Sacman

I agree. Great look, especially the robot in the second pic. Can't wait to see more. Wade

I really like the detail. I also assume you used decals. I would really like to see some shots of the decals. I am very weak in the texturing department. It would be nice to see what you used to get this level of detail. Thanks Wade By the way episode two airs tonight. I thought the pilot was decent but I am not fond of the lead scientist chick, Dr.Weir. Christopher Judge (AKA Teal'c) was at Dragoncon last year. He was really down to earth. Got him to autograph SG-1 season 1 DVD for my wife.

Looks like we got removed from the list. Probably an accident when someone was trying to remove the OT post that is still here. Just a reminder. If anyone is going to Dragoncon this year, that would be a great time to gather. We would also have the distinct advantage of having Heath and James there as well. (I assume this is who will be there). Also, they tend to sell a lot of copies of there software at the show so there may be some potential new peeps that we could talk to as well. For those that don't know, Dragoncon is Labor Day weekend. (Sept 3 - 6). Tickets for the whole weekend have gone up this year to 85$ unless you pre-paid. They threaten every year to not sell the one day passes due to the number of people that come. Apparently we violate the fire code in the Hyatt every year on Saturday. So I do not know if you can do one day. My son and I go every year and with him computer gaming all weekend plus Mariott or Hyatt hotel stay plus tickets and various other crap we spend about $1,000. It can be done a lot cheaper but it's not as fun. Maybe Hash can set something up since they are already there anyway and we can do it off-site and those that don't want to go to DC can avoid the added expense. I know we have at least Will Sutton (aka Zandoria) and Odinseye in the area. Who else? Wade

I'm with Greg, I am getting some stereo pics. With all the discussion I want to see what the hoopla is about. Thanks I hope, Wade

I am so not one to offer criticism as I am nowhere near this level. I actually love the whole thing. The motion is so fluid. However, I think you are fishing for some contructive critiques. I noticed two things that distracted me. The first may simply be my crappy work graphics card not handling it very well but it seemed that the sky in the first shot was moving in steps. It didn't look smooth. Second, the overhead shot at the beginning clashed with the profile view of the grass. The colors in the side views are vibrant yellows but then you swith to the overhead and all color is gone. It looks like everything is dead. It was distracting. Hope I am not being an ass here. Just trying to help, Thanks Wade Okay just watched it again and updated my thoughts. As the camera pans down to the grass the colors aren't so bright and the jump to the overhead is not bad. The problem is that when you then go back to the side shot, the lighting on the grass is a LOT brighter. That is the part that catches the eye. The grass stalks in that shot are very bright and my eye keeps getting drawn to them.

Is it just me or are all of the image links broken?

Okay fixed the bottom of the pistol butt. Doesn't show in this pic but it is better. I have textured using Simbiont basics. Had to adjust some scaling but that was all. I still have a long way to go on with regards to texturing but for now this one is done.

And to think that never occurred to me but it is so obvious now that you say it. I will be doing that tonight. I do feel a bit gooberish at the moment. That idea will also come in to play as I bump the rest of the detail on the sides since the geometry is specific and using ready made scroll designs was causing me a lot of pre-decaling stress. And then of course on to the main texturing. This simple model will be my first true attempt at getting accurate textures. Although not common during the 16th/17th centuries, I am going to use a tarnished silver or stainless finish on the metal. Brass and iron were much more common during that time period. However, one of the scenes requires the 'pistol butts a twinkle'. I am not personally fond of brass and iron will not 'twinkle' very well if it were true to the period. Blued steel is obviously out . So i need something that I can get a good strong spec highlight from in a particular scene. The stock will be out of whetever wood material or decal I can find that works. Again, there is not a requirement for extreme close ups so I should not have to use procedurals even though this may be where I go due to lack of other abilities.

The underside of the handle thingy is a problem for me as well. I took an image of a celtic love knot and had to stretch and skew the crap out of it to get it to fit with 90% coverage. As a result it unbalanced in the fore and aft dimensions. It was getting late and I wanted to give it a day before I tackled stretching pics in Photoshop again. Not an easy thing to do. I definitely have to work on that part. There will still be some bump detail added to the side plate under the flintlock mechanism as well on the opposite side. The pic I am using as a reference has an EXTREME amount of detail. I don't want to get to that level but I need to a little more to make it fit the picture in my head. Also, luckily this thing does not have to withstand any extreme close ups so I can get away with a little sloppiness in the bumps. Thanks Wade

One more. I put it in a generic chor. 16 Pass to get rid of the ugly aliasing. Last one till I get it textured or need help, whichever comes first. The multi pass also helped to clean up the bumps. I am not as displeased with them as I was in the original Model window single pass renders.

