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DIGITAL APTISTS BPING THE
TIMELESS CLASSIC TO LIFE

CIeanIiness and order are not

matters ol instinct; they are matters
ol education, and Iike most great
things, you must cuItivate a taste lor
them. -Benjamin Oisraeli
L
ast year l packed up my lamily and
moved to Orlando, Florida, right
alter three massive hurricanes
hit, to teach at the DAvE School. When
house shopping, l was very concerned
about the stability ol the houses l was
looking at, knowing that harsh weather is
common in Florida. l wanted to make sure
the house l bought was built on a good
loundation and with a good solid base
structure. l lound a great house that has
weathered the storms over the past year
and, though we have given the house a
lacelilt, the underlying structure remains
problemlree.
Like a good house, 3D models should
not only look good, they should also
have a strong base structure on which
delormations will take place. A complex
animation ol an organic object can be like
a hurricane to a house. ll a good structure
doesn't exist, then your model will not hold
up and problems will occur.
ll you visit any online CG lorum, you will
see artists asking to see wirelrame images
ol the models people post. This is mainly due
to the lact that most 3D artists won't call a
model excellent unless it has a solid structure
underneath. ln this article l hope to share
with you some basic guidelines that should
help give your organic models a strong base
structure that can make surlacing, rigging,
and animating much easier.
CLE7PLIPEEE IE PE3
C CCELIPEEE
lt's easier to predict how an object
will animate with clean geometry. "Clean
geometry means artists down the pipe will
run into lewer problems, compared to the
artist who creates sloppy or heavy models,"
Nick Boughen, Painmaker CG Supervisor
explains. "Artists should always strive to use
as lew polygons as possible to achieve the
modeling objective."
A simple mesh doesn't mean that you
can't have the detail you need to get
realistic organic models. se only the
geometry you need to get the detail you
want and only have detailed geometry
where you need it. l reler to this technique
as having "localized detail." Let's use a head
as an example. The lace, which has complex
mobile structures, including the eyes, nose,
and lips, needs much more geometry than
the back ol the head, which has a much
more simple and unilorm structure with
no parts that must independently move or
delorm. (See hgures 1-3.)
The lewer polygons you have in your
mesh, the easier it is to rig and animate.
Fewer polygons equals lewer points.
Fewer points equals less points to weight
and assign to bones. "Also not to be
underestimated is the ease ol creating v
textures on a nice clean mesh," adds 1onas
Gustavsson, LightWave developer.
Most game artists have mastered the
art ol clean models since they are limited
as to the amount ol polygons they can
use lor their game engines. Every polygon
has to have a purpose, and any unneeded
geometry is removed. We can learn a
WiIIiam "Proton" Vaughan
3 AtIisI, AuIhot, Teochet
Otlondo, Flotido
CC It tE FLC
I >zx <Y F<Ig@<z xz&<x&z
Iz z@zI< T<<I
lllusItoIion by Alejondto Pottillo.
HDRI 3D Copyright 2006-2010 DMG Publishing www.hdri3d.com

lot lrom this process even when we are

working on higher polygon models. se
only the geometry you need to get the
shapes you want. Keep your models
simple and clean.
7FE ^CL IP tE LCCF
Polygon how is a very common term
used by 3D artists, but relatively lew
modelers have clean poly how. "When
doing animation, the last thing an animator
needs to worry about is how the model will
hold up under any given situation," Pichard
Lico, Animator at Monolith, inlorms us.
"Granted, point weighting plays a huge
role in games, but a model with the proper
poly how will be able to handle more
dramatic delormations with minimal weight
revisions."
Edge loops are bands ol polygons in
a mesh that mimic real muscles and can
become the most powerlul tool in your
modeling arsenal lor good poly how in
organic models. "lt's important that we
make models as easy to read, select, and
manipulate as possible, and edge loops
serve a very important purpose in that
goal," comments David lkeda, LightWave
developer. (See hgures 4-6.)
1ust like lewer polygons, good poly how
makes it easier to rig and animate. Creating
morph targets on laces with proper edge
loops is a simple task (hgure 7), and when
applied during animation they will look
Figute 1-As menIioned, Ihe Ioce needs mote
geomeIty Ihon Ihe bock oI Ihe heod. Keeping
oteos like Ihe bock oI Ihe heod simple will keep
yout mesh cleon.
Figute 2-The Ioce ond Ihe eots ote oteos IhoI
need mote geomeIty Ihon Ihe tesI oI Ihe heod.
The whiIe oteos on Ihis heod teptesenI Ihe oteos
oI Ihe heod IhoI con hove o lowet polygon counI.
Figute 3-Honds con olso hove locolized deIoil.
Fingets will deIotm mote Ihon Ihe bose oI Ihe
hond ond Ioteotm so Ihey need mote geomeIty.
The whiIe oteos on Ihis hond teptesenI Ihe
oteos IhoI con hove o lowet polygon counI.
Figute 4-The blue oteos on Ihis Ioce teptesenI
Iwo common seIs oI edge loops on o Ioce. The
edge loops will help give o noIutol look Io Ihe
eyes ond mouIh when deIotming.
Figute 5-The oteos in blue on Ihis Ioce show
edge loops IhoI ote gteoI in mimicking Ihe lough
lines on o Ioce. These con be vety helpIul when
cteoIing motph IotgeIs Iot Ihe mouIh oteo.
Figute 6-Fdge loops ote noI limiIed Io Ihe
Ioce. Good edge loops in Ihe body con moke
ptoblems in oteos like Ihe shouldet o Ihing oI
Ihe posI.
Figute 7-Oleon geomeIty wiIh good polygon how mokes Ihe cteoIion oI motph IotgeIs o simple Iosk.
www.hdri3d.com Reprinted by special permission. All rights reserved.

