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UH-1N "Huey" (Iroquois) from 'Nam, baby!

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james swanson polycounter lvl 5
Aww yeah, time for a new project. I'm gonna be doing a classic: the UH-1N "Huey" helicopter. This was very popular during the Vietnam war as a "Utility Helicopter" (hence, UH). It served many purposes during that time, and looks bad ass! So I decided to model it. The model I'll be doing is referred to as a "slick". These were the helis transporting all of the troops to the ground. However, the slicks needed something to pave way for their arrival, and so the AH-1Z Viper was born, which is also a super bad ass heli! Anyways, I'll be posting my current progress here. Here's my current WIP ref sheet (WARNING: large image! That's why I didn't use bb code or whateva it is to link it). I'll be updating as I find more refs.

5000x5000 pixel img below!
http://u.cubeupload.com/hoppingPanda/owiehfowiehnfoiwehfi.jpg

The scope of this project:

The biggest thing is to make one kick ass helicopter! It's going to be somewhat high resolution since I'd like this to be a portfolio piece and I'm not worrying about fitting it into a game. I'm not sure how I'm going to split up the object, so if anyone is experienced with vehicles I'd love some input. My plan was to do 3 separate objects, with 3 separate texture sheets).

1. The main exterior body, as well as essential interior elements, such as the base for the control panel, and the base for the seats, etc.

2. All glass/plexiglass elements. This is because, since I want to present this in Marmoset, I have to use a totally different shader if I want the glass/plexiglass to look realistic. So I'll be forced to separate this to its own object/texture set.

3. The full interior. This includes all of the minor details that only matter if you're viewing the model from inside the cockpit. So things like all of the actual controls, as well as the gauges on the control panels. Those (except for their glass covers) would be included in this model.

My reasoning for separating these models is that, if it were going into a game, there'd be scenes with the model far away, as well as scenes of the model in FPV. In the far away scenes, we could optimize the model by just removing the smaller, interior details. Then, if there's an FPV shot, we could just add the interior detail mesh back in and whamo! it's all back and looks gorgeous! As I understand, the main drawback to this is that it increases draw calls. So instead of one call with one mesh/texture set, which would include all the parts of the heli, it'd be 3. However, since this isn't going into a game, it isn't crucial that it be optimized. Of course, if anyone wants to point out where I may be going wrong with my logic, I'd appreciate it.

Anyways, I look forward to this project, as I've never done a vehicle with an interior before, and I love this heli, so I'm excited to see it in all its N3XT G3N glory!

I'll be using 3Ds Max or the HP and LP modelling. I'll probably use Mudbox to sculpt the pilot/copilot seat, as well as some plastic hose covers. I'll use substance designer almost exclusively for the texturing. Adobe Illustrator will be used to create masks to be used in designer. Substance painter will be used a little bit to add unique, localized detail to the model. I'll most likely be making some camos for this heli, as it has a good amount of variants in reality. I'll use painter for this to just spray on some camo patterns and then I'll add it to the albedo within designer.

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