SantoAnderson

I just purchased the upgrade a few minutes ago, so hopefully I'll be able to be working with nice materials within the week. Finally

Temple update: I stuck a temporary bump map on most of the surface, but it's retaining way to much of a beveled edge even on a 1% bump. I need to update from Version 2000 ASAP so I can actually use Bitmap + or something of the like. Hmmm

Dang, well the construction was a pain because evidently in one of the original patches there was a double spline which ended up cloning an extra thousand patches or so (and I'm not exactly sure where to start to fix it). I had to build it in three parts. The two sides are essentially the same model reversed along the X-axis and each side loads at 18 K polys. The middle section which contains the front and rear columns counts about 12k and the basic copper roof counts 30 polygons. So we do the math and it's about 48 grand, easily the highest poly model I've ever built, eclipsing the previous model 3 fold. But since 90% of the polys are sharp and there's only two mesh colors to deal with, it loads relatively fast and renders quick. Now my computer's a grand P.O.C. from five years ago, and having recently tried to map a brick texture onto the model I depleted its virtual memory and I had to manual reboot the computer. Pucha che, necesito una nueva computadora pues.

Here's a reference image that shows the granite exterior. I'm considering just making one huge decal-projection map for each side and contrasting the initial image with brick exterior for a bump-map. Now here's a predicament that I tried to work with yesterday. Those spot-lights on the spires, I've tried kliegs and spotlights pointing up towards the spire, but they aren't lighting correctly. I'll tinker again once I get the decal done.

Nice! But why is the exit sign on the floor? Isn't that against building code?

Hey guys, I've received a commission from a buddy of mine to create a couple classic buildings from Salt Lake. Namely Temple Square. I've got the temple itself built (no textures yet) and just wanted to ask what would be the best way to achieve a granite effect. I don't want to re-decal every inch of this thing and was wondering if I can somehow material-map this thing with a single equally scaled image facing the same direction Then repeat it with a bump map of the same size, etc. Any suggestions?

Yeah, right now it might look a little too chizzled without mats and textures. Maybe you could fatten it up a bit and thin the legs up too.

New quickly animated & rendered kickflip, (yeah, I know the skateboard flip needs more animation.) with an old character I built a while back. I'll try and make a good render tonight. skateboard.mov

Don't know yet, I built it in just under an hour, and I figure it could be useful for a future still shot or quick scene render. Today I'll add the bolts and texture it some.

Here's a tiny WIP I built tonight for a project. Any critiques are welcome.

Quick and crappy scene render: Although, the volumetric lighting is super-opaque and keeps creating unnecessary lines. Is there any way to blur that?

Update: Legs, forearms, hands, and batty-esque pose.

Mini-update: Cape and Utility belt. But that freakin' cape bends too much.

Hey guys, I've spent the last day or two tinkering around with the idea of a low-res BB batman for fun. Anyway, I couldn't find many great reference images, so the majority of the work has been guessing. Meh, I'm not losing much sleep over it either. I know there are a couple hard angles and other kinks to work out, but I don't intend to render this guy at 800 x 600 at all. ...Tommorrow, the utility belt.

^^^^ Transformed Impala

^^^^^ Impala

Hey guys, Thanks a lot for the feedback. Bout' the crown vic, I had previously constructed one that appeared more or less like its real couterpart, with spare part designs from other cars, but I made the mistake of building the TF first and trying to make that into a car. Well anyway that was disastrous. It doesn't look very much like a Crown Vic, and the CPs don't line up. So anyway, I was walking along University blvd down at the U, and I noticed that all the SLCPD cars were Impalas, and I thought, hey, those have a unique cool design to 'em. Let's use those. I had originally envisioned taking a minute long handicam shot of the UTA TRAX passing through the frame with a transforming cop car chasing it down the rails. But the real bummer of a deal is that I couldn't find references of any SLC cop cars on the net, so I rigged up an NYPD car instead. Anyway, I've just thought that the origin of this particular bot could be some mensa-smart MIT alumni who decided to build their own Johnny five out of a regular PD car. For the most part I'm just trying to push the boundaries of reality and probability. I didn't want to build one of those bulky improbable air tanks that shoot laser beams from their eyes that Japanese Anime always seems to turn out. Instead I wanted to design something grounded in reality and perhaps possible in the next five years.

Hey guys (and gals), I've been working hard at the grindstone modeling an NYPD Impala that transforms into voila, a Transformer. Convenient eh? I've been working hard to make sure it somewhat resembles an impala. The headlights and grill look a little funky, and every time I attempt to shrink it or adjust it, it only affects the hood and creates funky bends. Anyway, I'm building the internal gadgets as we speak, and expect to have a fully functioning knee joint by tomorrow. I only wish to have everything in one model so I can animate it without any unnecessary trickery. Sorry if the image quality is a bit crappy, I'm becoming impatient with the rendering times of this computer. If you guys want to see high-res or a wireframe, just ask. Peace!