That's the top surface sketched out I think. The most visually important area so I've worked this over a couple of times to even up the polygon flow & size as much as I can. Might change a few things yet I'll see how it pans out.
Blender's thickness modifier is a quick 'n dirty way to add volume to a surface mesh. In this case it's perfect for initialising the interior & underside, just to give me a good starting point for editing.
Started the lower jaw mesh, didn't want to go further on the cranium without it. Not necessarily a mega snug fit when closed but they have to work together, especially at articulation point.
Made the mandible teeth as a unit from rectangle with multiple cuts on long axis.
Ceratopsian dental batteries form a cutting edge from many small teeth constantly being replaced from underneath. I can sculpt in some detail later to add some inter-tooth separation.
Added a small hole between eye & beak. Antorbital fenestrae are almost fully closed up in ceratopsians and filled in in most museum mounts, I'll sculpt it down to make it even smaller in the detail stages.
Think that's the poly modelling part mostly done, if I get a move on I could maybe finish the sculpt by the weekend (experience tells me that'll never happen ). I'll leave it alone for now & check it over tomorrow. These's always a fix-ups after viewing with fresh eyes.
Cheers for the encouragement, helps me hold back the mid project blues
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Temporally made the sub_D model multicoloured to help me break it into UV islands. A UV map isn't needed for a the kind of 3D print I'm aiming for but it'll be useful for baking normal and occlusion maps for 3D renders, I usually make a few pics for Deviantart etc
Spotted a couple of issues with the mesh and had to fix. Would've been OK but I had to redo half the UV map too.
Grrrr! annoying . Hopefully some sculpting tomorrow.
Back & forth between cranium & mandible with first pass initial shaping. Taking it steady, concentrating on the overall shape & making sure it lines up with the reference.
Keeping an eye on the fit between cranium & jaw while I'm adding detail. Want jaw to articulate on the final 3d printed model.
More shaping, think I've got it mostly where it should be. Can't go futher with detail until I add some suture lines, time to crank up the subdivision a couple of levels.
Scrapped and re-started the sculpting twice, the current one's going a bit better I think (hope). Trying to make some progress over the last two evenings got a bit intense which is why I haven't been spamming this thread with my usual regularity . I'll post some screen-grabs when it's at a good point, maybe the weekend but not sure. As a break from pushing vertices around I drafted my usual test drawing to see what sizes the scale models could be.
I should cut down on the number of scales I produce for each skull 'cause only a couple of sizes seem to sell, might stick with this size range though. Also thought about making a 'dual detail' version similar to the rex head I made last year. I'll see how I feel after I've finished the skull model, it might be worth doing if only for myself.
Had stuff to sort this week so took another break from Spikey. Made some minor revisions to the sculpt and reckon it's ready to commit to 3D printed version.
Made some extra parts for the final model -
Knuckle and pivot - for jaw hinge (I think it adds a lot to the model to be able to pose the mandible). Jaw brace - adds rigidity to improve the pressure fit of the mandible. Pole collar - The model is intended to be mounted on a metal pole, the mounting collar is inclined slightly so that the skull tilts forward at an attractive angle (experienced model makers can adjust the angle to their taste).
Parts in place merged with the skull mesh. The colours are for quick selection for adjustment but the final 3D print will be single colour.