Life Drawing and 3D Figure Modeling with MAYA: Developing Alternatives to Photo-Realistic Modeling

Abstract

This paper discusses the organization and motivation for a workshop devoted to the experimental use of 3D computer graphics to model the human figure. The workshop introduced a simple technique for modeling a leg by lofting a series of circles into the appropriate shape using sketches drawn from life. This approach links the expressive world of drawing to the impersonal mechanical tasks of computer modeling. The workshop also served as an introduction to 3D modeling and the MAYA 3D Computer Graphics Software Graphical User Interface. The drawing exercises of Kimon Nicolaïdes are discussed and provide inspiration to explore alternatives to photo-realistic modeling that reflect the artistic legacy of early modernist experiments such as cubism and futurism.

The development of computer graphics has been driven in part by the pursuit of photo-realistic rendering. As seen in recent films such as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within [1] the film industry seeks to create images of human beings that are indistinguishable from reality. In contrast to this impulse is a very long history of image making seen in many different cultures in which the human form is represented in both believable and recognizable ways. Yet the means of representation-that is, the individual gestural mark made with the paintbrush or pencil directly by the artist-is a celebrated part of the aesthetic. With photo-realistic computer graphics the means of representation is meant to disappear and not be visible. In the Western tradition, the figurative works of Titian, Rembrandt, Degas, Cassatt, Picasso, or Alice Neel would lose their meaning and vitality if the gestural line of drawing were removed.

Motivation

I was motivated to develop a workshop, Life Drawing and 3D Figure Modeling with MAYA, in part by a number of questions that naturally come to mind when comparing the process of 3D modeling with that of drawing. Can the "natural way to draw" be preserved in the process of modeling the human figure using 3D computer graphics? Can the photo-realistic impulse be set aside in favor of exploring personal expression by means of the individual mark? Using pencil, charcoal and paint, a previous generation of artists sought to investigate the very nature of the medium, aiming at a different truth of representation. Does this approach have any meaning in the world of computer graphics? Is the gestural line of drawing, long considered the signature of personal expression and individual vision itself, rendered irrelevant?

Are there alternatives to the dominant modes of representation such as photo-realism, pumped-up superheroes, international anime culture or Disneyesque stylization? How can the exploration of alternative approaches be best encouraged and developed? Can 3D modeling provide a similar pathway to discovery and revelation of aesthetic truths and personal meanings as seen elsewhere in the worldwide history of drawing, painting and sculpture? Do the technical demands, such as the modeling process of 3D computer graphics and ultimately the marketplace, make such concerns obsolete and irrelevant?

Inspiration

Using language informed by Taoism and Buddhism the painter Ching Hao (900-960) wrote over a millennium ago: "Resemblance reproduces the formal aspects of things but neglects their spirit. Truth shows the spirit and the essence in its perfection" [2]. In his book The Natural Way to Draw, Kimon Nicolaïdes aims for something quite similar: "You should draw, not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing" [3]. He developed a series of drawing exercises in which the artist focuses alternately upon contour gesture, weight, modeling, memory, analysis of contrasting curved and straight lines, predominating shapes and their design within the frame. Through such exercises Nicolaïdes strives for a deeper understanding and empathy with the subject in learning how to represent it. How can these values be preserved in the task of 3D modeling?

Texts like Mastering MAYA Complete [4] cover the function and operation of the main capabilities of MAYA, the powerful 3D modeling, rendering and animation software application from Alias Wavefront. The authors introduce a very simple technique for modeling an arm by lofting a series of circles...