Working on my model again [Archive]

Westy

November 11th, 2005, 05:42 AM

Thank you all for the kind comments, appreciated :)

Do you have any before an after shots showing the progress?

Kind of...I didn't actually think ahead and intend to do this, but my hard drive is littered with them.

Say what program are you using?

AutoCAD :copyright...not ur typical modeling program, I actually started this project by using 3dStudio, but the model quickly became both too big and too complex so I started it over in AutoCAD...It's got a great a great ACIS solid modeler. I don't have to worry about polygons, and AutoCAD is pretty optimized for huge complex projects. Occasionally I export it into MAX and that's when I pretty much get to pick how many polygons I want it to have. The still pictures I posted here I rendered in AutoCAD...it's not the best renderer, but combined with a bit of Photoshop touching up, and I guess it looks ok for now. Hope this answers your question Titon.

TwoBrainedCylon

November 11th, 2005, 05:53 AM

If you don't mind, I'd like to see the beginning (or as close as possible) shot to compare with where you're at now.

Sandy

Westy

November 11th, 2005, 10:31 AM

Ok, I might even have a very early version of the actual model still. I'll look around for it and see what I have. If not, I'll post some old pics and make some new pics matching as close as I can the angles and whatnot.

gpdesigner

November 12th, 2005, 05:38 PM

WOW, this is really cool. I love those close-ups, that is some pretty awesome detail work. What do you still have left to do? are you going to make another pass over the hull and add more detail to it?

gp

p.s. hey westy, you from Rockland . . . .? :D I used to live down on the Cape
Hello Homie . . . :Nsalute:

martok2112

November 12th, 2005, 08:52 PM

WOW...Westy, that is beautiful!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :salute:

gmd3d

November 14th, 2005, 01:51 AM

Great work .. pete .. the big G flys again :) ..

Westy

November 16th, 2005, 09:32 PM

A couple more new ones (Sandy, I'll do those before and after pics as soon as I replace and update the ones on mortalstorm.com with newer stuff).

http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/galactica_neck.jpg
http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/galactica_engines.jpg

Foomandoonian

November 16th, 2005, 11:54 PM

AutoCAD! I never would have guessed! :eek:

martok2112

November 17th, 2005, 02:31 AM

Simply gorgeous! :D

Westy

November 17th, 2005, 03:13 AM

I'm working on my model again and thought it was time to make some new pics of her, here goes:

http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/galactica_neck.jpg
http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/galactica_engines.jpg

martok2112

November 17th, 2005, 04:15 AM

Jaw droppingly amazing, Westy! Well done!!! :salute:

gmd3d

November 18th, 2005, 02:12 AM

Man I hope to see that in Lightwave someday ...awesome work westy

Westy

November 18th, 2005, 10:00 AM

Man I hope to see that in Lightwave someday ...awesome work westy

Heh....that's funny, I just installed Lightwave.

alt1701

November 18th, 2005, 10:03 AM

very nice , but dare i ask.... how many pollies?

Westy

November 18th, 2005, 11:13 PM

It depends on how much detail you want. AutoCAD is a bit different from say Lightwave or 3D Studio in that in those programs, objects are represented by a mesh of polygons but in AutoCAD objects are described by parameters only. If you want every little teeny detail I modeled, then I there are currently about 3.6 million polys when translated from AutoCAD to 3D Studio. That number can be adjusted to any value you want depending on the LOD you want simply by adjusting a few simple textbox values in 3D Studio's import dialog.

julix

November 19th, 2005, 05:14 AM

Westy....................
It looks very cool!

BlueSquad2001

November 21st, 2005, 08:48 PM

This is really cool stuff. Hope to see even more. :salute:

Westy

November 25th, 2005, 06:19 PM

This time I made a movie....it's here:

http://www.mortalstorm.com/movies/opening_sequence.avi

It's 40 megs though, so I'd save it to your computer first...

Foomandoonian

November 26th, 2005, 12:16 AM

Hmm, it seems I have to buy a codec to watch this!

ernie90125

November 26th, 2005, 03:12 AM

Westy.......great surprise to wake up tos ee you'd done this !

