[Tutorial] How to make a unique face on any CC in 15 min.
Mar 4, 2017 22:07:26 GMT
SalMasRac, MarilynRobert, and 17 more like this
Post by Mihura on Mar 4, 2017 22:07:26 GMT
So I had this idea, to do a quick guide with basic rules for the CC that is coming with ME:A but decide to do it for reals now with Dragon Age, so enjoy. This guide works for any CC out there, I bet even ME:A! If you spot any spelling mistakes do share, I am not an English native. Also using a lot of references from Andrew Loomis.
Step one: Choose a default face, this step in Dragon Age is not that important because you can alter the Face Shapes. Although in other CCs it can be crucial if all the defaults have a static structure.
Step two: Choose a Face Shape, this is one of the most important steps. It is basically the canvas you will be working with, so it is important to have an idea about what you want. Andrew Loomis can help you with this, so check his small chart. In this case I wanted to do a warrior with strong features, practical hair and a positive vibe, so the wide cheekbones face seem nice. You can use references too for this, maybe a real person you find worthy of caring your Ryder face? do not be afraid of experimenting in this step and teak forward and back in the other options, especially the nose and jaw. After that decide which Face Shape is better suited to build your Ryder (Do no worry too much about looking good or all the other options, this is just a way to get used to the CC), you will be back at this step by the end again.
Step Three: Clean your canvas, before doing anything else make sure the face has no makeup, scars, tattoos.. etc.
Step Four: Normally I go for the Nose Shape right after, I do this because the nose and mouth are connected in therms of length, they supposedly do an unfinished triangle as it can be seen here. For this step I strongly recommend seeing noses/mouths you like to put on your character. I say this because it makes the process a lot more easy for people that do not have an art background. Also do not be afraid to came back to this step after you are done with the mouth, jaw and cheeks, especially to adjust the nose position.
Step Five: Choose a Mouth Shape that is of your liking, do not forget about the triangle in step four. If your character has a big nose most probably their mouth is going to be wider. Now for the jaw and chin, you can have a number of combinations. Normally a strong and wider jaw goes well with medium to small chin but you can also have a larger jaw with a even larger chin. It all comes back to the shape you want, that is why step two is really important, the Face Shape in conjunction with the jaw and chin makes your character.
Step Six: Choose one Eye Shape and Eyebrow Style that best fits your character, tweak it a bit, be aware that the distant between eyes is one eye length, the same goes for the distance from ear to eye. For better understanding check this measurements.
Step Seven: This step gets a little complicated, the the most important thing is having a basic anatomy notion of the face, you are going to check if both mouth, eyes and nose are well placed and for that you can always check the measurements, notice that the face has basically three foreheads in therms of distance between hair line, eyebrow, nose and chin. Why I am putting this on the ears slider? well because one middle forehead is the height of the ears. Now that you checked everything and are satisfied with the results try tweaking the cheek sliders, it goes without saying that this influences the way your character looks in some angle, so if you love high cheekbones go for it.
Step Eight: Now that you character is done, see what works best in the hair department, complexion and eye color. You can always go for scars, makeup or tattoos. Remember simplicity is the key here, to much clutter in you character face is never going to end well. If you like huge tattoos, cut a little on makeup and maybe no scars. Also I am not going to enter on the whole color theory but you can always check that out, for better combos with eye color, skin tone and make up! If you do not want to touch that, go with black it never fails.
Also do no forget to have fun with the character creator, trying various variations, all those anatomy rules are not something you should always follow, asymmetry makes the character more real and it gives them personality. And do not forget to smile.
Step one: Choose a default face, this step in Dragon Age is not that important because you can alter the Face Shapes. Although in other CCs it can be crucial if all the defaults have a static structure.
Step two: Choose a Face Shape, this is one of the most important steps. It is basically the canvas you will be working with, so it is important to have an idea about what you want. Andrew Loomis can help you with this, so check his small chart. In this case I wanted to do a warrior with strong features, practical hair and a positive vibe, so the wide cheekbones face seem nice. You can use references too for this, maybe a real person you find worthy of caring your Ryder face? do not be afraid of experimenting in this step and teak forward and back in the other options, especially the nose and jaw. After that decide which Face Shape is better suited to build your Ryder (Do no worry too much about looking good or all the other options, this is just a way to get used to the CC), you will be back at this step by the end again.
Step Three: Clean your canvas, before doing anything else make sure the face has no makeup, scars, tattoos.. etc.
Step Four: Normally I go for the Nose Shape right after, I do this because the nose and mouth are connected in therms of length, they supposedly do an unfinished triangle as it can be seen here. For this step I strongly recommend seeing noses/mouths you like to put on your character. I say this because it makes the process a lot more easy for people that do not have an art background. Also do not be afraid to came back to this step after you are done with the mouth, jaw and cheeks, especially to adjust the nose position.
Step Five: Choose a Mouth Shape that is of your liking, do not forget about the triangle in step four. If your character has a big nose most probably their mouth is going to be wider. Now for the jaw and chin, you can have a number of combinations. Normally a strong and wider jaw goes well with medium to small chin but you can also have a larger jaw with a even larger chin. It all comes back to the shape you want, that is why step two is really important, the Face Shape in conjunction with the jaw and chin makes your character.
Step Six: Choose one Eye Shape and Eyebrow Style that best fits your character, tweak it a bit, be aware that the distant between eyes is one eye length, the same goes for the distance from ear to eye. For better understanding check this measurements.
Step Seven: This step gets a little complicated, the the most important thing is having a basic anatomy notion of the face, you are going to check if both mouth, eyes and nose are well placed and for that you can always check the measurements, notice that the face has basically three foreheads in therms of distance between hair line, eyebrow, nose and chin. Why I am putting this on the ears slider? well because one middle forehead is the height of the ears. Now that you checked everything and are satisfied with the results try tweaking the cheek sliders, it goes without saying that this influences the way your character looks in some angle, so if you love high cheekbones go for it.
Step Eight: Now that you character is done, see what works best in the hair department, complexion and eye color. You can always go for scars, makeup or tattoos. Remember simplicity is the key here, to much clutter in you character face is never going to end well. If you like huge tattoos, cut a little on makeup and maybe no scars. Also I am not going to enter on the whole color theory but you can always check that out, for better combos with eye color, skin tone and make up! If you do not want to touch that, go with black it never fails.
Also do no forget to have fun with the character creator, trying various variations, all those anatomy rules are not something you should always follow, asymmetry makes the character more real and it gives them personality. And do not forget to smile.
