Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

great update.. really stunning work

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

I'm really really liking the look of this so far. You do great work, hope to see more soon. :thumbsup: :D

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Update 5-3-10

Top lateral hull plating is half done... working front to back.

http://thethirteenthcolony.com/yahoo...5712_large.jpg
http://thethirteenthcolony.com/yahoo...5724_large.jpg

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

stunning work ..

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Taranis... whenever you start on your battlestar mesh, please post pics so I can get some ideas. Some areas of my mesh are a complete blank to me and I'm running low on inspiration. Just FYI

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

I no where near ready to start ..... but check out the work done by Titon and Folkrm posted here ....... :salute:

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Hey maudib.. I am doing some early planing for the Galactica in lightwave ... its been so long since I worked on my last attempt I could use some advise on the forward Head area .. how to the the basic shape or how did you ..

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Usul no longer needs the weirding module!

This galactica is so awesome I usually cant even think of how to comment on it. Be cautious though, with both of you joining forces, the ram chips in your computer may explode!

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

I had a go at building the Galactica based roughly on the drawing of ralph mcquerry .. I never finished it .. the forward command area is one I like to get right and start with first .. and then work back ..


:)

I am hoping that maudib will point me in the right direction :)

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

The battlestar is a tough design to wrap your mind around. I can now see why so many others have tried to model it and it doesn't come out looking quite right. I DO NOT recommend focusing on a particular area. I use my basic art training in painting (get the overall shapes defined first, and work in the details). I meshed in the basic shapes after studying the detailed images available to arrive at an overall configuration to my satisfaction. I am still tweaking the shapes as I view the mesh and compare it to the photos. I don't use schematics anymore, but directly use the original model images. I roughly model one section such as head section, render it exactly as taken in a corresponding photo and then composite them in photoshop to see where there are any variations. I am still not happy with the landing bays, but the way I am approaching this build ( also front to back), I can tweak it without too much trouble ( too much work! once is enough).

But I am just a novice 3d modeler compared to you and others here. I don't have much else to offer.:salute:

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Thats the biggest understatement I've ever read.
To my eye the biggest thing that sets your work apart from most others, is the way you can add in details that are either non-existent or just unknown. Not the fact that you have added some detail in, most anybody can do that, but the character and context of the details is what is so striking. Everything looks logical and functional, not just random junk to fill an area up like most people do (myself included).

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

you sell yourself short .. I´am still just plodding through CGI and your approach to the big G is great. thanks anyway .. I´ll plodded on and see if I can remember the way I did it before .
:salute:

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Like other's have said, don't sell yourself short. You've accomplished a lot in the short time you've worked on the G. Take if from someone that still is trying to perfect her it takes a boat load of patience and even more time in order to get it right. The "making it look right" problem exist's for all of us but in the end it should alway's be an artist's satisfaction that you gave it your best no matter how it turns out in the end. That's how we become better.

:)

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

[QUOTE=Titon;300608Take if from someone that still is trying to perfect her it takes a boat load of patience and even more time in order to get it right. The "making it look right" problem exist's for all of us but in the end it should alway's be an artist's satisfaction that you gave it your best no matter how it turns out in the end. That's how we become better.

:)[/QUOTE]

that's how I see the difference between your approach maudib... and Titon hit the nail on the head .. Patience !!!!!!! something I lack ..

keep at it bro your inspiring me back into action toward the Big G :)

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Update 5-15-10. The side plating on the front section is done! I added the side cubby holes ( don't know what else to call then) back in in preparation for all the silly little greebles and pipes to be added. Total poly count is 2,105,000 polys. Half of what I though it would be by this stage...

http://thethirteenthcolony.com/yahoo...3432_large.jpg

Modeling in hull plating is SO BORING and tedious. It takes a lot of hours of high precision work for not a lot of eye candy to show for it. But this is something I feel is very important to get right. I don't feel texture effects can reproduce the same results with radiosity rendering.

http://thethirteenthcolony.com/yahoo...4801_large.jpg

Now she looks complete from the front end finally. End in sight! I don't plan to doodle in countless details for now. That is bad practice in any art form. I will first complete the entire model, then go back and fill in necessary details only. By necessary, I mean detailing in areas where I anticipate close-up shots will occur. Can't wait to start on the neck area. There are a lot of fascinating details there that catch my eye.

http://thethirteenthcolony.com/yahoo...4818_large.jpg

I agree with all of your feedback on the patience part :thumbsup: And I'm glad the website is back! Enjoy the eye candy :salute:

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

yeah the hull details tend to be boring and just adding the nurnies and other bits and pieces just as boring.... I have restarted the Millennium Falcon and now that I have the shape right .. I am casting a weary eye at the hull plating..


you work on the Big G is great .. keep going :)

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

VERY IMPRESSIVE work! I would love to know how you do your Hull-Plating, and how you got all your surfaces soniceley rounded "beveled"

Folkrm

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

There is nothing clever in my modeling technique. Unfortunately the answer is LOTS AND LOTS OF POLYS. Every single edge is rounded ( not beveled) using Lightwave's "Rounder" app. Some of the more complex greebles are modelled using spline-patching techniques, like the car guys use in modeling car bodies.

The hull plating is more tedious, but straight forward. I use high res images and personal taste to locate the plating lines. Then create primitive shapes to use as stencils to mark where the plate lines are on the base surface. I then use the bevel tool to inset the hull surface the depth I want. I then stencil in the plate lines, use the bevel tool again to create channels between the plates. I then use the extrude tool to create a 2nd set of shapes from the beveled lines that match the hull plates perfectly. Then stencil these final shapes into the inset hull surface. I then extrude these sections upward to be level with the original surface. I finish by using ROUNDER to round off all edges. The end result is that each hull plate perfectly matches the compound curves on the original hull surface. My method is simple hard work and lots of hours.

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

Wow.

Re: Yet Another TOS Battlestar WIP
 

I think I would have a devil of a time trying to model like this with my computer (cheap laptop I got for school) but I think that an upgrade to my old desktop is in order now. I can't wait to see the finished Galactica. The model looks awesome (and I mean that in a literal sense) with only the front part done.