I really like what you've made here....especially the shot of all the battlestars together.....

Unfortunately, my playback is slightly jerky....slight stop/starts of a fraction of a second, and they are different with each playback......

I hope you will take animating your model further.....this was great to see....it would be fantastic to see this shot lead into seeing her in action.....

Sept17th

November 26th, 2005, 03:25 AM

Wow, very impressive the model is coming along nicely. Really enjoyed the Saga opening as a first animation for this model.

Westy

November 26th, 2005, 09:47 AM

Stupid codecs! I'll play around with other ones and see what I can figure out. I'll post a note here if I can fix that problem. Also, I noticed I screwed up something in the first part. I'll fix that and repost it soon.

ernie90125

November 26th, 2005, 10:03 AM

Westy

November 26th, 2005, 12:10 PM

K, I'm using a different codec now. This is a Microsoft one...maybe that'll mean more people will have it. It's also 1/2 the size now...21 megs. I'm fixing the mistakes in the first part now, I'll probably post it late tonight or tomorrow or something. Thanks for all the good comments!

Westy

November 26th, 2005, 12:13 PM

Westy....I'm pleased your continueing to work on this, perhaps it will also help with the jerkiness I experienced....

I hope you will develop this into a fanfilm ? Have you made any other ships in AutoCAD ? I like the unique look you've given this model, I really do......

Looking forwards to the repost.......

I don't think I'm capable of making a fan film. I was setting my sights a bit lower and just doing some stock footage type stuff. I'm think I should make a bunch of stuff and drop it on fandom and see what people do with it :)

ernie90125

November 26th, 2005, 12:36 PM

Westy...with the skill you've displayed so far....don't think yourself not capable of achieving something....

Pretend you've just been to one of Richard's lectures !

Think about the idea I suggested in PM.....I think that would work VERY well....

Looking forwards to the re-post.....

Titon

November 26th, 2005, 02:59 PM

Very neat Westy.

:)

Foomandoonian

November 26th, 2005, 05:33 PM

Nicely done :) Your Galactica looks great, especially in that first shot.

Westy

December 2nd, 2005, 03:20 AM

I settled on the final effects for the engine exhaust in 3D Studio. It's done with 3 kinds of volume fog and 15 lights. When animated, it looks *sweet*. This is an unretouched rendering straight out of 3d Studio.

http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/engine_section.jpg

ernie90125

December 2nd, 2005, 05:08 AM

Westy

December 2nd, 2005, 07:53 AM

Westy.....great image.....

Did you manage to sort the codec issue on the original animation ? Or are you waiting to integrate this shot into it ? Great either way, I really like your style....and I'm looking forwards to seeing how you develop things....

The codec issue should now be resolved. I'm using a microsoft written one...seems to work for more people. Let me know if it doesn't and I'll try again heheh.

martok2112

December 2nd, 2005, 09:26 AM

Consider me blown away!!!!

ernie90125

December 2nd, 2005, 03:25 PM

Westy......I'm sorry but I've re-downloaded your opening sequence animation...and can't view it on any of my media players...

Can I suggest the Cinepak Codec by Radius ?

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news.......

TwoBrainedCylon

December 2nd, 2005, 05:37 PM

Westy,

Not bad. The paneling on the hanger worked out quite well. Looking forward to seeing how this progesses.

Sandy

Westy

December 3rd, 2005, 12:56 AM

Ernie, I'll look into that again.

Sandy, thanks...I'm sorry, I haven't gotten to the before and after stuff yet....I will...promise...it's just I'm having too much fun working on new stuff :)

I gotta ramble here for a minute...sorry everyone...

