One of the more surprising discoveries that I have made about myself since embarking on this new adventure in VR is that I really really love 3D modelling. Apparently I was pretty heavily into art as a kid (even wanting to be an artist once upon a time), but at some point dismissed that side of me as being frivolous or something else that you do as an impressionable kid in a world that places vastly different value on different pursuits. Anyway, I’m very glad that I have decided to explore that side of me again, and I find myself always wanting to build new things in Blender. So, in preparation for the Norway expedition in November, where we will see orca and humpback whales feasting on the spoils brought by the annual herring run to the arctic fjords, I thought I’d have a stab at building some orca and humpback models, ready to be used in the VR experiences that I hope to produce as a result (and for others to use, too, should they wish!)
Hey, that whale is killer!
My first project was the orca, largely because they will be the focus of the trip, but in hindsight, it was a very prudent decision (more on that later). Thanks to their faily even and symmetrical body shape, I was able to model a linear mesh following the shape of the orca’s back and then use the screw modifier to expand the mesh into a 3-dimensional, cylindrical body. From there, it didn’t take much playing around to get the final shape and add the fins and tail – in fact, I had the basic body mesh complete in less than two hours (this was also made possible by my friend, Sarah, who was visiting and made me dinner so I could play!)
With a completed mesh, the next step was adding the skin. I decided to try my hand once again at texture painting (each time I do it, I have to go back to this great intro video by Surfaced Studio to remember how to set everything up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnRQhH3fEDY). The great thing about doing it this way is that I will be able to modify the markings to match the distinctive features of individual whales that we encounter on the trip. I have to say, I was pretty pleased with what I produced in a single evening (although there is DEFINITELY lots of room for improvement).
Humback’s back, alright!
The ease with which I produced a half-decent orca model may have lulled me into a false sense of security, and I immediately got excited about the other marine life I could “knock out in a single evening”. HA! After a thorough search to find marine wildlife of the Norwegian fjords, I landed upon the humpback whale as my next project. How hard can it be, right? HARD! I had not appreciated how the smooth lines and symmetry of the orca had contributed to the ease with which it could be modelled. Humpback whales, in contrast, are – as I would become emphatically aware – somewhat more bumpy…
I took the same initial approach as I did for the orca, but in hindsight that may have been an error (probably a gradual extrusion from head to tail would have been more efficient and effective). I was mindful from the beginning that I want to be able to animate it to show it filling it’s mouth with water and expanding, so I built the mesh so I can achieve that with the minimal animation skills that I possess – we will see in the coming months whether I can achieve that! I also used the texture paint approach again, but this was a little more complex as I had to achieve a mottled skin texture. But, thanks again to the Surfaced Studio video (and my Wacom drawing tablet), that was actually pretty straight forward. Next time I think I’ll need to set up the texture that I paint on to be a higher resolution, though – it ended up being a little more pixelated than I was hoping.
Gotta say, I’m pretty pleased with how they both turned out. My plan is to ultimately rig the models and animate them so we can show the behaviours that we observe and record while on the expedition. But that’s for another day!