Here is the Wire in all its ugliness:

And another...

Basically done with the modelling stage. Now I get to play with textures, bumps, and other fun things I know very little about. I have put some test bumps on to see what is and is not going to work. Comments, Another pic to follow Wade

If that is tuly your first try, you make me ill. One note. Along the ridge of the back there is a very definite line. I would think this is unwanted. It is probably caused by peaked splines going through those cp's. If you smooth the splines this should go away. If you wanted it to be there, then sorry for the intrusion. Wade

I have nothing of value to add. I just wanted to state that the hair looks great! I am curious how long it took to render the cheerleader scene. I know it is small but that is a LOT of hair! Wade

Awesome! I still haven't worked up the nerve to try even the easiest of human forms or body parts (including heads) this is the kind of thing that makes me want to try. Fortunately I have had enough other things to work on that I don't feel like I've wimped out too much. I assume you are using V11 hair? If not, can you show a wire. Hell, show a wire anyway, everyone is gonna want to see it. Wade

Can't provide what you are looking for but I love the look. You obviously have a something great planned for these guys. I cannot wait till you put it all together. Wade

Not quite complete but wanted to post what I had cause I think it is looking sweet. Need to finish the flintlock assemblyand some details around the ramrod. Also need to smooth out the top of the grip. There will be some detail added with bumps later on the very bottom of the grip as well as the trigger guard and flintlock base. Comments please, Wade Edit: Pic got lost somehwere, I have posted new ones below.

I'm in, but I am no organizer. I will be at Dragoncon this year. Heath and James Hash are typically there every year. It would be interesting to set something up around that time. It is the last week of August/First Week of September. Labor Day weekend that is. Oh, and as Will knows, I am about 20 minutes north of Chattanooga. I do have some family in Atlanta, including a delinquent younger brother currently serving time in the Cobb County Jail. Wade

I may have missed something, but you said you hit a problem with patch count and reduced the patch count of the tree by approx 1000. However, did you not say you were going to have 9 trees? If so you are going to hit the same problem on tree number two and then be stuck. For informational purposes, how many patches are in the Brownstone. This would help to answer the age old patch count question. As an aside, I am currently working on a building that I need for closeups and I made the walls one extrusion thick. This resulted in an insane number of uneeded internal patches. I may have been able to counter this prior to the initial build but by the time I noticed it, it was too late. So, I went back and added extra control points on the internal 'ladder' structure that were the walls and eliminated about 90% of the internal patches. Some I could not get rid of easily and I am sure I missed some that I could have hence the 90% instead of 100%. This reduced the patch count dramatically. For distance shots, I intend to copy the building and remove most of the interior since the detail will not be needed. This will more than half the total patch count. Another consideration I have had since I began is that most of my close shots will only involve the front of the building. Once I have completed the entire Inn for its own sake, I am going to remove most of the back half of it and anything else I can get rid of for the purposes of the scene. It is a different mode that I need to be in. I am in the build cool model mode and need to be in the direct cool scene mode. But, I digress, my point is, have you checked for any internal patches in the buildings, assuming you also extruded the walls? This may be a way for you to get your patch count down. I love the scene by the way, Wade

I love the look. My wife will like it cause it is green. THIS IS NOT A SUGGESTION: Isn't it great the way more modern comic characters have such exagerrated features. For examle there is no way in hell that girl can actually pick up her feet. Or the non-tilted sword for that matter Do some more. My wife says she would love to see purple too. Wade

Actually yes it is exactly proportional. THe blade is 38" long with an overall length of 45". These dimensions were taken directly from a Websight that sells them. I also rotoscoped directly off an image of this blade. I will post it. I am still waiting for some help on a stainless steel material. Thanks, Wade

Hey Rod, I posted here so I could show the pic. I don't think pics are allowed in New User. Maybe they should. HRM....... Anyway, go here for the more or less finished product. The second to last pic on the page shows the 3D Question mark in all its glory. Rapier Thanks, Wade

And one more.

I am having major WIN XP problems but I got this much done a rendered. I am looking for a Stainless Steel look that I do not have here. The settings I have for Crome are too much for this. I was extrmemely happy with the success of the transparency maps I used for the round gaurd hole detail. This took some trial and error in PS but I think I have that down now. If anyone knows some good Stainless Steel settings as surface properties I would appreciate the info. I made make the handle look like black leather wrap before I call this one complete. If not then the Stainless settings are all I really need. I will be making a scabbard and holder for it soon. Comments please, Wade