Creating the Basic Head Divisions

Modeling a Low-Poly Head

Creating the Mouth

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials >  Modeling Tutorials > Modeling a Low-Poly Character > Modeling a Low-Poly Head > 

Creating the Nose

In this lesson, you start adding new divisions in the center of your mesh to shape up the nose and nostrils. As the central element in a character's face, it's important to properly establish the nose's proper edge flow that will eventually link to the forehead, eyes, and mouth.

Whenever possible, try to always use quads (four-sided polygons) and avoid polygons that have five or more sides. Maintaining quad topology results in cleaner geometry, as opposed to polygons of five or more sides, which produce unpredictable results when comes the time to subdivide, texture, or skin your model.

Define the nose:

1. Continue working on your file from the previous exercise, or load the file Low_Poly_Head01.max found under \tutorials\low_polygon_modeling
2. Go to Edge sub-object level and, in the Front viewport, select the horizontal edges at the eyebrow and nose levels.

   

3. On the Edit Edges rollout, click the Connect Settings button. In the Connect Edges dialog, set Segments to 2.
4. Use the Pinch spinner to move the new edges closer and the Slide spinner to center them on the nose. Click OK.

   

5. Click Cut and create two new divisions from the current nose edges across the forehead.

   These will be useful later on.

   

6. Select the three vertical edges that currently define the nose, and then click the Connect Settings button.
7. On the Connect Edges dialog, right-click both the Segments and Pinch spinners to reset their values. Use the Slide spinner to align the new edge to the nasal bone and tear duct (the inner corner of the eye where both eyelids meet) in the Front viewport's reference image. Click OK.

   

8. Go to the Vertex sub-object level and adjust the new vertices in both Front and Side viewports to roughly follow the nose shape.

   

9. Click Cut and, in the Right viewport, create new edges around the current edge at the nose tip level. These new edges must be connected through the outer nostril vertex.

   

10. In the Front viewport, add an edge under the nose tip for the nasal septum.

    

11. Reposition the resulting vertices to better define the nose tip and nostril sidewalls.

    

Define the outer nostrils:

1. Go to the Edge sub-object level and select the three edges that roughly define the outer nostril.

   

2. Click the Connect Settings button. In the Connect Edges dialog, set Segments to 2 and Slide to 0, and leave Pinch at 0. Click OK.

   

3. Go to Vertex sub-object level and click Target Weld on the Edit Vertices rollout to enable the Weld tool.
4. Click one of the middle vertices on the nostril's lower edge, and then move your cursor towards the other middle vertex.

   Notice the dotted line from the selected vertex, which indicates the welding order.

   

5. Click the other middle vertex.

   This welds both vertices together.

   

6. Exit the Weld tool by clicking Target Weld once more or right-clicking in the active viewport.
7. Adjust the new vertices to match the volume of the outer nostrils.
8. In the Right viewport, select the vertex on the side of the nose bridge as well as the one below it, shaping the outer nostril.
9. On the Edit Vertices rollout, click Connect.

   

10. Go to Edge sub-object level and then click Insert Vertex on the Edit Edges rollout.
11. Locate the vertical edge that separates the nose from the cheek area. Click the edge where you want to insert a vertex.

    

12. Go back to the Vertex sub-object level and connect the three neighboring vertices that define the outer nostril.

    

13. Adjust the vertices to match the reference planes.

    

14. Save your file as My_Low_Poly_Head_Nose.max