Creative block

[KnightHammer]

I need some help on a few things.

 

First~~ The control system of this short range light fighter. I have two extended panels for interment panels or tech readouts but I'm not sure of how to have steering controls mostly what type.

 

Second~~ My material creation still sucks and I was hoping that some one had a material or a quick tutorial on a good space ship hull material.

 

Third~~ Well...I thing overall the design is good but some second opinions would be good

[robcat2075]

a painted texture may be a better solution than a "material"

 

here's one tut on painting spaceships

 

 

however, the darksim material plugin has some decent industiral/metal presets. Search the forum for where to download the presets. I do not recall that exactly.

 

There are many of them. Look at all of them.

[rusty]

Sir Hammer,

 

Remember that 'real' things must be constructed: this means seams, bolts, inset or flat rivets, rubber seals, etc. If you look at a real jet plane you'll see access panels, pipes, areas with all manner of complication (an image with corresponding bump map) and all manner of signs and decals... warning signs, arrows, strips, who made it, caution, etc.

 

and lets not forget our running lights (some blinking, some not)

 

Controls and steering? For ideas and images you can search Google using 'controls shuttle helicopter crane' (select 'images' for the search).

 

Darksim or Symbiont definitely has materials for the hull but there are also great images. Apply the image then make a copy of the image and turn it black and white and bump up the contrast and add this image to the decal (use the same stamp) as a bump map or a displacement map or normal map.

 

To add small lights to any kind of surface take a black image with white dots and apply this as an Ambiance Intensity map. If you want some of the little lights to be colored, copy this image and color the dots and apply over the Ambiance image as a color map (make the rest of this image transparent with an alpha channel so only the colored dots will show).

 

Also remember that real things are almost never 'new'. They have digs, scratches, scuff marks, dirty spots, etc.

 

Some premium material (images) from my resource pool to blow your mind and spruce up you model!

SpaceShips.zip

 

Merry Christmas and may the Swartz be with you!

Rusty

[steve392]

Thank's Rusty will be usefull

[Gerry]

Lot of good pointers there, Rusty. Thanks!

[KnightHammer]

It could be a while before I can do any work on it...but thanks for the ideas...I had completely forgotten about how to create small lights without modeling them

[rusty]

It could be a while before I can do any work on it...but thanks for the ideas...I had completely forgotten about how to create small lights without modeling them

 

Actually I model running lights and below the 'off' light (usually a gray sphere) I have a copy of the sphere that is 'on' -- I just set the color then Diffuse Falloff =0 and Ambiance Intensity=100 creating a light source. Then I create an action where the 'on' sphere moves up above the gray sphere. I just drop this action on the model in the chor, adjust the timing and let it repeat! Funky perhaps and I'm sure there are more sophisticated methods but it works.

 

Rusty