Correct Character Retopology

My LinkedIn: Anton Aleknavitsjus
My Artstation: asmedia3d.artstation.com
My Email: [e-mail]

[@MrNitrox91]

BEST VIDEO I*VE SEN SO FAR! You actually explain WHY it's important, not just a sped up work video. Kudos!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

thanks!)

[@lawrence9713]

I saw a video on twitter showing an elbow bend that was really awesome. With the elbow bone sticking out and stuff, not being just a tube that gets bend, all by just playing one joint and having the topology in a certain way. unfortunately i cant find this video anymore. was done by some asian person. Should have saved it, because I'm really not satisfied with how it is usually made and I'm too lazy to do a two joint elbow with corrective shapes and such stuff

[@evanlane1690]

I've looked for this video for almost six years! The "why" and "how" for good topology and workflow. Thank you for this!!!

[@ickysoup]

this is so mind-blowing to me! i've never seen someone explain it from the perspective of following the musculoskeletal system instead of just having a clean quad mesh - this is really helpful, thank you so much :D

[@Zinkquer]

thank you i learned a ton from this video, i learned that it is important to follow the natural flow of the muscle rather than having just having the shape of the character defined, it is important to have faces that are closer together in places that will stretch, and follow the shape of the skeleton, which is probably why some also people use a skeleton reference image when modeling to help with the muscle formation.

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thanks!)

[@alecs3473]

One of the best tuts about retopology out there. I'm a beginner (more than 7 years but I made only personal work) and I simply can't make my models work. Until know, I know why. Thanks so much, Bro

[@stevenswanson9519]

You just answered so many questions I had in under twenty minutes, many thanks.

[@yanishi]

I am very glad that I can get so much useful information in one short video, thanks a lot to the author!

[@evolvedant]

This is such an amazing video, you know it's good when after watching a video you suddenly feel more confident about modeling. The only thing I wish was shown, was how you topologized the corners of the lips. The simplified start you show at 3:20 looks easy enough, then you add some more detail at 3:27 which also looks easy enough, but if you go back to 2:59, the detail is way more involved in the corners of the lips, and I can't figure out how you got to that level from what was shown. Beyond that, the video is suuuper useful~

[@nathanhoward4679]

I'll reference this video for years to come. Very helpful!

[@frappedelimon4351]

this is PURE GOLD! Thank you!

[@agziyamuk]

this is among the most helpful retopo tutorials you can find online for free. thanks anton.

[@kopfdertoten466]

That wrist trick to get the vertex count to match the arm is pure genius. Great video!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

thank you for the comment!

[@etiennebrownlee4071]

Your video is the best Ive encountered so far, clear and concise, you packed the 16 minutes with so much information each one important. Thank you so much, God bless you and your work sir..

[@kiwibibe52]

Thank you so much for this amazing video! This just cleared up all the questions I had that I spent many hours wrapping my head around. I cannot thank you enough 😊🎉

[@apexsynthesis1]

literally the best retopo video ever..THANK YOU! subscribed

[@eddielol5164]

thanks! this is a very strong class for character topology.

[@Chase3d304]

this video is incredibly helpful, for some reason it seems hard to come by solid information like this on topology. If you ever wanted to make another video similar to this but going over even more topoology information... I will certainly watch ;) lol.

[@UtterUnit]

Great video! It's been a long time since I've done character retopology. I'll definitely be referencing this video more.

[@momchilo4388]

This is amazingly useful and really well explained ty!!

[@Kestrel0907]

Thank you very much for your insight, Anton! :D Hopefully this will get me past the retopology phase nightmare and finalize the characters I have in my head.

[@buster5661]

I can't wait until ai does retopology

[@Mayableification]

Great video, thank you so much!

[@cyrilruegsegger9588]

Really useful Tutorial thank you!

[@MrDay-vb7xv]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@crackplatoon1060]

really good video for intermediate topology

[@FredwardDrawn]

Thank you for this video, I appreciate how simple but thorough your explanations and the visuals were EXTREMELY helpful and well edited! I struggle most with clothing and you gave pretty clear examples of how to approach it that I don't feel QUITE as intimidated but I still have a few questions if that's alright. I've seen people mention deleting the mesh beneath clothes if there's only one outfit, but is there anything to look out for if this is done? Should all the meshes be joined as one if you do this before rigging or can they be kept separate? Thanks again for the video, It was probably one of the clearest and most concise videos I've seen about game topology!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thank you for your feedback and good question. If it is possible i would strongly recommend to combine both meshes into one and then merge vertices where the connect. This way you make skinning process much much easier!

[@jozsefgabor5168]

Hi Anton, thank you a lot for this great video. You covered so important details in this topic,like no other tutorial before you,I have seen so far.And about retopo,I have seen quite a lot.Clean instructions in a brief, professional manner and in a very good tutor style,your material is a huge help for newcomers to 3D,like myself. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

thanks for the great feedback! :)

[@Nexxorcist]

this explained a lot. thank you!

