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Joopson - Stanley No. 9 1/4 (and maybe more)

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Joopson quad damage
Edit:
Feedback on handplane:
So, some feedback about handplane. Overall I actually quite like it. 95% of it worked without a hitch, and was easy to find my way around.
It took me a while to figure out how to do a material map based on separate meshes, but once I figured out how it was done, it's actually a pretty flexible and intuitive system. I used it to get down base values for albedo and roughness, and it produced a nice clean PSD.
It didn't seem too slow baking at 4096 either, which was nice. AO was slow, but AO is always slow. These things take time.
One thing about the UI— some buttons have their text as a 50%-ish grey, which makes them feel like they're locked or something, like I don't have a necessary option enabled that activates those settings. But they're active buttons. It caused me a bit of confusion at first, and still trips me up.
Some other options, it would be nice to have tool-tips that pop up. Things like "Generator Space Downsampling" aren't immediately obvious, and of course I could go to the documentation, but I'm sometimes too lazy or don't want to break the flow.
I had some difficulties baking curvature; notably, I had to bump "max curvature" WAY up. Like, 5000 or something, if I recall. In the documentation, it says the values are usually much lower. Is it because of mesh scale or something? Once I figured out I needed much higher numbers, it worked well and as expected. The volumetric gradient map is a godsend.
Overall I was quite content using handplane. I didn't want for anything, while baking this object.
And the final shots of my first plane, the coffin smoother:








____________________

Original first post:

I've decided to take part, as a game artist and a handtool aficionado.

I've decided to make the Stanley No. 9 1/4 block plane. Depending, I might end up itching to make some other plane as well. We shall see. But about the 9 1/4, I'm a sucker for brass, and have always loved the feel of this block plane. I also happen to own it, so I can really get in there to get measurements and look at wear.
Here's an image of the Stanley No 9 1/4 (image taken from http://jimbodetools.com/ ):



And here's a super early block in of the body of it, because I figure it's better to show something than nothing.

Trying to be as accurate as possible with my measurements, so I'm really taking my time with it.



Should be updating fairly regularly. So I'll have more to show soon.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Update to the base. Still no edge-bevels or anything, but soon!


  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Here's another small update. Still no bevels, but soon! Almost done with the structural and proportional modeling. All that's left to do there is the lever cap. Then it's on to beveling, detailing (screw threads! And other things), and sculpting damage.


  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Today and yesterday, I had a little time, but ended up starting a second plane. Once I finish this coffin smoother, I'll head back to my stanley 9 1/4.

    Just started texturing. Still a while to go, of course.


  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Ok, finished the coffin smoother. Only a few days to work on my original entry now~ Vacation always passes too fast.

    So, some feedback about handplane. Overall I actually quite like it. 95% of it worked without a hitch, and was easy to find my way around.
    It took me a while to figure out how to do a material map based on separate meshes, but once I figured out how it was done, it's actually a pretty flexible and intuitive system. I used it to get down base values for albedo and roughness, and it produced a nice clean PSD.
    It didn't seem too slow baking at 4096 either, which was nice. AO was slow, but AO is always slow. These things take time.

    One thing about the UI— some buttons have their text as a 50%-ish grey, which makes them feel like they're locked or something, like I don't have a necessary option enabled that activates those settings. But they're active buttons. It caused me a bit of confusion at first, and still trips me up.

    Some other options, it would be nice to have tool-tips that pop up. Things like "Generator Space Downsampling" aren't immediately obvious, and of course I could go to the documentation, but I'm sometimes too lazy or don't want to break the flow.

    I had some difficulties baking curvature; notably, I had to bump "max curvature" WAY up. Like, 5000 or something, if I recall. In the documentation, it says the values are usually much lower. Is it because of mesh scale or something? Once I figured out I needed much higher numbers, it worked well and as expected. The volumetric gradient map is a godsend.

    Overall I was quite content using handplane. I didn't want for anything, while baking this object.

    Anyway, here are the shots.





    Flats:


    And wires:


  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Some progress on my highpoly.

    Have to smooth out some facets and things that are a result of not thinking-through some shapes enough to know I should have started with more geometry. And I also need to do a detail pass sculpt.


  • Shiv
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    Shiv polycounter lvl 15
    Looking really solid! :) 
    only bit that looks a bit blobby from this shot would be the connector bit inside the top hood.
  • Infernal
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    Infernal polycounter lvl 8
    looks really good :) like the metal!
  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Thanks for the feedback guys.

    I'll absolutely go over a lot of it again; there's some blobbiness going on all over that I need to tighten up, but that connector bit is absolutely the most obvious, so I'll take care of that. Thanks @Shiv for pointing it out!

    Putting this reminder here for myself: DON'T FORGET THE LITTLE OVAL GRIPS ON THE SIDE.

    I've been trying to remember them since the beginning, and I keep putting it off.
  • Kanni3d
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    Kanni3d ngon master
    Gotta agree, the metal material definition is really nicely done on the second plane. Tighten up some of the highpoly elements to fix the blobbiness, you got two solid pieces! Really well done.
  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Thanks Kanni!

    Here's a small update to the highpoly.

    Important takeaways:
    1. hPolish can't fix all my problems
    2. Dynamesh can fix many problems.
    3. Don't look too closely, if it won't be visible in the final
    I think this is more or less the final high. Gotta get the low and texture done by the 8th (the end of the 8th, or beginning?) so I have to move on, happy or not. And really, I'm happy enough with it.


  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    Sadly, the 9 1/4 will have to be finished after the deadline. Ran out of time after a busier-than-expected weekend.
  • yanpes
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    yanpes triangle
    The high poly looks really good!
    I like the amount detail.

    Just one little thing:
    This part has some jagged edges. Is it on purpose?

  • Joopson
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    Joopson quad damage
    yanpes said:

    This part has some jagged edges. Is it on purpose?
    Hi Yannik, thanks for the comment and feedback!

    Haven't thought about this project in a while, but still plan to finish it up at some point. Maybe this'll get me to.

    So, the jaggedness is definitely on purpose, though this angle doesn't show it so clearly. I have a few of these old Stanley block planes laying around, and on many, the enameled japanning around that curve is pretty bumpy and chipped. I'm not sure if it's because of the position the pieces are in when they're painted, or if it happens during the curing process, or during use, but they're rarely that smooth and pretty on that part.

    So I tried to recreate what I see on a particular blockplane I own. Though who knows if it'll look any good when baked down, or even if it looks any good now. :p

    Here's another angle showing the detail (now I realize that edge is probably too sharp anyway. So will probably revisit the sculpt):



    Really, thanks for the feedback!
  • yanpes
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    yanpes triangle
    @Joopson Hi Andrew,
    that screenshot illustrates your intention quite well. If it's on purpose, well done! :smile: 
    I hope you revisit the project since it could end up in a very nice piece! Keep it up!
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