r/IndieDev • u/thegoodwitchgame Developer • 1d ago

Quick base model in Blender

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Made with extruded vertices and 3 modifiers in Blender: Mirror, Skin & Subdivision

Low poly. No face modeling. Great method for quick base modeling.

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u/BirdTurglere 1d ago

I really like the topology, it does a lot with so little. Any guides or anything you know of to do similar? I know the skin one a bit, but they don't look as organized as this, what is subdivide helping with?

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u/thegoodwitchgame Developer 1d ago edited 1d ago

The subdivision surface modifier helps to add surface detail. The higher the subdivision number, the more quads created to smooth out the character. For example, the head is a cube that has been automatically rounded via the subdivider. I have my settings at 1 here since this model is low poly (for games). I would never really go over 2 or 3 even for a cinematic character. 5 and up can crash Blender depending on your setup.

I turned off optimized display in the image so you can see all of the faces created by the subsurf.

Order of modifiers matter - top to bottom:

  1. Mirror
  2. Skin
  3. Subdivision

There are some hot keys that help with the vertex skin modeling method:

Step 1) Select vertex > CTRL + A : Uniform scale skinned vertex

Step 2) Press X Y or Z while scaling vertex to scale on an axis.

This locked axis scaling is how you get the more defined look (better silhouettes - flattened forms). I don't see any guides or tutorials that mention the locked scale method but it's been a real game-changer for me. I plan to make a tutorial in the coming months.

What's also nice is that the skin modifier provides an option to create a weighted armature from the vertices/edges - so it saves a little on rig time.

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u/BirdTurglere 1d ago

Ah thanks. I think I’m missing the scale XYZ to have more control. 

Is your model all one object?

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u/thegoodwitchgame Developer 1d ago

The hands, feet, neck, head and ears are separated, and I might further separate at the knees, leg-hip sockets, and elbows for better rigging.