Modeling a Cartoon Character in Maya

3h 6mIntermediate2015-03-13

Authors

George Maestri

Animation Director and Producer

Course details

Learn how to model a simple cartoon character in Maya, and get the skills to create your own cartoon creatures, great and small. In this course, author George Maestri reviews the basics of character design, and shows how to model the body, arms, and legs of a character and add details such as facial features. He also details how to UV map your model for seamless application of textures and materials, which you'll add in the last chapter of the course using Adobe Photoshop and Maya's own 3D Paint tool.

Learning objectives
Designing a character
Creating a turnaround
Blocking out the body
Modeling facial features
Creating arms and legs
Adding details: teeth, eyes, eyebrows, etc.
UV mapping the character
Adding textures and materials

Skills covered

Maya3D AnimationRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXAutodesk3D ModelingProjectVisualization and Real-TimeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and Illustration

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - Using the exercise files

1. Basic Design

03 - Character design
04 - Creating a turnaround
05 - Setting up a reference in Maya

2. Modeling the Character's Body

06 - Blocking out the body
07 - Extruding the mouth
08 - Making eye sockets
09 - Adding detail to the face
10 - Refining the body

3. Creating Arms and Legs

11 - Extruding arms
12 - Blocking out the hand
13 - Finishing the hand
14 - Attaching the hand to the arm
15 - Extruding the leg
16 - Creating the foot
17 - Mirroring and finalizing the model

4. Adding Details to the Character

18 - Creating eyes
19 - Modeling teeth
20 - Creating the tongue
21 - Creating eyebrows
22 - Accessorizing

5. UV Mapping the Model

23 - Mapping the torso
24 - Fine-tuning the torso
25 - Mapping the arms and hands
26 - Mapping legs and feet
27 - Finalizing mapping

6. Textures and Materials

28 - Adding color to teeth and eyebrows
29 - Texturing eyes
30 - Creating a character texture with 3D Paint
31 - Creating textures in Photoshop
32 - Painting textures in Photoshop 3D

Conclusion

33 - Goodbye