Ehi guys, glad you liked my idea for the sword grip.
At the moment I don't have time to make a proper tutorial, but I will share the .max scene with you, so that you can "study" it.
Basically, I've made a plane, selected the extreme loop of vertices (those that are closer to the grip) and I've forced them to follow the grip (check: sim node in the cloth guide to understand how to do this). Then I've made a rotating animation for the grip and I let the gravity do the rest of the work.
Beautiful job commador, I would love to see a time lapse of you modeling the next one, if you do.
Sure thing. I'll make sure to snag images along the way and bake it down into a video.
FancyMug, Good job on the grip! Be careful with your edges though. I'm fighting the same battle trying to ensure they aren't too tight, and keeping them wider for better baking. Even if you don't plan on baking, I think it is a good habit to follow through.
The only technical thing I can see is at the bottom of the front there is some faceting. The support edges you have which terminate near the bottom, run those evenly over the front and adjust them so they have a nice smooth curve. That should fix it.
commador - Thanks for the feedback. It really helped a lot. I do plan on baking so I want to keep it as clean as possible. I think I've got it to a point where I can do the rest in NDO2 for the normal map. Hopefully tomorrow I'll start creating my LP and bake.
A tip for floaters: Flare the bottom open edge out along the same plane as the object under it. This will give your floater a nice smooth transition and make it look like it is connected and one solid piece.
hey guys thanks for the feedback.
AlexRodriguez- lol I completely forgot about the seams. thx. I cleaned up the geometry a little bit.
I edited the floaters a little bit and now I think I'm going to work on the LP.
Thanks for the help everyone.
As always any critiques are welcomed. Wires
hey guys thanks for the feedback.
AlexRodriguez- lol I completely forgot about the seams. thx. I cleaned up the geometry a little bit.
I edited the floaters a little bit and now I think I'm going to work on the LP.
Thanks for the help everyone.
As always any critiques are welcomed.
Great idea on the small circles on the back in using squares, I just used a 6 sided sphere cut in half. I do like how your square pads came out, by looking at yours wires it doesn't seem to tricky to pull off (I just found that some areas it disturbs my topology)
Not sure if you saw my other post I posted a 360 rotating view on the model it really helped me out in seeing that extra detail.
Alex - Thanks. I did see the website you posted, it was really useful for sure considering I didn't find that many good (different angle pics) of the grip.
I created my LP but I have un-optimized uv's and the bake setup isn't completed, which is causing some small issues but that'll be an easy fix, but I will have to tackle that tomorrow hopefully Thanks for everyone's help so far Any critiques are always welcomed. Wires
Noice! I love cast parts. Good job on week seven everyone.
If anyone is contemplating this weeks object, a quick glance I count 13 separate pieces. Take your time and work through it one part at a time, and you'll get it done. Alright, enough motivation talk, lets go!
Good to see this week posting on time, hopefully we get a little more life in submission from previous week. The most challenging part is getting the smooth endentation correct
Haven't created something like this before so was a big challenge in getting the organic shape to be correct. Next time will try another approach than the one I took in creating this grip.
I'll have to work on this one in bits and pieces this week. But since I was asked to document the process, I'll start with the blockout. Getting the proportions and all the big shapes hammered out will make the rest of the process go much quicker. Even if you completely replace the mesh, you have a nice guide for how big whatever the piece needs to be.
I know wires should be linked only, but since this is rather low level, I think its OK here. I'll continue the process with .gifs and stills as I finish it out. Hopefully someone can make use of documenting the process.
The orthgraphic view should allow you to get the proportions correctly. Good idea on blocking out the model. Since it is made up of a couple pieces ill give this workflow a shot
Commandor - Looks pretty good so far. I like how low poly you have it right now, so if you need to change something it doesn't require a bunch of work.
With the blockout complete, here is the next step of the plan.
You need to figure out what can be mirrored or duplicated to make production go by faster and not waste time rebuilding the same part. The base is a single piece of cast metal, but it can be mirrored as both sides are identical. The only asymmetrical bit, is the V-shape at the end. That can easily be cut into the base mesh after it is created. The big U shaped arm is both symmetrical, and asymmetrical. The top portion can be mirrored two ways. Build just one quarter, mirror, and then mirror both of those parts. From here, build out the lower sections. They share similarities which can also be reused, such as the interior channel the clamp rides in. The rest is pretty straight forward stuff, such as the clam pads, handle, and threaded rod.
For anyone new to modeling, observation is key. Assumptions are bad. Gather as much reference as you can, and read, watch, and interact with as much stuff as you can. A concept artist needs a vast visual library to draw from to create cool stuff, just as an artist making mechanical stuff needs to understand how that works. Not always will there be a large amount of reference material. Sometime a single piece of concept art is all there will be, as has happened in this thread. Knowing how things work will bridge the gaps to figuring out how complete works of fiction are suppose to work. Also, it is OK to sacrifice 100% CAD level accuracy if it means you can get the piece done in half the time or better. Remember that in a production environment many other people need to rely on you getting things done well, but as fast as possible.
