Nautilus

[Eric2575]

I wish Charles Babbage would update his underwater caustics for V.11.0

The animation would go great with this model.

 

Comments and critique are welcome

[starwarsguy]

Great work! I love it!

[R Reynolds]

Beautiful work but I can't see James Mason through the window playing the pipe organ.

[pixelmech]

As Bill and Ted would say - that is "most excellent!"

[Dalemation]

That looks superb. I love all the little rivet details. Great

[ChrisThom]

Very nice job Eric.

 

What did you use for a modeling source, rotoscopes? pictures? plastic model?

[Eos]

I loved that movie! Specially when it rushed at full speed, showing just the two glowing windows like monster's eyes, just before it striked down a ship.

 

Cool sub! Could you consider trying and do such a cool scene?

[Eric2575]

Thanks so much for all your kind words...I had a pretty lousy day and you guys just made it all better

 

Also want to give credit where credit is due: I used Johnl3d's underwater settings to get the cool deep water effect. Thanks John...I hope it was ok to use them...uh, should have asked before I used them...ummm...well...ah...getting that deep sinking feeling...

 

The sub still has a long way to go but it's getting close. I still need to finish much of the detail work and play with bump maps and such. As this is my first model, I am not sure how I would go about applying the general details to the hull. Should I flatten the hull and apply decals? I want to simulate many more rivits all along the hull. Don't need the detail level that I applied to the deck. Figure I can paint some in photoshop and apply as decal.

 

I have many pics of the Nautilus for reference but manily used modified plans obtained over the internet. The Disney 50th Aniversary 20,000 Leagued DVD also helped.

 

The wheelhouse interior will also be modeled as well as Nemo himself. I've made a prelim avi with the sub skimming past the camera at close range...looks pretty cool if I say so myself. Will also try to make a clip with the sub in attack mode, but have lots to learn before that.

 

Here is the wireframe so far and the rotoscopes.

 

Hmmmm, no wonder the sub wasn't going anywhere, it has no rudder or prop.....

[starwarsguy]

The texture on it is kind of bothering me. It looks too flat and perfect for the Nautilis... Just my 2 cents.

[jamagica]

I'd add lines to represent metal plates (use bump maps)

[Eric2575]

That's exactly my point, it has no texture yet. This is my first model and I have never textured anything in my life - haven't modeled naything other than this for that matter.

 

Ok, guys...How would I go about this...bump maps I mean. Do I need to flatten the sub and do it in pieces like a face?

[R Reynolds]

I would suggest that if you're going to give the surfaces a low amplitude random waviness to suggest that they are sheets of metal that you apply those as a material. Make a black and white material with a Fractal Sum turbulence combiner and apply it as a bump material. You'll have to experiment with scale and bump percent to achieve the desired size and severity. You may also want to group the hull plates in alternating sections. Add the same material to each group but in one of them add a significant translation in x, y or z to generate a different pattern. That way you won't have the same wave pattern shared by adjoining plates.

 

As for rivet bump maps you don't necessarily have to flatten as long as you rotate the surface of interest within the window such that you are viewing it othogonally and then apply the decal.

 

You're going to have to be careful about your use of bump maps. In the sample image you're getting very distinct shadows being cast by the rivets. I don't think bump map rivets will give you the same look.

[Eric2575]

I am not getting anywhere. Just to mess around some with bumps and materials, I opened a new project and imported a basic shape out of the library. Then I double clicked the materials in the PWS and made a fractal sum material with black and white.

 

Once this was done, I dragged the material to the model under the objects heading and rendered. Nothing changed. Next I went back to the material and looked for a way to tell it to be a bump material. The only option I found was a "Bump Percent" section which I changed from 0 to 34%. I rendered again, with no change.

 

So I figured that maybe multi-pass was set to "on", which it was. Somewhere I read that some changes don't appear on quick render if multi-pass was on, so I turned it off in the options. Rendered....and nothing.

 

This is getting old....

 

Ok, success!!! There seem to have been two models in the project, the generic one in every new project, and the one I imported from the library. I applied the material to the wrong model, duh. Now I see the change in the imported one.

 

Time to experiment....Will post a pic of the Nautilus with some bump and other neat stuff soon.

[Rodney]

Ok, success!!! There seem to have been two models in the project, the generic one in every new project, and the one I imported from the library. I applied the material to the wrong model, duh. Now I see the change in the imported one.

 

Glad to see you smiling more than frowning Eric.

I can't recall how many times I've made such mistakes, committed them to memory and found myself doing that same thing again later... the most frustrating part of it is that it is entirely preventable.

 

Your Nautilus is really looking sharp.

[Eric2575]

Wait till you see it with some proper textures and bump maps. Still have to learn about bump maps.

 

Thanks Rodney!!

 

Wanted to post this pic. Used Photoshop to play with the aura a bit. Can we use Photoshop to do this kind of stuff if we want to submit a model to the monthly contest?