Game Character Modeling and Animation with 3ds Max This page intentionally left blank Game Character Modeling and Yancey Clinton Animation with 3ds Max AMSTERDAM (cid:127) BOSTON (cid:127) HEIDELBERG (cid:127) LONDON NEW YORK (cid:127) OXFORD (cid:127) PARIS (cid:127) SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO (cid:127) SINGAPORE (cid:127) SYDNEY (cid:127) TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Senior Acquisitions Editor: Laura Lewin Development Editor: Georgia Kennedy Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison Senior Project Manager: Paul Gottehrer Assistant Editor: Chris Simpson Marketing Manager: Marcel Koppes Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2008, Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit- ted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail: [email protected]. You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clinton, Yancey. Game character modeling and animation with 3ds max / Yancey Clinton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-240-80978-6 (alk . paper) 1. Computer animation. 2. 3ds max (Computer file) 3. Computer graphics. 4. Computer games— Design. I. Title. TR897.7.C56 2007 794.8'1669—dc22 2007030285 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-240-80978-6 ISBN: 978-0-240-80978-8 (DVD) For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com 07 08 09 10 11 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Contents Introduction ix Who Is This Book For? ix How Is This Book Different? x What It Takes to Make a 3D Character ....................1 Hardware Resources ................................1 Software Resources ..................................2 Time Resources ........................................2 Of MODs, Maps, and Machinima ...........3 An Introduction to the 3D Environment .................................5 What Makes Up A 3d Character? ............7 Mesh ........................................................7 Texture .....................................................8 Skeleton ...................................................9 v vi Contents Animation .............................................10 Getting the Boot ....................................78 Compiling .............................................11 Getting in Shape ...................................82 The Process ...........................................11 Mirror, Mirror ........................................88 Building a Better Head .........................93 The Toolbox ..........................................11 The 3ds Max Interface ...........................11 Getting a Head......................................93 Primitive Creation ..................................12 Eye Contact ...........................................96 Viewport Navigation ..............................13 A Deep Stare .........................................96 Making Selections..................................15 Mouthing Off ........................................99 Primitive Editing ..................................16 Take It on the Chin .............................101 Making a Face ....................................103 Transforms ............................................16 The Old Noggin..................................105 Parameters ............................................24 Right on the Nose ...............................108 Modifiers ...............................................25 Spline Modeling ...................................31 Forehead ............................................113 Getting Cheeky ...................................115 What Is Spline Modeling? ......................31 Face the Facts .....................................117 Creation ................................................32 A Hole in the Head .............................117 Editing ..................................................33 Going Poly Again ................................119 The Leaf Tutorial ..................................35 Smooth Sailing ...................................127 Part One: Modeling ...............................35 Off the Top of Your Head ....................130 The Material Editor ................................41 The Leaf Tutorial ..................................48 Part Two: Texturing ...............................48 The Unwrap .......................143 Conclusion ...........................................52 Body Unwrap .....................................144 Checkers ............................................144 Modeling a 3D Character ...53 Mapping ............................................145 Getting Things Square ........................146 Character Design ..................................53 The Back ............................................148 Building a Better Body .........................54 Arms ..................................................148 Tracing the Outline ................................55 The Seam ...........................................149 Filling It In .............................................55 The Hand ...........................................150 Making the Grid ....................................57 The Next Leg ......................................150 Check Your Work ...................................59 The Boot ............................................152 Going 3D ..............................................60 Flatting It Out ....................................154 Fixing a Hole .........................................63 Point by Point .....................................155 Almost Halftime .....................................64 Breaking the Mold ..............................158 Mirror ...................................................66 The Head ...........................................177 Getting Attached ...................................68 Face ...................................................180 The Shape of Things ..............................71 Putting It Together .............................185 Going Poly ............................................72 Exporting UVW Maps .........................188 Lending a Hand .....................................73 Another Option ..................................189 Contents vii Photo -Realistic Exportation .......................301 Map Making .................193 ActorX ................................................301 Photo-Realistic, Realistic, and Cartoon Importing ...........................................305 Detail ...........................................193 Ugh, Text Work ..................................312 Creating a Realistic Map ......................196 Tileable Textures ..................................221 Exporting from Photoshop ...................229 Animation .........................319 Shadows and Creases ....................229 The Bad Luck Elf .................................320 ActorX ................................................324 Unreal Editor ......................................325 Model Motion ...................237 Introduction to Character Studio ......237 Biped ...................................................239 Appendix A ........................331 Figure .................................................240 The Max Setup ....................................334 Fitting In ............................................242 Funny Bones .......................................245 The Bouncing Ball ...............................246 Appendix B ........................337 Biped Animation .................................252 Pre-Made Animations .........................253 Footstep Mode ...................................254 Motion Flow Mode .............................255 Index ..................................343 FK/IK and the Biped ............................260 A Simple Arm Rig ................................262 FK Animation ......................................265 IK Animation ......................................268 Freeform Mode ...................................271 Biped Footsteps ..................................273 One Small Fix Before Rigging, for Models Used in UT2004 ...........278 The Body Rig ......................................280 The Head Rig ......................................292 Testing...Testing .................................296 Advanced Vertex Animation ..............298 Physique’s Bulge .................................298 Skin Morph ........................................298 Morpher .............................................299 Skin Wrap ..........................................299 Conclusion .........................................299 This page intentionally left blank Introduction Figure I.1 Welcome! You have just taken your first step into a larger world. The virtual world is an infinite space inside the box where you can create a world of your own—one in which you can have total control and manipulate all the rules of physics as you see fit. In this book, we will explore one aspect of that world: characters. As I lead you though the process, you will be introduced to the tools and methods of the video game artist. By the time you are finished with the book, I hope you will be excited enough to continue your exploration of this limitless world. Who Is This Book For? This is a book for the avid gamer who wants to take his or her real- time adventures to the next level: customization. This book is also for anyone interested in making a career in game production. Have you ever wanted to improve upon your existing games or perhaps even had an idea for a game you would like to play? You’re in luck! The tools that are readily available and included with this book will ix