Alcatraz Prison

[tbenefi33]

I'm redoing Alcatraz Prison again cause I lost my model on my old PC bummmer I got one cell block done now it's just a matter of copying and pasting.

 

Thinking about modeling Lindsay Lohan and having her walk down the hall like at the first of the movie Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood. I'm open for suggestion for another actor or actress walking down the hall ?

 

How can I change to color in the cell where they won't be the same like in the photo ?

 

[Rodney]

How can I change to color in the cell where they won't be the same like in the photo ?

 

I may not fully understand your question...

 

The layering of Decal images is a good way to effect color change.

While all parts of the cell may have the same basic images applied through changing the percentages of each of the individual decals on each cell they can look entirely different.

[Rodney]

Here is a quick example of what I'm talking about.

 

What I did here was use your image to create the cell bars to apply a Decal image to.

After applying the Decal I then added a few more instances of the same image and set their property randomly to Displacement, Color or Diffuse. Changing the percentage of the Property in each will yield a different look.

 

Adding different decal images of course and changing each of their percentages will allow you to adjust the look.

 

It should be noted that Displacement in this example is primarily added to create the effect of aged or corroded metal.

You may not want that in your version.

 

As Decals will override the underlying color of the model I will often add small color swatches (red, green, blue and yellow) as decals. By changing the percentage of those colors you can then create whatever color you want. For speed you can make these color images/swatches really really REALLY small. You can replace them later with larger images, textures or whatever you want to use.

 

Layering is the secret here.

You can layer in Rust, Color, Lighting, Texture...

There is no end to the effects you can produce.

[Rodney]

Here are a few other quick variations created by adjusting the settings of the Model's Surface Properties and Decals.

In this case I've moved away from using displacement.

 

Changes like these might be driven by the mood you are trying to create.

Note that I haven't attempted to change the color of what is beyond the bars in the cell.

For that you should again consider the effects of Mood, Light and Layering.

[tbenefi33]

Thanks Rodney

 

 

Lets say you have a cell block that's done and you won't to copy and past how come does it take a while for it to copy it is there any other way around it the wait time on a large model ?

[robcat2075]

IF you have one model you want to repeat you can put multiple copies of it in a chor.

 

If you need to vary the colors of them you can turn on "show more than drivers" and change the colors of groups in the chor.

[Rodney]

I would definitely do what Robert has recommended.

Drop your cell into the Choreography multiple times and create your Prison there.

If for some reason you want to save the whole prison (most likely unnecessary) all you have to do is Right Click and Export as a New model. There is another topic that is currently discussing building models in Actions but for repetition such as you are after I'd do it in a Chor.

 

One handy tip that someone passed on to me a long time ago was how we can scale a model -100% in the Chor to get a mirror image of a Model. This could be of use if you have a cell that is slightly assymetrical. In that way there will appear to be more differences between cells.

 

You can also export sequential models based on an animation too.

Say you have a cell with a bed in it but want each cell to have the bed and/or other objects in different locations in each one.

Animate the bed or other objects moving over time and then export the Model as sequences (ideally moving one cell to the location of the next cell down the row as you do. When you Import all of those sequential models into the Chor they'll drop right into place with all of the variations in the room. (as long as you've moved them to the correct place in the animation of course)

 

At any rate... that's all experimental stuff. The simple way is to keep dropping cells into the Chor until you have them all in place.

For precision placement you can type in their location in the Translate Properties in the Project Workspace listing.

[tbenefi33]

I'm doing what Rodney and Robocat said about dropping the model in the Choreography and building it there thank you for tip it saves a lot of time and sure does come up whole lot quicker, this is just a pic of the cell block in the choreography I need to get that long hall way look going.

 

 

[tbenefi33]

Got the long hallway look going think I ought to add the 3 tiers like Alcatraz was ?

I need to change that out side to brick pattern.