I'm settling down on a collection of materials finally and I'm *still* having problems with lighting, but I've talked to a few peeps who have done huge models sort of like this and I've been told that I'm having so much trouble because minimal 3 point lighting can't do a thing like this justice...so I'm throwing caution to the wind and lighting her up the way I think looks good. I've learned that one set of lights do not fit all or even most (hell hardly any) shots. Seem to me that each shot is unique and requires a unique lighting set up. I like trying for a studio miniature kind of look, traditional even...but its so difficult to get it to look good...it's all those parts and details....In a movie things keep moving and you don't get to see all the detail...plus with the film grain washing things out a bit and the blur from motion...after I settle on the matierials, I'm going to focus on blur and graininess to see if I can get that non model look as much as I can out of this.

Someday, I'm going to move on to some serious recreating of stock footage, after I get the hang of that, I'll try my hand at some new original stuff. I've always wanted to see certain things that never were shown in the series...

Oh yeah...that reminds me...can anyone suggest the best viper mesh to use? I want to start playing around with some of that stuff...vipers flying out of launch tubes and whatnot.

ernie90125

December 3rd, 2005, 03:40 AM

Someday, I'm going to move on to some serious recreating of stock footage, after I get the hang of that, I'll try my hand at some new original stuff. I've always wanted to see certain things that never were shown in the series...

Yippee !!!!!!!!!! I'm really looking forwards to this........... The one things I'd like to see covered in a fanfilm is what happened after the Galactica left the battle to return to the colonies ? We know they were the only suviving Battlestar....so the battle must have been very 'interesting'

I'm sure it wasn't included at the time due to Special Effects costs........so it would be great to see it now.

Stevew

December 3rd, 2005, 03:43 PM

Looking Great Westy, you inspired me to go back and update my "G"
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205aa.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205B.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205c.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G5.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G6.jpg
http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G7.jpg

http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205D.jpg http://www.firedragon.com/~cfleets/SWPIKS/BSG/G1205E.jpg

martok2112

December 3rd, 2005, 04:40 PM

Very nice, Steve!

Westy

December 3rd, 2005, 10:13 PM

Hey thats pretty nice Steve...I don't think I've seen your Galactica before...at least not that one....is she new?

Stevew

December 4th, 2005, 06:16 AM

It has been around for a couple years, I just update it with more detail every 6 mos.
S

brunoco

December 5th, 2005, 09:34 AM

Westy,

Beautifull detailing and nice model.
Cant wait to see more....

Stevew

December 5th, 2005, 09:42 AM

Thanks
Thats all til I get some inspiration :D

Westy

December 6th, 2005, 07:26 PM

A new very short movie of the chasing landing bay beacon lights. It's a very very short movie....just 10 frames intended to just show the animating light effect, so set your video player to loop if you want to see the full effect.

http://www.mortalstorm.com/movies/beacon_test.avi

I did this with 20 omni lights with a couple volumetric effects on them, some spot lights in the back ground, and a few other objects to represent the lights themselves. The flashing is accomplished with a float controller.

ernie90125

December 7th, 2005, 04:11 AM

Sorry....my video player can't find anything in the file to play. I imported it into Pinnacle Studio 8, and it couldn't find anything either..... Either its the codec issue again, or its just to few frames to be understood as a viewable video file ?

eric7156

December 10th, 2005, 06:57 AM

Waw great pictures

Westy

December 11th, 2005, 12:55 AM

I completed an entire landing sequence animation with the new animated main engines and landing beacons in the entrance to the landing bay.

It's located here:
http://www.mortalstorm.com/movies/landing_1.avi

ernie90125

December 11th, 2005, 05:47 AM

WESTY.........great video.

to get it to play I had to install the K-Lite Video Codec package. Also, further to previous comments, there was no jerkiness to the playback, which is still present on the Opening Sequence video.

This is a great animation, as was opening sequence, and I think you have a real talent which could lead to some incredible productions.....

martok2112

December 11th, 2005, 06:40 AM

Very nice. I wish I could've gotten the same quality out of my landing video attempt with the Konami miniatures...but it's very choppy, and shaky.

Well done, Westy! I wish I could afford to get one of these killer 3D mesh proggies. Well done, indeed!

Martok2112 :salute:

Westy

January 3rd, 2006, 11:24 PM

I'm, converting my model over to Lightwave...I LOVE LIGHTWAVE!

