Part 1: Creating the Blueprint for She-Ra
The first part to any successful 3D modeling project is to gather reference photos, creating orthographic drawings, setting up your file and starting a proxy model.
Gather Reference Materials
Hold on a moment while I go rewatch the show for the 7th time. Just kidding… 👀
But in all seriousness if the project you want to make has a show or movie already, then I find it the best to put the show on in the background while I search the internet for good reference photos to draw the orthographic views. One challenging aspect to a lot of shows like this is that we almost never see the top of the characters.
Orthographic Sketches
I made my sketches on my iPad using the Procreate app. One thing to note in making orthographic sketches is that sometimes it can be tricky to line things up. This will usually be discovered while modeling and a priority will have to be made of which drawing to favor. One of the most helpful tips in this process it to create the drawing on a square canvas. Something like (2048x2048) pixels and ensure the sketch is symmetrical and centered. This goes for both the front and side views. It is best to throw these on separate layers to make sure things line up.
Setting up the project File
There are two parts to this section. Creating the project files, and placing images in the project.
Proxy Model
Once everything is set up on the project file side of things, the proxy model is a great place to start! This gives us the ability to visualize in 3D what it will look like, and if there are any major issues up front. This can also be a great way to actually start the model. I know some people actually duplicate the proxy model so they can start over if needed. This is a great practice that I do use a lot. Sometimes it is better to start over than get stuck and sucked down an endless void of trying to fix the model.
As you may discover watching some of the process videos, there are issues with my sketches-which is almost a guarantee for modeling from sketches from a 2D cartoon show that will be turned into a 3D Model.
