Facial Topology

Facial topology (the way a surface is structured) is the single most important aspect of head modelling and one of ultimate goals of every 3D artist. The process of creating an average human face is nothing new, however to get the realistic and natural looking we have to make the best out of every step we do: from collecting photos and life drawing to planning before modelling and then texturing and colouring.

Before going into modeling process, I researched the structure of other people’s faces from the size of the eye to the shape of the nose to the length of the jaw. The most important things in this research are the accuracy and quality of reference photographs or concept arts. If I were to under estimate or make mistake in this analyzes, I might face problems in modeling when I realize that the model fits with the front view image but does not fit with the side view image, despite the fact that all I have to do is copy the image layering my model.

Because topology and edge loops play an important part in building up the head volume, characteristic as well as deciding what the head model can do should I want to animate it, moreover unlike other parts of a character, the head has much more screen time with many close up shots that involve complex facial expression in films and animation. With a good topology, it’s possible for my head model to have realistic expression; however I think that I have messed up topology, my head model can’t do a single facial animation and if it can, the expression will look very un-natural. In addition a nice topology will also make it possible to build the model with less geometry but still look realistic and accurate.

The first thing I’ll start explaining is the eyes because it is often said that the eyes are the window of the soul, they are the most important element in 3D modeling. Whether it’s in films or animation the eyes are the place that show most of the emotions.

Orbicularis Oculi Muscle

It’s better to use a sphere to model the eye lids or else they will look unnatural and intersect with the eyeball as mine looks . The eye lids are decided mainly by two curves that formed by upper and lower eyelids. I should also have put an extra edge loop inward to make the thickness of the eyelids.

Obicularis Oris Muscle

As both nose and lips contain some of the most subtle variations in shape on the faces. As with drawing and sculpting faces, the key understands the shapes and angles they flow based on the underlying bones and muscles.

The upper lip is composed of orbicularis oris muscle covered by skin on the outside and mucous membrane on the inside. Many other muscles are attached to the obicularis oris muscle, and together they work to create the movements and power required for speaking, eating and forming facial expressions. The Orbicularis Oris muscle constitutes the major bulk of the upper and lower lips.

The mistake that I have is that edge loop doesn't go around the nose; it makes the nose look square and blocky. In the lips area, there should have at least 2 edge loops go out at the lip's corner or else the model's mouth look like a slit. Also, To emphasize the shape of the lips, I would add an extra edge loop around the lip area because without this I could not have smoothed or subdivide one more level, and the lip shape would not be smoothed out. Finally I would only model the head with the mouth closed but it's better to have some extra face loop inside the mouth to hide the border edge, should you open the characters mouth.

The ear is the organ that detects sound. The ear shows a common biology with variations in structure according to order. It not only acts as a receiver for sound, but also plays a major role in the sense of balance and body position.

Ear is a very tricky area in the face, it has spiral structure with a lot of detail in, I found it majorly difficult to model.

How it should look.

How mine looks.

I have got the overall shape but I have missed out the inner muscle/bone shape. There is a depth to the inside of an ear that I have not captured and the polygons are not correct – they do not create the correct shape.
There are lots of folds in the construction of an ear. Mine has merged with the head – it’s not a separate thing. From the front, the ears do not stick out as much as they should.

Also there are many other muscles in facial topology, each of these muscles have their own edge loop.

And finally a full topology layout looks like this…