Introduction

Hello! If you are like me and primarily use 3D bodytypes for crafting your character refsheets, you might at some point stumble upon a question: What if I want to design a character that has missing or additional limbs?

In this little tutorial I will explain my personal progress. If you have not seen my original 3D refsheet tutorial, please check it out.

Examples of Unique Body Refsheets

I have done only two before, and I will go through the specifics of how these were made. To make sure you understand the basics of editing your bodytypes and saving them, please read my other tutorial (linked above) first.

For Mothman I used 1 primary bodytype, and copypasted the same 3D pose on a different layer, then reposed the arms. To do this, make sure to ‘‘lock’’ your 3D layer first before copypasting it, so that you create a new layer you can make seperatedly.

The above is an example of how my 3D poses look using the described method.

Copy the 3D Layer after Locking it and paste it on top.

Unlock the bottom 3D layer (The original 3D layer) and freely pose the arms as you please.

And now you have a very bare bones example of how to easily make 3D poses for multi limbed characters, of course you need to keep in mind that the anatomy and muscle of 3D models might not match this ideally, make sure to reference from rendered examples to get better results.

Those shoulders, back muscles and ribs need to accommodate space for the extra limbs. It is recommended to make more elongated torsos for characters with bodies like this if you struggle fitting them in on smaller bodies.

Next is a character Design that has two forms, the secondary one has longer arm and a missing limb.

The missing limb is cut off from view, I cannot give precise tips on how to ‘‘remove’’ limbs beyond simply erasing it from your 3D asset after you rasterize your pose.

As for the longer limb, I copied my initial bodytype and made a different version with longer arms, saving it as a separate asset.

The above bodytypes are exactly the same except for the arms, to present that this character’s metamorphosis into a hag has elongated her arms to monstrous proportions. These 3D assets help me draw my vision out better.

 

If you want to make characters with transformative gimmicks, I recommended you make separate bodytypes to accommodate other forms and shapes.

To easily make 2 assets, simply go through the saving body-type progress as before, then when you have 1 primary bodytype asset, load it up and alter it using the edit bodytype features before saving the secondary asset.

Making a 3D bodytype asset for a Humanoid Monster

CSP’s 3D bodies are awesome, but if you don’t have money like me and can’t afford user-made 3D models, you can still get around design limitations by using the free assets and editing them to your liking.

 

I want to design a Slayer form for my Baldur’s Gate 3 OC Dark Urge, if you aren’t familiar with the slayer or don’t want to get spoiled for the videogame I recommend you ignore the lower portion of this tutorial.

 

In short, The Slayer is a monstrous Humanoid with 4 big arms, designed for slaying. It has an elongated torso and digitigrade legs. This means I have to create an unique bodytype asset that comes close to this shape to get the best results when working on my refsheet.

(Image source links are provided above image)

 

To create an unique body that gets close to this monster, a reference image is extremely helpful. Of course, the bodytype itself will look a little weird in the standard T pose so I will make a pose that matches the monster to compensate.

 

As a starting point, I am using the bodytype of Loki, my original character who will transform into this monster.

This pose now somewhat looks like the monster’s pose, from here on I will be using the 3D asset body-edit features to change the bodytype to match the monster form more.

 

By putting the 3D body in the default monster pose, I am getting a closer feel for what portions of the bodytype I have to change to get the shape that I want.

This has limitations of course, since the 3D model does not come with digitigrade legs I have to get really creative.

The end result! I changed the pose somewhat as I adjusted the limbs. Unfortunately the feet have a limit so I cannot fully mimic the feeling and look of digitigrade legs within the program’s limitations, but that is alright.

I am making my own unique slayer form after all, using the in-game version as a reference.

 

It looks pretty werewolf-y, don’t you think?

 

I made the neck longer, shoulders wider, longer arms and bigger hands… And so forth. This 3D Bodytype is the closest to what I am looking for. Now I need to compare this Form in size to a regular person (For fun)

Hmm, That doesn’t feel quite right. The monster form should be larger in height. He should be scary!

When adjusting a 3D asset’s height, make sure to also change the head to body ratio, because the head-size will otherwise become smaller when you make a 3D model taller.

By having a regular bodytype next to the monster bodytype (on the same layer) I get a proper look at the height/size comparisons.

 

When you are posing 2 Models together later and re-using your monster asset, this way you make sure every character has the appropriate height difference. (For real intense dynamic action work, this is very cool!)

 

If you ever notice a new 3D bodytype asset you created is either too small/too tall in comparison to your other character, just put their 3D bodies on a canvas together and re-adjust their heights before re-saving their bodytype assets. I love giving characters height differences.

Conclusion, Afterword

3D assets help those who struggle with anatomy, but to make sure you get things correctly, you still need to learn and reference from actual anatomical images for better results in your work.

 

I hope this tutorial has inspired you, or at least someone out there on another method to tackling diverse character designs.

 

Build your asset library and expand on time-saving tools with 3D objects to design more elaborate and detailed characters! Enjoy creating.

 

If you would like to see more of my art, please visit my tumblr.