100% Grade A Highpoly Malarkey

[adam]

So, recently I've undergone this huge focus on highpoly work. It's not something I do at work (previous and current employer) as often as I think we should be, and its just something I sucked at previously.

With the help of Paul, otherwise known as Eraserhead, I had a fire lit under my ass and have been going at it now for 2 weeks.

The goal is to keep doing highpoly until either A.) I feel I am good at it B.) I hate doing it and want to throw my PC out the window C.) I am no longer having fun working on it. So far, none of those have happened.

First up was a radial engine. Based off some references found online.
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/radialengine_finish.jpg

Next is the 22WT, a concept by the magnificent Izmojuki.
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/22WT_FINAL.jpg

And, most latest, is the Beholder. Concept by Georgi Simeonov. This was a different pain-in-the-ass altogether: It's a model I started long ago when I wasn't as comfortable with HP modeling as I am now. So to open it and see this mess of objects wasn't very encouraging. I had the entire weekend to myself and figured that as best a time of any to wrap this model up and move on.
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/beholder_final.jpg


So, what's next? Going to try and go all Scott Robertson on this planes ass:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/stubby_reference01.jpg

[imb3nt]

Looks awesome.

[Ott]

Link doesn't seem to work, getting a 403 Forbidden.

High Poly stuff looks killer! I would definitely suggest taking them all the way through baking and texturing though, within reasonable budget limitations. It does help you to learn about what works and what doesn't as far as sizes, chamfers, projection angles, etc.

First timer my ass!

[thatnumpty]

Really like how the engine and robit turned out.


the link doesnt work btw

[adam]

I know how to bake normals from highpoly. The point of this is to do what I don't know ;)

[adam]

Read the word beside the link.

DRAGON DROP.

[MoP]

Cool stuff, good to see you getting into highpoly more =)

I will let Georgi know you did this model, looks like you did the concept justice!

[adam]

Cool stuff, good to see you getting into highpoly more =)

I will let Georgi know you did this model, looks like you did the concept justice!

Do you work with him?? If so that'd be great! I hope he doesn't mind me doing this. I never asked, hoping that 100% credit on the concept would suffice and my model wasn't crap.

[adam]

Updated the last image so its viewable by internet noobs.

[killingpeople]

ya, his site said he works at splash damage. i also remember he misspelled an ironic word in his bio, which i wonder was on purpose or not.

[whats_true]

Sick stuff mate.

[jocose]

Hey Adam are you using 3dsmax for all this?

[Ryan Smith]

Good stuff Adam. Have you been using any specific resources for training or have you just been teaching yourself?

[adam]

100% 3dsmax, and just trial, error, and some insight from Eraser.

[carlo_c]

Nice work. I like the presentation you have, it is clear and shows off the model well.

[Josh_Singh]

HEY! These Kick ass! Love the Robot and vehicle!

[AimBiZ]

Sweet stuff. Nice and clean.

[dolemite]

WOW! WOW! WOW! Good stuff!


How many hours or evening or whatever (how long) did each of these take? I guess it was 2 weeks total for all of them? That's pretty impressive!

[John Warner]

great work, Adam. gorgeous stuff!

we need people like you...

...the crazies..

[Swizzle]

*fap fap fap*

[c0ldhands]

3 kickass higpoly models in 2 weeks is impressing, do you think Paul(Eraserhead) is available to hire for coaching? I pay cold cash!

[adam]

Thanks guys :) I never expected them to get this well received. Feels good!

Now then, on to that plane. . .

[Vailias]

Any particular trick you used to get the non identical variation on the radiator vents on the rotary engine, or was it just manual tweaking?

[adam]

Setup 2 variants, duplicated them around on a central pivot, then manually edited them so they weren't noticeably duplicated as they originally were when I first posted.

[JasonLavoie]

pssttt.... show me dem wires (control cage, whatever you would like to call it).

I must learn sir... I MUST LEARN!

[metalliandy]

Beautiful work Adam...very nice :)

[duxun]

love the high poly work .... going into my inspiration folder.....

[RazorBladder]

Your hi-poly work is improving quite nicely bromey, glad to see :)

[EricV]

GOD! Horrible, just absolutely horrible!! Do you have no skill or talent at all?!

haha just kidding, awesome stuff...I like the vehicle the best XD

[fullofclovers]

Just echoing everyone else; kick ass stuff dude!

Everything poly modeled?

[elte]

that..is..soo..awesome...

did you sleep?

[adam]

After the initial 3 models I did I grabbed a small break to play some games and not burn out.

Long story short, I'm back at it.

Gee Bee Sportster I did for shits & giggles:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/stubby_final01.jpg

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/stubby_final02.jpg

[whats_true]

Are the rivets overlayed?

[adam]

Huh? They're modeled and placed???

[whats_true]

Sorry lol. Yeah, that's what I meant. Looks sharp!

[IronHawk]

nice plane A dawg. =)

[imb3nt]

Pretty neat.

I like it.

[JasonLavoie]

Yo yo... nuff with this rendering stuff, I wanna see some grade A wires good sir!!!!

[[HP]]

Nice planes! :) I like the 3rd pic of the first batch!

Nice sub-d modeling overall, what about some bakings as well huh? :)

[SHEPEIRO]

love all the panelling and canvas stretching, top notch HP

[adam]

Thanks guys :) I will try and remember to get some wire shots up tonight.

