Why?

Mokona, as shown in the anime and manga, is presented in a 2D medium. It looks OK in this form, but I thought it might be interesting (and possibly more giggle inducing :-> ) to create Mokona in 3D for my fanart.

I'll explain here how you too can make Mokona with a 3D program. Since there are a wide variety of such programs for various computers, I'll be general in my descriptions. Sorry, I'm not able to help you with your particular program--please read your program's manual to learn how to do specific tasks.

It's important to realize that showing Mokona all by itself can look nice and cute, but the real "wow" factor comes by having a scene in which something is actually happening. For example, one desktop I made was based on the scene where Mokona is chomping down a cinnamon bun. Another was based on a picture from the MKR illustrations collection 2 with Mokona as a cupid. In short, a scene can be more interesting if Mokona is doing something! I can show how to create Mokona, but it's up to you to come up with a good scene. OK, let's create Mokona!

1) Research

The first step I took was to research exactly what Mokona looked like. It's important to have images of Mokona from different angles--that way you can not only see an object's correct shape, but also the object's position in relation to other objects. I got these views by acquiring various screen shots from the anime and saving them as image files. I made sure I had views from the front, sides, back, and even the top.

It's convenient to have these "study images" as viewable screen files, as compared to just looking at them from a magazine. This makes comparing and figuring out an object's true shape from various views much easier. It should be noted sometimes a picture shows less detail if it's far away (this could have been done for effect or just to save the artist's time), or may look slightly different--perhaps drawn in that instance by another person who is not as skilled drawing that object.

Additionally, I also had close up views to help figure out how the surfaces should look--this was especially important for the forehead jewel. These images can also help you get the correct colors.

At first glance, making Mokona from 3D objects seems quite simple and for the most part that's true. There are basic--though not always symmetrical--shapes for Mokona's main body, hands, feet, and tail. It can get tricky, however, in making the ears and a forehead jewel with a deep, dark look. Lastly are the "decals" which show Mokona's face (eyes, mouth, and cheeks), hand spots, and foot spots.

Once you know what objects to create, it's important to think through just how you'll create them. Some programs make creating a shape simple, while others require a more difficult series of steps--you'll have to know the program well enough to determine which method works best. As is usually the case, there could be more than one way to create it. In summation, you'll have to think about which method will produce the best result in a manner that's easy (or easier) to do.

Now we'll create the shapes. Some of the objects, like the hands and feet, need only be made once. Those objects are then duplicated latter to have the version for the other side.

* Surfaces

Although it could be done as a latter step, it will be quicker to apply an object's surface as we go along. Since your program will no doubt handle surface properties differently, I'll list the properties I used.

There are three surfaces: the body surface, ear surface, and jewel surface. Both the body and ear surface are the same except for the color. Since the jewel surface is the only one which is "hard", it has specular highlight and metallic properties.

Body Surface
A standard white was used for the color, and its HSV (hue, saturation, value) properties are 0°, 0%, and 100% respectively. The surface properties are: 80% diffuse shading, 0% specular highlight, 0% shininess, 0% metallic, 4% glow, 0% reflectiveness, 0% transparency, and 1.0 refraction index.

Ear Surface
A pink was used for the color, and its HSV properties are 330°, 40%, and 100% respectively. The surface properties are the same used for the body surface.

Forehead Jewel Surface
A red was used for the color, and its HSV properties are 335°, 100%, and 79% respectively. The surface properties are: 0% diffuse shading, 100% specular highlight, 20% shininess, 0% metallic, 10% glow, 0% reflectiveness (you can try a small amount if you wish), 0% transparency, and 1.0 refraction index.

Again, I'll be noting which surface each object has as we go along.

* Main Body

Just how this shape is made is determined by the 3D program you're using. There are two main modeling methods--a program usually follows one or the other, although some do use both. The first is called polygon modeling and is like shaping clay with your hands--you push and pull in sides of the shape to get it how you want it.

The second method is modeling using splines or NURBS. In this approach, you draw curves and manipulate the shape's profile. The method I'll be showing here is spline-based modeling. Similar ending results may be achieved with polygon modeling--just examine the multiple views when making the shape.

Here we see the profiles for the body's front side (Figure 1A) and left side (Figure 1B). Notice the profile in 1B is not symmetrical, as the right side (this will be Mokona's back) extends farther out than the left side (Mokona's front). Figure 1C shows the final shaded object with the front and side profiles in place--the front profile is blue and the side profile is green.

Mokona's body uses the body surface.

* Hand

Now the hand is drawn. I used a slightly different approach for this to ensure the object's cross section was shaped just so. I took a cross section, as seen in 2A, and extruded it vertically as seen in the darker gray vertical line of 2B. This is the side view. I then rounded off the top and bottom ends--notice the right side (the hand top) extends farther out than the more flat left side (the hand bottom). Both sides are symmetrical in the 2C front view. The pink horizontal line in 2B and 2C notes the location of the cross section. A shaded view with both profiles is seen in 2D.

