TF2 - Polypack - Armanky

Armanky

Howdy folks! Just to let you know, I have absolutely no experience with modeling and my only animation experience is with Flash, so I'm still going through the tutorials and learning all this stuff as I go. So I'm not here with a guarantee that I'll finish everything, but mostly just to see how far into the process I can get.

With that said, I have an item set in mind for the Pyro.

I plan on making the basic three-item set. That is, one primary, one secondary, and one melee. If I'm able I may even throw a hat in there. As I'm just learning, the actual creation process is gonna be the biggest hurdle for me and will make or break whether or not I can actually contribute. But I'll have fun with it anyway!

Current Plans
Class - Pyro
Theme - "Grainy Slasher Flick"


PRIMARY - Thinking on it. Considering a flamethrower made from rusty farm equipment.

SECONDARY - No clue yet.

MELEE - Cleaver. Will come up with a catchy name at some point, but currently what I'm working on.



HAT - Probably Freddy Krueger's hat. Also considering antennae and bug eyes.

Armanky

NOTE: The following three models have been scrapped.

I'm picking up Blender faster than I'd expected, though I'm still sort of a complete noob at it. Oh well.

Here is the first model I've made for a Scout primary, anyhow.



As you can plainly see, it's a pretty generic Uzi. For my first real experiment, I think it looks alright. My plan is either to decorate this thing to give it some semblance of personality or to scrap it entirely in favor of a more interesting primary. Probably the latter.

But as it is, the Scattergun and FaN are sawed shotguns that fire short and powerful bursts. I think it best that the Scout receive a weaker weapon with rapid-fire as an alternative, whether that be an Uzi or something else.

Oh, and I modeled a generic bat too.



Again, it's very plain and generic. I'm still considering whether to give the Scout a fancy-looking new bat or a different form of melee entirely.

I'll come up with a basic model for a secondary soon. My idea oughta prove more interesting than the other two, but at the moment, this is what I've come up with.

Edit: I just read the thread about functionality. With that in mind, I could see the Uzi replacing the Pistol if I still feel like using it. The bat I'm still iffy on and I'll have to come up with some sort of crazy shotgun. I'll be thinking on this one.

Armanky

So I think I'm going to find a way to work a zombie theme into Scout's story. That he had a paranoid family member who stocked fully for the zombie apocalypse and turned their cellar into a bomb shelter. After years passed and no such invasion had occurred, the Scout came across this secret stash of brain-blasting goodies.

I guess! Kind of out there and kind of poorly planned, but what can you do. Anyhow, here's a basic model for a new scattergun:



(Just to mention, this model is incomplete, as it doesn't have a trigger or the back end)

Again, lack of modeling experience coming into play. Hopefully I can make it look more interesting as I get the hang of things. But it's basically going to have a skull engraved on the leather bit there and have an old, worn, battle-scarred look to it. Also it has a knife welded to it and a clove of garlic, just in case any Draculas decide to sneak up on you.

Armanky

Scrapping previous idea. Now plan on making Pyro items, with the theme being "Grainy Slasher Flick". Hopefully I can make some decent progress now that I'm a little more familiar with the modeling process. Details to come!

Steve Schulze

Looks like you've got the basics down. Quite impressive if you just started working in 3d for this comp. Keep it up.

Armanky

Appreciate it! I have to say, it's not nearly as complicated as I'd previously imagined it would be. But I'm having fun with it, I might just keep at it even after the contest.

Armanky

Feel free to combine different handles and heads. This is really a two-part selection.

Karkasmolenklok

I'm liking 6 or 4 with the handle of 1

Xeramon

imho... 6 and 4 are the best.

Naso

I like the handle of #3 with the blade of #4

dickless

Definatly the blade of 6. Not sure about the handle, you'll probably want to make it long enough to be held two handed like the rest of Pyro's melee weapons.

Khthon

I really dig the bone-looking handle on 6 and the uneven string stuff wrapped around the handles in 3 and 4.

Armanky

I've got the basic model for the blade. However, I feel like there is probably a MUCH more efficient way to model those cracks and the hole other than subdividing the surrounding geometry like I've done here. If there is, I'll definitely wanna redo those details.

Fragus

work on your poly's and triangles before any other change.

Armanky

Got comfortable with creating polygons with selected vertices. Has made my life MUCH easier! Went ahead and redid the blade from scratch.



As for the cracks, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. It's one of those details I don't feel like I should be stressing over until I've got a solid model.

Armanky

Hat possibilities:

Psyke

Armanky wrote: »

Hat possibilities:

number 3 by far

not only could it pass as some strange alien life form / monster
it'd be less hassle to build onto pyro than a flat shaped mask. ( what with his cone shaped face an' all )

Steve Schulze

The ant(?) antennae do look pretty cute on the pyro, but I'm not sure thats the appearance you're really going for.

It's a bit more obscure, but you're already half way to the "My Bloody Valentine" killer from either version of the movie.

All you need is a head light and a dangly breathing thing with some jiggle bones. Its debatable whether you'd have enough recognition of the character though.

Armanky

Jackablade wrote: »

All you need is a head light and a dangly breathing thing with some jiggle bones. Its debatable whether you'd have enough recognition of the character though.

I don't think enough folks would make the connection. Plus, Engy's got the mining light already.

I like the antennae as a hat, but like you mentioned, it doesn't really fit the theme. I could expand the theme to encompass cheesy horror movies in general, but I'd really like something that goes well with the cleaver. I'll keep thinking on that.

I'm still stuck on the primary/secondary thing. Since the secondary has to be a direct replacement for the shot/flare gun, it limits my options quite a lot. Or I could just see what kind of replacements I can make to the flamethrower to fit the mood of the theme.

Armanky

Update on the cleaver model!







Haven't done the details on the handle yet, obviously. Also haven't tested whether the way Pyro holds the axe is going to clip and may have to adjust the handle length accordingly. He seems to hold his hands pretty close together, so I think it'll work out.

Also, new hat ideas:

Naso

Try looking at the game series Manhunt, they have that psycho demented look you are looking for.

Some Jerk

I say go with the hockey mask. Except instead of the pyro wearing it directly over his mask, have it strapped to the side of his head or in an upward position, ala the hotrod.

Armanky

So, I've got a speed bump in the modeling process that I'm unsure how to approach. I'm wondering if some of you more experienced folk can help me out.



It seems that these polygons aren't level with the rest of the blade and it's causing these weird shading "patches". Is this something I need to fix or will it make no difference after I texture it? If I need to fix it, is there a good way to align the blade with the z-axis or some easy way to get vertices on the same level? Any help would be appreciated.

But once this issue is hammered out, it should be ready for texturing!

Ikimono

lol 5 sided polygons.

Obvious reason is obvious. I remember my first time modeling.

Armanky

We all gotta start somewhere. It sounds like a common problem from your reaction, but I don't know anything about it. What's the procedure for fixing this sort of thing?

Edit: I think I get it. You can't have more than four edges coming from one vertex, right? This is gonna be fun to clean up. :poly116:

Edit 2: ...okay, I don't get it. Can somebody give a brief explanation of what's going on or at least point me to where I can get one? This is all very confusing.