Lego Minifig Base
by Quandtum
Blender Version: SVN r42667
Released under license is CC-0.
Original 3D reference:
http://fav.me/d2efj21
This is Marv and he was mad but not anymore, he has found new purpose in life. After his horrible day and realizing he couldn't be a space marine
http://www.blendswap.com/3D-models/scenes/lego-space-marines-2-0/
Marv decided to reinvent himself and join Star Fleet. Now he's expendable, hooray for having a purpose!
In all seriousness, after uploading Marv, I had a few thoughts.
1.) Eliminate the edge split so people could texture him.
2.) Simplify his textures... heck, make it easy to texture him.
3.) I wanted a more accurate model.
4.) Add the missing holes to the back of his legs.
So how to do this, while managing the complications from the original models loop flow (not originally designed for subsurf reinforcement)... Well, by good luck I had my original CAD models exported to .obj (since my CAD license has expired and I can't access them anymore).
http://quandtum.weebly.com/legos.html
They were a mess, but the important vertices were there so cleaning them up wasn't too tough. The natural consequence of doing this is that every measurement of Marv was produced by me using a digital calipers on an actual minifig, he should be quite accurate.
Also included in this package is a texture template for GIMP [ DIFF_Minifig.xcf ] to help get you started with your own minifig design.
A few notes:
Texture provide is just a sample of how the template can be used (and hand drawn in GIMP).
In the event that you don't want symmetrical textures for left/right arms and legs, it's intended that the material be duplicated and a different texture be assigned to it.
Rig is basic and set to conform to a real minifig.
One pixel in the texture sets the color of the hand, it is the upper right pixel (not sure if this is good idea or not).
Armature is on layer 2.
If there is something difficult with making new textures or suggestions to simplify, I'd be happy to hear them, the easier the better =D
@ Atlantisbase : Oh, so right, been too long since I watched TNG, but hey, that bodes well for Marv, he's further in his career now! Move over Picard, Captain Marv on the bridge!
@ Hjmediastudios : Here I was hoping to sneak it on by... no, I know you are right (shoulders are also more "fat" then they ought be as well). When I CAD'd the part I had to fully qualified the model, I not only have to specify every dimension, I have to procedurally specify how a machine would CNC the part. What am I getting at? For that part I deeply struggled on how would I "spin" and "lathe" the part to make it. So what got CAD'd was my closest approximation as I could figure to do. The cross section measurements don't match (interpolated measurements) but the end points do (as those are qualified measurements). I then further agitated the issue by modifying the CAD output, but the CAD output also has a ridge along the upper inner arm (part of a bevel that I couldn't properly flange, but coincidentally added to the flat spot on the inner arm). Lot's of blah blah blah to say yes, you are completely correct. I still wanted to use this arm because I thought the other was worse and I also wanted the measured endpoint dimensions. The arms may get vamped yet again, but that's more because I really don't feel like the UV unwrap for it, I wanted to make as an intuitive to paint minifig as I could. I think I should have retopo'd the mesh differently.
For the face, I simply suck at hand drawing stuff, but I can easily scale that in GIMP.
Both are added to the TODO list, I'll try to have an update soon. I greatly appreciate your keen eye and the feedback (also if there's more, don't hesitate, constructive criticism is a big part of why I upload, it's the only way to learn and improve).
Really nice! Although, for a base, this seems kinda heavy compared to SRBrandon's which is extremly simple has skeleton support out of the gate.
Marv's looking better, but his face is a little larger than needed. And his arms have more curvature on the inside than actual minifigs do. Trust me, I'm a huge fan of Lego.