[Dota 2] - Brewmaster - TBD

Aurock

Hi all,

I'm a CAD guy that wants to learn 3d modelling, so I'm using this competition and thread to motivate myself.

I've chosen the Brewmaster because the model just aesthetically appeals to me, and it seems like he would be easier for a beginner than a completely non-human shaped model.

I'm still researching what sort of theme I'd like to do.

Wish me luck!

danidem

Good Luck!!!

Aurock

Thanks Danidem!

I have decided on a theme for the set. Since the Brewmaster currently only has a flail and a barrel of booze, I figure he must have to restock his barrel sometime, so his set will be a few items to help him brew on the go, while wandering the world.

I'm thinking a brewing paddle as his main weapon, the type that are used to stir beer. It has a similar geometry to the flail, so I imagine the animations shouldn't need to be changed at all. Also it seems like it would be relatively simple to model compared to some of my other ideas, which suits me perfectly. (I had one idea of a sword with small kegs strapped to it, which has a steampunk style system to inject alcohol into the bloodstream of whoever he slashes at, but maybe next time).

In his off hand, my best idea at the moment is a small portable still, for making spirits on the go, and communing with spirits while resting (har har).

Which just leaves the third set piece - I'll have to learn more about how the items connect to the model skeleton before I decide between shoulders or arms for the third piece.

I've collected a few images to get the design started, and I'm planning to get a few more then post a mood board of sorts.

Aurock

Images of paddle geometry as a starting point for the design:

Aurock

So I've figured out the very basics of Maya. It's a really different way of think from CAD, and things like normals are just completely foreign to me.

I've made a very basic brewing paddle. Next I think I'll have a go at texturing...




*edited to change image host to imgur.

ZacD

The image host you are using isn't working for embedded images, try http://imgur.com

Aurock

Hey thanks for the heads up. Imgur hasn't been working for me which is why I tried this one. I'll give imgur a go on a different browser.

Aurock

So I have spent awhile trying to get my head around texturing.

First I figured out how to get the UV's into a useable space and now I've learned how to bake an ambient occlusion texture/map and have used that as a layer in photoshop to make a basic colour texture. My object was so simple that the ambient occlusion didn't really add much to it though.

ZacD

Don't use images with a black background to present models, it hides the detail and makes part of the model hard to see, try a dark gray, like the background of this post color.

DoctorRobinson

Aurock wrote: »

... My object was so simple that the ambient occlusion didn't really add much to it though.
...

Sounds like you've discovered the problem. One of the tricks of modeling is to use basic shapes but not to have them look like basic shapes. So even though you're using cylinders, you don't want it to look like all you did was used a cylinder primitive and made it longer.

Don't forget that unless it makes a significant change to your silhouette, you shouldn't put polys there. And especially considering you will be seeing it from further away and at a different angle, I'd recommend taking some of the faces out of the cylinders that connect the two outlying pieces and creating small details to add to the weapon. I think you could get away with four or maybe 5 sides on those cylinders and still have them look good. You could do things as simple as cloth, or creating chips from where the weapon would take damage, or even adding small ornaments.

Aurock

Hey thanks for the advice! I'll give that a go tonight and see if I can make the silhouette more interesting.

Also, to anyone that wants to give advice, or sees something stupid, please tell. As I said at the top, I am completely 100% new to this, and any info that would help is greatly appreciated.

Aurock

ZacD: Ok will do, cheers!

agentfx

the weapon seems a bit smooth, maybe break up the shape a bit by making it a little more organic, not perfectly shaped wood. Also maybe make some of the head metal not all wood to further break up the colors and shapes.

Aurock

Just had a quick go at making the paddle a little more interesting. I've changed the shape of the head, used cylinders with less sides, and used the saved polygons to add metal bits on each end of the handle. Also I added a slight kink to the wood .

Aurock

Just had another quick go at making the shape interesting while saving tris. Down to 278 tris, which surprised me

DoctorRobinson

Being a square may be a bit too low poly =P You still want it to retain some semblance of a rounded shape. But you seem to get the idea now, and it's great you're playing with different ways to keep the count low.

Consider where you put the bend in your weapon. Near the top, on that center section, you're using 6 sides, i believe? So every cut adds an additional 6 faces (12 tris). With 4 cuts, that makes 24 faces. With such low poly count limits, you'll want to make sure that everywhere you add an edge loop is worthwhile.

Also make sure the faces that are hidden inside other geometry are deleted. For example, those 8 connecting center sections each have two end faces that are going to be hidden inside other geometry. Delete those.

Aurock

Hi, thanks for the input.

I agree about the square. I'm thinking I should either have the handle section or the bends in the wood, but not both. It seems like if someone was going to put a nice handle on a tool, they would at least choose a straight bit of wood to make the tool.

Maybe next I will get rid of the giant square handle, and try to make a much more jury-rigged handle, and along with that try and utilize the cuts a bit better, so the bends come through in the silhouette. Hopefully I'll get some time to work on it after work today.