Sorry for the wall of text, but since this thread is about developing skill and sharing workflows, I thought I would post up something regarding the expectations related to creating work from start to finish. If there are any inaccuracies or misconceptions, please let to know.
The materials look great. I think the big U clamp is a bit short though. The length of the threaded rod should be the same length at the U clam when it is fully threaded and the jaw pads are touching. The V notch jaw at the end looks a tad soft as well. The clamp hook flares out where it grips the base, while your model is the same thickness. Otherwise, it all looks very solid. Again, good job! Now...get to baking!
The materials look great. I think the big U clamp is a bit short though. The length of the threaded rod should be the same length at the U clam when it is fully threaded and the jaw pads are touching. The V notch jaw at the end looks a tad soft as well. The clamp hook flares out where it grips the base, while your model is the same thickness. Otherwise, it all looks very solid. Again, good job! Now...get to baking!
Great points! I haven't thought about the actual movement of the rod.
If you "insert" it all the way in, you get the correct measure for the U Clam. observation observation!
My take for week 8's challenge. Getting the subtle curves was tough and will take a look at it again after taking a bit of a breather.
Critique: The wrench is missing its indentation much like what you have already done. By the look of your wires you need to add more topology then just push the faces back.
The black screw need to be pushed out a little more, it should be a little thicker. Lastly your gaps where the two piece connect is a little small keep the area where the screw goes to hold it in place but move the rounded surface up some more (think about it for a little it need to be a bit higher up to hold the weight with the screw a little near the middle)
*MeshPotato: The two references are a little different from one another (one is all pulled up and another pulled down), and yes your is just a little to squashed down.
Done. I'll get the writeup finished and posted by the weekend.
Great job Commandor, my only critique is the RIGID piece is a little to square round it off a little more. Kind of like how I did mine, but that about it +1
Critique: The wrench is missing its indentation much like what you have already done. By the look of your wires you need to add more topology then just push the faces back.
The black screw need to be pushed out a little more, it should be a little thicker. Lastly your gaps where the two piece connect is a little small keep the area where the screw goes to hold it in place but move the rounded surface up some more (think about it for a little it need to be a bit higher up to hold the weight with the screw a little near the middle)
Thanks for the critique.
I was perplexed on the wrench shape so left it at the current setup till I could figure out a better topology setup. I'll make some updates to the mesh and make another post here.
Great job Commandor, my only critique is the RIGID piece is a little to square round it off a little more. Kind of like how I did mine, but that about it +1
Nice catch. I'll have to round out that edge a bit. Your vice came together pretty well Alex. The only things I can see that may need some fixing are on the base. The little V notch to the right of the big V notch is missing, and some of the edges look like they could be widened a bit. Regardless of those points, you seem to be coming along pretty quickly. Good work!
My take for week 8's challenge. Getting the subtle curves was tough and will take a look at it again after taking a bit of a breather.
Great Start! Looking at your wires, I think you can solve your problem by adding more edges. You defined the silhouette pretty well, but with only so much geometry to support the interior, its harder to get nice smooth curves against hard machined surfaces. See if you can bring the front V notch out a bit. It should be a flat tapered shape. On your model, it looks like it has a bit of a step. As I said for Alex, you are at a pretty good point now. Just keep up the work and continue practicing and everything that seems tricky now will become easy.
Replies
At the moment I don't have time to make a proper tutorial, but I will share the .max scene with you, so that you can "study" it.
Basically, I've made a plane, selected the extreme loop of vertices (those that are closer to the grip) and I've forced them to follow the grip (check: sim node in the cloth guide to understand how to do this). Then I've made a rotating animation for the grip and I let the gravity do the rest of the work.
The .max scene is here >>> DOWNLOAD MAX SCENE
Giuliano
JurassicPerk- Thx for sharing. That is one really awesome way to use the cloth modifier.
Wires
Wires
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2k_k_pNUXio/Uw2HPjjg2II/AAAAAAAACb4/AYmnuvQYXlk/s1600/ProgessWires.png
Great work, commador. Love also your wireframe!
Sure thing. I'll make sure to snag images along the way and bake it down into a video.
FancyMug, Good job on the grip! Be careful with your edges though. I'm fighting the same battle trying to ensure they aren't too tight, and keeping them wider for better baking. Even if you don't plan on baking, I think it is a good habit to follow through.
The only technical thing I can see is at the bottom of the front there is some faceting. The support edges you have which terminate near the bottom, run those evenly over the front and adjust them so they have a nice smooth curve. That should fix it.
Due to time constraints I wasn't able to put my full effort on the square pads. Would have love to make them even throughout
Wires
Fancy you could possibly go back and clean up your topology, you also forgot that seam in the middle :poly142: *Overall looks great*
Feedback is appreciated
*Update: Quick Light Render*
Wires
Oh wow, superb wires:thumbup:
AlexRodriguez- lol I completely forgot about the seams. thx. I cleaned up the geometry a little bit.