Mokona's hand uses the body surface.

* Foot

I could have done the foot in the same manner as the hand, with an extruded cross section, but I chose to do it like the main body. Notice the more flattened side on the left in 3A. The top outline in 3B is symmetrical. Figure 3C shows the shaded object with the front and side profiles.

Mokona's foot uses the body surface.

* Tail

Mokona's tail is made from circle (4A) extruded along a path. The green inner line in 4B represents the path the circle follows. Figure 4C shows the object from the front, with the green lines representing the sides. Notice the pink object in 4B and 4C represents the cross section from 4A. Figure 4D shows the shaded object with the front and side profiles.

Mokona's tail uses the body surface.

* Outer Ear

The outer ear is done almost the same as the tail. However, the cross section (5A) is instead an upside down thick half-circle. The side also curves differently--the cross section follows the pink line in 5B. Both end tips are curved as well. Figure 5C shows the ear from the top. Notice how both ends are also brought to a curve. Figure 5D shows the shaded object with the front and side profiles.

Mokona's outer ear uses the body surface.

When you look at Mokona's ears, you'll notice the inside is pink. Although this can be done by several methods (one being mapping a pink surface to it), I chose to do it by having two objects--an outer white ear and an inner pink ear. The advantage of doing it this way is that it will avoid the tendency for many programs to have the "reverse side mapping flaw", as will be explained latter.

So, the inner portion of the ear is merely a duplicated outer ear, but is scaled down slightly to fit inside. I'll show this later when discussing how the objects are positioned.

Mokona's inner ear uses the ear surface.

* Forehead Jewel

The last object to make is Mokona's forehead jewel. If you look closely at it in the anime, you'll notice a dark area. This is not the jewel's shadowed side but actually a deep inner recess of the gem!

Because of this appearance, using a transparent sphere for the jewel will only look like there's a bubble on Mokona's forehead--as seen in Figure 7A. What's missing is the deep, dark, inner recess--as seen in 7D. What follows is the "secret recipe" for getting the jewel looking correctly!

Figure 7B is a left side wireframe view showing the jewel's position, and figure 7C shows how the same view looks raytraced. The pink and white things at the upper right are Mokona's ear.

Simply put, you'll need two objects; a "boolean" shape (yellow sphere in 7B) to make a hole in the head below the jewel, and a lathed object with a dome on the top and bottom (the red shape in 7B). For those who are new to 3D, a boolean object can subtracted out or added to (among other possibilities) whatever object it touches. The concept is similar to the pathfinder tools in Adobe Illustrator for 2D work.

The yellow boolean object in 7B is subtracting itself out from the head (the curved white grid. The red shape in 7B is the transparent-surfaced jewel. In the program, the yellow boolean sphere is "linked" only to the white head so the hole only affects the head and not the red jewel.

The boolean shape is a simple sphere. The red jewel itself, the part seen on the forehead, is a lathed object. Its profile can be seen in 7E with its bezier curve handles--the green line separates half the profile. The shape's wireframe can be seen in 7F, and a shaded view with more of the bottom visible is in 7G. Since the jewel fits in the boolean sphere (positioned as seen in 7B), you can easily get the scale of both objects to match by creating the sphere first, duplicating it, then modifying the duplicate's bottom and side profile to that in 7E.

The jewel object uses the jewel surface.

Finally, figure 7D shows Mokona slightly rotated to the left, and the deep, dark inner recess of the forehead jewel can now be seen. This looks so much better than in 7A--we now have a jewel instead of a bubble! :-)

4) Decal Surfaces

We now have all the shapes and their surfaces. Something is missing though--it's Mokona's perpetually ecstatic face! Let's now create the face image, which is called a "decal" in 3D terminology.

* Face
Mokona's face decal can be created in a drawing or illustration program. The eyebrows and mouth outlines are black, and the inner mouth and cheeks are pink. This is the same pink color used for the ear surface. Note that the cheeks are blurred slightly--it's hard to see here, but it is. Mokona's face should end up looking like that in Figure 8A.

Something would not look right if you were to simply apply the face with its white background--you would notice the rectangular outline of the decal's edges against the body object. This is because the white in 8A would not have the same type of surface properties as the actual body surface does.

What needs to be done is to create a "mask" so the white background is transparent (as in Figure 8C). A mask is a picture that tells what part of the picture should show through. Figure 8B is a mask image--read your drawing or illustration program's instructions for how to create a mask--this feature also goes by the name of "alpha channel".

When the mask is combined with 8A in your 3D program (read your instruction manual for exactly how to do this) this results in a transparent background as shown in 8C.

