Building She-Ra: An Introduction to My 3D Modeling and Rigging Project
The year is 2020. The Texas air is hot enough to fry an egg before it even cracks. One of my team members passionately talked about this show called She-Ra. The way she talked about it intrigued me. Maybe I’ll add this to my list. As I looked up a trailer for the show I decided, “You know what, forget the trailer! I’m just going to watch the first episode.” Which of course, just had to be a two-parter. So I guess what I’m really trying to say here, is thanks Izzy for introducing me to this show!
Needless to say,
This was pretty much my face the entire time watching the show
During that summer, I was working with my team on the animated short “Forever” with my team; and also figuring out what character I wanted to use to teach my students in the fall for the rigging course I was teaching. Watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, it dawned on me to combine this show with my class content. This began my journey into building She-Ra.
This may have also been an excuse for me to watch the show again…and again…you know, for reference!
Setting up the Course Final Project
This She-Ra model was used to teach my students HOW to model an organic model for rigging purposes rather than making the perfect model or a model with bad topology. This project was done in Maya to teach students organic modeling, UV unwrapping complex organic models, and rigging characters.
The project requirments:
Model yourself in the style of a cartoon universe of your choosing.
The Model:
The model will be created from no more than 2 cubes.
One for the body, and one for the head that can be combined later on
Spheres may be used for the eyeballs
Hair, teeth, and tongue will be discussed later and may vary drastically depending on the style
The final model must be in all quads.
No triangles…..including the spheres. (They always forget about the triangles there).
The Rig: (Due to time restraints of the course, the rig will be somewhat simple)
FK spine
IK Legs
Reverse foot roll
FK / IK Arms and must include an IK/FK switch
Part of the reason for these restrictions is that it teaches students how to get really good at manipulating geometry and making it do what they want; which is another reason for forcing Maya as the modeling program instead of zBrush.
Notes:
As a general rule, I avoid modeling proprietary characters or other intellectual property to avoid potential legal issues or conflicts. However, in this case, I am using She-Ra and the Princesses of Power as a teaching tool only, and I have no intention of using or selling the model commercially. My main goal is to share my process and insights with other artists and educators.
I want to give a special shoutout to my undergrad rigging professor, Atia, who taught me the fundamentals of rigging and helped me develop my skills as a technical artist. Some of the projects I'm using in my course are inspired by her teachings, and I'm grateful for her patience and guidance.