I edited the floaters a little bit and now I think I'm going to work on the LP.
Thanks for the help everyone.
As always any critiques are welcomed.
Wires
Great idea on the small circles on the back in using squares, I just used a 6 sided sphere cut in half. I do like how your square pads came out, by looking at yours wires it doesn't seem to tricky to pull off (I just found that some areas it disturbs my topology)
Not sure if you saw my other post I posted a 360 rotating view on the model it really helped me out in seeing that extra detail.
Wires
Got quite a lot of things I Would tweak and change. I Would add a little more bevels on the LP, for better baking.
Unfortunately, I Gotta move on :{
Heavy Duty Pipe Vice:
If anyone is contemplating this weeks object, a quick glance I count 13 separate pieces. Take your time and work through it one part at a time, and you'll get it done. Alright, enough motivation talk, lets go!
Wires
Wireframe here.
I know wires should be linked only, but since this is rather low level, I think its OK here. I'll continue the process with .gifs and stills as I finish it out. Hopefully someone can make use of documenting the process.
You need to figure out what can be mirrored or duplicated to make production go by faster and not waste time rebuilding the same part. The base is a single piece of cast metal, but it can be mirrored as both sides are identical. The only asymmetrical bit, is the V-shape at the end. That can easily be cut into the base mesh after it is created. The big U shaped arm is both symmetrical, and asymmetrical. The top portion can be mirrored two ways. Build just one quarter, mirror, and then mirror both of those parts. From here, build out the lower sections. They share similarities which can also be reused, such as the interior channel the clamp rides in. The rest is pretty straight forward stuff, such as the clam pads, handle, and threaded rod.
For anyone new to modeling, observation is key. Assumptions are bad. Gather as much reference as you can, and read, watch, and interact with as much stuff as you can. A concept artist needs a vast visual library to draw from to create cool stuff, just as an artist making mechanical stuff needs to understand how that works. Not always will there be a large amount of reference material. Sometime a single piece of concept art is all there will be, as has happened in this thread. Knowing how things work will bridge the gaps to figuring out how complete works of fiction are suppose to work. Also, it is OK to sacrifice 100% CAD level accuracy if it means you can get the piece done in half the time or better. Remember that in a production environment many other people need to rely on you getting things done well, but as fast as possible.
Sorry for the wall of text, but since this thread is about developing skill and sharing workflows, I thought I would post up something regarding the expectations related to creating work from start to finish. If there are any inaccuracies or misconceptions, please let to know.
I've got a good number of images for the process guide. I'll post that when it is complete.
WIP Nice workflow Commandor (I personally like to block out the piece I am working on then go in and refine it more)
Trying to learn to block out the entire model (You should also post how you pull together your texture)
Just need the bottom piece, already have everything else in place shouldn't take to long
The materials look great. I think the big U clamp is a bit short though. The length of the threaded rod should be the same length at the U clam when it is fully threaded and the jaw pads are touching. The V notch jaw at the end looks a tad soft as well. The clamp hook flares out where it grips the base, while your model is the same thickness. Otherwise, it all looks very solid. Again, good job! Now...get to baking!
Smooth Wires.
Unsmoothed.
Great points! I haven't thought about the actual movement of the rod.
If you "insert" it all the way in, you get the correct measure for the U Clam. observation observation!
Critique: The wrench is missing its indentation much like what you have already done. By the look of your wires you need to add more topology then just push the faces back.
The black screw need to be pushed out a little more, it should be a little thicker. Lastly your gaps where the two piece connect is a little small keep the area where the screw goes to hold it in place but move the rounded surface up some more (think about it for a little it need to be a bit higher up to hold the weight with the screw a little near the middle)
*MeshPotato: The two references are a little different from one another (one is all pulled up and another pulled down), and yes your is just a little to squashed down.
Wires
Great job Commandor, my only critique is the RIGID piece is a little to square round it off a little more. Kind of like how I did mine, but that about it +1
Thanks for the critique.
I was perplexed on the wrench shape so left it at the current setup till I could figure out a better topology setup. I'll make some updates to the mesh and make another post here.
Nice catch. I'll have to round out that edge a bit. Your vice came together pretty well Alex. The only things I can see that may need some fixing are on the base. The little V notch to the right of the big V notch is missing, and some of the edges look like they could be widened a bit. Regardless of those points, you seem to be coming along pretty quickly. Good work!
Great Start! Looking at your wires, I think you can solve your problem by adding more edges. You defined the silhouette pretty well, but with only so much geometry to support the interior, its harder to get nice smooth curves against hard machined surfaces. See if you can bring the front V notch out a bit. It should be a flat tapered shape. On your model, it looks like it has a bit of a step. As I said for Alex, you are at a pretty good point now. Just keep up the work and continue practicing and everything that seems tricky now will become easy.
Thanks for the critique went in and fixed up my problem areas
Wires
Quick Light Render