Smoking area

[itsjustme]

Here's the beginnings of the first set. There is a lot left to do, but I figure showing my work might make me get things done a little faster...we'll see.

 

Obviously, the stairs aren't done, the hinges on the doors, more electrical conduits, there's also a small generator building to add, another handle on one of the boxes, a gas meter, some mounting brackets for the conduits, a chain-link fence, a wooden fence, a dumpster and a bunch of other little additions. At this point, it's a little over two thousand patches.

[HomeSlice]

It looks really nice so far David.

[John Bigboote]

Looking good so far...don't forget about 'Al's Greebles' in the Contributers Cue' to help you with the conduit-ry...

[TheSpleen]

Looks great to me.

[ptiversen]

I can't wait to see it finished.

[robcat2075]

Already sounds like a funny concept.

[Shelton]

Good job. I am glad to see you get going on this. Keep bringing it.

 

Steve

[Paul Forwood]

Great start, David!

[Rodney]

As Mama Odie in Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' would say, "This gonna be good!"

 

[largento]

Knowing the care and attention to detail you possess, David, I know this is going to be worth the wait!

[itsjustme]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Hopefully, I'll end up with something worth looking at.

 

I decided to detail the doors quite a bit...I'm over-modeling a few things, I realize. The reason for the added detail is that I intend to use these doors in other sets and I want to cover all possibilities. The first animation is going to be extremely simple and this set is going to be way more than what is needed for that, but I plan on re-using it at least a few times. I've made two versions of the door, one of them has a standard-looking door knob. I've got them rigged with a working lock (moves when the handle/knob is turned), working dead-bolt and working hinges. The heads of the screws are just bump and diffuse maps as are the key holes...I mainly wanted to make sure it would look good enough to use (I think it will work well enough).

 

Here are some renders I did to check for any problems. There is a black mark on the image of the entire door (on the door frame, right side, near the bottom hinge) that I think is being caused by a hook...at least I think that's what is causing it.

[Rodney]

Approaching perfection.

[TheSpleen]

Wonderful detailing!

[johnl3d]

Models look great

[itsjustme]

I got rid of the problematic hooks on the door frames, added some bolts to the boxes on the wall and modeled a set of stairs. For anyone keeping score, the patch count is at 17,299 at the moment...so, some over-modeling, but I feel alright about it. Still a lot of things to add...I'll get back to it tonight. Here's a few updated "so far" renders:

[jimd]

that's so cool, very inspiring

[MJL]

I can't seem to shake this feeling that the name, David Simmons, and the term, meticulous, are quite often closely associated. Phenomenal work.

[TheSpleen]

Love it!

[Paul Forwood]

Meticulous modeling, David!

[agep]

Fantastic work so far. I sure like the details!

[itsjustme]

I was hoping to render more images, but I ran out of time this evening. Here is a closer image of the mounting brackets for the conduits and a render showing what the nuts and bolts I'm using look like. If I don't need the entire bolt, I use just the head of it to reduce the patch count as much as possible...even though it's still going to be extremely high. At this point, I'm almost done with the rain gutter and I have the mounting brackets on for the conduits that are already in the scene. The patch count is now 28,215.

[robcat2075]

I shall be curious about the story that involves such detail!

[itsjustme]

I shall be curious about the story that involves such detail!

 

LOL! I realize I'm severely over-modeling things. I'm breaking a couple of rules of conservation in order to cover all possible angles in this set since it will be used several times and I'm not sure of every angle I'll be shooting. I have plans for a couple of animations here (at least), but I don't have more than that decided yet...and I'm obsessive.

[robcat2075]

It's like the problem I have with anime. In a Disney movie the backgrounds are a few splotches of color but in anime they're hyper-detailed.

 

I'll be watching one and wonder "is the inspection sticker on that breaker box in the upper left corner a plot point I should be paying attention to?"

[itsjustme]

It's like the problem I have with anime. In a Disney movie the backgrounds are a few splotches of color but in anime they're hyper-detailed.

 

I'll be watching one and wonder "is the inspection sticker on that breaker box in the upper left corner a plot point I should be paying attention to?"

 

I agree with you on that, Robert. You're probably not going to see 90% of the details in the shorts...I know it sounds like a waste, but it makes sense in my head. I think it would be harder to add details as needed than to just not show them. I always like to have more tools than I actually need...and I'm crazy. If things end up looking too busy, I can always cut back. I'll see how the test shots with Bertram in the set look once I get to that point. If I decide to not use something, the only time wasted is my own.

[kwhitaker]

i really enjoyed seeing you cool scene, great modeling, lots of work, but it will look real from any angle. can't wait to see the next step.

[itsjustme]

Just a quick overall image to show a little progress...I was hoping to get more done, but here is where it is presently. The rain gutters and rain gutter mounting brackets are the only difference in this image. I'll try to knock out a bigger chunk tonight.

