass for that...
After that: Massive amounts of dragging vertexes and tweaking for the 'perfect' look. Maybe even experiment with proportions.

[Lawnboy]

Don't change the lips, friend.

[Jorichi]

Don't change the lips, friend.

Really? Don't you think it looks a bit... Sharp?

[Lawnboy]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67827108/vector-fin.svg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67827108/sig.png

From seeing so much ponies nd stuff, I say that lips are un-needed. It doesn't look sharp

[Camewel]

In case you didn't notice, the bottom lips in the cartoon are sharp points. It's perfectly fine.

[Jorichi]

I know they are sharp in the series. I just had a feeling that it might look weird in the model.
But I'll keep it like this then. xD

[Jorichi]

Like I said I might do; Toon Shading.
With a proper painted model and lighting this will look way nicer, but this is just an experiment.
I really like the idea, so I'm gonna experiment with it allot later on.
Sadly my graphics card doesn't really like high quality rendering or ramp shaders.

Anyways, here is a picture of Toon Shading:
Left is single layer. Right has two layers. Sadly the colors are really strong, making other stuff fall away.
But that all can be changed by the paint option.

[LightningFire]

Mmmmm.... You know what you should do? You should do all 4 types of ponies, then let people download it from here, if they want to make their OC pony in 3D *cough*Me*cough*

[Lawnboy]

That is good, sir. Use it.

[Camewel]

I always thought three layers looked the best. I think you should add some textures before playing around with fancy rendering though.

[Jorichi]

Mmmmm.... You know what you should do? You should do all 4 types of ponies, then let people download it from here, if they want to make their OC pony in 3D *cough*Me*cough*

I am planning to make separate models for each type of pony for personal convenience. However, everypony is slightly different (mostly just the eyes though). Plus I haven't decided if I should use realistic hair (if my PC can handle that) or hair emulated by polygons, so it won't be easy to edit that.

That is good, sir. Use it.

I am planning to, but I have to wait and see how it works out with a fully textured model.

I always thought three layers looked the best. I think you should add some textures before playing around with fancy rendering though.

After I added some small nostrils I'm gonna do the texturing (once I've found a nice pony to make first).
The texturing was just curiosity taking control. And I thought three layers might be an overkill, but I'm sure as hell gonna give it a try.

[Jorichi]

(Oh dear mother of Celestia, this topic is gonna be filled with double posts from me xD)
So here is an update on some texture and shading.
I had to make the eyes separate objects for the texturing. But this does allow me to give them different glows and reflections.
From left to right: Two tone Toon shading with outline, Two tone Toon shading without outline, Three tone shading, Lambert material (default, just a slight color change).

the outline looks weird, I don't know if I can change some options for that...
There is much more possibilities with shading, but I'll focus on Texture and UVmapping for now (so that the shaders come out a bit better).
Anyways, my break time is over. I've got to get back to modeling the mane and tail. I shouldn't forget the wings either.
Geez, who would this pony be? (!)

[LightningFire]

I LOVE how the eyes looks!

[trosh]

haha now try to add rarity-style hair. I wouldn't want to have to 3d model that shit.

[Lawnboy]

haha now try to add rarity-style hair. I wouldn't want to have to 3d model that shit.

It's really hard just to vector that, let alone 3d model it lawlz

[Jorichi]

haha now try to add rarity-style hair. I wouldn't want to have to 3d model that shit.

It's really hard just to vector that, let alone 3d model it lawlz

It could be very easy, just time consuming. The curl in her hair can be pretty easy to make using a helix polygon and stretching it out.. I'll eventually do all six mane characters, but for now I'll use Derpy as a practice model (I'm working on the hair, making it look nice in 3D. It needs a personal touch as it just isn't the same going from 2D to 3D. It's harder then I thought.). Her eyes were taken from Google though, I'll eventually make my own. The biggest challenge will be Pinkie Pie in my opinion.

[LightningFire]

Yeah, pinkie will be the hardest :P

Anyways, I just ponified my info in profile ;)

[Jorichi]

Awesome :p
What's your wing-power? xD

[LightningFire]

Awesome :p
What's your wing-power? xD

IDK, around 170 or something. I'm not good with number :P

[trosh]

ok ! so it's settled. I'm gonna watch a few episodes tonight.
Thank you for indirectly making me choose my choice for entertainment.

[Jorichi]

ok ! so it's settled. I'm gonna watch a few episodes tonight.
Thank you for indirectly making me choose my choice for entertainment.

You won't regret it. Btw, I'm still 2 episodes behind myself... I've been fooling around with this program a bit too much >.<

[Jorichi]

The hair is weird. It's hard to have to rely on 2D images for you references for a 3D model...

I need to figure this out...

[LightningFire]

I just don't know what went wrong.

Anyways, nice work!... kinda :p
You just need to do the rest of the mane, THEN it will look good.

[Kyle Prior]

I think if there was some hair like this:

I only looked at a few pictures but it seems more natural from this angle to have the hair like this. Other than that, it's looking good!

[LightningFire]

Well, yeah, I gotta agree with Kile, it looks good enought like that, except that you still haven't finished doing the mane :P