Workshop #1 - indian_boy

indian_boy

k this is definately a good idea by the polycount boards
i'd gone into 'hiding' of sorts due to my over-critical self not letting me be confident enough to show anything, though i have been arting... sort of.
and learning C++
[rant rant rant bla bla bla]

anyway:

art!


so far, i'm just still trying to get back into the groove.
understanding the reference images, and just tryna get a hang of doing things like proper floating geometry, screws etc.
now i'm really terrible at high poly modelling, imho. meshflow, and even basic 'how to do ___' eludes me at times, and so i figure this would be a nice workshop for me.

also, this is just before exam week, which starts on monday.
chances are i'm not going to finish it 'on time'
but whatever help i can get is definately worth a lot for future reference

cheers

Vrav

An interesting approach, I like the sharpness of the outer casing. Pretty rendering as well. Even if you don't have time to finish, it's good practice. Was there anything in particular you were seeking tips regarding..? Subdivision modeling can seem a daunting thing to wrap one's head around, but there are really just a few key principles. After learning them, it gets a lot easier.

As for being self-critical, I know the feeling too well, but as do we all. Best way to learn new skills is by doing, though, and sometimes that's the hardest step - to simply set aside notions of confidence and just dig into it.

indian_boy

haha yea, i've pretty much got myself into that thought pattern:
the only way to get better is to just go for it
and the render is a skylight and 2 omnis, one orange and one light blue, and light tracer

here's some more work, done sporadically between chemistry-study-sessions:


and here's how i do my floating bits etc that make it less of a pain to maintain a good looking topology:


however, a problem i have is that the normals have a horrible seam where the floating piece starts. rather than a smooth gradient.

i was just wondering how you guys go about making geometry like this?

anyway, off to chem again
thanks for help, in advance
cheers!

Vrav

For floating geometry, the basic concept is to match the outer lip of the floater to the shape of the object it's supposed to blend into (and sometimes topology if the surface is not flat). Adding an extra loop in the "lip" can make the blending curve sharper, scaling it outward makes it softer, etc. In the seam you have there, looks like the lip isn't perfectly flat, so it doesn't mimic the underlying mesh, doesn't smooth in the same direction.

See upper right window here - flat shaded mode is a good test to see if things are planar to each other.

OBlastradiusO

Hey indian boy how did you get those x's curved on the sphere like that? I'm having a hellva time trying to do that.

indian_boy

ah i see.
thanks for that vrav.
i'll see to it today. are there any softwares/plugins to help match surfaces that way?

and OBlastradiusO:
its a 'text' with a '+' and then i applied 2 appropriate bend modifiers. one of the modifiers will need to have its gizmo turned 90 degrees in some direction or another

cheers

indian_boy

tested it out, and yea it seems to be a simple matter of faces not being 100% parallel.

either way, once more, between study sessions, i got this done:


cheers

Kovac

Huge improvement from your first wip and your overall work... keep it up!

EarthQuake

The biggest thing i think you can approve on here is overall accuracy compared to the reference. That front panel in the refs has a straight edge on either side, very close to the screws, but you've added a rounded section out on the side there. There also should be a gap inbetween the two main elements(sight element, and "cover"). This area may jsut be blocked out, but there are some strange details here, the hard angular edges where there should be a curve in the top corners, and the variance in width on the overall shape around the lense(thick at bottom, but gets thinner up top). I think the thickness on that cover shape is a bit off too.

Next time i would suggest you spend more time blocking out and getting all of these proportions and shapes correct before you go in and start detailing, as it can be a bit of a pain to go back and overhaul to make some of these changes.