[mtpeak2]

Looking good so far.

[itsjustme]

Here are a couple of renders showing the start on the generator building...they don't show the set from an angle that it will generally be viewed from though and don't zoom in to show some of the smaller details, but it's what I had time to render today. The opposite end of the building has an identical vent, so looking at one end is like seeing both. I still have to add the electrical boxes, conduits and chain-link fence for the generator and a few other odds and ends. I also enclosed the roof of each building...in case I want to shoot something on the roof or use a sky-crane/helicopter shot. Current patch count is 41,045 patches...I'll pick it up again tonight.

[Shelton]

Excellent! I love the pipe fittings

 

Steve

[HomeSlice]

That's a nice looking set David. What is the patch count up to?

[itsjustme]

That's a nice looking set David. What is the patch count up to?

 

At this point, it's sitting at 41,045, Holmes. Quite a bit to go...I don't have any kind of "ballpark" for the end total.

[itsjustme]

Here are a couple of updated renders. The additions are the electrical conduits, boxes and such on the generator building. In the closer image, you can see several of the padlocks that I posted in the Free Models thread (I'll add more models to that thread as I go along). The door may move a little more to the right when I put the chain-link fence in, it will be easier to tell when I get to that point.

 

If you're keeping score, I'm at 60,046 patches. Still quite a bit to add.

[TheSpleen]

I have ran out of words that mean awesome.

[mtpeak2]

Looking forward to seeing it textured.

[itsjustme]

Doing a little thinking, I might move the generator further from the main building and put the dumpster between them. It would open it up a little. I'll do some messing with it.

[itsjustme]

I only had time to do one render this evening, so I'll have to do some more tomorrow to show the rest of the set and how I have moved some things to open it up. For now, here's a render of the chain-link fence I've been working on. It does some serious increasing of the patch count (even with limiting things as much as I could), but I'm still pretty happy with it.

 

If you are keeping score, the patch count is at 158,171...and yes, I'm insane.

[Paul Forwood]

Looking more awesome all the time, David.

 

Yes, you are going to end up with amazingly detailed models that might cause you headaches when you get around to animating but you could just use these models to generate the normal maps required for some low patch models. (I'm particularly thinking of the fencing here).

[itsjustme]

Looking more awesome all the time, David.

 

Yes, you are going to end up with a amazingly detailed models that might cause you headaches when you get around to animating but you could just use these models to generate the normal maps required for some low patch models. (I'm particularly thinking of the fencing here).

 

I'm thinking using static camera shots, rendering the background from each camera angle I need once, then compositing in the animated character/characters will work...at least that's the direction I'm leaning.

[Shelton]

Very Nice David!

 

I am thinking the same thing

 

Steve

[itsjustme]

Here's what the set looks like at the end of my work on it today. I still want to add a different type of floodlight above the staircase and a few details here and there, but I wanted to do a few renders to double-check things...I only had time to render one image though. The score is presently 239,183 patches...I made a few decisions that bumped it up quite a bit, but I'm liking the results.

[TheSpleen]

is that a real place?

[Shelton]

Excellent! How did you do the brick?

 

Steve

[HomeSlice]

OK, now you need to beat the crap out of that dumpter and set it at more of an angle. Wonderful modeling David.

[itsjustme]

Excellent! How did you do the brick?

 

The brick is geometry...that's the decision that increased the patch count by a lot again. I decided that a few thousand more patches wouldn't make a difference, it would simplify how I texture the wall, was easy to model and would ultimately look better.

 

OK, now you need to beat the crap out of that dumpter and set it at more of an angle.

 

Yessir, everything is going to take a beating when I get to the texturing and figuring out shot composition.

 

is that a real place?

 

Sort of...it's a modification of an actual place. I've simplified a few things, moved a few things around, omitted some stuff and added some things, but I've used some location shots as a general guide.

[John Bigboote]

Yup...looking great! Are you a smoker? They outlawed smoking in public places here in Michigan... which is causing a lot of bars to 'go under'... our Governer is on a ROLL!

[itsjustme]

Yup...looking great! Are you a smoker? They outlawed smoking in public places here in Michigan... which is causing a lot of bars to 'go under'... our Governer is on a ROLL!

 

Nosir, I'm not a smoker, but I think the demonizing of people who are is ridiculous.

[HomeSlice]

Nosir, I'm not a smoker, but I think the demonizing of people who are is ridiculous.

Amen to that, Brudda.

[TheSpleen]

Nosir, I'm not a smoker, but I think the demonizing of people who are is ridiculous.

Amen to that, Brudda.

Especially since growing up I watched actors and politicians all smoking and some even doing commercials.

It was considered glamorous back then.

[itsjustme]

I added about a tenth of an inch of relief to the bricks...I should have done that before my last render, but I was in a hurry. Here is a re-render of the previous image and then another angle to show the bricks a little better. I'll wait for more of a change before posting the next renders.