recentl;y i decided that i want to begin making custom figures. any tips on how to 3d model charachters?
https://mspfa.com/?s=55393&p=1
important context: how much 3D modeling have you already done because you probably should start with the Classics like the “blender doughnut” or “make a crate. now put holes in it but make sure everything is in quads or tris” and perhaps even a bit of 3D sculpting (blenders sculpting tools are. okay. but zbrush is expensive and nomadsculpt is ipad only as far as I’m aware so. bleh.) and learning how to refine/smooth out those forms via decimation+remeshing. (I miss Maya’s quad draw. I miss it a lot)
From there you can find a million and one video tutorials for whichever program you have access to specifically work on character modeling because that stuff is. Pretty difficult. (also I’m using my phone rn so I can’t link any at the moment but if I remember I will laterrr)
HOWEVER if this is just for like static figures or 3D printing honestly just sculpting is more than enough. The last time I 3D printed something there were a few things to watch out for (such as making sure the model is ”watertight”) but I know there’s been leaps and bounds in advancement of the slicing programs since then so idk how Pristine you actually need to be.
But if you are only Doing characters and not rigging/animating them in any manner then just focus on sculpting tools. that stuff is meant for organic forms it’ll make your life easier
I'll second Autumn's notes on finding online tutorials, like she said it depends a lot on what you want to use the model for.
Most of my experience comes from low-poly modelling for game engines, so thats the perspective I'm coming from, but there are a couple of things I've seen newer people miss over and over. Definitely stick to quads and tris, don't underestimate the importance of UVs or normals, take the time to learn about them and how to adjust them (watch out for inverted normals in Blender as backface culling is off by default) Avoid redundant geometry that doesnt add anything new to the model. Make sure you have good edge flow (e.g. if you add an edge loop to the middle of the model does it appear predictably?). And also save yourself time and effort where you can - start by modelling half the character and apply a mirror modifier to make it symmetrical.
