Super Mario 3D Model

In this entry, I'm showcasing my 3D model of Super Mario.  I used the ever-growing program, Blender 3D, for a majority of the model. The texture for the eyes were created with Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop. Additionally, Mario is rigged, which I discuss more below, and I used the model in an animation(pictured above). The scenery(HDRI), wall, and wood you see behind Mario in the photos are all from the Blender Cloud. Seen below, is a process view of the wireframe, solid, material preview, and rendered stages of Mario, respectively.

For modeling, I referenced a set of video tutorials(which previously taught me how to model a person) as a base, and then applied those same skills to model Mario. Mario images by Nintendo were also a great reference. However, a viewer may question whether or not Mario has a neck. For my model, I gave him one that's hidden in a turtleneck type shirt. As seen in the progression slide below, I started by modeling the head and mustache. I moved to the body, and bit by bit I added the additional things that gives Mario his look.

Overall, this model, rigging included, took almost 2 months to complete. I won't pretend that the entire thing went smoothly. There were definitely bumps, rigging being a major one, because I never really 'properly' did it before modeling this character. For rigging, I decided to use the BlenRig 5 rig and tools, but I was still completely lost. Thankfully, with the help of the BlenRig 5 video tutorials, things were easier. Below you'll find a progression slide of Mario's facial expression from angry to happy and a photo of the rig in action.

Another thing that was really hard to wrap my head around was modeling that weird hat! I don't exactly remember the process I went through, but currently, I think that if you try visualizing the object and imagining it's really in your hands, that is a good way to figure out the structure you want. You can be a 3D Scanner. :)

The last thing I want to show-off about my model is the 'toon' version(pictured below). By changing the materials(again, with help from tutorials, etc.), I was able to achieve a cartoon-y 2D-esque look.

To sum it all up, modeling and rigging Mario was a great learning experience. You can learn new skills from tutorials, and also, you don't have to limit your model to just the conventional 3D uses you normally see. Thank you for reading, and Jesus loves you!!!