Modeling a Cartoon Character in Maya

Learn how to use Maya to model a simple cartoon character that can be later rigged and animated in the program of your choice.

Learn how to model a simple cartoon character in Maya, and get the skills to create your own cartoon creatures, great and small. In this course, author George Maestri reviews the basics of character design, and shows how to model the body, arms, and legs of a character and add details such as facial features. He also details how to UV map your model for seamless application of textures and materials, which you'll add in the last chapter of the course using Adobe Photoshop and Maya's own 3D Paint tool.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using the exercise files

1. Basic Design

• Character design
• Creating a turnaround
• Setting up a reference in Maya

2. Modeling the Character's Body

• Blocking out the body
• Extruding the mouth
• Making eye sockets
• Adding detail to the face
• Refining the body

3. Creating Arms and Legs

• Extruding arms
• Blocking out the hand
• Finishing the hand
• Attaching the hand to the arm
• Extruding the leg
• Creating the foot
• Mirroring and finalizing the model

4. Adding Details to the Character

• Creating eyes
• Modeling teeth
• Creating the tongue
• Creating eyebrows
• Accessorizing

5. UV Mapping the Model

• Mapping the torso
• Fine-tuning the torso
• Mapping the arms and hands
• Mapping legs and feet
• Finalizing mapping

6. Textures and Materials

• Adding color to teeth and eyebrows
• Texturing eyes
• Creating a character texture with 3D Paint
• Creating textures in Photoshop
• Painting textures in Photoshop 3D

Conclusion

• Goodbye