Jide – Yeah, yeah, I’m no man… though I get called it often enough that I don’t even notice anymore, it’s just an expression. 
I’m so glad you guys are likin that page!! It’s utterly spiffy!! And yeah, there will be more later-- whole thing is still under construction. If you have any recommendations, let me know! 
lostpencil – The ironic thing about that ‘beauty’ page is just how SCARY their ‘ideal face mask’ looks… :argh:
Yep, it’s pretty scary looking on it’s own, but as a overlay you can see how it sort of works.
You mean someplace specific (this thread, my page, or something), buzz, or just the world in general? (if you mean the world in general… gah… no kidding)
IMO as long as it’s not a nurbs model topology does not realy matter…Topology is really important for good uv layout though
Nevertheless it is good to have a good understanding of how the model is going to be animated so as to put geometry in the proper places…for shizzle!!!.
man, this thread is awesome…thanks for putting up all of the wire frames. I just wanted to get some feedback on the topology that i used for this head. http://www.mikefortner.com/pages/anatomy_child_head.htm I really just need some affirmation, cause I think i totally understand what you all are saying, but since I have not animated it yet, i’m not possitive if it works.
Also, I generally use the add topology in polys, sculpt in sub-d, method of modelling…it’s really cool to see that some other talented people do the same. I’ve been called crazy from some great modellers for doing that.
fortner_m-- the most glaring one is the laugh wrinkle. It should connect from top of the wings of the nose going around the corners of the mouth, and then close between the bottom lip and the chin.
ahh I love this thread!
I’m after some topology advice too, I’ve been looking at this thread for a while now, and am cleaning up the topology of a model I’ve been working on… I’d like to know if I’m doing it right! If anyone has spare time… http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=465798#post465798 I haven’t had any animation experience either, so, I’d appreciate any insight at all! :bounce:
ceql-- from the front view, her ears are not only too high, but not “attached” enough to her head.
From the profile, her neck comes waaay too forward, making her look like she’s got a strange chin. The back of her skull is off too.
Topology wise, I see some potential problems.
The yellow is proportional fixes, and pink is topology fixes.
These are my preferences, and in no way are they the best way to do things.
Wow!! Thank you sooo much Lunatique!!! :bounce: :bounce: 
All the suggested changes make sense to me, thanks!!
I started implementing some of the changes today, and it’s working out pretty well thus far… much cleaner aound the mouth especially! Thanks Lunatique! I lub j00 man!
I should be finished with the changes when I get all these essays out of the way! 
I know its going slightly off the topic of topology but does anyone have a particular order in creating facial features that makes the topology construction process easier?
For instance at the moment I first draw out a profile line so at least I know where I’m going and perhaps a jawline and mouth line just as guides, then I will build eyeballs, eyebrows, eyelids, jawline, nose, mouth then ears.
Does order of construction really matter?
I’ve been using the Dave way(www.thehobbitguy.com) exclusively, so I do them all at the same time. But the few times I tried box-modelling, I started with general shape first, then start refining the eye loops first, then the laugh wrinkles, the nose, the lips, the jaw line, then the neck.
The way I’ve found to go the most smoothly for me is to start with circles of polys around the eyes and mouth, and just extrude edges outwards from there, and hook it all together, then attach it to a skull I made a while back with Wiro’s box modeling tutorial. Think detail-out without actually adding a lot of detail until I’ve got the whole shape blocked in, and know I have the loops going how I want. If that makes sense.
i just started modelling my reall …worthy head…
but i think the topology aint… great.
so after this ill make a base mesh. and look at all your
whire frames… and make one of it…
so i can allways model from that, and hopefully ill get the hang of it.
but this is what i have now
http://lightning3d.250free.com/3%20heads%20FPS.jpg
i wont even show you the whire heheh lol
ill get it exactly right the next time… it aint for animation this one so
I see tons of wonderful heads but how exactly do you guys get them like that? I assume most of you use box modeling or the “dave-k way”? if you could give a breif overview of your techniques/ workflow (like do you start roughing in the brows and nose first, or the lips and work up ect)
Thanks 
Since I started with Lightwave and moved on to Maya, XSI, and Houdini, Ive used diferent approaches and mixes of them as they suit my mood.
Diferent software tools offer diferent flavors of essentially the same tools.
I started out with the poly by poly method, moved on to box modeling, then found that building very rough shapes from a box using poly cutting tools can also give you very precise and speedy results. When it comes down to it, knowing what you want from your topology is all that really maters, not how you get there.
That being said Its usually a good idea to prepare radial areas for extruding more detail at some stage of the process… meaning the eyes or mouth areas for instance. extruding(smoothshifting for you lightwave people) will get you the added rings quickly. I generally work rough and then use a subdividing tool (like bandsaw) for the bands of gemetry to further refine the eye lits or lips.
Explore the tools your software gives you for speedy waqys to get the topologies you want… Straight box extruding is initially fast but I find i end up losing the time i gained trying to refine the topology once I have the geometry i got so quickly.
Originally posted by Pauldls
[B]I see tons of wonderful heads but how exactly do you guys get them like that? I assume most of you use box modeling or the “dave-k way”? if you could give a breif overview of your techniques/ workflow (like do you start roughing in the brows and nose first, or the lips and work up ect)Thanks
[/B]
Originally posted by Rich Suchy
When it comes down to it, knowing what you want from your topology is all that really maters, not how you get there.
I absolutely agree. That’s how I feel too. That’s why I always map out my topology(whatever I CAN map out) on a 2D image first and do my planning that way, THEN I do the actual 3D model. Once you have a good idea what the topology is like, you can model with just about any method and get there–the preference is up to you.
