[mikhael]

Here's the beginnings of a medium poly turret for the animators to use. Its got a long way to go (and it doesn't look anywhere near as good as Ryx's). It needs some serious work before it can be rigged for animation, then there's the whole texturing/surfacing thing...




[edit]helps to get the path right[/edit]

[Galemp]

*hugs Mikhael* THANK YOU!!!

Now that, my friends, is an Orion turret.

[Warlock]

Heh

One of these days I'm gonna hire this guy to model this for me :

[Ace]

To me, Mikhael's turret here looks like the tall Orion turrets, *shrug.*

[Warlock]

Yea it does,... it's probably because it's got the same general shape to it.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
*hugs Mikhael* THANK YOU!!!

Now that, my friends, is an Orion turret.

Thank you. Now quite bugging Ryx. His is better.

I'm rigging this for animation now, btw. I'm not going to do much else beyond surfacing it, so the geometry is pretty much static.

[Stryke 9]

Warlock: Screw that, someday I wanna BE that guy!:D

Except that he works for LucasArts. That's gotta suck.

[Warlock]

lol Actually when I said "this guy" I meant Mik

And hell I'd go for being that good,... but I'm still in the "couldn't model a cube if not for the "click this button to create a cube" stage  lol

[Stryke 9]

Why would you WANT to do a cube vertex-by-vertex?

Trust me, you're not missing much. You hardly even need to manipulate verts directly at all unless you're doing organics.

Assuming Mik works in Lightwave pretty much the same way I work on my rig, that's mostly primitives, extrusions, and booleans. Maybe a vert edit and extrusion for the hatch, and probably a simple lathed one for the phallic-looking guns. NOBODY does direct vert editing for any but the most basic work, unless they're a masochist with days of time to spare. The trick to modelling, near as I can tell, is being able to get the basic shape out and then do greebles quickly and efficiently, like Mik does, where a little goes a long way.

EDIT: BTW, I COULD model that for you, but I need to get a disp. mapper first and there'd have to be something in it for me. I've done much the same before.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Stryke 9
Assuming Mik works in Lightwave pretty much the same way I work on my rig, that's mostly primitives, extrusions, and booleans. Maybe a vert edit and extrusion for the hatch, and probably a simple lathed one for the phallic-looking guns. NOBODY does direct vert editing for any but the most basic work, unless they're a masochist with days of time to spare. The trick to modelling, near as I can tell, is being able to get the basic shape out and then do greebles quickly and efficiently, like Mik does, where a little goes a long way.

Um... I point edit like mad.

The Herc is constructed almost entirely point by point until I hit the 2000 vertex mark, and then from there I start using extrusions/bevels, with more point editting for tuning.

Now, the turret model, on the other hand, is almost all booleaned primitives, except for the hoses, which are a open curves with a rail-extruded 2d circle. Eventually, though, a boolean screws up, and you're constructing polys by hand again.

Oh, and on the greebles, I cheat like MAD. The hatch doors, for example, came directly off the Mjolnir. Clone and rail-clone get used a lot. Also, when Narol asked me to make high poly weapons for him (I'll work on the LUN next, promise ), I made up some generic shapes to sort of piece together the models. The bits became perfect bases for greebles and nurnies. Then I raided the LW content directory on my CD. There's electronics and computer chips and even a complete Hummer with machine guns and missile launchers. For real basic greebles, the stencil drill is probably the most useful thing though.

[Stryke 9]

Um... I point edit like mad.

Ugh... [has a new respect for Mik's models, if a slightly lower one for either his common sense or his software, depending]

If you mean just moving vertices around on generated planes/polys and ****, THAT'S fine (all I do), but if you mean actually MAKING each little vertex, linking it up, and generating polys out of it, well, see above.

Eventually, though, a boolean screws up [/B][/quote]

See, this is really the only reason I want my copy of MAX to work. It did booleans like nothing I've ever seen.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Stryke 9

... but if you mean actually MAKING each little vertex, linking it up, and generating polys out of it, well, see above....

Well, see, that's what I do. Lots of it. Sometimes, its easier to creat a surface by throwing down some points, selecting them the way you want, creating the polys, and then molding the result to your will.

[Ryx]

Way cool! mm, cogs.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Ryx
Way cool! mm, cogs.

Blame it on Starwars.


If you were on AIM or ICQ or whatever, I'd hit you with the animation of the thing turning and firing... well going through the motions. It doesn't do any projectiles.

