We only need to worry about one half of the body for now. Since the body is symmetrical, we will mirror it over once we have the arms and legs built. Click Create > Geometry > Cylinder. Remember, the arm is 6 segments, and 7sides. We do this so we can have a line in the back to define the back of the arm.Place it where the arm is and convert it to an edible poly so we can edit it like we did the body. Right click > convert to > edible poly.
The next order of business is defining the shoulder on the arm. We do this by using a modeling method called “Connect” When you are in sub-object mode, press [2] to get to edge mode. Select the 3 edges on top of the
shoulder; right click and select “connect.” This will even distribute a line between the edges selected.
Now use the Move Transform tool and move the newly added edges up a little bit to define the shoulder.
Modelling Overview - Blocking out the limbs :
We will do the legs the same way that we did the arms. Use a cylinder to start and then edit it edit poly mode. (Right Click change to edible poly)
Right now we are just blocking the main parts out, so it doesn’t have to look like pant legs yet. Keep in mind it is important to have a lot of segments where you want the mesh to bend (like around the knees) For now we will just throw in some blocks for the feet and hands and then finish them later.
Now we have to attach all of the objects we made so we can mirror the entire mesh over to cut our work load in half. Select the body mesh and click the Attach button under the Edit Geometry pull down menu. Then simply select the objects in which you wish to attach to the body so everything is one mesh
Modelling Overview - Mirroring Over an Instance :
Now that all of our objects are attached as one mesh, we need to mirror that mesh over as an instance. This will allow us to work on half of the body and have our changes automatically update on the other mesh. This will cut our modeling time in half.
Select your mesh and click the Mirror button located on the top tool bar in max. Then you will get a pop-up menu. Under “mirror access” make sure it is set to “x” and under “clone selection click “instance”
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Now our next step is blocking out the head of our character. Click create tab > Geometry > Box. Scale your box to fit your concept drawings and give it 2 length sides, 2 width sides, and 3 height sides. Then edit the mesh like below.
Now delete the right half of the head in Polygon mode. Select the mesh with all of your body parts and press the attach button. Click on your head object. The right side of your head should re-appear and copy what ever you do to the left side since it is now an instance.
Modelling Overview - Connecting the parts :
You should now have every major part of your character blocked out. I will show you one last technique I use when connecting the major parts, then I will simply show you each version of my character as I define him more and explain how loops work.
When connecting the major parts go into Polygon sub-object mode. Delete the polygons that are going to be connected. Then right click and select create.
Then simply select the vertices in which you wish to create a polygon.
Do this to connect the arms, legs, and head to the rest of the body mesh.
The rest is too hard to explain in a word document tutorial. For now, there are some excellent video tutorials on building a low-poly character on Ben Mathis’s web site. www.poopinmymouth.com I suggest you check them out!
