If you want, you can also split the 3D view into two, by dragging the top corner of the 3D window. Select the cylinder with right click, press G and move the object. Press 3 on the numpad to get into the Right View. Now align the object from the side view as well. Select the object by Right-clicking and press G to grab, then move the mouse to move the object and Left click to confirm. Then Press 5 to switch to ortho view, move the object to the center of the character so that we can get the center point of the cylinder (marked with the orange dot) at the center of the character. Press 1 on the Numpad to get into the front view. We are making a low poly character so a cylinder with 8 vertices will be perfect. In the Tool Shelf, reduce the vertices of the cylinder to 8 and the Cap fills to Nothing. Now we will start the character with the leg. The Background image is only viewable in 'Ortho' mode in the Left, Right, Top, Bottom, Front and Back views. Click Open and browse to select your image. Scroll down to the Background image panel and clik on 'Add Image'. With your mouse in the 3D view, hit N on the keyboard to bring out the Properties panel.
The first step will be to add the background image for reference. In a new file, select all the objects with the A key and then press Del to delete them. Download the Reference Materials for this tutorial.Although this tutorial covers building the character in Blender, the workflow is universal and can easily be followed using any other 3D modeling/software package. The final model will be around 1,200 polys, which is a good amount for iphone or ipad games. In this tutorial you'll learn how to create a low poly ninja character model for games using Blender.