Since we'll be applying the decal with a mask to the object, your program (depending on how it works) may require you first create a layered or composited surface. Basically, you'll have the body surface on the bottom layer and decal with the mask on the top layer.

When the face decal is applied, you'll no doubt be given the choice of how it should be applied to the object. Since the body is an object with curves, the face decal should be "wrapped" or "UV mapped" to it. Make sure the decal is applied to the correct side and spot on the body object-note that Mokona's backside is bulged out more. When done correctly, the final result looks like figure 8D.

* Hand and Feet Tips
If you look carefully at the images in the anime, you'll notice Mokona also has pink spots on the hand tips and underneath the feet.

The hand tip decal is a simple pink circle with a black border, as seen in 9A. Its mask is a simple circle, seen in 9B, and it combines with the decal for a transparent background, as seen in 9C. When placed towards the end of the hand object's flat side, it will look like Figure 9D.

Depending on how your final 3D Mokona is positioned and the camera angle, you might come across the "reverse side mapping flaw" which many 3D programs have. Basically, the decal appears on the object's reverse side as well. If this happens and it's visible in a particular scene you're doing, then temporarily turn off both the hand tip decal and mask.

The foot tip is a pink oval with a black border, as seen in 10E. The mask is an oval, seen in 10F, and it combines with with the decal for a transparent background, as seen in 10G. When placed towards the middle end of the foot object's flat side, it will look like Figure 10H.

Again, you may need to temporarily turn off the foot bottom decal and mask if it appears on the foot's reverse side in the scene you're doing.

5) Putting the Objects Together

OK, the objects are done and they have surfaces assigned to them. Let's put Mokona together! We'll use a figure with wireframe images of Mokona's sides as a guide.

Let's duplicate the hand first. Place a hand on each side of the body, as seen in 12C, and rotate it so it points outward.

For a bit of variety, I rotated Mokona's left hand (if you were Mokona, that would be your left hand) upward a bit so its underside paw spot can be seen.

Then move the paws back until they overlap the main body as seen in 12A. Rotate the paws until they point outward.

Now we'll do the same with the feet. Duplicate the foot object and place both on either side of Mokona as in 12C--rotate them outward as shown. Now move them back until they overlap the main body as seen in 12A. Rotate the feet outward as shown in 12A.

Mokona's tail is next. Rotate and place it so it sticks out of Mokona's bottom as seen in 12D. Now move it to the center as seen in 12A.

Now we'll do Mokona's ears. Take the existing outer ear, duplicate it, apply the ear surface to it, and scale it to 93% of the original size--this is now the inner ear. We'll now position the inner and outer ears by using these wireframe views as a guide.

Place the inner ear (the pink object) inside the outer ear (the white object) as seen in 13A. Now move the pink inner ear inside the white outer ear as seen in 13D.

Many 3D programs have a linking feature so that when one object moves, all linked objects move with it. Link the pink inner ear to the white outer ear. Rotate the outer ear until it's at the angle seen in 13C. Duplicate the outer ear for two ears with pink insides.

Now we're ready to position the ears on the body using the following wireframe views as a guide.

Place an ear on each side of Mokona's head as seen in 14C. Note that this position isn't exactly at the head top, but is slightly lower as seen below rendered in 15C and 15A.

Each ear should point straight out as seen in 14A. Finally, rotate the each ear just a bit backwards so it looks like that in 14D. The reason the ears are rotated back slightly is so the pink inner ear seen be seen better when Mokona is viewed from the front.

The final element is the forehead jewel. As mentioned before, two shapes make up the jewel--the jewel object and the boolean sphere object. Again, these should be positioned as in 7B above. The jewel should be placed in the top part of the boolean object, and both should be positioned at the top of the head, as seen in 7B and 14D, and centered, as seen in 14A. If needed, adjust the face decals or jewel objects so it's in the correct position.

Link the boolean object to the head and designate it as a negative boolean object--this should allow only boolean object to effect the head and not the jewel itself.

We're almost done! After doing a test render, Mokona should look like the following rendered views:

Your Mokona will look similar to the one here. Again, make sure the ears are slightly below the head's top and that the forehead jewel is in position.

Again, you might come across the "reverse side mapping flaw" which many 3D programs have--as seen (just barely seen as pink circles) on the top of the hands in 15A. Just disable the decal for that hand if it's visible in your scene's view.

One final thing you might wish to do is link all the objects, except the boolean object, to the tail. If you want to reposition Mokona to another spot, move Mokona's tail and everything will move with it. Note that we're linking it to the tail instead of the main body because some 3D programs may have problems if other objects are in the same linking hierarchy as the boolean object, which will be linked to the body.

As seen from the highlights and shadows in 15A-15D, I've placed two lights into the scene.

So there we have it. Mokona is now free to romp around in your fanart and cause havoc! :-)

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