This webpage is to help you through the process of creating a human face.

Tools Tips References Samples

ANATOMY Before modeling, it is important to understand the anatomy of a human body. Below are images of a polygon head compared to the muscle groups of a real human head. It is very important that the Edge Loops of the model moves in the same direction that real muscle groups are going. Not only is this critical in creating realistic models, but come rigging and animation time, having a clean and accurate mesh will help in making more realistic animation. For the head, the two most important areas are the eyes and mouth. Having accurate edge loops for those areas will ensure good facial animations. QUADS vs TRIANGLES One of the hardest things to do while character modeling is maintaining a clean and smooth mesh. That's why it is important to use Quads (4 sided polygons) during the process. Below are simple examples of why it's better to keep everything in quads. The left uses both Quads and Triangles while the right only uses Quads. They both work as models and can be rendered without any problems, but.... As you can see, once the two objects have been converted to Subdivision (or smoothed out) the object that only has Quads comes out a lot cleaner. This might not seem like a big deal, but once you start working with high detail models that are thousands of polys, the difference will really be noticeable. If you must use the occasional Triangle, try to keep it in a location that will not be seen on screen. (Ex: Bottom of boots.)