Technical Support

I helped out Tom today on some Bevel issues for the character modelling. I thought some of this conversation content could be useful.

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Widowmaker: im bck
orpheus_x: hey dude
Widowmaker: ok r u free to help me wit something?
orpheus_x: if at any point i take a long time to respoond don't worry - i'll just have a customer or somthing
orpheus_x: wat do you need help with?
Widowmaker: can u remind me how to get a team fortress 2 style smooth on my model, the way u showed me the other day? u kno wot i mean?
Widowmaker: if itz easy enough to type me thru
orpheus_x: hold on do me a favour and go up to Lewis - tap him on the shoulder and say...
orpheus_x: ....nrugggggghhhh girl!
orpheus_x: in the nerdiest voice you can!
Widowmaker: i would but he aint here
orpheus_x: crap
Widowmaker: if he comes in i will
orpheus_x: kewl
orpheus_x: basically to get that TF2 look you need to make all your topology straight as this will effect your crease lines on joints (aka areas of deformation or AoD)
orpheus_x: also on all joints you need to have at least 3 (THREE) loops - one in the middle of the joint area itself and one each on either side - this will allow correct deformation of that skinned area
Widowmaker: wait wait
Widowmaker: wait
orpheus_x: once you topology is correct then select the bevel tool from the Polygons menu
orpheus_x: then adjust the settings down to 0.2000 or 0.3000 depending on the size of bevel required. 0.5000 is WAY too big a bevel for the characters you are working on.
Widowmaker: and the segments?
orpheus_x: please hold. accessing maya 2010 now.....
Widowmaker: roger tht
orpheus_x: set width to either 0.2000 or 0.3000 (depending on preference) and leave segments at 1
Widowmaker: right
orpheus_x: for the limbs themselves (ergo: fingers and other extremities but not limited to but also including faces etc) try to model them as broad square and rectangle shapes. after all the TF2 characters basically just detailed squares and rectangles with limbs sticking out of them
Widowmaker: im only doing the head atm
Widowmaker: btw is there an easier or quicker way for me to straighten my topology?
orpheus_x: not really without fracking everything else up. you could try normals normalisation etc but it can be a little hit and miss
Widowmaker: where is normalization?
orpheus_x: please hold. accessing maya 2010.....
Widowmaker: haha again?
orpheus_x: on your top menu select menu and then from the drop down list try average normals
orpheus_x: do you know what normals are?
Widowmaker: i wish u didnt asked tht
orpheus_x: A flat polygon situated in 3-D Coordinate Space necessarily has an orientation. It faces some unique direction. An imaginary ray pointing out from the surface of the polygon, and perpendicular to that surface, is called the normal of the polygon.

As there will always be two normals, one on each side of the surface, and pointing in opposing directions, the choice of the side from which the normal projects defines the front or "face" of the polygon. In 3-D computer graphics, as opposed to the physical world, it is usual for a polygon to have only one face or side, and therefore only one normal. This is because polygons are typically used to create a closed mesh representing the surface of a 3-D object and the back side of the polygon is therefore hidden inside the object. To save render time, polygons are kept single-sided and the normal projects from only the exposed face. However, occasionally it is necessary to create double-sided polygons that have normals pointing from both sides, and which therefore can be rendered from both sides as the different sides come into view during the course of an animation. The face side of a polygon is typically established in a Model file by the order in which the vertices of the polygon are listed, clockwise or counterclockwise around the facing (normal) side.

Normals can be associated not only with the flat surfaces of the polygons, but also with the individual points that make up the vertices where polygons meet on the surface of a model. This technique is used in rendering to create the appearance of curved surfaces rather that flat, faceted sides. Such vertex normals can be directly assigned in the model file, but are usually computed during rendering by averaging the normals of the adjacent polygons.
Widowmaker: ..... *dies*
orpheus_x: does that help?
Widowmaker: wen i manage to read it all ill tell u
Widowmaker: lol
orpheus_x: ;-)
Widowmaker: i tried the normalization but the bevel still has a very shattered final result
orpheus_x: shattered? - can you post a screen shot at the team blog please?
Widowmaker: how do i post the screenshot on here?
orpheus_x: on the team blog not steam
Widowmaker: ugh, ok one minute
Widowmaker: FUCK SAKES!!! I cant get onto blogspot
Widowmaker: ill get bck to u
orpheus_x: ok
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