Character Creation: Raccoon Part 1

By Meg Sugden 

Modelling the Character
I then moved onto modelling the raccoon, once the platypus model and rig was complete. I used the same technique that I did for the alien and made sure that I used my character turnarounds for reference before beginning from the foot upwards. I again, like the platypus had a bit of trouble when it came to using the images as most of the time they didn't match up so in the end I just used them as a brief guideline to help me as I couldn't follow them completely.

I started off at the feet, working my way up.

 I did find this model very difficult to make due to the long coat that he wears. But I managed to work around it and sort it out in the end after starting again many times and making several alterations to the end look of it. At the moment I am very happy with the look of it, even though some parts don't quite work, but in the end this model will be sat down so it shouldn't matter too much in the end.

After working my way up to the head, at this side of the body, I worked down the arm, which was very simple as it didn't have a lot of movement to it, and then added in his hand at the end, which again was simple enough and looked good. I made the hand quite simple at the end as your not actually going to see it that much so it didn't need to be separated into different fingers.

I then finally added in the facial details. This was quite a difficult but I kept them minimal. Making the nose more pronounced and then also adding in the eyes. I'm not that happy with the eyes, but for now I will leave them how they are until I've rigged it all and textured it, as it might end up looking okay in the end.

So I mirrored the geometry over and sorted out any details that looked strange down the middle and then moved onto creating the tail.

The tail was fairly easy to do, but getting the flicks in it was probably the hardest part. To begin with I just put in the basic shape of the tail, ensuring that the shape of it looked good, which it did. Then I started to add in the little details to make it look slightly better, before the model was finished and is ready to rig.

I am fairly happy with the overall result of this character, mainly due to the amount of trouble that occurred during the process of creating it. I had a lot of trouble with the coat and I'm still not completely happy with the eyes, but after texturing this could change dramatically. Comparing this to the platypus it is not as good, but as only a minor character that features, this does not concern me. The raccoon will only be sat on the floor and will not feature ever moving, apart from seeing his belly move and occasionally his arms, so there does not need to be as much detail in the end.