Poppy update - topology

I've finally given Poppy topology that I think should work in animation. There should be enough edge loops around the joints and I spent a good deal of time working on the topology of the hands to try and ensure she can yo-yo correctly.

I sought out some advise from a lecturer as to how best to model the skirt since it is required to move when the wind blows and when she walks etc. The lecturer said that cloth could be an option but as it's a pleated skirt I do feel it would be difficult to maintain the shape of the pleats as precisely as needed. Another lecturer advised against cloth and so simply running some joints along the skirt seems a viable way of rigging it. I feel the current topology should be fine for purpose but I guess we'll see in the rigging stage.

I finished the bag and decided to make some areas of the trim as separate pieces as the topology was awful when all part of one mesh and caused pinching. I will go on to create normal maps for the clothing and the bag as well as the hair to create an extra level of detail to the character. 

The hair is still to model as it needs to look stylised and sculptural but also be riggable so that each section of hair can be animated. I will try modelling each section so that it has thickness and back faces and I will attempt to sculpt in Zbrush both sides of the strands so that when the wind flips them up there will still be sculptural detail on the other side. This is different to my initial approach which was to have a mass of geometry that has extruded sections that hang lose.

Poppy does have a mouth cavity and a throat but she will also need teeth. We will keep these stylised in fitting with the character. She does not require a tongue. I have also realised she will need ears which weren't in the initial concept but when the wind blows her hair they will be seen.

Hopefully the shoes can remain as separate pieces without any problems but if it is difficult to rig or deforms strangely then I can bake the pieces onto one simplified piece.

Lastly, I made the lashes with geometry rather than individually or using alpha. This fits the stylised look of Poppy better. I made a version that aligns with the original concept drawing and a smaller version. I feel the smaller version looks nicer in 3D but I need feedback from the group.