A simple guide to get you on a good progression track with a character.
When making a character, it is good to have a consistent “Pipeline” that you can work with. You may find a different approach, and that is fine. This little guide is to help you keep to the list if you are new, and see what a good process looks like. Once you are experienced, you will never need this guide and perhaps even grow out of it.
Here is the list Simplified:
You would think this is not important, but it is.
Fvne is based off of content already put in it, material that you extract out and into your character as well as just making your own material.
Obviously one should start with the following:
Follow these pages for more details:
[Basic Overview]
[Creating a New Character]
[Naming the Character]
Before asserting any textures, custom offsets or garments, it is wise to block out the character.
“Blocking out” a character is similar to sketching in the realm of 3D. You set up the base of what is important so that you have an idea of the size and scope you are working with.
Try to be as close to what you want as possible as a lot of Custom offset, garments and Coloration/Masks will misbehave and need to be corrected each time a vital change to the characters size, model etc is made.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Selecting a Body, Hand, Feet and Scaling]
If you have the skillset to make a custom offset, approximately now is the best time to make it.
If you do not, then skip to step 4.
After blocking out your best character using only Fvne, you can now export that model for custom offsetting.
Make sure to have the character functional when imported back into Fvne by using the Pose Mode.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Custom Offsets]
You now have an un-textured base of your character.
You have perhaps ears and a tail, which have separate coloration on their own.
It is time to start applying colors and textures.
You will come back to coloration from time to time.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Coloration and Masks]
[Mask and Layer Options in Detail]
You probably should apply any nipples at this stage as well.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Areola & Nipple adding]
[Creating Custom Nipples]
Fluff Appendages will by default take in the coloration of the character it is attached to, and most designs will have the fluff color be the same as the fur/skin.
This is why Coloration comes before any fluff additions, and makes things easier.
Model Appendages are often used for different reasons. Model appendages are also expensive on the Tri count and rarely used.
Mostly used for aspects such as nails and claws or even teeth, and better used with extremely low Tri count models.
Make sure to be deliberate with them and not be wasteful.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Appendages - Fluff]
[Appendages - Model]
[Hair only using Fluff Appendage]
Do not forget the rest of the areas the character will have an appearance.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Tongue Editing]
[Eyes and Eyelashes]
[Make a new Eye texture]
Fur may or may not apply for your character.
And in some stylistic cases, despite being a character normally known for having fur, may still not be applicable for the character.
This all depends on what it is you want to do with fur, the character and their aesthetics.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Fur]
[Making a Character Nice and Fluffy]
From clothes, to unique body parts, to hairs. Apply any Garments if you can and want to.
Remember to use Pose Mode to benchmark any garments and how they behave with movement and posing.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Creating a Garment, and Binding it]
Play a bit with the character in pose mode and the different environments.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Pose Mode]
Clicking on Publish will reveal the analyser screen.
Follow these pages for more details:
[Publishing for Cloud]
[Optimizing the Character]
Having a character in the cloud means you are sharing it with everyone.
Of course do not be dismayed by a lack of votes, favourites or OwOs. They are all just numbers anyway. Although if you do happen to go into the negative with the upvote/downvote system, you may have done something very wrong which usually is not the case if you follow the few rules beset for the cloud.
Load the character through the cloud and see if any updates to Fvne have changed the character in anyway. Regardless of fixing the character, you may have accumulated enough skill to dress a nude character, or just make the character different. And as such, you may update a character with new assets.