[Mechadus]

Very very nice work. You did an amazing job overall. The canvas stretching is very well done, and Id love to see a closeup of how you built the area that blends the wings into the body. My only comment is that while your canvas stretching is primo, the few Bee Gee's that I have seen have metal panels on the fusalage behind the engine, and then the canvas starts around the cockpit.

I see you have rivits in place where the bulkheads are, but perhaps smoothing out some areas on the front and building some seams in to look like metals would pump up the realism. Just my 2 cents tho, totally awesome work.

-N!

[adam]

The only time I saw paneling beginning near the cockpit was on the versions of the planes in air museums where they've been redressed and cleaned. And, while I was not trying to mimic and one type of Gee Bee, I was trying to get some of the more 'original state' qualities to this. So directly behind the engine is some paneling that I wanted to be more subtle than those next to the cock pit.

Here (http://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/stubby_reference01.jpg)'s one of the main references I used for all the fun little details.

Small note: I only modeled the seat for the cock pit. In the interest of time I decided to not model the cockpit. Luckily the angles I had chosen for renders didn't really need it.

[Firebert]

that shit came out hawt man!
i personally like how small the cockpit is in the original... cram the effin' pilot in that bird and send her up! just has that extra umph to the character of the plane... regardless, this hp has some wicked awesome character all by itself

[HAL]

Wow you really made a lot of progress :O and that plane is great :D

[adam]

Thanks dudes ;)

[EarthQuake]

Seeing some good improvement here adam, there was something i couldn't quite put my finger on that was bothering me, but i think i got it now.

There are small things, small changes you seem to make on the design to make it easier to model, or for whichever reason you choose to do it, little subtlies that you change that hurt the overall design. The scale and proportions on the cockpit is a good example, and how in the back of the cockpit, how it merges into the tail wing, it seems a bit unatural there and thats not really how it looks in the ref. The details you have holding the main cockpit "housing" on also seem sloppy and like you just threw some boxes there, instead of following the refs, and following those nice curved shapes that attach it to the main body of the plane.

In the refs the wheels have this large, wonderfully detail bulky yet elegant look to them, and you seem to have just totally wussed out there and modeled a couple primitive shapes, ignoring what is one of the coolest parts on the entire plane.

The canvas paneling or whatever material it is(sheet metal?) has a bit more complex shape to it, as it is now you just seem to have basically, and edge on either side of the geometry to give it that facected look, but in the ref again, there is this nice subtle flat area with an indent around it on each of those edges that you missed.

Stick to it man, keep your eyes on the little stuff, and don't be afraid to model the complicated stuff, until you start doing this more consistantly i wouldn't call it 100%, more like 80%.

[adam]

100% Malarkey, not 100% quality ;)

I used a lot of references, this was just a sample of some details I wanted to pull through. I do, however, agree on your points. I picked and chose what I wanted to model given my overall interest and fun level. Otherwise I'd burn out and it'd never finish.

As you can see here (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/MA/GeeBee_R-2replica_96.jpg), the shape of the cockpit and and the shape of the plane in its entirety, can differ from model to model.

[Zack Fowler]

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1340077/Misc/stubby%20piranha.jpg

[adam]

LOL

[Firebert]

i wouldn't call it 100%, more like 80%.

oh, my

[EarthQuake]

SICK BURN

[adam]

100% Grade A Wheels.com

Back on topic:

The canvas paneling or whatever material it is(sheet metal?) has a bit more complex shape to it, as it is now you just seem to have basically, and edge on either side of the geometry to give it that facected look, but in the ref again, there is this nice subtle flat area with an indent around it on each of those edges that you missed.

This I 100% agree with. And, I even had all that stuff cut in and ready to be tuned. You can see it here in this WIP shot (https://files.getdropbox.com/u/17188/stubby_WIP01.jpg). However, with all my tuning it was either too harsh or too subtle. I was getting caught up on it and not progressing the overall model and designed to allude to the ribs well enough to be read properly, than fight with my mesh for 100% accuracy.

This likely isn't the greatest approach to have and most people shouldn't do this if they're interested in learning. In retrospect sticking it out with that and getting it perfect may have been best. With that said...

I have a principle with these HP models I am trying to stick to: If I am not having fun, I will move on. IMO I won't learn a lot if I am hating what I am doing. I've yet to hate anything and have, for the most part, enjoyed it.

As for the wheels: I would disagree in that its just primitive shapes but I do agree in that its not as romantic as the Blue & Yellow Gee Bee I referred too. The Red & White version was something I stuck to for overall shape as I liked it a LOT more than the Blue & Yellow's longer, less stubby overall shape of the plane. I just didn't like how simple their surface was so the B&Y version was a perfect reference for surface details.

Anyhoo, I'm moving on to my next project. I am thinking an amalgamated version of a Vulcan cannon:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/GAU-8_avenger.jpg

http://fc06.deviantart.com/fs33/f/2008/303/d/2/M61_Vulcan_Cannon_by_Mydin.jpg

http://worldweapons.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/797px-vulcan1.jpg

[Firebert]

I'm just sayin'... 80% is a C-... almost a D... i'm just sayin'

edit: sorry... i would've stopped my nonsense noise post if i hadn't taken five million years to type fragmented sentences and seen your back on topic post

[adam]

If it's not a Bald Asian or a Gun rendered in Marmoset EQ gets upset! :'(

[Firebert]

Well just make sure you use the toolbag for this bad boi

[Tumerboy]

Do the Gau-8 and then build an A-10 around it.