more natural. "Good poly how means bone

and morph target delormations will work
and stretch as expected," alhrms Nick
Boughen.
One thing to keep in mind is that
although loops are great and you want
to have enough to get the shapes you
want, be carelul not to have too many
loops. Too many loops can cause
pinching and unwanted creases in your
object. "sing the right amount ol loops
can be tricky when you are lirst getting
into modeling, but the more models
you animate the easier it will be lor you
to judge how many to use," notes Kurt
Larsen, lGT artist.
tE FCEF CF tFEE
Areas on a model that will have
heavy delormations need an underlying
structure that will support the shapes
you have dehned. Although there are
always exceptions to the rule, it is a good
idea to use three segments in areas that
will delorm heavily (hgure 8). NoIe.
The three segments are the boundaries
ol two bands ol polygons. The middle
segment is where the delormation will
take place, and the segments on either
side support the mesh beyond the
delormation. Example areas lor using
the power ol three would be elbows,
shoulders, knees, hnger joints, wrists,
and even laugh lines on laces (hgures 9
and 10).
"l used to hght areas like shoulders
and hips when rigging and animating
characters, until l applied three segments
to those areas," remarks Alejandro
Parrilla, animator, "Now l leel l can predict
how those areas will delorm with just a
quick survey ol the mesh."
Pemember that although three segments
can be the solution most ol the time,
all objects are dillerent. The number
ol segments depends on the type ol
delormation you want to achieve. Too many
segments or loops can cause pinching in
your mesh, as discussed above.
FCLF FCIP FEFFECICP
l'm going to try and tread lightly here as
this is a topic ol much debate with artists,
and as mentioned above, there are always
exceptions to the rules.
When modeling areas ol heavy
delormation, you will get much better
results il you stay away lrom threepoint
polygons and instead use lourpoint
polygons. Threepoint polys tend to cause
pinching and strange smoothing errors in
most cases. While you can get away with
that in certain lighting situations or camera
setups, it is good practice to have your
models delorm nicely no matter what type
ol lighting or camera placement you may
be working with. (See hgures 11-14.)
Ngons, polygons with more than lour
points are also known to cause pinching
Figute 8-The seIs oI edge loops IhoI moke up
Ihe elbows ond knees consisI oI Ihtee segmenIs
pet seI. The middle segmenI is whete Ihe bend
will Ioke ploce, ond Ihe ouIet segmenIs keep Ihe
ouIet oteos Itom unwonIed deIotmoIions.
Figute 9-Thtee segmenIs pet joinI in Ihe hond ond wtisI helps keep
Ihe shope oI Ihe hond duting onimoIion. WiIhouI Ihe ptopet omounI oI
segmenIs, hngets con lose sItucIute ond oppeot Io bend like o woIet hose.
Figute 10-The Ihtee segmenIs in Ihe lough
lines on Ihe Ioce ollows Ihe middle segmenI
Io cteoIe Ihe cteose while Ihe ouIet segmenIs
hold Ihe shope oI Ihe cheek ond lip oteos.
Figute 11-This humon heod consisIs oI 1078
Iout-poinI polygons.
Figute 12-This humon heod consisIs oI 1290
Iout-poinI polygons.
Figute 13-The enIite onime gitl model consisIs
oI 6554 Iout-poinI polygons. NoIe. Only o
potIion oI Ihe model is shown in Ihis imoge.
Figute 14-This dog heod model consisIs oI
1650 Iout-poinI polygons.
HDRI 3D Copyright 2006-2010 DMG Publishing www.hdri3d.com