Foomandoonian

January 3rd, 2006, 11:29 PM

I love Lightwave :) Should be able to afford the update soon too :D

Sept17th

January 3rd, 2006, 11:31 PM

I'm, converting my model over to Lightwave...I LOVE LIGHTWAVE!

You don't know how great that is to hear...that is very good news. :thumbsup:

Westy

January 24th, 2006, 03:34 AM

The port to Lightwave is pretty much done. She's completely retextured, and relit. I'm working on the engine effects and stuff next. Now I'm noticing tons of little things that're p*%(ing me off :)

http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/lw_gal_1.jpg

http://www.mortalstorm.com/images/lw_gal_2.jpg

gmd3d

January 24th, 2006, 04:46 AM

holy lords of Kobol, its fantastic work Westy, how many polys in LW

ernie90125

January 24th, 2006, 04:49 AM

Stunning........

She looks really stunning.......

I can't wait to see her in action......

A fantastic achievement......

gpdesigner

January 24th, 2006, 06:24 AM

Westy this is absolutly brilliant my friend.
It feels very big . . . . you did an excellent job on the details very very nice mesh . . .
gp

martok2112

January 24th, 2006, 08:23 AM

Mother frackin' BEAUTIFUL!!!!! WOW!

rjandron

January 24th, 2006, 10:12 AM

Absolutely Out-standing!

Foomandoonian

January 24th, 2006, 10:25 AM

Looks fantastic. I dunno how familiar you are with Lightwave, but if you want any help cleaning up the mesh, let me know. Imports can be ugly at the best of times, and Auto CAD doesn't produce the cleanest of meshes in my experience :)

Westy

January 24th, 2006, 11:02 PM

Thanks everyone :) It means alot

gmd3d

January 25th, 2006, 12:05 AM

Westy I was unable to respond to your PM, as your message folder was Full.. again great work on the Big G

Westy

January 25th, 2006, 10:38 AM

your message folder was Full

Oh sorry...I didn't know that could happen. I cleared it some....and thanks

Titon

January 25th, 2006, 01:44 PM

Nice conversion Westy.

One little piece of advice to make the model really stand out. It requires alot of work but, and don't take this wrong, it looks flat to me. What i'm getting at is alot of the details have no bevels to them. If you put beveled edges on the pieces the ship will look more realistic.

Right now alot of the casted lighting is bouncing right off the ship since there's no edges to catch the light.

Otherwise nice work.

;)

Westy

January 25th, 2006, 02:41 PM

... It requires alot of work

tedious too!

I hear you though. Unfortunately I didn't discover the realism it adds until fairly recently. All new work I do has edges beveled or fileted, but the stuff I already did does not. So what I've been doing is when I do some new work on an area, I then go ahead and make a beveling and fileting pass on anything close by. Eventually it'll all get done. :)

Thanks Titon!

Titon

January 25th, 2006, 03:50 PM

Here's something for ya Westy. As some will say i'm realy sloooooooooooooooooooooooow but eventually i'll get there. Maybe in the next 10 years.

http://www.colonialfleets.com/titon/engine_01zl.jpg

You can see some of the beveled edges on the pieces that will make it catch the light better.

:)

Westy

January 25th, 2006, 04:27 PM

You can see some of the beveled edges on the pieces that will make it catch the light better.

Nice, radiosity helps too :) I like the look of filets, but beveling adds less polys for almost as good a look.

alytle

February 5th, 2006, 07:54 AM

Really cool! :) I love the engine glow in that last shot..

KARTHAGER

February 7th, 2006, 02:22 AM

HOW much Polys? WOW!!

gpdesigner

February 7th, 2006, 05:22 AM

Now that's sweet . . . .!
Awesome details . . . I love the micro details on the center pipe and the surrounding bits . . . . I also like the way you modeled the joining pieces on the center tube and the two flanking sections with the red stripes.
A lot of people leave stuff like that out, They forget to add that detail in.
nice going,
gp