[Figures 3, 4 & 5] These diagrams illustrate the design direction taken for the final character.

Upon viewing the first rendered image (Figure 5), I decided that this character had several advantages over the character that was originally chosen. This character had a certain appeal, but the appeal was more oriented toward adults instead of children. This character was more edgy.

The final modeling process this completed character started with a NURBS patch model. The NURBS surfaces were converted to low- resolution polygons soon after the NURBS surfaces were laid out, and finally were rendered using subdivision techniques. This workflow allowed for the quick and accurate fabrication of a model that could be edited efficiently and repeatedly.

This process is efficient for several other reasons that extend beyond the task of modeling.

1. The UVs created on the low-resolution model are transferred to the subdivided model during the subdivision process, making texture mapping very fast.

2. Animation setup is done on the low-resolution model. The controls, vertex weighting and bindings created in animation setup are all maintained during the subdivision process.

3. Animation can be done on the low-resolution model, which allows for the fast manipulation of the low-resolution deformable model. The intersections and excessive wrinkling that can occur during the animation process can be prevented by increasing the resolution of the low-resolution model after animating it, and previewing the results. This gives animators instant feedback for their animation.

4. The actual subdivision can be a control that is set right before rendering the model. This makes the entire pipeline faster.

During the process that was used to get this character from concept to cover art, the ability to change the model, sometimes dramatically, was essential. This workflow put the right amount of detail in the right location. This allowed the model to change many times without distorting into a ghastly creature, like the previous attempts. This also allowed the changes to happen without changing the original design intent while the character was in development.

NURBS Patch Modeling
The process used to create the final model started with a NURBS model based loosely on the original sketches (Figure 3). Throughout the course of the project, this character took on a larger role, and the NURBS patch modeling was never completed to a finished level. The models shown in Figures 4 and 5 are fairly preliminary and are useful in looking at the way the character “feels.” These models have a long way to go.

The construction of the patch model started with rough splines sketched in the modeling window. The rough splines were filled in with loose patches until there was a low-resolution network of surfaces.