Is it possible to create this head/race type in Hexagon?
madmaxneo1
Posts: 148
They are called the Gryx, many people fear them and call them beasts. But in truth they live a very peaceful and serene lifestyle mirroring the lifestyles of Elves, hobbits, or rural folk.
This is something I picked up in one of my game books and I would like to re-create this particular race.
I looked through some things like the creature creator but I didn't see any options that would help me create this race especially with the way the head is shaped, and with the multiple mini horns.
I also have Bryce and Hexagon. Should I use Hexagon or can I do this in DAZ?
Bruce
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
I am currently wondering if I will need Hexagon for this or not, as it seems that DAZ does not have the things I need to create this figure.
This is a picture of a race called the Gryx. They look fearsome but are just the opposite and are a very peaceful people.
I'd like to know if I will need any extra content for Hexagon or if I can make this as is in Hexagon (if I need to use Hexagon)?
If it is possible is there a tutorial that might help me with this somewhere?
Bruce
Duplicate threads merged.
The quick answer is yes you can make characters with Hexagon, but it will not be easy. Here's a link to a tutorial by Danny (CG Dreams), it will get you started -
http://www.daz3d.com/modeling-the-human-head
Good luck with your project
Much as I love Hexagon, if I wanted to create that head I would use Sculptris. (I say that as someone who hasn't yet seriously tried making a head in Hexagon.)
The resulting model would be VERY high poly. As such, though, it could be decimated in Hexagon.
In my experience that would result in a new, lower-poly mesh which would have very poor topology but the object would still look close to the way it did before decimation.
If you intend to animate this, I would not use decimation. I would retopologize it, so you have good topology for deformation (eyes, mouth opening/closing as an example).
Hi Madmaxneo1
Further to the replies above, perhaps some extra details might be of use.
A program such as Hexagon has all the tools needed to model a 3d version of the head you are interested in.
This particular head has distinct features - such as raised areas with horns - which normal heads don't have. But, if you succeed in modelling the basic head, you should have sufficient skills to create the extras.
I wouldn't wish to steer you away from learning to use Hexagon - it is a great program and you've expressed the desire to make your own things with it (in this and another thread).
Working with Hexagon is a lot of fun once the use of a few tools has been mastered. To do this it might be easier to try building a few simpler objects such as a stool, table or a jug - just to start becoming familiar with a few basic tools.
Start making objects beginning with a cube, sphere or cylinder. Just try things out and refer to the manual for guidance. Remember which mode you are working in with each action: are you in edge selection mode or face, object or vertex mode? You need to keep switching from one to another depending on what you want to do. You will soon get the hang of it and later be able to tackle more complex models.
Sculptris, which I mentioned is a free sculpting program which allows you to shape a mesh by painting, stretching, smoothing and so on. It would let you stretch out the horns on your figure's head, for example, just by dragging with the mouse. Nostrils, eyebrows and lips would simply be painted on - the brushes build up these parts as though clay was being added to a clay model.
Sculptris meshes can become very high poly because the number of faces increases automatically as you work in order to allow more detail.
The Decimation tool in Hexagon reduces the number of faces in an object. You can decimate more than once but the object loses accuracy and detail each time. Also, the polygons (faces) become more and more irregular and badly laid out.
Loosely speaking (because I don't have a dictionary definition) the topology is the layout of the faces which make up a mesh. When modelling any figure (especially for animation and for texturing) it is important that the polygons are built in an orderly fashion. Generally for a face or figure, the topology would generally conform to the underlying muscles and the technique of using what are called 'edge-loops' is applied.
This helps the various parts of a face or figure to be animated realistically.
I fully agree with Marcus Severus - rather start simple and get to know the use of the tools and the rules of building topology. Modelling the human face, especially if you intend animating it with expressions, is one of the most difficult aspects of 3D modelling.
Sculpting and retopologising are pretty advanced techniques.
To get an idea of what is involved, I suggest you open one of the head models provided with Hexagon, because they already have good topology and, using symmetry and soft selection, move the vertices around to conform to the drawing.
Good advice also, Roygee (and from others).
I meant to get back to you on the military vehicle when I had more to show but a spell of nice weather kept me away!
Hopefully I'll finish it over a couple of sessions.
Is Hexagon a MAC only program?
NO
OK, I'm a n00b modeler, so please forgive me if any of my advice seems silly. My inspiration for character modeling techniques comes from "Polygonal Modeling" by Mario Russo. What I really like about that book is that he explains subdivision surface modeling in words and in pictures. The pictures illustrate the application of the techniques he describes in a step-by-step manner. It makes it look so simple that I think even I could do it, LOL!
