Thunderbird Shadow [WIP] [Vehicles Are Kind Of Props... Right?]
polycounter lvl 2
Hi art folks, I could use a couple of pointers if anyone has the time. I'll try and keep this concise.
Quick backstory for the sake of context- I market myself as an environment/props artist. I started a model of Thunderbird Shadow from the TV series Thunderbirds Are Go, just as a fun self-indulgent side project to improve my Max workflow, but along the way I realised it would be a waste not to make something proper of it. The hope was that it would show off good hard-surface modelling skills.
Here is the high-poly as it currently stands-
It still needs some work, especially with the topology of the fuselage but it's nearly there. I'm probably going to postpone working on the cockpit for a while and make it as a separate mesh after I've done more important things, since referencing it accurately is proving to be very difficult and causing more stress than it's worth.
I've only done a small amount of the low-poly so far because I've been a little unsure about how low I actually need to go. From feedback in the past I have always had a tendency to skew a little bit too low. I suppose I worry that keeping the count too high might give off the impression that I don't know what I'm doing. From what I understand, vehicles tend to have more detail than most props, but since I am somewhat framing this as a prop I'm less certain that I can get away with it.
The ultimate goal is to build its launch platform as a base and display it like a diorama, maybe add a few smaller props around it to sell the idea. If I do get the cockpit finished I'd like to display it with the canopy open.
(That said, I would also like to upload it to sketchfab by itself as just a vehicle, possibly give it a limited amount of animation, just for fun.)
SO my specific questions are-
1. Is this even going to be a good thing to have in my portfolio? (here it is currently, if that helps) I've been out of university for almost three years and only been able to land an internship, which ended early (through bad luck rather than any fault of my own) So I don't want to waste my time.
2. Does the low poly look about right so far?
3. Less important but if anyone has knowledge on the subject- How strict do I need to be with texel density? I usually aim for 512 per metre but I suspect that might result in a huge number of textures.
Of course any feedback/crit at all is super welcome!
TL;DR: I've ended up making a vehicle and now I'm a little out of my depth.
Quick backstory for the sake of context- I market myself as an environment/props artist. I started a model of Thunderbird Shadow from the TV series Thunderbirds Are Go, just as a fun self-indulgent side project to improve my Max workflow, but along the way I realised it would be a waste not to make something proper of it. The hope was that it would show off good hard-surface modelling skills.
Here is the high-poly as it currently stands-
It still needs some work, especially with the topology of the fuselage but it's nearly there. I'm probably going to postpone working on the cockpit for a while and make it as a separate mesh after I've done more important things, since referencing it accurately is proving to be very difficult and causing more stress than it's worth.
I've only done a small amount of the low-poly so far because I've been a little unsure about how low I actually need to go. From feedback in the past I have always had a tendency to skew a little bit too low. I suppose I worry that keeping the count too high might give off the impression that I don't know what I'm doing. From what I understand, vehicles tend to have more detail than most props, but since I am somewhat framing this as a prop I'm less certain that I can get away with it.
The ultimate goal is to build its launch platform as a base and display it like a diorama, maybe add a few smaller props around it to sell the idea. If I do get the cockpit finished I'd like to display it with the canopy open.
(That said, I would also like to upload it to sketchfab by itself as just a vehicle, possibly give it a limited amount of animation, just for fun.)
SO my specific questions are-
1. Is this even going to be a good thing to have in my portfolio? (here it is currently, if that helps) I've been out of university for almost three years and only been able to land an internship, which ended early (through bad luck rather than any fault of my own) So I don't want to waste my time.
2. Does the low poly look about right so far?
3. Less important but if anyone has knowledge on the subject- How strict do I need to be with texel density? I usually aim for 512 per metre but I suspect that might result in a huge number of textures.
Of course any feedback/crit at all is super welcome!
TL;DR: I've ended up making a vehicle and now I'm a little out of my depth.