SimplyMaya - Low Poly Character Study - Freeky

This short three and a half hour project goes over the complete process of modeling, UV layout and some basic texture painting for the low polygon character you can see in the image above. It's a good project for anyone who's a new user as it will give you an introduction to some of the common techniques when modeling and texturing in Maya before you take on a longer and more complicated project. Low poly modeling is also important for real time applications like games.

Using NURBS primitives we create the basic shapes for the different body parts which are then converted to polygons to create some detail and define the final model. We take a look at the most commonly used modeling tools split poly and extrude, how to join up geometry, as well as methods for sculpting good shapes when working on a low resolution mesh and reducing the total polygon count on a character when working to a set limit.

With the model complete we continue with laying out flat UV's and creating a final UV map. The map we bring into Photoshop for texture painting where you'll learn a bit about different tools and how to work on layers when creating color maps. During this process we go over some different tools and how to smudge and blend to get nice color variations within a texture, as well as how to create a bump map to add an illusion of depth to your final renders.