Beyond the basic small handful of tools described by Russo as essential, I think for your project Hexagon brings some elements that will save you some time. For starters, model with the symmetry mode or the symmetry tool to save yourself 50% of the work! From your sketch, things appear mostly symmetric, but I notice there is an asymmetrical detail on the forehead.
Second, I would take a "divide and conquer" approach to getting the various features of your head since you have lots of variation from the normal human head. Divide the head up into the different areas: ears, nose, forehead/scalp, chin, lips, cheeks. This would let me feel a sense of accomplishment (important when undertaking something like modeling for the first time) as you complete each part and get closer and closer to your sketch.
In Russo's book, he shows you how to start from a blank canvas, but you have an advantage that you could start from the Genesis 2 Male head. If you want to make your character a morph for Genesis 2 Male, then you need to preserve all the topology of the base figure, meaning you can't add or remove points, edges or faces from the base figure. This is a pretty tight constraint, so it might be easier to make a first pass where you allow yourself to change topology in order to introduce the desired details on the head.
To help you model from reference sketches, consider making multiple orthographic sketches (left, right, front, top, etc.) to help you model the profiles more accurately. The sketch you posted is from an angle and will be difficult to use as a reference image.
Just for illustration, I made a start on changing the Gentle Face model supplied with Hex into this Gryx character - it would take a lot more work to get it completed.
I wouldn't recommend a novice attempting to morph G2 into that face because the mesh is too dense to clearly follow the main edge loops and Hex's soft select isn't all that sensitive. There are parts, such as the horns, which cannot be done effectively without adding geometry, which nullifies morphing - unless you add them using geographting, which is a very advanced technique.
As you can see from the edge loop flows, it would be better to do it as a whole, rather than in parts, because the edge loops flow all around and across the whole and it is important maintain a good flow to follow the musculature. Start rough and add more detail as you go.
That's great work, Roygee.
I know it's a first stab at it but if the chin jutted out more so that the face slanted it would be practically done.
Then there are also Hexagon's displacement painting tools which I for one have yet to try.
Thanks for the complement, but it's a long way from being satisfactory :)
Just meant as an illustration that you don't need to start everything from scratch when you have ready-made starter kits provided with Hex. ideal for someone learning the ropes and needing a kick-off point.
I still don't understand what "orthographic" means. I think Roygee mentioned this term in my thread about blunting a square.
There's a short video clip on Youtube - "3d modelling quick tip" where the words "orthographic view" is in the corner of the workspace in Hexagon. I got very excited about this because whatever it is he's doing seems to be waaaaaay more along the lines of what I wanted to do with my "blunted square": he seems to be stretching a plane every which way to get it to resemble a predetermined path, in this case it's an outline of a black bear say. Then he suddenly rotates the work space in Hexagon and whatever he did displays a lot of volume! Woah, that blew me away. Trying to wrap my head around this planar sketching or stretching method if you will, and then the work suddenly has volume when you look at it a certain way... the work flow in the 2nd and 3rd images [attached] feels a lot more like clay and plasticene (real world) sculpting which is what I'm used to!
From wikipedia Orthographic projection:
Basically an orthographic projection doesn't introduce any perspective foreshortening (hence being a parallel projection; parallel lines remain parallel after projection). When you launch hexagon, if you switch to the 4-view, you get 3 orthographic projections of the workspace along the three axes and a single perspective projection of the workspace. Hexagon calls the 3 orthographic views "front", "top" and "right".
Ok, thanks! Sort of like a blueprint or architectural drafting then... I get it now. So is the tool being used in the first part of that Youtube video, to sort of "stretch" the plane-like object every which way to try and generally fit the shape of the bear... is that tool peculiar to ortho view, or is it always available? I have my Hexagon manual open; I sure would love to know what the tool is called!
The tool he is using is the universal manipulator - it is the saturn-like icon in the top left of your screen and is visible in all modes. You use it to translate, rotate, scale and extrude. It is all the tools to the left of it rolled into one.
He is demonstrating the box modelling technique. Start off with a cube, manipulate, and extrude to give a rough shape then refine - much like sketching in 2D.
Sorry I haven't been back to this thread in a long time. I had subscribed to it but I was not getting any emails telling me someone responded until just a few days ago. To all the great replies I do have Hexagon (along with Bryce) and I did try playing with it once before to alter an outfit so it would fit better. That did not work for me as when I changed something to be larger it messed up something else on the outfit....lol.
I will take a look at the things above and see what I can do with them, when and if I actually get the chance to do so.
It will work on Windows but I doubt it will work on Linux