[@Vinkelnn]

Absolutely amazing video! This really helped me out as a beginner rigger and modeller.

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

glad to hear!

[@UZero1997]

very good tutorial man !

[@moonroll1985]

So useful, and easy to understand! Thank you Anton!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

you are welcome! =)

[@Snoight]

Good stuff!!

[@madtwist2364]

Can you possibly show a close-up (and/or how-to) of that pelvis topology? It looks great, and I can't seem to figure out how you did it from just a front-back view of that model.

[@zhengkexing9972]

So greate !

[@poochyboi]

damn good video. im trying to learn topo and this really helps! if you can please do one where you show a full workflow

[@kolalev8734]

Thank you!

[@WineStrikesBack]

Well explained, thank you!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

You’re welcome!

[@PavanKumar-ue1tx]

does this topology work for film character?

[@d.p.5874]

Thank you Anton for this very instructive tutorial on best low poly topology of bodies ready for animation. I read below in one of your answers that you used Maya : to your knowledge, what is the Blender tool/add on that could best fit the same purpose ? Kind regards

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Topogun is also very good. But this is not a plugin for blendrer. This is a separate software.

[@d.p.5874]

@@antonaleknavitsjus7877 Ty Anton, these tools are for professional I am afraid.

[@SpaceMango]

Grant Abbit has made a video about blender addons for retopology that may be of interest. It's called "Must have addons & tools for retopology" :) I personally don't use addons or other tools when i retopo in Blender, but i think i should, to just speed up my workflow.

[@noobandfriends2420]

I've been feeling like I'm really bad a retopology because I couldn't avoid poles. It gets drilled in you to use quads and avoid poles but if the type of mesh you did is considered acceptable by industry standards, then there are probably 150 or so poles throughout the mesh. Every time you change edge flow, you're going to have 2-4 poles. The fingers alone have 4 each. That's like 80 for just the fingers and toes. Around 20 for the head and face. 4 for and elbow and knee, 8 for the back, etc. My point is, for a dummy like myself, talking about poles being fine and a part of the process and ending up with over a hundred for a humanoid base mesh would have been useful for me to know when I tried and failed to get good a retopology 10 years ago.

[@Locomotror]

Great video! a question i have about the high poly, do you need to have things like the eyes, teeth, gums, tounge, maybe even eyesbrows modeled and then retopo for the low poly?

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

I dont think that this parts should have highpoly, since there is nothing special to bake from. Maybe gums and teeth, if you are going to have facial close-ups, but no need to do highpoly for the eyes. What concerns eyebrows, it depend on the project. If you are making detailed character, then you will probably have to use planes with the alpha.

[@straightshota6794]

Thanks a lot for that tutorial.

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

you are welcome)

[@LowkiXDiator]

great video!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

glad u liked it

[@user-oe6qw2nb6y]

this realy helpful

[@bongo3997]

Super helpful!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

thanks!

[@Maximatori]

Great video!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thanks!

[@showplusbiz]

BRILLIANT.

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thanks!)

[@amaulana090]

Do you have a closer view to the ribs' topology by any chance? That area beneath the armpit I'd like to see how you did the edgeloops!

[@lukavisnjic6617]

Great job Anton! U are much-needed help for self-learners. Can u share what program do u use here for retopology?

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thanks Luka. This is Maya. I think from version 2019 (may be earlier) there is a Modelling Toolkit. It includes retopology tool :)

[@Mr_Steve3D]

Well done sir!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Thanks! )

[@MisterBr0wn]

good video!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

THank you!

[@Rikitangoable]

but this doesn't matter for UE5 or does it?

[@IamNikolaos]

Спасибо большое за видео, очень больная тема!

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

на здоровье)

[@toontown9854]

What Software you're using?

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Maya

[@rafaellor8935]

Please bring more videos like this one.

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

:) I certainly will

[@dan323609]

Ну игровые движки все равно триангулируют, так что сильно заморачиваться в сложных моментах - в лес не ходить, а целом видео полезное, лаконичное, простое 👍 Еще можно пользоваться "таблицей умножения" ретопологии, особенно новичкам

[@antonaleknavitsjus7877]

Спасибо за мнение! По поводу триангуляции, движки всегда триангулирую и это правда, но это означает, что они делят полигон пополам. Здесь надо понимать, что треугольники бывают разные и в определенных местах они могут сыграть плохую роль. Тема довольно обширная. Думаю, было бы хорошо создать на эту тему отдельный ролик, так как момент с треугольниками вызывает у многих вопросы.

[@elsenordelaestrategIAXD-mm1ik]

XD