and smoothing errors in areas with

heavy delormation. Fourpoint polygons
are also known as quads. "Working
exclusively with quads should be the goal
ol every character modeler. Even though
LightWave 9 supports subpatched ngons,
l'd recommend avoiding their use il at
all possible. Ouads are just superior,"
comments Steve Warner, author ol
lighIWove 3 9 Modeling-A ehniIive
Guide. "They allow the lormation ol distinct
loops (which can mimic major muscle
groups and produce more realistic
looking characters). They also create
more predictable delormations in lacial
animation and posing."
One reason artists may use ngons or
triangles is to try to reduce the polygon
count in areas that don't need as much
detail, like the back ol a head. ll you
choose to use ngons or threepoint
polygons to help reduce geometry, try to
use them in areas that won't delorm or
won't be in plain sight. This will reduce
the chance ol them showing up in your
animation.
ll you choose to use all lourpoint
polygons, you can use a technique l have
used lor years with much success. l call
it "FourPoint Triangles." l've also seen
artists reler to them as "Pole Polygons" or
"Diamond Polygons." These "lour-point
triangles" not only help reduce poly count
but they can help dehne edge loops within
your mesh. (See hgures 15-18.)
Clean models with great polygon
how should be every modeler's end
goal. Whether it will be you rigging and
animating the model, or someone on your
team, make the job easier by providing the
most prohcient structure possible.
"Bad how, unnecessary use ol triangles
or ngons, and excessive numbers ol
polygons are pitlalls that all modelers
should avoid, especially character
modelers," adds Steve Warner. "You can
get away with a disjointed rat's nest ol a
mesh il you're just rendering a still. But
il your model is going to be animated
(especially with bones), those pitlalls will
come back to bite you. The cardinal rule
ol modeling is twolold: "Less is always
more, and use lourpoint polygons."
l hope this article at least gets you
thinking about polygon how in your next
model. Keeping it simple and clean means
less work lor everyone and more time lor
you to work on your next creation.
Lverything shouId be made as
simpIe as possibIe, but not one bit
simpIer. lbert Linstein
A tecipienI oI sevetol New Medio
Addy owotds, William Vaughan hos
on exIensive bockgtound in cteoIive 3
Iot ptinI, web, mulIimedio, gomes, ond
btoodcosI. uting Ihe losI 10 yeots,
he hos deliveted owotd-winning wotk
Iot clienIs such os Oompoq, New line
Oinemo, ond HollibutIon. Williom hos
olso Itoined otIisIs oI sevetol sIudios ond
schools otound Ihe wotld ond conItibuIed
Io six lighIWove 3 books IhtoughouI
2003 ond 2004.
ln 2002, Voughon joined NewTek's
motkeIing Ieom os Ihe lighIWove 3
FvongelisI, wotking closely wiIh Ihe
lighIWove developmenI Ieom, key
occounIs, ond Ihe gtowing numbet oI end
usets Io enhonce lighIWove's IeoIutes seI.
Williom is itecIot oI lndusIty ReloIions
ond lnsItucIot oI The AVF School's
upcoming Finol PtojecI. Williom's Iocus
is on conIinuously imptoving Ihe quoliIy
oI educoIion oI The AVF School, while
IutIhet esIoblishing Ihe school's ptesence
in Ihe indusIty.
Figute 15-To teduce Ihe polygon counI on Ihe bock oI Ihe neck oI Ihe
chotocIet, o Iout-poinI Itiongle wos used.
Figute 16-iomond Iout-poinI polygons wete used insIeod oI Ihtee-
poinI polygons Io teduce Ihe omounI oI geomeIty IhoI ended up in Ihe
wtisI oI Ihis hond.
Figute 18-The polygon how on Ihe leII shows Ihe use oI o Ihtee-poinI
polygon ond o hve-poinI polygon. The imoge on Ihe tighI shows Ihe use oI
oll Iout-poinI polygons in Ihe some oteo.
Figute 17-To teduce Ihe polygon counI Iot Ihe bock oI Ihis demon's heod,
Iwo Iout-poinI Itiongles wete used.
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