The Tweak Tutorial

tWEAK tUTORIAL

Modeling with metaballs can be a lot of fun. Here are a few things that I've found make things easier while working on a metaobject.

Keep a solid mode (3DR/D3D) window open in Perspective view at all times. 3DR will be faster unless you have a 3D graphics accelerator, in which case, use D3D.
Right click on the Object Tool to bring up the Object Info screen and keep it open. This is very useful if you're trying to make a symmetrical object (such as the Tweak head) - you just have to copy an object and insert a '-' in front of the approriate axis to move it to the proper location.
Make the Axis tools your friend. When creating new metaprimitives, they inherit the scale and rotation of the previous primitive. 'Normalize Scale', 'Normalize Rotation' and 'Normalize Location' come in very handy. For every step in this tutorial, assume that each new primitive has been normalized prior to manipulation.
Modeling with metaballs can get pretty slow - even on fast machines. I usually use the 'Conversion: On Release' option (right click on the metaball icon to bring up options). The default Resolution settings are fine for modeling and testing, but for the final rendering, I usually increase the Render Resolution.
NOTE: When I mention axes in the following text, I am referring to Object axes, not World.

OK, lets get started...

Step 1
The obvious primitive to start out with is a sphere. Stretch it along the Y axis a bit. This gives us the basic head shape.

Step 2
Next, he needs a face. Squash a sphere along the Y axis and stetch it along the Z. Scale the whole thing down such that it is approximately 1/2 the size of the head on the X axis. Rotate it about 30 degrees around its Y axis and position it at the 'front' of the head.

Looks good from the side, but I think he could stand to lose a little weight.

Step 3
The model needs some cheekbone definition, so we'll use some negative metaprimitives to 'cut away' from the face. Make a new sphere primitive, make it negative, and scale it down. Using the solid mode screen to guide you, place the primitive such that it hollows out the cheeks. When you are satisfied with the location, copy the primitive and change the Y locatation in the Object Info box to negative to move it to the other side of the face.

Uh, oh. Now he looks like a slackjaw anorexic. We're not trying to model that guy from 'The Scream', so we had better beef him up a little...

Step 4
To balance out the hollowed cheeks, we'll add a jaw. Pop up a cylinder primitive and rotate it 90 degrees on the X axis. Scale it down a bit on its Y axis and adjust the length so that it is approximately as wide as the face primitive. Move it into location.

Not too shabby. He now has a nice muscular look.

Step 5
Now for the eyesockets. Create a new sphere, and make it negative. Rotate it 90 degrees on the Y axis, scale it down, then stretch it a bit along its Z axis. Move the first eye into the general area that you think it should go, then duplicate it and move it to the other side of the head. Spend some time getting the placement of the eyesockets and the spacing between the eyes right. You may want to increase the Navigation Render option for this step. The correct placment of the eyes will be very important to the finished product.

Looking pretty good so far.

Step 6

I had originally intended to make a nose and mouth for The Tweak, but didn't have much success. It became a bit tedious and I didn't want to get bogged down on details. So, I opted to use a negative cyclinder to at least make a chin for him. There's a lot of room for improvement here, so be creative.

OK, that pretty much does it for the head, now on to the neck and shoulders...

Step 7
The neck is just a simple cylinder, scaled down evenly in X and Y (to slightly smaller in X than the face primitive). Rotate it about -30 degrees in Y and position it far enough below the head so that the jaw definition doesn't get lost. This will leave a small notch at the front of the neck, but that will be taken care of in the next step.

Now for the Adam's Apple...

Step 8
Next, place a very small sphere between the bottom of the jawline and the top of the neck. Not only does it fill the gap left in the above step, it also adds some anatomical interest.

Step 9
Pop up a rounded cylinder and rotate it 90 degrees along the X axis. Scale it down in X and Y, and enlarge it slightly in Z. Place it so that it is centered on the neck primitive, about 2/3 down.

One more step and we're done...

Step 10
To finish off the shoulders, we should add the trapezius muscles. Bring up a rounded cylinder and scale it down significantly in Y and a little bit in X. Rotate it 90 degrees on the X axis and 45 on Z, then place it slightly inside the neck and shoulder primitves. And that's it!

Not a bad looking humanoid given the time it took to create it. I remember trying to model a face in tS2 - after about 3 days, I gave up and had nothing to show for my efforts except for a really lame head. LiveSkin is one of tS3's most powerful new tools, so explore it and have fun!

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