Spaceship/Car panelling methods

Atuli

Hey guys some help with this would be super appreciated, I've been working on this spaceship but I want to start again because there must be a better way to model the panelling on it. I've basically just cut valleys into the mesh as you can see in the examples but the problem is when the model gets bigger it starts to get a lot more complicated in terms of control edges etc. To me it looks ok but there must be a better way to do it. 

Whats the best way to model panels like this? I'm thinking I could model each panel separately and give them a shell modifier and just piece the whole thing together like that? maybe with a lower poly mesh underneath. 

I was wondering if I made a mesh as the shape is there a way to make the panelling and easily conform them to the underlying mesh?

As I said some help would be awesome because I'm sure this is some pretty basic fundamental stuff. 

musashidan

Breaking the panels off to separate elememts/meshes is the way to go. As you've discovered, modeling sub-ds from a single mesh is not a good idea. The general rule is to model an item to parts as it would be built in real life.

Once you have the primary form/silhouette in place and edges placed where the borders of each panel is you can just select those faces and break them off, put control edges around the border, extrude a numberical amount (remember it for all panels) turbosmooth. 

Most car modeling tutorials use this technique. Have a look at some for ideas.

Atuli

Thanks I was thinking a car tutorial was probably the way to go but couldn't really find a good one with the problem. Guess I'll look a bit harder. Thanks heaps man. 

Eric Chadwick

You could also try the floating panels trick.


by Ralphie 'boyluya' Agenar. From the thread Firefall - Hard surface Art Dump

More on our wiki here
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Subdivision_Surface_Modeling#Hard_Surfaces

NAIMA

Had the same problem when I started my hd learning on a spaceship and there is a great tutorial by Arrimus 3d on that

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tyg79xF7r7A

Took me a while to test several ways to do to me but in the end as Musashidan said to me what is working is splitting each panel into an object pn his own , also a tip I discovered by myself testing etc is to align the edgeloops of the panels to have the best alignment , not obligatory but very usefull sometimes...

Here is my thread with other sugestions by otherpeople on solvibg my issues.

http://polycount.com/discussion/comment/2446998#Comment_2446998

Atuli

Thanks man I've watched that video like 10 times haha. So basically I'm thinking the best way is to model the object with the edge loops placed for panels in mind, then split each panel off and extrude it with edge loops. 

Very nice ship btw. 

NAIMA

Atuli said:

Thanks man I've watched that video like 10 times haha. So basically I'm thinking the best way is to model the object with the edge loops placed for panels in mind, then split each panel off and extrude it with edge loops. 

Very nice ship btw. 

The way I am doing is first make the shape u like , then quadrify , then cut in the desired panel shapes, then quadrify again , then split , then adjoust with support edgeloops.

NAIMA

Btw u don't keep a wip thread for ur ship ?

Atuli

Here's some stills of redoing the model with separate panels, Still feel like I'm missing something though. Its sort of hard to maintain the panels being planar with each other once they've seperated

Atuli

Also I'm starting to wonder if Its better to just block out a high poly then take it into Zbrush to sculpt in the panels etc. 

NAIMA

Because you need to add support edge loops at close the borders to preserve "straightness" and edges.

I think hard surface comes better in normal 3d rather than sculpting , as in Zbrush it requires a whole new level of expertize to make hard surface there .

Atuli

Thanks man. Do you keep the panels just floating or have another mesh underneath them?

Also I made a thread for the "finished" model here http://polycount.com/discussion/170680/first-project-without-a-tutorial-cc-would-be-appreciated#latest

But after posting it I realised I wasn't really happy with it and wanted to fully understand how to control every aspect of the model. 

NAIMA

I am new to this too , but I am finding floating separated panels sufficent if I put well the edge loops etc and adding a shell modifier on each peace prevents the "see throught gaps" effect.

NAIMA

Thats another goid video that shows how panels are done .

Atuli

http://polycount.com/discussion/170680/first-project-without-a-tutorial-cc-would-be-appreciated#latest

Heres a link to a thread I posted of the "finished" ship, but after I posted I realised I wanted to go back and really understand how to control every aspect of the model. I've Modeled it a few times and that's the best I've gotten

Atuli

Damn, sorry I seem to have spam replied somehow. 

Heres a link to the front with gaps :

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzX09V2CKlunOEZJdGNyZDJ4MjA

and heres one to the whole shell with the valleys modeled into it  (no turbosmooth):

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzX09V2CKlunaHlDc1BuQmtqM0U

Thanks for the video Naima

[Edit] Yeah that tutorial was exactly what I needed to see

Sastrei

Here's another good paneling video that may be of use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGYrj7TXTw

NAIMA

Sastrei said:

Here's another good paneling video that may be of use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGYrj7TXTw

Oh I know that I requested him it ^^ .

Sastrei

LOL! Well I'm glad you did, because I'm in the process of replicating one of his ships and that video verified I was correctly following the same path in terms of modeling.