Modelling Update

Pictured above is Morrigan in Blender imported from XNA. That is what she looks like in eevee without much more than the textures and materials the importer sets up by default. I've chosen to go with the XNA model for a couple reasons. One is that it should be a higher quality model than the SFM version. Source models have to make a lot of sacrifices to work properly and quality is lost along the way. Bones for Source models are messed up when imported into Blender too, so they are harder to work with. Secondly, this is more or less the canon model of Morrigan from Inquisition. The SFM version has some slight modifications already, and I want to work with the original.

As I have mentioned before, my model is going to be a head swap. Rigid3d has given me a nude model to work with (basically a slightly stripped down version of the body used for the Mass Effect models) that will be the base. Now, his technique for those models is a little different. He kept the base model and reshaped the faces to match. I want to do a head swap since I think that will be easier for a novice like myself. Additionally, a head swap means that the head is the canon model. While in general Blender has higher quality visuals, I think some people still have reservations about the change. I think a lot of that might have to do with the style of models. Despite being faithful recreations, the Mass Effect models I've been using aren't exactly the same. With a head swap, there's no difference anymore except the engine.

As far as modelling itself goes, it has started about as well as I expected. I spent most of the week experimenting with the model and plenty of things went wrong, so I've barely done any modelling. After figuring some things out, and some help from Rigid, I think I can start making actual progress.

This is an overview of all the things that must be done.

The first step is scaling Morrigan so that she is the proper size for the body. Then, the head and body must be separated for each model. The face bones must be deleted for the base model and only the face bones kept for Morrigan.  A bonus is that the base model can keep it's armature, so I don't have to re-rig the model from scratch. The meshes must be joined together as well as the armatures. Morrigan's face bones can be parented to the base model. 

Once they are one mesh, the neck seam must be closed and fixed up. The UV maps and weighting will need to be fixed around the neck. I'll need to adjust the skin tone to fit Morrigan's and blend the textures together.

After that, I'll have to add on her clothes, hair, and accessories to the model. Some adjustments will have to be made either to her body or the clothes. Parts of the model can be masked off to prevent clipping when she is wearing clothes.

Next up would be shape keys. This is something I would have done even if the project were still in SFM. The SFM model doesn't have any face flexes. For a longer movie, I really wouldn't want to use only face bones. Face flexes speed up the process significantly. Shape keys are the Blender equivalent, and they can be exported as VTAs for Source. I would have had to recompile the model for SFM with the VTA files. Instead, I can create the shape keys in Blender and skip all the Source related work.

The shape keys will mainly be used for facial expressions and mouth shapes for lip sync. It can be used for alternate body shapes and pre-made shapes for boob and ass jiggles too. I can even try using it to create some correcting shape keys. They would be used to compensate for certain poses that push the rigging to its limits.

I will port plenty of Dragon Age props to Blender too. This is something I always wanted to do for SFM but didn't get around to. Porting from XNA to Blender is quick enough, but it is really tedious compiling everything to Source. I also have to port the desire demons.

I think that is just about everything. There is a lot to do, and I'm not sure how long it will take since my experience is limited. I can do some teasers and practice animations with Morrigan along the way.