Sculpting my own DD head: Menace from Queen's Blade

I want to make my own custom DD of Menace from Queen's Blade. I want a head that looks just like her, since I love the unique art style of her artist "F.S.", so I'm working on sculpting a head for her myself! ♥

 

Menace:

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/65/generalref.jpg

 

I'm designing it in the 3D program Metasequoia, and when I'm done I'll be printing it with a 3D printer!! I plan to design and print her accessories too. Anyway this is what the head looks like so far. The nose and eyes are still very rough. Basically the only thing detailed so far is the lips and chin. That's why the shading is weird around the mouth.

 

Front: http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4237/lipsfront.jpg

Side: http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1568/lipsside.jpg

3/4ths angle: http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/5952/lips34ths.jpg

 

I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the lips yet. I'm not very experienced in sculpting people so the going is slow. What do you think, what should I change to make it look more like the references?

 

This'll be a long process to bring Menace to life but what a fun project! ^_^

Wow, this seems like a really interesting project. Please keep us updated.

That's really fascinating! I'm so curious to see what it will look like after you've printed it!

Cool I love Menace

Awesome! I've actually been wondering how 3D printing a doll head would go. Mind if I ask where you're getting her printed and in what material?

 

Lips look pretty good so far. Looks like you made a rough 3D model as a guide and are now strip modeling the actual face? Not a bad idea, actually. If it works out for you I may have to try that on some model or other in the future.

 

Never heard of Metasequoia though. I've used Max and Maya myself, mostly because that's what we had at school and I was eligible for the free Autodesk student license. :/ How's Metasequoia's interface/workflow?

Thank you guys, I can't wait to see how she looks printed either! This is such a fun project!!! x3

 

Wow Poofie, it sounds like you actually know what you're talking about because I... don't! XD; I'm completely self taught when it comes to 3D modelling so a lot of that is gobbledeegook to me! I just learned what I know by messing around in Metaseqoia. I would love to take classes on 3D design someday though. Mostly what I have designed before now is props for cosplay, e.g. armor, swords, etc so something organic like a face is new to me. I hope her head doesn't suck too much though!

 

In the next couple months I will be getting a Printrbot+ 3D printer, as 3D design, papercrafting and 3D printing is a passion of mine, and there's finally an affordable 3D printer out there... So I can print her myself!!! Woo! I'm looking around for the right plastic right now, as it stands I will probably print her in faberdashery pearly-white PLA:

http://www.faberdashery.co.uk/products-page/

Ah, sorry, I kind of assumed. XD Strip modeling is where you start with a plane or two and extrude edges to gradually build up the object. It's the preferred method for modeling organic objects. The other main modeling method is "box" modeling, where you start off with one of the standard geometric primitives like a box or a cylinder as a base and modify the snot out of it. That's usually better for hard surface/prop modeling, unless you're modeling something complicated like a car. /randomjargontime

 

Oh, dude, that's awesome! Just Googled the Printrbot, and I think I'll have to bookmark their site, because that's much more affordable than other printer kits I've run across, even the Makerbot. I guess seeing the results that sucker prints out is all the more reason for me to keep tabs on this project. Still, looking at the Faberdashery page, I think the arctic white may be a better match--the pearly white's description mentions it being "iridescent", and it appears to have mica powder mixed in so it sparkles. Nice effect for some projects, but I personally don't think it'll be good for a head unless you're going for the Twilight Vampire effect. ^^; Bright white should give a good base for either painting or dying, depending on which is better suited for the plastic. Still, just my opinion; if you still think the pearl sounds like what you want, go for it!

You guys' responses on here help inspire me to do more with her, I spent the weekend doing the rest of her face! There's probably a lot of editing and tweaking to do though, I'm not sure what I want to do with the proportions of her features. Any input would be a TON of help!!

 

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3779/facecombodq.jpg

(why isn't the thing working? I thought it was enabled after 20 posts...)

 

@Poofie: Ooh I didn't know that, thanks! I always just wing it and just keep changing my approach till I get a way that works. I guess I should take classes on 3D someday and find out what I've been doing wrong all this time!

 

Yeah, I am SOOO pumped about getting my own 3D printer! I have like a bazillion things I want to print with it. You may be right about the pearl-white PLA being sparkly. Well, I'll keep looking, maybe I'll just go with the most opaque white I can find and dye from there.

Looks like you're doing pretty good for just winging it! I do like how she's turning out, though I personally would consider bringing her nose/mouth/chin forward just a bit.

 

She does look a little "crinkly" at this point; I'm guessing that you're working in a low poly mode and are then going to apply a mesh smooth? You may want to unearth whatever temporary mesh smooth function Metasequoia has, and toggle that on and off as you model to make sure that the smoothing's addition of extra geometry doesn't do anything you don't want it to do, usually having things smoothed too much and shrinking. Mesh smooths can do weird things if you've got triangles or polys with more than 4 sides (sometimes called N-gons), too, so that's another reason to put on a temporary smooth to check for that kind of funk.

Bump! Not much progress on Menace-chan's head, I've been giving her a break and instead modelling the DDdy body using photos I took of Sasara!! (Phew, so much easier than trying to model a face!) It'll allow me to precisely design and scale things to print out, eg. body-hugging solid pieces...

 

It's about 90% done, not a perfect replica but more than good enough to scale stuff. Just gotta make the hands, then finalize the scale of the parts using measurements. Oh yeah, and add 'eyes', to make sure Menace's collar covers the important bits How do you think it looks guys? It's so leggy! Are the DDdy's legs really that long? XD

 

 

Thanks Poofie!! I looked and did find a mesh-smoothing function in Meta... I didn't know about that, thanks! So many terms and concepts I don't know lol, I oughta just go take a class on this stuff already! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on my newbie works~ ^_^

Looks good, my DDDy is standing hand-less modeling in front of me and yes, she really is that leggy! It's actually sorta funny without the hands it really emphasizes the legs to the point that they look a little too long, but with the hands it's better.

Yes, DD's are definitely leggy. I compared them with my 'SD' resin girl and they're far ahead

 

OTOH, when I first saw the photos of DDS (and the comparisons with DD), the first thing I noticed were the much more 'human-like' or 'SD-like' proportions. DDS has shorter legs and (judging from photos) slightly longer torso than DDII.

Phew! Finally finished the DDdy model! I can't believe how much time and effort I put into what I originally intended as just a quick, rough guide to help with scaling stuff, but once I got started my perfectionist side took over Now scaling anything I make in the future will be a snap! And when I get my 3D printer, I could print out the torso to use as a dress form! ^^

 

 

Yeah, the DD's are very leggy! When they have heads though, it looks more balanced, but headless it's just weird looking I wish the DDS had accomplished shortening the legs by shortening the calves, not the thighs. The calves are too long on DD's to begin with IMO, and from what I remember, with the DDS the problem is even worse. ^^;

The modelling is looking good.

I agree, DDs have crazy long legs! I've found that because of their proportions they look better if the waistlines of their outfits are actually closer to the hips; if you put things right at their waists their torsos often look stubby. *le sigh*

 

I'm glad you were able to find the mesh smooth, Luther! Mesh smooth rocks. The DDDy does look like it has a wee bit of funky geometry (which I call the "dreaded crinklies"), but that doesn't matter nearly as much on that as it's not going to be a display piece, and the proportions look dead on. Sounds like you're thinking of printing parts of her outfit too, which makes a lot of sense given how rectilinear they are. There is one thing I'm curious about: how are you approaching the neck hole on your custom head? I've noticed on my girls that they've got some interesting ridges in them right around the hole, but I'll admit I'm also wondering whether or not they actually *do* anything. . .