Building Alliances - Spider Mini Boss Modelling Process

This is where I'll be documenting my modelling process for the spider mini boss I'm making. I decided to use maya as I think it's better for modelling hard surface models. This also gives me the opportunity to better understand how to use Maya for future projects.

Modelling Process

Beginning

To start off with, I need to make sure the scale of my model is correct for when we import it into unreal engine. For this, I altered the grid display settings. A key thing I need to remember is that my model must be centred on the grid correctly so I can import it into Unreal with no issues.

To further assist me with correct scaling, I went into my groups shared onedrive and retrieved the base mesh Holly created for their merchant character. I have imported this into my maya scene and will use it as a reference to make sure my mini boss is the correct size.

I then created a cylinder to function as the spider's main body. I turned on round caps and altered the subdivisions caps and subdivisions height to create a pill like shape. I made sure to turn on the symmetry tool on the World X grid as my spider is mostly symmetrical.

The person is the merchant mesh created by Holly.

I created a folder using the shortcut, ctrl G, and renamed my objects so the outliner will be easy to navigate.

I then went in to Create > Free Image Plane and imported a saved PNG of the front of my spider design to use as a reference throughout the modelling process.

Head

I'm not very proficient in Maya so I looked up some videos to help me model certain aspects. I found a Youtube Video (Learnmodelingtexturing, 2021) that shows their process on how to model a diving helmet. Following the steps in the video, I selected the faces I needed and used the circularize tool (Edit Mesh > Circularize) to start creating the front of my helmet. I adjusted the circularize settings to my liking. 

Thickness 6.6, offset 5, thickness extrude 3

I then extruded the face and used the scale tool to flatten the front. I repeated these steps on the side of the diving helmet.

I then extruded the top of the head out to create the top of the head. After that I extruded all of the faces and changed the offset. I extruded again to create the rim of the helmet face.

I then went on to try and create the mandible shaped pumps. I first circularized the area and the extruded and changed the offset to create the base and rim. I then used the move tool to start shaping the pump.

I then shaped the pump a bit more and added divisions. I extruded some parts of it to create a tubing kind of look. To finish it up, I deleted the history (Edit > Delete by Type > History).

Legs

Here I created a bunch of cylinders and spheres and mapped out the legs. I spent a while resizing them and moving them around to make sure they are the correct size and don't look weird. I grouped them all together and duplicated the groups to create the other legs (aside from the front ones).

I then created the blade. I started off with a cube and then extruded it downwards to create the handle and blade. To create the blade point, I deleted the faces and used the bridge tool to fill in the gap.

I then pressed 3 to see what it would looked like smoothed. The handle looked way too soft (image below) so I added in an edge loop to make it look like it's supposed to.

I then used the boolean operation union to connect all the pieces together. I deleted the history and used the mirror tool to create the legs on the other side.

Front Legs

To create the front legs, I duplicated the group of the back legs and adjusted both the size and position. I needed them to be smaller as these legs will be used more for swiping rather than walking.

To create the vial on the front legs, I selected the cylinder and selected the faces I wanted to extrude. 

This is what it looks like after the extrusion.

I then created a lot of cylinders and rotated them to create this bolt shape. I duplicated this and put the bolts on the bottom.

I then rotated the cylinder so it connected to everything and then re positioned the arm so it looked good. Here's how it looks

I then joined the mesh together using the boolean union operation. I then deleted the history and mirrored the leg to create the other front leg.

I originally planned to keep the blade separate and mirror it. Then I planned to alter the mirrored object but I was unable to figure out if it was possible to separate the meshes. Instead I duplicated the blade and moved it into position. I made the blade thicker and I used the other blade as a reference.

I then altered the blade by changing the shape.

I then joined the blades together using boolean union and deleted the history.

Body/ Water Bottle

To start off, I circularized the back of the body to start creating the water bottle.

I then extruded it outwards and added some divisions to create the bottle cap.

I then extruded out some of the faces to create a similar look to the mandible shaped pumps.

I then used extrusion it out to create the bottle. Unfortunately, I was unable to create the bumpy parts at the end to shape it more like a bottle. I tried extruding it as well as moving the faces, vertices and edges but it just looked strange. I decided to leave it as a cylinder. This also helps me keep the ply count low.

Reflection

Overall, I didn't have too many issues creating the model. I'd like to do some more experimentation with maya to help me create a better mesh without having to really on Booleans to piece it together. I think if I had more time I'd focus on making a more detailed mesh rather than using the simple shapes. The part I think I succeeded the most in, was creating the helmet. Its the part that I found the easiest and to me looks the best.

Reference List

Maya 3D Modeling| AUTODESK| How to model a Low Poly Model, 2021. [Youtube] Learnmodelingtexturing, 14 September. Available at: https://youtu.be/Fc-KVWW6mj8?si=7KNQPJ8oxpHELR_o [Accessed 28 December 2024].