Figure 1
Figure 2
STEP 2: Type a to Autosize the views. Then, in the Back View, hold down the Alt key, left-click on the Back View, and drag your view around until you can see the whole arm in the model sheet.
STEP 3: Select the four SubPatches at the very end of the stump
of the arm. (Figure 1)
Type Shift-f to bring up Smooth Shift. Right-click on the selected polygons
once to create new geometry. Type t to bring up the Move tool. In the Back
View, Move the points of the polygons to the wrist in the model sheet (Figure
1). Don't worry if the SubPatches themselves appear to be
lagging behind - worry about the point placement, first.
|
Figure 1 |
Figure 2 |
STEP 4: Deselect all polygons. Type Shift-k to summon the Knife tool (Construct > Subdivide > Knife). In the Back View, move your mouse pointer to the middle of the elbow, but above the polygonal cage. Holding down the Ctrl key to restrict mouse movement to one axis, left-click and drag the mouse pointer straight down, slicing through the cage as you go. Each polygon you Knife through will be subdivided into two polygons -- as long as you cut through the entire polygon. Make sure you cut through the entire arm. (Figure 2) If you stop partway, you will leave behind some polygons with more than four points -- such polygons cannot be turned into SubPatches.
STEP 5: You have just set a specific length and direction for the Knife tool. Move your mouse pointer to the middle of the upper arm and right-click. (If you hold down the right mouse button when you click, then you can still adjust the position of this cut. If you let go of the right-mouse button, you can still adjust the cut by left-clicking and dragging that part of the blue line that lies outside of the geometry). Then move your mouse pointer to the middle of the forearm and right-click. It should look like Figure 3.
Figure 3
STEP 6: Select the outermost four rows of points. Activate the Taper 1 tool (Modify > Stretch > Taper). In the Back View, right-click on the center of the root of the arm, hold down the right mouse button and drag to the right until the mouse pointer reaches the wrist. Then let go of the right mouse button. You should have seen a pale blue triangle being dragged out with the mouse pointer. This triangle represents the Taper tool's area of influence, with the widest part of the triangle representing the greatest amount of influence, and the tapered end representing the least amount of influence. You can still adjust this triangle by right-clicking on and dragging its ends around in any of the View windows. In the Top View, right-click and drag each end of the triangle to the center of the arm. It should look like Figure 4.
STEP 7: In the Right View, move the mouse pointer over the center
point of the stump of the wrist. Left-click and drag to the left until
the row of points in the center of the forearm touch the black lines of
the model sheet. (Figure
4)
Figure 4 |
Figure 5 |
STEP 8: Deactivate the Taper tool. Select the row of points that define the wrist. Type h to bring up the Stretch tool. In the Back View, move the mouse pointer to the center of the wrist. Holding down the Ctrl key to restrict movement to one axis, left-click and drag down until the points fit within the black lines of the model sheet. (Figure 5)
Note: By squashing the wrist into an oval after the Knife cuts, you have ensured that the points made by those cuts (the points at the elbow, central upper arm, and center of the forearm) form circles. This is because the wrist points, generated from the circle of the arm stump, also formed a circle, and the polygons connecting the wrist points to the arm circle thus formed a round cylinder.Keeping the arm as smooth and as cylindrical as possible will make the celshading look smoother and better.
STEP 9: In the Back View, select the row of points in the center
of the upper arm (Figure
6). Type t to bring up the Move tool. Using the Ctrl key
to restrict movement to one axis, Move these points down until they lie
within the black lines that define the arm on the model sheet.
Figure 6 |
Figure 7 |
STEP 10: Deselect everything. Activate the Knife tool. Holding down the Ctrl key to restrict movement to one axis, use the Knife tool in the Back View to slice through the arm between the elbow and the center of the forearm, along the inner edge of the glove. (Figure 7)
STEP 11: Select the row of points that form the elbow. In the
Back View, use the Stretch tool to make the points fit within the black
lines of the model sheet. (Figure
8)
Figure 8 |
Figure 9 |
STEP 12: Deselect everything. In the Back View, select the row of points between the elbow points and the center of the forearm. Move the mouse pointer to the Back View. Holding down the Alt key on your keyboard, tap the up arrow button on your keyboard until the points (or at least the SubPatch lines running through them) lie between the black lines of the model sheet. (Figure 9)
Note: When holding down Alt, you can use the arrow keys to nudge geometry around in increments equal to one-tenth of the current grid size. If you need finer increments, you must Zoom in to a smaller grid size.
This arm is starting to take shape, but it needs more rows of points around the elbow. Otherwise, this elbow won't be able to maintain its volume when bent.
STEP 13: Deselect everything. Use the Knife tool to make two cuts through the arm, one on either side of the row of points defining the elbow. It should look like Figure 10.
Figure 10
STEP 14: That's about it for the arm right now. Save this object as torso08.lwo.