3D Face - Part Four: Using Splines to model the Head

With the reference planes in place, it was time to start creating the model itself. The first step was to 'trace' the topology on the reference planes in the front view. This was done using Lines, or 'Splines'.



Under the Create Shapes column, the Line tool was used to create each individual point or corner defined in the Topology. One of the most important things is to keep each polygon in the model as a quad. Fortunately by following the Topology reference, this can be done without much effort at all.



The splines are created all the way down the face in the front view. Once all the Topology lines had been traced, they could be attached together as a single object in the program. Before doing this, however, one or more of the splines were transformed into Polygons by applying an Edit Poly modifier.

With the created polygon selected, the Attach tool (found under the Edit Geometry section of the Edit Poly settings) could be used to attach the rest of the splines. Using the Attach Settings (the little box icon next to the Attach button) was a quicker way of doing this, as it would open up a list of all the objects inside the project. You could then select them all using CTRL-A, then clicking the Attach button. Now, all of the splines are transformed into Polygons, and are part of the same Edit Poly object.



At this point, the model was completely flat. By going into Vertex mode inside the Edit Poly settings, each individual vertex could be moved in the Left viewport to give the model some depth. This is a lengthy process, and required some patience in trying to accurately create the look and feel of the face.