| Author |
Topic:
A Work In Progress
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Adobe-Wan
Registered:
May '07
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Date Posted:
6/24 8:47pm
Subject:
A Work In Progress
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Some of you might've seen my other thread with my Lightsaber, but I'm about two weeks into learning blender, and I thought I'd share my progress with the TFN community. You guys always offer constructive criticism and tips, so here it goes.
This is my attempt a week ago:
and this is what I've been doing tonight. That's about 5 hours, but I'm getting really excited because I feel like I'm getting a rough idea on how the hell blender works.
As always, your comments are much appreciated. I've been having some serious trouble creating a convincing nosecone, working with smooth objects is my bane, it seems. Thankyou for your time, and I hope to have a finished X-Wing soon!
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Cole-W
Registered:
Jun '08
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Date Posted:
6/24 8:52pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
- Date Edited:
6/24 8:55pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Cole-W
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Wow, you are getting a good idea of how blender works really fast.
That looks great considering how long you've been using the program, as I mentioned in the other thread, I only wish I got something close to that with a few weeks of starting to learn blender.
I'm very impressed.
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“Why pay a dollar for a bookmark? Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?” - Steven Spielberg
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guitarmonky55
Registered:
May '05
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Date Posted:
6/24 9:13pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
- Date Edited:
6/24 9:14pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
guitarmonky55
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smooth objects are a result of a few tools in blender: the smooth buttom, the subsurf modifier, and possibly an edgesplit modifier.
the first step is to select all the faces you want smooth and click 'set smooth' in the 'link and materials' tab in the editing window along the bottom. this may or may not be satisfactory(alot of times it isnt). the next step is to try a subsurf modifier. in the editing panel under the modifiers tab click add modifier>subsurf. this modifier will subdivide your existing polygons into smoother shapes at render time. there are controls for how many levels of subdivision you need. this in combination with 'set smooth' should get you a pretty clean look, although sometimes you get some nasty shadow artifacts, particularly around sharp edges. to fix these add an edgesplit modifier from the same menu.
as far as adding detail in smooth surfaces the biggest gun here is setting the 'crease' value of an edge/surface. basically if you have a subsurfed/smoothed object or surface or whatnot and you want to have a sharp edge or region that isnt smoothed out, select the desired edges/face/vertices and press ctrl + E or apple + E depending on your platform. you can then draw the mouse to select a value between 0(fully smooth) and 1(no smoothing at all). in this way you can finely manipulate the detail of a model and control how the smoothness and subsurfaces behave in the final outcome.
also as you start adding the detail on the ship, consider trying out some normal maps instead of creating more polygons for all of the details. you can create textures with any image editing software that will displace the surface of your model without actually adding polygons. this is frequently how really high levels of detail are achieved, especially in video games.
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Adobe-Wan
Registered:
May '07
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Date Posted:
6/24 10:01pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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I've read a little on how bump-maps work, but normal mapping / UV mapping might as well be in a different language to me. But then again, so was extrude a week ago. Texturing is a serious problem for me.
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Teague
Registered:
Apr '06
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Date Posted:
6/24 11:20pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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To us all, son. To us all.
Good work, holmes.
-----signature-----
Teague "Fig" Chrystie Zoic Studios Co-Host / "Geekza!" / http://www.geekza.com - What happens when you take a handful of insane, pro FX artists and give them a microphone? http://www.myspace.com/figchrystie
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fjrsm
Registered:
Sep '07
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Date Posted:
6/25 3:13am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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You are really learning fast! I wish I could learn Blender so quickly. Great job  !
