Jet Moto Challenge - ZackF

[Zack Fowler]

I probably won't make it past high-poly, but I was getting inspired by seeing the entries so what the hell.

Here's a ref sheet I threw together:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/jet%20moto%20ref%20sheet%20sm.jpg

Preliminary silhouettes:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/jet%20moto%20silhouettes.jpg

[nrek]

Thumb numba 4 seems pretty cool to me, 5 is kinda nice also.

[okno]

I like #5

[TeriyakiStyle]

I think 4 as well, the lines are sort of leaning forward, aggressive.

[yoyomon]

I'm diggin the sihlouette of numba six. It might not look like a sleek racer but it looks like it could be one mean beast.

[Zack Fowler]

Cool guys, thanks for the input. I'm going to develop thumbs of 2, 4, 5 and 6 then.

[Zack Fowler]

Decided to develop 9 instead of 2.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/jet%20moto%20thumbs.jpg

[Sage]

those are great! I love five A the most, but six is really nice too

I saved this for my shading reference for inspiration!

[nrek]

4 (B) is my favorite of this new batch.

[lefix]

5a or 6.
looking good

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks for the input guys. Really appreciate it, Sage.

Been getting feedback on deviantArt too and the favor seems pretty spread around, looks like I'm going to just have to pick one by gut. I'll mull it over for another hour and then just run with it.

[TeriyakiStyle]

Yeah I will say either of the 4s again, the shape just seems more unique and deliberate. Like the bike is leaning forward into a sprint.

Good luck on the model.

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks man. Alright, I've spent way too much time deliberating over this, I'm going with 4B and I'm going to call it the Red Whale or something. :)

[Zack Fowler]

Getting started on 3D rough

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2001.jpg

[Zack Fowler]

End of day update

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2002.jpg

[yoyomon]

Shaping up real nice ZackF.

[adam]

Round that front end out more!

[Zack Fowler]

Yoyomon: Thanks man.
Adam: Yeah, I'm not too happy with how the front is looking right now, seems a bit too goofy. I'll try rounding it out and see how that looks.

[Zack Fowler]

Paintover for front angle. Going to try to model out as much of this as possible today then switch to rear angle tomorrow.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/jet%20moto%20paintover1.jpg

[Zack Fowler]

Argh, didn't make nearly as much progress as I hoped. Going to need to pull out the stops tomorrow.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2003.jpg

[kysterama]

Looks beautiful! I can't fault the design, it's really cool :)

[c0ldhands]

Sweet work there Zack, nice transition from the paintover to the highpoly. Maybe Img gonna try that too!

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks kysterama and c0ldhands. :)

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2005.jpg

[Ged]

looking good!

[Zack Fowler]

Ged: Thanks man!

I've been getting intimidated by the excellent designs of the competition, and never was happy with the look of the nose, so I decided to revisit the overall design carte blanche. Feels like a major improvement to me, more aggressive and slimmed down.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2007.jpg

[nrek]

looks good man, the new front end is definitely a nice update. But personally I think the rear end from the last update was better. It felt solid, this one seems more disconnected and kinda stuck together. Just my 2 cents. Keep up the good work :)

[Mechadus]

wow, amazing work so far man! You have done a great job so far. I like the new front cowl much more now that you have redesigned it. I liked the rounded version too, but this new profile just makes it look much faster... I hope your still going to keep the thin headlamps and seams through the shape like in your paintover. The new tail end works better too imo - I think it looks more aircraft whereas the last was more sport bike. Im not so sure about the exhaust pipes tho... the pipes are sweet, but they dont seem to fit in with the rest of the 'powertrain' of this thing.. I think its just that they look so small compared to the thruster right next to them.

Overall awesome tho. Watching your progress makes me wish I had entered.. Ive been doodling Moto bikes since this contest started. Cant wait to see more!

-N!

[aesir]

Lookin good my man friend. Improving every time. I like the new nose better.

I do feel like I get a general feel of softness from this model. Maybe it'll work for me once you get the micro details goin on in there.

[Sage]

that looks sweet

[Zack Fowler]

nrek: Thanks man! I think I see what you mean about the back. One of the things I was trying to do was unify the front and back, so that there would be lines and shapes from the front that continue to the back. To do that I ended up moving stuff around pretty haphazardly and haven't really given the area close attention to integrate it well with itself yet, I'll be sure to work on that tomorrow.

Mechadus: Hey man I really appreciate that! Yeah, if this wasn't a Jet Moto contest I'd have been more OK with the older nose, but it didn't have enough of a racing sense to it I think. The pipes do seem a bit out of place next to jet engines and such. I really like the way they convey that "hot rod" kind of sense though, so I'll see what I can do to sci-fi them up a bit so they fit in better.

aesir: Thanks! Yeah, the sub-D is a bit soft and puffy at the moment. I think once I'm happier with the overall design and flow I'll work on tightening things up a bit. Plus smaller scale elements will probably help a lot too as you said. I'm glad you pointed it out though because it's definitely something I'll want to address.

Sage: Thanks man. :)

[MoP]

cool stuff, i like the swoopy shapes!

