3d Cityscapes

Hi all,

I am currently involved in a Science Fiction project where i have to make photoreal cityscape shots. The shots do not have to last very long only for establishing a scene.

I understand the buildings that are close up have to be very detailed in order to sell the shot. Unfortunetly i do not see any detailed building models on sci-fi 3d, so i was hoping to seek some advice on how to convey shots like this and any useful resources anyone can direct me to would be of great help.

This is not a personal project, but worked that will be marked.

hope you guys will respond

thanks a lot


Matt

 

Model them yourself???


no offense, but why did you take up a project if you don't even want to model them yourself..... (from your post I understand you want to download models).

Don't expect to see photoreal models of buildings for free on the internet.....

And if it's for a scifi project I think the models on Scifi3d can be used for a shot you want to make.... just decorate the shot with many more elements....

 

You'll have to pay some money. But places like turbosquid have some nice stuff.

 

Yeah i was hoping to download some models as its the time issue that is my biggest concern.

I have had a look on turbosquid and its not worth the prices.

Anyways i don't need a lecture on wheather or not i should be downloading models thats my decision, but what i would appreciate is some advice on how to make the most out of the models on sci-fi 3d or any useful tips on modeling skyscrapers myself to get the best detail i can.

Does anyone know any useful links or videos for references?


cheers


Matt

 

What I do is if I have a photo I break it down into sections, most skyscrapers are replicated sections say three or four floors high, once you model one section you can duplicate it several times to create the height.
As for buildings, try searching for images of existings buildings and try to imagine how they would look in the future.

Depending on the shot only the buildings closest to the camera need to me heavly detailed, background or distance buildings can be just basic shells with texture maps.

Start with basic shapes such as cylinders and rectangles. Make cuts / slices at regular intervals to help keep the structure uniformal.

 

Keep in mind that very little needs to be modelled at all.
Most of what is seen on Couruscant, for example, is just digital matte work.
Even near buildings can be basic shapes with highly detailed camera maps projected on to create detail.

The only time you really need extensive 3D work for cityscapes is when the camera is making a dramatic move through or directly around close up buildings.

If the camera is locked off, or just panning a little bit, digital matte can cover almost the entire shot.

 

Yes but where comes mattepainting? They still had to model the buildings . And texture them, and later composited a lot of stuff together into a mattepainting (like sun's volume light, GI shadows, specularity etc..).
And then they took it back to 3d app, projected the mattepainting onto the models or just planes.



Lookfilms

 

Photorealistic buildings means photorealistic textures. Go to google images or whatever, and get some nice texs to attach to rectangles. Simple.

 

Well, with the digital matte paintings, they had a cool way of doing it. They modeled the buildings, with no textures. Then rendered a large panoramic of the buildings with lighting. Then the artist painted on top of that and then it was projected back onto the buildings which allowed for camera movement. For something like Coruscant, it wouldn't be a good idea to do a whole bunch of entirely CG buildings, a lot of the effects they used in the movies for the buildings are just compositing. They also relied heavily on miniatures.