Phase 2: Modeling Nyjah Houston

Goals

Create a low-poly Nyjah Houston model in Blender that fits within N64 hardware constraints and matches the original Tony Hawk skeleton exactly.

Constraints Recap

• Max triangles: 400 (aim for 350 to leave headroom)
• Segmented mesh: Each body part is a separate object (no smooth skinning)
• Texture budget: 32x32 or 64x64 per texture, CI4 (16 colors) preferred
• Proportions: Should roughly match Tony Hawk's proportions for animation compatibility

Step 1: Reference Gathering

Collect reference images of Nyjah Houston for modeling:

• Front/side/back views for body proportions
• Face details (simplified to a few polygons + texture)
• Signature style: dreads (simplified geometry + texture), typical skate outfit
• Shoe style for foot segments

Step 2: Modeling Guidelines

Body Segments

Model each as a separate Blender object with origin at the bone/joint position:

Segment	Approx Tri Budget	Notes
Head	30-50	Face detail via texture, dreads as simple geo
Torso	60-80	Front/back shirt texture
Pelvis/Hips	20-30	Connects to legs
Upper Arm (x2)	15-20 each	Simple cylinder
Forearm (x2)	15-20 each	Simple cylinder
Hand (x2)	10-15 each	Mitten shape (no individual fingers)
Upper Leg (x2)	20-30 each	Pants detail via texture
Lower Leg (x2)	15-20 each
Foot (x2)	15-25 each	Shoe shape
Total	~350	Leave margin for adjustments

Modeling Tips for N64

• Use quads/tris only — no n-gons
• Keep faces planar — non-planar faces cause rendering artifacts
• Vertex normals matter — they determine shading; use flat shading for most segments
• No modifiers — apply all modifiers before export; what you see in edit mode is what gets exported
• Winding order: Counter-clockwise when viewed from outside = front face. Wrong winding = invisible face in-game
• Scale: Match the scale of the ripped Tony Hawk model exactly

Nyjah-Specific Details

• Dreads: 4-6 flat polygons extending from head, textured to look like locs
• Face: Minimal geometry (flat or slightly shaped plane), all detail in texture
• Shirt: Could include a Nike SB logo or signature graphic via texture
• Shoes: Simplified Nike shape, details via texture
• Pants: Slim fit (fewer tris than baggy pants)

Step 3: Texturing

Texture Sheets

Create pixel-art style textures at exact N64 dimensions:

Texture	Size	Format	Content
Face	32x32	CI8 (256 colors)	Facial features, skin tone
Torso front	32x32	CI4 (16 colors)	Shirt design/logo
Torso back	32x32	CI4 (16 colors)	Back of shirt
Arms/Legs	32x32	CI4 (16 colors)	Skin/clothing
Shoes	32x32	CI4 (16 colors)	Shoe details
Hands	16x16	CI4 (16 colors)	Skin tone

Texturing Tips

• Pixel art style — hand-paint textures at target resolution (don't downscale from HD)
• Limited palette — choose 16 colors carefully; skin tones, shirt color, accent colors
• No filtering — N64 bilinear filtering is crude; design textures that look good without it
• UV mapping: Keep UVs simple and aligned to pixel grid where possible
• Texture coordinates are 10.5 fixed-point in F3DEX2 — max UV range is limited

Color Palette Strategy (CI4 = 16 colors)

For each texture, allocate colors wisely:

Example shirt palette:
- 3 skin tones (base, shadow, highlight)
- 4 shirt colors (base, shadow, highlight, logo color)
- 3 pants/shorts colors
- 2 outline/dark colors
- 2 accent colors
- 2 reserved

Step 4: Rigging

Match the Original Skeleton Exactly

After Phase 1 documents the bone hierarchy:

1. Create an armature in Blender matching the exact bone names, count, and parent-child relationships
2. Position bones to match Tony Hawk's rest pose (use ripped model as overlay reference)
3. Parent each mesh segment to its corresponding bone using "Bone" parent type (not Armature with automatic weights)
4. Each vertex belongs to exactly ONE bone — no weight painting across multiple bones

Rigging Checklist

• Bone count matches original
• Hierarchy matches original (same parent-child structure)
• Bone positions approximate original proportions
• Each mesh segment parented to one bone only
• No vertices assigned to multiple bones
• Rest pose matches original (typically T-pose or A-pose)

Testing the Rig

1. Import an animation from the ripped model data (or manually pose bones)
2. Verify no body parts clip through each other at extreme poses
3. Check that knee/elbow joints don't show gaps during bending
4. Verify proportions look correct from the N64 camera distance (far away, 320x240)

Step 5: Blender File Organization

nyjah_houston.blend
├── Collection: Body_Segments
│   ├── Head
│   ├── Torso
│   ├── Pelvis
│   ├── L_UpperArm
│   ├── L_Forearm
│   ├── L_Hand
│   ├── R_UpperArm
│   ├── R_Forearm
│   ├── R_Hand
│   ├── L_UpperLeg
│   ├── L_LowerLeg
│   ├── L_Foot
│   ├── R_UpperLeg
│   ├── R_LowerLeg
│   └── R_Foot
├── Armature: Skeleton
└── Collection: Reference (hidden)
    └── TonyHawk_Ripped (overlay)

Deliverables

After completing this phase:

1. Complete Nyjah Houston model (segmented, under 400 tris)
2. All textures as indexed PNGs at correct dimensions
3. Properly rigged armature matching original skeleton
4. Blender file ready for F3DEX2 export