F 16 Crit/Help

dpadam450

(I will rip the cockpit out and make it transparent instead of black).

I started working on this the other day I got about 4 hours in it and then a couple extra hours of going "ok maybe tweak this/that", trying to get it to look better and more like the references. My eyes are not really telling me what I need to do. Like blur the texture, or it just sucks because it needs more panel work for the eyes to move around. I'm not sure what the key component is. Mainly right now I'm fiddling with the contrast/blur/noise details. I think this could be cool, but I just can't take it up the next notch. Also seems like the panels are hard to get out. Should I not make them 1 solid color?

First one is my starting point, second one I tried blurring the noise down. (First two for main texture references.)

engelmanna

Hey dpadam,

I like where this is headed. I don't suppose you could give a few more details on the specs you are aiming for? (polycount,texture res,etc...)

Below is a list of things I noticed that you could change or fix up.

-Overall your model's proportions look good. However I'd take a look at second pass at some of the details. For example, in your reference the exhaust port sticks our farther than the base of the tail. In your model it doesn't. I think it's those little details that will really help nail the likeness.

-The biggest thing that is killing your textures is a lack of specularity. I think the spec map is more important than the diffuse when it comes to metals. Some decent lighting will also help sell your textures.

-I like your first version with more variance in the diffuse texture. That being said, the variation just looks like some random noise. When you are adding the dirt and grime to your texture try and give it some meaning. The polycount wiki has some good tutorials on that.

-I think about using a normal map to help your panels and other small details pop.

-A few last things I noticed: Check the UVs on your tail. They look like they are stretched. Try to add some more detail and variation the missles. They feel almost toyish to me.

I hope that all made sense. Good luck, and make sure to post your progress!

Jet_Pilot

The cockpit window needs to be more pointed in the back

dpadam450

My specs are anything. I have my own custom engine, custom specs. The texture is in 4096, the fallback is 2048. (Not worried about the memory footprint, just the texture bandwidth).

I haven't put a spec/normal map yet. Like when you look at the first picture you don't see the panels with specular highlights I'm like "it looks so plain, but better than mine". So I feel like the key I'm missing is in the diffuse first.

I'll fix up the missiles with some noise and put some text on them.

For dirt: Make the eye look more places? Put some unique noise in different spots? I still have to put some more panels in spots. It needs a few more.

engelmanna

I see what you are saying about the diffuse texture. I think you are closer than you think. The ref looks better because you are taking in the image as a whole, and your brain already knows it's real. If you just look at the details, you are pretty close. (I've attached a cropped comparison)



I'd just lighten up and desaturate your diffuse overall. Perhaps you could get rid of that white border around your panels.


Also, check out this tutorial on painting in dirt and grime: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=46&t=373024

dpadam450

Update. I'm pretty much done with this for now. I have to move on to other things. Pretty happy with it. I just can't get it exactly how I want it.

Amadreaus

Try rendering this in marmoset. A cube map would do a world of good.

Goten-trunk

few details is missing and grooves should be more sharp.

dpadam450

I assume by cubemap you mean a skybox? I tried marmoset once, couldn't figure it out for the life of me. This in Blender and while I can figure it out, Blenders render sucks.

It is hard to adjust the groves, like the photo references you just barely see the panel grooves.

Brendan

The leading edge flaps on the main wings seems to be just a texture in yours, in reality it's a single piece on it's own. General rule of thumb for mechanical stuff - if it has to move independently, model it so. Same for the flap on the rear of the wing.

Also, behind the main wing, there is a flat, vertical section leading to the tail. It starts at the maximum height of the wing as well, and your wing doesn't seem to have a wing profile.

sure I'm nitpicking, but for accuracy those will bring it a lot closer to the real thing

CandyStripes05

dpadam450 wrote: »

I tried marmoset once, couldn't figure it out for the life of me. This in Blender and while I can figure it out, Blenders render sucks. panel grooves.

the final render is key ! why waste all that time modeling, uv'ing texturing etc and just toss it up for show with a half ass render that even you dont like, i recommended you take time to figure out a nice render setup, i have always enjoyed the easy use of maya's mental ray, or tossing my stuff into UDK

remember, if its for game purposes - best bet is to display it in a game engine and while doing so you wont believe how well some engines can make crap look amazing
: ) (not saying your stuff is crap)

dpadam450

Posted a time-lapse of this. It is kind of long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVsBRDeiIi4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy9D-DktM_M