Modelling Guide

Pose

The piñata must be modelled in the most neutral pose possible. This is to ensure that the mesh deforms properly when we come to rigging and animating it. This means a straight spine, straight legs, a straight tail, straight ears, etc. Please ask if you are unsure.

Topology

For piñatas the topology also needs to animate well, as you can see in the above image of the slug, the edge loops of the piñata need to oriented perpendicularly to the direction the model is expected to flex. You can also see that at the points that are expected to deform the most there is extra geometry to help facilitate it.

Wildcards (If Applicable)

There are two types of wildcards, ones that add a new part where there was nothing before, and wildcards that replace an existing part with another part. We will discuss both in this guide.

Wildcards That Add a New Part

For wildcards that add a new part where there was nothing previously, you model the wildcard part as a separate mesh. You can see an example of this type of wildcard on the images of the Chirpix below, where on the left we see the model without the wildcard mesh being visible, then on the right hand side we see the Chirpix along with the wildcard eyebrows being visible.

Wildcards That Replace an Existing Part

For wildcards that replace a part that would normally be on the piñata with a new part, you model both the part that would normally be there, and the wildcard part both as a separate mesh. We will look at an example of this type of wildcard on the Chirpix in the images below. On the left we see the Chirpix's body with no tail mesh visible, then in the centre we see the Chirpix's body with the normal tail mesh visible, then on the right we see the Chirpix with the wildcard tail mesh visible.

Adding Universal Eyes

WIP