-----signature-----
FilipeMonteiro "He who laughs last, probably hasn't understand the joke..." My VFX Blog: http://l-bp.blogspot.com/
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guitarmonky55
Registered:
May '05
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Date Posted:
6/25 7:28am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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Adobe-Wan posted:
I've read a little on how bump-maps work, but normal mapping / UV mapping might as well be in a different language to me. But then again, so was extrude a week ago. Texturing is a serious problem for me.
a bump map is essentially a normal map. all youre doing is taking an image and specifying that its values displace the surface somehow. so normal mapping may not be beyond you! its pretty easy, all you do is apply a texture and then theres a little button to press that causes the texture to affect the normals. of course the application and creation of the texture is more involved than that but conceptually its a piece of cake.
UV unwrapping seems intimidating but once you do it everything makes sense. maybe go through the uv unwrapping tutorial on the blender homepage, it goes through a basic cube but the principle is the same for a cube or an x wing.
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Mandalorian4
Registered:
Jun '08
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Date Posted:
6/25 8:51pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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Wow, very nice model. Like already stated, you are learning Blender really fast. I can't wait to see the finished model. Nice work.
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Adobe-Wan
Registered:
May '07
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Date Posted:
6/26 7:14am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
- Date Edited:
6/26 7:15am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Adobe-Wan
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I've run into a hitch of sorts. I can't seem to model a decent-looking Cockpit window. I got the nosecone done, and it looks..."Okay." But creating a convincing cockpit window is proving truly difficult.
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Mandalorian4
Registered:
Jun '08
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Date Posted:
6/26 8:39am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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Here's a quick one I did.
Of course, I did this in like 1 minute so it's not perfect. If you want the base model, I can send it to you and you can work it from there.
Your model is looking great, and the nosecone looks great as well. Keep it up.
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Adobe-Wan
Registered:
May '07
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Date Posted:
6/26 9:32am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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What I'm trying to do is make this "composite-worthy." So I could put it into a fan-film and have it not look super-duper cheesy. A bold ambition for my second model, but...I figure if I get the base done right, the future will become easier.
So the cockpit I'm trying to make consists of the "frame," and then the windows, which I'll make into a glass reflective texture. The frame is causing me a lot of problems, because I can't do it through simple box-extrusions. Which being the amateur that I am, is how I do pretty much everything. My biggest issue is keeping it in perspective. Because I'm doing this model from memory and a few reference photos, but not schematics. So I'll end up with a cockpit that looks PERFECT in my top view, but then it turns out to be shooting into space in the side view. I've tried working in perspective, but unfortunately I'm terrible at selecting vertices in 3D space. I also need to look into how to set Pivot points or "rig" the X-Wing so I can make the cockpit open, and lock the S-Foils in attack position. I can rotate all the wings by 20 degrees or whatever, but then I have to manually move them to attach back on to the fuselage.
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Mandalorian4
Registered:
Jun '08
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Date Posted:
6/26 3:36pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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If you want, you could send the file to me and I could try to help out. I've been using Blender for a while, and even though I'm no expert, I think I can help you with what you want.
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Adobe-Wan
Registered:
May '07
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Date Posted:
6/26 6:05pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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There's the latest update. I really, REALLY need to just buckle down and do some research on how to texture and shade objects. The basic model is done, I've got some details to work out, like the hatch, the equipment in the back, an R2 unit, etc. I think I've earned myself a break, however.
As usual, comments appreciated and much anticipated.
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elemental_fantasy
Registered:
Mar '06
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Date Posted:
6/26 7:52pm
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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That's really nice. I need to learn that stuff soon. I look forward to seeing more progress from ya Adobe-Wan.
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WormieSaber
Registered:
Oct '00
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Date Posted:
6/28 1:09am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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Wow, you are getting a good idea of how blender works really fast.
I was thinking the same thing. Your shapes are about perfect, just the detail you need to get at.
Do people actually have to buy Blender?, because I tried to download the so-called free Blender with no luck.
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"Award winners don't push brooms" -- Turbo
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Funk-E
Registered:
Sep '03
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Date Posted:
6/28 8:46am
Subject:
RE: A Work In Progress
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How did you not have luck? It's an open-source program--it's required to be free. It's not like it's hard to find, either...
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RIP George Carlin!
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