Finished Sculpt

Here is the turntable from my finished sculpt. I'm happy with the finished result and I feel like it has a good resemblance to the person I chose to sculpt. I really enjoyed working in Mudbox and I learned a lot about working in 3D. I really enjoy drawing portraits so I was looking forward to trying the same thing in 3D and although parts of replicating a face are much easier in 3D because it is more of an exact replica than an imagined replica in 2D, some things were a lot harder, the lips and mouth in particular were a lot harder than drawing them in 2D. But once a looked over my muscle research and tried to think about the muscles that made up that part of the face I got the hang of it.

If I could work longer on it I would really like to put more colour and texture on the sculpt but I think for the time frame I had to work on it I did a good job. I am definitely going to learn more about mudbox and try sculpting more heads.

Hair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxy0sYuEMNQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCn7B0sfiaw&feature=related

Preparing to do the sculpt

Here are the reference images I have for the face I'm going to be sculpting

Toplogy research

Topology definition:

Topology is an area of Mathematics that deal with spatial properties that remain under the deformation of objects. The stretching of objects that do not tear or rip.

Getting the topology of a model correct is very important especially if the model is going to be animated. Efficient topology is crucial to being able to animate a model easily. It is important to be able to have smooth and correct topology with the least number of subdivisions possible in order to make the animation easier.

When creating topology for a model you have to remember to only use four sided shapes (quads) and more or any less and the shape becomes impossible to sub divide efficiently. When you divide a 3 or 5 sided shape in two it is impossible to do it and have the shapes equal this can cause real problems in the model and creates lumps and bumps. One way to fix this is to increase the number of subdivisions but this is a highly impractical solution. A model with a very high polygon count is harder to animate and would contain a lot more information than one with fewer polygons and more efficient subdivision.

When create facial topology the subdivision lines must follow the curves and muscular structure of the face as opposed to being simply a grid. This is extremely important when it comes to animating as the subdivided faces will stretch in a way that is unrealistic.

Poles are another element to consider in topology, poles are created when a vertex shares more than 4 edges. Poles should be avoided because they can create uneven shapes and bumps in the model especially when they occur on a raised surface. 

Reference sources:

http://www.guerrillacg.org/home/3d-polygon-modeling/subdivision-topology-artifacts

http://www.subdivisionmodeling.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907

Facial Structure

In order to be able to reproduce a head in 3D accurately I thought I would start by looking at the structure of muscles that make up the face. This way I can understand how the face is built up and will be better able to reproduce it in a realistic way.

Here's a quick diagram of the muscles that make up the face.

The facial muscle structure is very important to consider when creating topology for a model head. It is also important to understand the muscles in the face for building up the actual model.