mailbox

c22dunbar

hey guys,

this is my first normalmapped model. i wanted to go with something simple, as not to get overwhelmed by issues. there is still a lot to work on here.

the model has 382 tris.



and wireframe



this is just a simple render from xNormal viewport, tweaked a bit in photoshop. nothing fancy.

C&C appreciated.

cheers.

danshewan

Your specular might be a little hot, but the graffiti decals (I'm presuming they're decals?) are really good. Other than that, good job.

Maybe try a range of colors other than the brownish-gold - are mailboxes that color anywhere? Looks like a USPS mailbox, and I've never seen one in any other color than blue.

Good job.

HAL

Try to reduce the gloss a little bit, darken the diffuse, keep the brightness in the specular and use a cubemap for the reflections, would be another aproach at it.

I like the graffiti

Normal map looks like it baked clean, can you post it? and can you please post a screengrab of that edge between the forward legs of it?

.Murder

yea could you post the textures, normal, diff etc ? :P looks good tho, just fix the spec a bit, maybe get some real reference materal for the diff, graffiti looks good tho (Y)

c22dunbar

all three txtres:

http://img193.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=mailboxdiffuse.jpg

there is a huge, unused space in the upper left side, and i know that this is a waste. but i wanted to keep the ratio of all elements at 1. probably not correct.

as for the brownish color. i've actually found one photo of USPS mailbox that had this kind of color. i just didn't like when it was blue.

as for the specularity, check the map and tell me it that is correct. those mailboxes are quite shiny in general. but again, maybe the brown one, kind of weared out a bit, would be more scratched/matte like. the map itself was created quicksnap, just a little bit modified diffuse map.

thanks for the kind words though

HAL

Yeah I see now that it is definitely to bright, and lacks contrast.

Tone down the specular for the coated stuff (I assume that mailbox is coated)
use dark colors for the scratches in the diffuse and bright values for those in the specular.

Titus S

The only thing I have to say is this...

Less graffiti, it looks cool and all but if you really needed something to fill up that empty space you could have tried some sort of USPS decals to make it seem like it's a mail box that belongs to an establishment.

hijak

I think it could show more signs of having been painted many times, mailboxes always look like they have been painted over and over again, so maybe some older duller paint being exposed by weathering. As for the amount of grafitti i think its totally acceptable and even a bit underused. Where i live mailboxes are pretty much 99% grafitti, stencils, and grafitti stickers.

Mark Dygert

I like it, nice work.

One thing that helps give hints at weathering is to dull down the spec on top of the object, like the clear coat is starting to break down.

A really quick way to get that done is to use the same method to scatter snow or dust on top of another object. But just use a basic gradient from top to bottom and bake it out and use it as a mask.

As much as I like the graffiti, you have to think about the unique details repeating over and over again through the levels. If they where decals you could vary their position and frequency as well as use them on other things.

Also I think that map is larger than it needs to be and looks like its wasting quite a bit of space...

c22dunbar

hm, i'm not sure if i understand the bit about the decals. You mean like real-life decals? or small planes textured with transparency and scattered over the object.

i know about the space waste. the main point in this one was to get familiar with normalmapping and therefore i skipped the tweaking UV's stage a bit.

i've tonned down the spec map. and it looks better. the rust/dirt parts dont reflect as much light making it a bit more weared out.



the diffuse layer needs much more love, that i know (like the legs, they are almost complerelty clean). i also think that it could use a bit more decals/tags/stickers. hijak is right. there is always tons of this stuff on USPS mailboxes.

i like when casual things get some unique personality.

Mark Dygert

It depends on the engine used really. Some engines like UDK lets you project materials onto static meshes, which means you could place them in different places even on different objects.

Some engines don't work that way so planes would work, it would also give you the flexibility to apply them more or less the same way.

I think other people might have been commenting on their sticker-esk appearance since they seem highly detailed for such small art?

Also It looks like your spec was taken from your diffuse map? Which means the spec on objects isn't correct. The face on the little skull armadillo thing is going to shine more than the other parts, which doesn't make much sense because the reflective properties of the material will be the same. Same goes for the large info label near the opening.

There really isn't anything wrong with what you have right now but it looks like the larger map size is to accommodate the graffiti?