[Bobboau]

actualy I think (for an orion turret) yours looks a lot better than Ryx's, it just fits better, all you need to do is make the barrels about twice the thickness at there base and the center one about 5-10% longer than the other two

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Bobboau
actualy I think (for an orion turret) yours looks a lot better than Ryx's, it just fits better, all you need to do is make the barrels about twice the thickness at there base and the center one about 5-10% longer than the other two

The current version, which is not yet rendered as anything other htan an animation, has the middle one longer, and the barrels a bit thicker. There's a few more greebles too.

[Nico]

Originally posted by mikhael


Um... I point edit like mad.

so do I, sorry Stryke9

Originally posted by mikhael

The Herc is constructed almost entirely point by point until I hit the 2000 vertex mark, and then from there I start using extrusions/bevels, with more point editting for tuning.

not to that extent tho ( I did with 3ds3 -old dos version of max -, building faces vertex after vertex, poly after poly, how so fun )

Originally posted by mikhael

Oh, and on the greebles, I cheat like MAD. The hatch doors, for example, came directly off the Mjolnir. Clone and rail-clone get used a lot. Also, when Narol asked me to make high poly weapons for him (I'll work on the LUN next, promise ), I made up some generic shapes to sort of piece together the models. The bits became perfect bases for greebles and nurnies. Then I raided the LW content directory on my CD. There's electronics and computer chips and even a complete Hummer with machine guns and missile launchers. For real basic greebles, the stencil drill is probably the most useful thing though.

That's a pretty common way to do things ( tho if I do leech a lot of parts from my previous models, I don't take parts from other  people's meshes when I'm doing stuff for myself ( 1) I don't like doing that 2) I make meshes coz I like that, so I MAKE meshes, I don't put meshes together )

Originally posted by  Bobboau
actualy I think (for an orion turret) yours looks a lot better than Ryx's, it just fits better, all you need to do is make the barrels about twice the thickness at there base and the center one about 5-10% longer than the other two

I second all of this.

Originally posted by  Stryke9 See, this is really the only reason I want my copy of MAX to work. It did booleans like nothing I've ever seen.[/B]

you maust have tried boolean on primitives only then. Max boolean is like LW boolean, whioch is like TS boolean whichis, asfar as I know, like any 3d package's boolean: screwy. You'd be disapointed.but I can find you many other reasons why you'd want to have your copy of max to work

[mikhael]

Originally posted by venom2506

That's a pretty common way to do things ( tho if I do leech a lot of parts from my previous models, I don't take parts from other  people's meshes when I'm doing stuff for myself ( 1) I don't like doing that 2) I make meshes coz I like that, so I MAKE meshes, I don't put meshes together )

I agree with you to an extent, but if its a generic nurnie or greeble, I don't mind swiping it. I've got to screw with it anyway to make use of it. Its like programming: you don't reinvent the wheel, but you also don't steal someone else's program. Likewise with a greeble. Its one thing to use a greeble, and another to rip off half a mesh and use it as a component of your own (unless it IS yourr own. )

[Nico]

Originally posted by mikhael


I agree with you to an extent, but if its a generic nurnie or greeble, I don't mind swiping it. I've got to screw with it anyway to make use of it. Its like programming: you don't reinvent the wheel, but you also don't steal someone else's program. Likewise with a greeble. Its one thing to use a greeble, and another to rip off half a mesh and use it as a component of your own (unless it IS yourr own. )

I wasn't criticizing
it depends on the situation: when I'm at home, doing a model for myself, I'll try to make even greebles, coz the model is for my own enjoyement. when I'm working for someone else, there's a terrible constraint... it's time. While at my 3D formation, time has been found the most annoying obstacle to a modeler. You know that even in starwars they've reapped meshes from other sources and did put them together. Even if you want to make your 100% hand made meshes, in a professional point of view, it's impossible, or you'll never be on schedule. That's why I WANT to make the meshes I do for myself from scratch, only with parts I've made myself ( textures are another story, I suck at them, painting with a mouse is definitively not my best skill, I plan to by a wacom thinguy for christmas ). Coz that'll be the only few oportunities for me to do so if I work on high poly meshes.

what the hell with my keyboard, the space bar won't work today...

[Sesquipedalian]

Originally posted by venom2506
textures are another story, I suck at them,

I am good at them, and I still use that method, particularly for Vasudan ships.  Remember the GVF Shu? (Well, maybe you don't, but someone might.)  Textured almost entirely with recycled images.  The wings are obviously reworked Serapis textures, but less obvious will be the Bakha textures and those lifted and edited from various other V bitmaps.  All of them needed serious reworking to fit properly, and of course there was a great amout that was my own creation entirely, but mostly it was lifted stuff.  Sort of necessary to maintain continuity (especially with Vasudans, as I said).