Hey guys, this is my first model that I have done completely on my own outside of school.
This is the low poly version (the model was finished about 2 weeks ago; we just started learning Zbrush, so hopefully I can get a high poly made up!) that sits just under 6,200 polygons. I just UV' ed it and am planning on using 2, 4k maps.
Any comments, tips and crits are welcome!
Replies
Probably later, all we are required to do for class right now is a main diffuse.
As for the geometry, it doesn't look jagged when I turn off wireframe, this is essentially a game model so I wasn't planning on adding too much. I'm not sure what you mean about the turret, could you explain a bit more what you mean?
This is my low poly model, so a lot of small details were left out to save polycount. Thanks for the feedback though
I think for your first model outside of school this is a good start. I'd suggest what the others wrote above me regading the polycount, but what I`d recommend you think about is the final purpose of this model. Is it going to be in a game eventually? If so, you should spread out the topology evenly and don't use that many for example on the wheels and more on the upper part of the tank.
If it's going to be in a game.. is it an RTS or some sort of World of Tanks style game?
If you are planning to use this model as a portfolio piece, than what I've learned is that you need to make it look really good and maybe push the poly limits just a bit more than what normally would be acceptable. Not too much... but.. maybe 20% more than how much it normally should have.
2k and 4k maps are way too high as well I think. Create a 2K one, but then downres to 1K I`d suggest.
Keep up the good work, will be checking back for progress .
You do seem to be spending most of your polygons on the treads and the tires - it looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 triangles per wheel, mostly on the inner hub. Most of the details on the wheels can be handled entirely in the textures unless you need to do extreme close-ups for some reason. Also, you can typically model the treads as a ribbon with an alpha mask texture defining individual segments, and an inner strip to model the 'teeth'; this approach also lets you animate the treads by merely moving UVs rather than manipulating geometry.
The cannon barrel probably does not need a physical hole - a decent texture will work in most instances. If you are going to model it, keep in mind that the diameter of the bore is the size of the shell - 76mm in your case - and the barrel's diameter is around twice this diameter. Your bore is much too small. The barrel also appears much too short; it should be between 2.4 & 3.2 meters long.
The shape of the tank overall feels off, and it seems like you've moved on to details before finishing with the major geometry. I'd check for additional reference, especially nice 3- and 4-views like this:
I've noticed that a lot of the tanks have small differences between them, possibly due to the panic of the Germans invading in 1941.
That being said zbrush will come in handy in places. I did a tank not too long ago and I used it to shape/detail the cast iron turret.