Need a tutorial on jets

Marlo

Hello guys! I am doing 3D since the end of 2018 self taught and I've learned a lot so far. Most of the times I figured out problems all by myself or with the help of certain tutorials (bought or youtube). I feel comfortably with modeling a lot of objects by myself alone. However, I am struggling with jets. Currently I'm trying to model an F-16 Fighter Jet but I can't realy get the shape right. I'm not looking for a lowpoly version. Most of the tutorials I find however are either technical wrong or low poly versions. I just can't find a good tutorial on that. Am I just looking wrong or is there no tutorial on this? Specifically an F-16 would be the best case of course. It doesn't matter to me if it is a paid tutorial or not. I want to get this done and learn something here. Help would be appreciated by either linking a good tutorial on this or giving me some tips.
If there is nothing out there I am left with trying to get this done alone and I expect a lot of dark hours laying ahead.

Greetings,
Marlo

Dihemi

Hello Marlo,

You could start with looking for some blueprints (drawingdatabase.com / the-blueprints.com) online if you already haven't, there are plentiful of resources on fighter jets, providing you with multiple views (front, top, sides) and should give you a good idea about their shape. Other than that, start with a block-out; only do the rough shape (main frame, tail and wings) before doing any details. Make sure proportions are correct. Start simple and progressively add details on top of your block-out.

Hope it helps.

Marlo

Hello Dihemi! Appreciate your help. :-) 
Yes I did. I usually always blockout first. This time however I try to focus more on the shapes... Maybe I overthink it a bit? I don't know.

This is my scene so far: 





I've done multiple starts already just to get to some shape. May I just don't realy feel secure of doing it. Right now I just fight myself through it.
I should block it out further I guess. 

PS: I notice that your blueprints also look a little sharper and better than mine. I'm trying to make the best out of it, if I see it got me wrong again I may also try yours because they are definitly much better! 

Dihemi

Marlo said:

 I should block it out further I guess.

I'd say that for a block you could go a few steps back; keep your shapes' topology as simple as possible, doesn't have to be a continuos mesh either; you can use a separate elongated sphere for the "window" for example, clipping the mainframe. Using those contours, when they properly align with the blueprint/reference, to trace your final topology over.

Structures like these are hard though, it's okay to give yourself some (a lot) of time, go back a few steps to do over if needed. For example at this point it seems your window's border has a corner where there shouldn't be one;

Make sure these broad lines are all correct before adding details.

Marlo

Dihemi said:

Marlo said:

 I should block it out further I guess.

I'd say that for a block you could go a few steps back; keep your shapes' topology as simple as possible, doesn't have to be a continuos mesh either; you can use a separate elongated sphere for the "window" for example, clipping the mainframe. Using those contours, when they properly align with the blueprint/reference, to trace your final topology over.

Structures like these are hard though, it's okay to give yourself some (a lot) of time, go back a few steps to do over if needed. For example at this point it seems your window's border has a corner where there shouldn't be one;

Make sure these broad lines are all correct before adding details.

Yes I still work on this! The main part is the hardest thing to archive. At the moment I don't even bother the wings and other structurs because they are so easy to model. So far I got this: 



At the moment I can't get any closer. Im just not there yet skillwise. Though I am fixing the bottom side to get a little higher.

Marlo

Dihemi said:

Marlo said:

 I should block it out further I guess.

I'd say that for a block you could go a few steps back; keep your shapes' topology as simple as possible, doesn't have to be a continuos mesh either; you can use a separate elongated sphere for the "window" for example, clipping the mainframe. Using those contours, when they properly align with the blueprint/reference, to trace your final topology over.

Structures like these are hard though, it's okay to give yourself some (a lot) of time, go back a few steps to do over if needed. For example at this point it seems your window's border has a corner where there shouldn't be one;

Make sure these broad lines are all correct before adding details.

Still working on this! At the moment I don't bother about the wings and smaller structurs because the main part of the plane is so hard to match. Everything else on the other hand seems fairly simple.

At the moment I got this: 




I can't get it any closer to it. Im not there yet skillwise. Though I am working on the bottom to get it up a little and then focus on additional detail.

Marlo

Updated the bottom:


That's it for today. 

sacboi

Sry for chiming in a bit late, however I'd suggest following the advice offered by @Dihemi your mesh has too many faces for manual editing so decimate until you've a much lower polycount which will make things a tad 'easier' blocking in a basic shape before moving onto further defining the object's individual details.

Plus as an overall guide too generating aircraft, I'd also highly recommend this set of indepth tutorials authored by Witold Jarworski though not necessarily focused on modern jet engined aircraft per se but nonetheless the underlying principles creating either game res or off line rendered content from scratch still apply covering both workflow alongside a mainly OSS pipeline, as well.

https://airplanes3d.net/wm-000_e.xml

Marlo

sacboi said:

Sry for chiming in a bit late, however I'd suggest following the advice offered by @Dihemi your mesh has too many faces for manual editing so decimate until you've a much lower polycount which will make things a tad 'easier' blocking in a basic shape before moving onto further defining the object's individual details.

Plus as an overall guide too generating aircraft, I'd also highly recommend this set of indepth tutorials authored by Witold Jarworski though not necessarily focused on modern jet engined aircraft per se but nonetheless the underlying principles creating either game res or off line rendered content from scratch still apply covering both workflow alongside a mainly OSS pipeline, as well.

https://airplanes3d.net/wm-000_e.xml

Thanks for the answer! I haven't given up on this topic, just had a lot to do in between. I will listen to your guys advices but also start with a less complex jet first and then build my way up there.  
Thanks for the links btw! Cool stuff!

Brian "Panda" Choi

With complex vlumes, and assuming you don't have access to, or don't know boolean modeling methods (there should be plugins for that in Blender), I usually try to blockout with JUST planes, and connect the forms afterwards.

This is similar, to me, to how illusrtators willmake sure a silhouette works and is locked in before durther detailing.

Hopefully this sketch quickly helps.  Each color is its own separate "plane, unclosed" mesh, but it's defining the bounds and silhouette of the sub-volume.

I would "block out" the ssilhouette with planes/unclosed planar meshes, and THEN connect them at the end.