agep Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 Hello friends So I have finally started a personal project I have wanted to do for a very long time. It has been put on hold several times due to lack of reference. The model I'm working on is Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen), which is an very beautiful cathedral in downtown Trondheim (20min bus travel from my home). I have just started modeling the west front. Even at this point I have no clue on how much work I have taken upon But I love every part of the process from Wikipedia Nidaros Cathedral, considered the most significant church in Norway, is located in Trondheim. It was the cathedral of the Norwegian archdiocese, from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim or Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is romanesque and gothic. It was an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe. from Wikipedia Work on the cathedral started in 1070 and was finished sometime around 1300. The cathedral was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. The nave west of the transept was destroyed and was not rebuilt until the restoration in early 1900s. In 1708 it burned down completely except for the stone walls. It was struck by lightning in 1719, and was again ravaged by fire. Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie. It was officially completed in 2001. Maintenance of the cathedral is an ongoing process. updated 10.09.10 updated 01.28.10 Quote
NancyGormezano Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) Stunning! and sure to get stunninger...er...more stunning! EDIT: I just went to the wiki and saw the photo - YES - you are a crazy person! And that's why I don't believe the part about you "not knowing" how much work you're getting into...only a madman... Edited April 11, 2009 by NancyGormezano Quote
matt_stanford Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 Man...that is beautiful!!! Don't suppose I could ask to have a peek at the wireframe could I? Quote
steve392 Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 Lovely modeling ,do you do this to a scale ,just wanderd what sort of size it was Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted April 11, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted April 11, 2009 Looks great! Will it have gargoyles? That's my favorite part. I've always wondered how a stone cathedral can burn down, but somehow they manage. Quote
Paul Forwood Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 Amazing project to set yourself, Stian! You are the man to do it though. I'll be watching. All the best! Quote
agep Posted April 11, 2009 Author Posted April 11, 2009 Thank you so much for the nice comments and support! Looks great! Will it have gargoyles? That's my favorite part.I'll try the best i can. But since it is hundreds of unique statues on the cathedral I have to cut some corners. Those that will be made is going to be very simplified Don't suppose I could ask to have a peek at the wireframe could I? I'll add a wireframe with the next update Lovely modeling ,do you do this to a scale ,just wanderd what sort of size it wasI'm modelling it 1:1 in the modelling window. The west front is about 40 meters wide Quote
Gerry Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 But since it is hundreds of unique statues on the cathedral I have to cut some corners. Those that will be made is going to be very simplified Wait a minute, aren't you the guy that beveled every ladder step on that aircraft carrier? "Cutting corners" to you probably means leaving the eyelashes off the statues! This is looking beautiful, I'll be checking back. Quote
Kamikaze Posted April 12, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Knowing the past work of the so said, this will be an exceptional model, shoot it already is.... Quote
agep Posted April 12, 2009 Author Posted April 12, 2009 Thank you friends. Here is an small update. I've also attached a wireframe as requested, but it is not close enough to see much Quote
matt_stanford Posted April 12, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Outstanding!!! I'm a real fan of your work and I can't wait to see how this progresses. Good luck Stian. Quote
Chopper Al Posted April 12, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Outstanding work once again Stian. Your meshes always amaze me with their simplicity, yet able to depict such detail. Al Quote
John Bigboote Posted April 12, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Wow! THAT's history...we don't have history like that here in the States...a worthy project! What is your patch-count up to? Quote
agep Posted April 13, 2009 Author Posted April 13, 2009 Thank you guys! This is going to be a insanly patchheavy project. Currently its at about 70K, but I estimate its going to end up at around 400K Quote
Fuchur Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 Thank you guys! This is going to be a insanly patchheavy project. Currently its at about 70K, but I estimate its going to end up at around 400K I am always asking myself where you get the patience from to handle that many patches with such care and understanding... amazing Stian! *Fuchur* Quote
KenH Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 Looking spectacular Stian! You're patches are always so neat and tidy. You model got me pondering.....70k patches is going to be resource heavy. Imagine if you could make the flat patches (that need no bias) into "non-patches". So it would delete all the bias and magnitude data. That might reduce the strain on resources. But it's just pondering. Carry on. Quote
Gerry Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 nice wireframe. Can't wait to see this textured! Quote
agep Posted April 13, 2009 Author Posted April 13, 2009 Once again thank you for the comments guys! Just an minor update today. Have modeled the ornament around the glass painting. Best regards Stian Quote
Gerry Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 I just now looked at the photos of the cathedral. Even with "simplifying" the statuary this is way more than just mechanical modeling. I would guess that more than half your work will be organic modeling. Do you plan to utilize displacement or bump maps as shortcuts? It will be interesting to see how this evolves. Quote
photoman Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 My god the details! You really do have a talent for splining! Keep going! Photoman Quote
