The Raven's Claw (Kyle Katarn's Ship)

When we made the fan film Spirits of the Force, we simply extracted the model for the Raven's Claw out of the game Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast. The model was decent, but it was still video-game resolution.

We filmed the sequel called "Fool's Errand" last summer and the film is now in post production. I am still quite a beginner at 3DS Max, but I'm taking a stab at creating a new model of the Raven's Claw from scratch. Of course, there are no references for this ship other than the video game model and texture files, so it will be tough. In any case, I'll post my progress here and if anyone cares to give me suggestions or ideas on how to improve the model, please feel free to let me know. Thanks!

6/2/2005 - Current progress: I'm pretty happy with the geometry for the body and wings. The cockpit "head" is still in the rough stages. The challenge is putting in the windows in a way that matches our live-action set.

[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw1.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw2.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw3.jpg]

 

I had started Kyle katarn's previous ship, the moldy crow, a while ago
[image=http://soletme.free.fr/moldycrow.jpg]
The reason why I show it is because it was part of I bigger project that I abandonned, and this model will never be finished. The front part is almost the same, and I could give it to you if you want, because I'll never use it I think

 

I've been spending time refining the geometry. I'm studying Jedi Outcast's texture files to see what "things" are on the ship, but they didn't have the bandwidth to actually turn into geometry.... and I'm trying to turn these details into geometry.
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw4.jpg]
I've been putting a lot of time in to refine the engines, since the are quite big on this ship.
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw5.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw6.jpg]

I've thrown a greeble modifier on some of the engine parts to see if it will enhance it. I may just use bump maps, but for now the greebles look nice.

I've also started on the landing gear. There is NO indiciation on the game model of where it is... the only reference for the landing gear is in a few of the in-game cut scenes. Pics of the gear coming soon.

Comments welcome. Thanks.

 

use bumps or mesh it, but please get rid of the greeble modifier... it takes away from the quality of the mesh IMO... a good modeler should be able to greeble manually... besides, the greeble modifier has been so overused that it looks so generic now...

so please use maps or manually greeble but get rid of the modifier...

Darksteps...

 

DarkStep is right, greeble is outdated. It was cool in max 2.0, but since the quality standard has increased and it doesn't work anymore.

 

Uhh.. not to sound like a pain in the butt... but how do you use a bump map? I spent a LONG time today trying to figure this out... huh.

 

Read up in your user guide on how to use a bump map - if you are going to apply a texture you need to know how to do that.

 

but how do you use a bump map?

check on where it says bump map click the button on the right pick a bump.

 

I agree, the greebles will be whacked. Thanks for the advice! Until I have time to manually add them however, I'm gonna keep them in there.

New updates: Added more detail to the engines, particularly the front intakes and the rear flaps. Spent more time working on the cockpit.. this is tough since we'll need to split the difference between the game model and the live-action set we built. I've gotten it pretty close. Once I finalize the exterior cockpit, then I need to work some basic interior detail. Added landing gear and landing gear opening panels. That's all for now.

[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw7.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw8.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw9.jpg]
[image=http://www.spiritsoftheforce.com/scifi3d/ravensclaw10.jpg]