[TeriyakiStyle]

Looking great ZackF - I try to think of things in 3s. So I am seeing large and medium shapes so far, maybe some smaller frequency details now, if you space them out deliberately you could guide the viewers eye around the piece.

Ehh, you know what to do :) Keep going!

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks MoP and Teriyaki! Yeah it definitely needs more scale-establishing touches, I agree. Hopefully the new handlebar roughs help with that some.

Here's an update, I've been focusing on slimming down the beast so it feels more like an agile racer and simplifying the lines to make it a more elegant design. I mean, ultimately if this were a bike you could pick in Jet Moto it'd be the monster with the highest max speed and worst handling, and it's always going to be that kind of bike. But it still has a little bit to go before it feels like it belongs in the same race as Jet Moto bikes, I think.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/Jet%20Moto/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2008%20C.jpg

[Zack Fowler]

Rargh still looks way too bulky and not Jet Moto style! Time for serious design changes if not a reboot. HULK SMASH

[Zack Fowler]

Now we're getting somewhere! Going to stick with this one and just detail things up from here on. Copied the elegant image stamps setup from kysterama. :)

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/Jet%20Moto/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2009.jpg

[Ged]

looks nice and solid, good shapes

[c0ldhands]

the front looks way better now, like where this is goin

[kysterama]

glad i could help Zack, lol. The redesign is looking really sleek and awesome! well done :)

[stimpack]

awwwwwww, i mean, the new design is kewl and all. But that original one was fkn sweet B/C it was different.


if your going this direction, you will need to change out those handlebars. They dont fit this style bike.

go go go! deadlines comin up =)

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks guys. :)

stimpack: Yeah, I know what you mean, but I just wasn't happy with it as a Jet Moto racer. If this were a general "sci-fi hoverbike" contest rather than Jet Moto specifically I would totally have run with it, but I just never got comfortable with it as a racing bike design. I feel really good about the new one though. It feels reminiscent of some designs from Final Fantasy, oddly enough. I'm confident that my personal sense of style will still come across in the end, but this way it'll also feel very much like a racing bike.

I'm definitely going to be switching up the handlebars too. Thanks man. :)

[jacob07777]

The nose looks seriously incredible now, but what happened to the foot mounts? You still going to add those in or let the rider have fun with what he's got lol. They really added to the design IMO. Really though this is turning out awesome, can't wait to see more progress on it

[Mechadus]

Hey Zack-

Wow, massive changes! I really liked your previous design, but I totally agree with you that this now looks much more like a bike from the games. The sloping wind screen makes it look a lot faster than the rounded one you previously had, and the entire front end in general just feels much more 'sportbike'. Something feels like its missing from directly under the engine tho. From the side view, it looks like there should be more mass directly under the circular element in the engine. Because the front end is so beefy, and now the tail is so skinny it just feels (to me) like there should be some sort of framework or support structure running from under the front of the nose to somewhere around the thrusters.

all in all great design tho - I also cant wait to see it finished!

-N!

[Zack Fowler]

Jacob: Thanks! Hehe, yeah it was only temporary, but because you pointed it out I've put more effort into it than just bringing back the old ones. Now I've got them like bars instead of pedals, which seems more sporty.

Mechadus: Thanks for the detailed comments, I appreciate it. Good points about under the engine and the tail, I've tried to address them with my newest iteration.

Cranked out a final paintover. Time is running out so I don't know how much of it I'll actually be able to include. Gotta go super hardcore on the high poly for the rest of today and tomorrow.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/Jet%20Moto/ZF%20moto%20paintover2.jpg

[TeriyakiStyle]

great decisions so far, looks super strong

[Joshua Stubbles]

love the paintover. Great details.

[Mechadus]

Very nice paintover - Thats a technique I really need to start using more often. The details you drew along the bottom and the thrusters look awesome - I cant wait to see how your going to build that ;) I really think what you did with the tail end is great also. The nice crease along the side, and the way it splits and follows the tail fin profiles really matches the new front end and ties the entire bike together. The foot pegs add a lot too.

All in all, its gonna be wicked

-N!

[jacob07777]

Paintover looks legit and I like the foot pegs you added too, matches the design really well. I'd say as long as you pull off even half of the stuff in the paintover, this guy is a winner right here.

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks guys. :)

Deadline extension means I might actually be able to finish, we'll see!

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/Jet%20Moto/ZF%20Moto%20WIP%2012.jpg

[nrek]

Looks great Zack! Good luck with finishing, I hope you make it on time.

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks nrek, here's hoping! Yours is quite far along too, the engine work is inspiring stuff. Are you planning to give it a shot over the weekend?

[stimpack]

Lookin sweet man. Excited to see this polished off =)

[jacob07777]

Dude high poly is coming along great, can't wait to see the bake on this thing. Good luck man

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks guys. :) Gonna have to get at least 50% bake by the end of the day, we'll see how much I can manage.

[Shogun3d]

Great details, looking forward to the textures ;)

[Zack Fowler]

Thanks man. Unfortunately it's been slow going today and I'm still plugging away at fixing up awkward intersections and ugly parts of the high poly. I'm not giving up yet, but things are looking grim for an on time finish even with this second extension. :P