matt_stanford Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 I'm amazed with the level of detail you achieve! Have you got any tutorials out there or tips for newbies that are suffering like me? I imagine with the imense workload you have with this project alone you don't have much spare time? I'd love to know how you modelled the huge stained glass window. A lotta work with the lathe and duplicator? Quote
agep Posted April 20, 2009 Author Posted April 20, 2009 Thank you guys! Have you got any tutorials out there or tips for newbies that are suffering like me?Not really I'm afraid. The modelling itself isn't that complicated. it is having good referance images and or blueprints and time which is the keys in a project like this I imagine with the imense workload you have with this project alone you don't have much spare time?And I have a very understanding and patient girlfriend;) I'd love to know how you modelled the huge stained glass window. A lotta work with the lathe and duplicator?You are very close. Sweeper and Duplicator. I drew the pattern with a spline, then swept a shape along it. I worked some more on the cathedral yesterday, let me know what you think Quote
Eric2575 Posted April 20, 2009 Posted April 20, 2009 Nice work Stian. What's the cp count right now? Are you modeling parts and using an action to put them together as usual? Sorry, I just realized that you may have answered that already in your post. Me just lookie at the pretty pictures :-) -E Quote
steve392 Posted April 20, 2009 Posted April 20, 2009 Unbelievable modeling ,the detail is fantastic Quote
Admin Rodney Posted April 20, 2009 Admin Posted April 20, 2009 I'm just getting caught up on my forum reading and what a wonderful project you've got going on. If you were missing a brick or two how on earth would we know!?!! Incredible detail as aways Stian. Impressive. Quote
heyvern Posted April 20, 2009 Posted April 20, 2009 What amazes me in your work is how well you "maintain" spline consistency over a project... by the end of big project I've stopped trying to keep things all neat and tidy. Case in point... the dang terminator model. The parts I did first were PERFECT.. smooth rounded bevels, everything lined up.. frugal splinage... by the end I was just whacking out shapes and didn't give a dang bout perfect bevels or patch count... or dead end splines... 3 pointers etc. I guess it is all the copy/paste and repeating shapes. Also the arches and "perfect" curves. Do you use a lot of math to get things "just right"? Or do you "wing it"? For instance I often will create a circle with a lot of points so I can "cut out" a section... or sometimes I will use a large circle as a guide and match a part of that curve by tweaking biases of the mesh. -vern Quote
agep Posted April 23, 2009 Author Posted April 23, 2009 Nice work Stian. What's the cp count right now? Are you modeling parts and using an action to put them together as usual?At this point there is 140000 patches in the model, and the model is broken up into 9 parts and assembled into an action as you suspected What amazes me in your work is how well you "maintain" spline consistency over a project... Looks can deceive? Considering the patchcount, I would guess that many unnecessary patches could probably be deleted Do you use a lot of math to get things "just right"? Or do you "wing it"? For instance I often will create a circle with a lot of points so I can "cut out" a section... or sometimes I will use a large circle as a guide and match a part of that curve by tweaking biases of the mesh.I usually just draw the spline (path) trying to match the blueprint, then tweaking the bias Here is a new update, I have started working on the towers Quote
matt_stanford Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Amazing work. Like a few other people here, I've just seen a picture of the cathedral and my jaw dropped (both in its beauty and in the sheer enormity of your project!). Thats a great tip about constructing the model in an action. I'm wondering, down the road, how you're gonna finish the model. Whether you'll apply a decal or use a material? As always...very interested in seeing how you progress. Cant wait to see the next update. Quote
agep Posted May 2, 2009 Author Posted May 2, 2009 Thanks! I'm wondering, down the road, how you're gonna finish the model. Whether you'll apply a decal or use a material? As always...very interested in seeing how you progress. Cant wait to see the next update.I'm most likely to use materials, probably containing large tileable images It has been a busy week, and I haven't had much time to work on this, however, I managed to find some time to do some more splining on the towers Quote
nino banano Posted May 3, 2009 Posted May 3, 2009 too much work in this model agep, amazing modeling...very well done, can´t wait to see the finish work Quote
agep Posted May 3, 2009 Author Posted May 3, 2009 Thanks Here is an small update before I go to bed. The towers are more or less done Quote
steve392 Posted May 4, 2009 Posted May 4, 2009 Wow that makes a lot of differance with the spires ,looks fantastic Quote
Jeetman Posted May 4, 2009 Posted May 4, 2009 Man Stian you are an incredible master of spline manipulation. This project is coming out awesome (as all your stuff does). I can't wait to see this thing textured and rendered. Is this for a client or just some thing to challenge yourself? If it's something you decided to do, what made you decide to model it? It's looking great!!!! George Quote
agep Posted May 8, 2009 Author Posted May 8, 2009 Is this for a client or just some thing to challenge yourself? If it's something you decided to do, what made you decide to model it?Its just a challenge for myself. The more detailed the project is, the more I want to do it. Nidaros Cathedral is a project I have always wanted to do, and since I live not so far from it, its easy to study it and take reference photos of it. Here is a new update: Quote
John Bigboote Posted May 8, 2009 Posted May 8, 2009 Wowzers! If you get chance, it would be interesting for us to see a photo of the church to see how far you are going with this. It's a beautiful building AND model, for sure. When you copy-and-pasted the towers, did you think 'i bet they wish they had copy/paste-ability when they built this!' Quote
Chopper Al Posted May 8, 2009 Posted May 8, 2009 Good heavans man!! You're insane! Insane, I say!!! As always Stian, mind blowing and numbing all at the same time. So much to look at and take in. Al Quote
matt_stanford Posted May 30, 2009 Posted May 30, 2009 Happy Birthday Stian! Have an awesome day! Quote
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