What I forgot to show and mention is, that in the 'skinning frame' you have to turn also the upside and downside, so that they are parallel against the view.

Cannot resist to show the newest state of my model - 'years' after the deadline of the contest.

The ways in this tutorial(s) might be not from the sort you would like to use, but in its descriptions are some hints on how you can work with the MED generally.

In my not very organized way of making a 'skinning frame' of the head, I had to put together two meshes to get one plain for the back of the head.

To know where the meshes are connected on the 3D-model, I painted in the skin-editor on its 3D-view with the pen tool. Only short draws to get known what polygon of the forehead is the neighbour a poligon of the back. I hope a view on the picture makes it clear.



To put the polygons together I mark in the 'vertex mode' the vertices, choose the 'scale tool', restrict this horizontally with the arrow button, and pull the borders of the polygons close to each other.



On the following picture you can see the 'skinning frame' from all 2d-views. Every side (up, down, left, right) has been turned to the front to get one seemless plain for the texture.




The last two pictures show a more organized way to layout the skinning frame.
The difference to the former method is only that I started first the upside and down side to the front and afterwards the left and right side. This way the middle of the back would be still connected in the layout on the bmp. Better to paint a sighn on the back head - a place you would look on continuesly if you use the model as player in third person view. The other advantage, it is totally symmetrical.

First the resulting image of the uv-mesh.
To get a proper mesh the image size must big enough.
Skin Editor: Edit --> Resize skin ...
My choose: 1024 x 1024.

To export it as an image - to paint on it the surface - you go in the Skin Editor: View --> Lines --> Lines; File --> Export --> Current image to Bmp.. , and save it.


After that you open the image in the painting programm of your choice. Normally there is no need to close MED. To control the paintings you have to save the image and import it into MED. In the 3D-View you can get an early impression on how the surface is 'integrated' in the models shape. That is not the same impression that it makes in a level. At least you should test it in a level.

I took Photoshop to work on the skin. The advantage: you can add several plains ("Ebenen"(I'm german, so the names in the picture are german)).
One plain for the mesh - you can choose the black color and remove it. There should be a function 'replace color'. (german: Bild --> Einstellen --> Farbe ersetzen..) Then you can copy that and place it in a plain above the other plains: because the black is removed you can see through the mesh onto the ground color of the face, the shadow, the highlightings and other details - each on one plain so that you can modificate one of it without damaging another one.



The view through the mesh onto the ground color of the face, the shadow, the highlightings and other details.


The shadows (also the beginning of an eye - sorry, for mixing it up a bit - I was in hurry.)


The highlightings (and other details). Mainly you would darken or lighten the shadows and highlights through regulating the transparence of the plain. To paint you choose a smooth brush depending on how large the surface should be highlightened.


I copied and mirrored the eye and the ear and other things, as to be seen at the ear: sometimes it is easier to paint both, shadow and highlight, in one plain - also did I give them a little bit pink.


I also copied and mirrored the shadows, but I didn't make both sides identically, because I think it looks more lifefull, when there are differences.


At last I experimented with 'Saving for web..', I converted the image into a gif with two colors.
I expected a cellshading like impression ...


...but three colors fit better:


Here its look-a-like in 3D:

How to create a body in MED

May be, a very difficult chapter. Replies of what is unclear are wellcome!

I made a fast drawing of a body in paint, one of the most simple and most restricted painting programms. It is only a rough scetch. Better - I learn every step I do in model-creating - you make a precise image of the concrete model you are going to create.


To get benefit of the whole picture in MED as background I choose Options --> Background Texture and: Fit To Vert. As you see at the picture.
You have to fit the view of the already made head with the background using the 'Position' tool; it is the button beside the 'Select' button.


The red and black lines in the proportions are in the picture and they are only made to show a rough view of the proportions of humans.
The borders views (here the 2D-views from side and front) can be shifted with the mouse. Very new insight, isn't it.


The red points are the freshly created vertices - nearly same principle as with the human face. But: look at it again, one line of points are made in the frontview and one is made in the sideview. The line 'between' them is made in the front view and adapted in the sideview.


The next picture shows it in the 'bird's view', the view from upside down: or the XY view. The important thing while creating lines of points is that you don't have points or meshes in their back or front because you mix it up hopelessly to get any control on what point has to be connected with which...


Already connected? That's fine.


The rest is as already published: copy, paste, mirror, flipe normals, turn move, merge to get common border points




A backdraw of my picture, I should have mirrored it in paint - now I had to turn the body related to the head that looks to the opposite.
The important thing while creating lines of points is that you don't have points or meshes in their back or front: here practically seen in the pics:






The body has been made out of quaters which has to be moved, turned and so on, to fit properly.





The down part of the following pic shows the gap between the head and the body - some tringles of the head are to be removed and a lot of careful work to connect them - what I don't document here in its details.


When you connect the front and back part of the body, you have to be aware of how many points the have at their borders. In this case I removed one polygon to get them properly connected. Don't forget: triangles inside the model are useless, so leave a hole for each of the arms and legs.





The hole beneath the shoulder where the arm has to be connected later has been adjusted.


Scaling, moving a bit, to get the chest more hero-a-like.

hehe you're keepping me busy. I've been trying to save all our modeling posts into a single document, incase you don't write it up later for a tut or workshop at least this info won't be lost.

That's nice to here. You are my single audience! I would miss you!

Im glued to your progress too as Im keen to learn modelling in MED.
Great work and great insights to many areas I have not had the time to explore.
Thanks for your dedicated approach.

med modelling we need more of this

I havent read the post (just looked at the images), and must say that you are INSANE!! You achieve with MED the same that can be achieved with MS3D, i'm amazed by your skill, desire and love towards MED.

Keep it up!