 

 

[robcat2075]

Got the long hallway look going think I ought to add the 3 tiers like Alcatraz was ?

 

You need the extra floors so the convicts can throw stuff down on new arrivals.

 

 

You may get slowdown again as you add more units. If that happens you may want to to consider an alternate simplified version of the unit that you can use for far away instances.

[tbenefi33]

Got the long hallway look going think I ought to add the 3 tiers like Alcatraz was ?

 

You need the extra floors so the convicts can throw stuff down on new arrivals.

 

LOL Ok They won't be throwing stuff at Lindsay Lohan there going to be howling.

 

You may get slowdown again as you add more units. If that happens you may want to to consider an alternate simplified version of the unit that you can use for far away instances.

 

 

Wish you can copy and past in the choreographies or hold down on side while you scale the other side .

[Rodney]

Wish you can copy and paste in the choreographies or hold down one side while you scale the other side.

 

Well... good news. you can (to both of those).

But in a strict sense of the words you have used we can't.

 

You need a basic understanding of how to model in a Choreography window first.

For that you'll want to investigate Modeling Mode (F5 is the shortcut key) and Muscle Mode (F7)

If you are in Modeling Mode the original model will be changed but if you are in Muscle mode the change will only be effected as an Choreography Action. (To save the changes you'll likely want to export the model via Right Click/Export as Mdl.)

 

For the second wish you state: (I wish I could) hold down one side while scaling the other.

You don't have to hold down the one side. When you don't hold something down but select another part of the mesh/model in Modeling or Muscle modes only the selected part will translate, scale or rotate.

 

Now when you get to copy/paste in a Chor you may have some problems but there are easy ways around this.

One way would be to have the Model window open and either have them both in view and/or move back and forth between the two.

 

...and with the new Modeling wizards added to v16... there are some new really powerful tools for modeling in a Chor!

Create a simple patch or spline and extrude it while in Modeling Mode. Right Click/Wizards/SplitPatch to add density to your mesh. It's not copy/paste but it is pretty cool! Not to distract you further but the Sweeper, Duplicator and Extruder Plugins can also be used to copy/paste meshes (and groups of meshes!) in the Chor.

[tbenefi33]

was playing around with the toon see what it would look like

 

Alcatraz as toons

 

[tbenefi33]

The cells in toons.

 

[robcat2075]

"Toons behind Bars"

[tbenefi33]

About got the main part of Alcatraz prison done when said and done I think I need to space it apart a little bit think I need to add the lights down the middle of the rafters and put the numbers on the doors make a couple of prison guard and a model should be about it I'll probably keep adding on as I go along.

 

 

 

 

Who would you see like to get locked up.?

[robcat2075]

the two sides look awfully close. I don't know how it really is.

 

Or is that image squeezed somehow?

[John Bigboote]

Lookin good! Lotta copy-paste?

 

"My uncle is doing nine-to-ten at Levenworth"... an old 3 stooges line...

[tbenefi33]

Robcat2075 after you said image I got to looking at the image layout in the choreographic and it was off a little bit and I had re-size every thing but got it looking right this time I need work on the red decal at the bottom of the rails though.

 

John Bigboote yap a lot of copy and past with the cell rooms I had to import model in the choreographic and hide the others models so movie faster to work with getting the hang of though.

 

 

 

 

This one here what I going for

 

[tbenefi33]

I'm done with the b and c block of Alcatraz Prison that the only part I need of the prison for what I got in mind.

 

Right now just playing with the lights and that back white part bugging me I may have to change that.

 

 

[tbenefi33]

I bought got the light setting right still playing with it though.

 

 

 

How can I get rid of the bar shadows on the floor with out deleting bars on the roof windows to make it look solid like in the pics ?

 

[HomeSlice]

Increase the width of the shadow casting light by ... a lot. That will soften the shadows up so much they blur together like in the pic. If you turn off shadows altogether, you will loose the shadows cast by the catwalks.

[tbenefi33]

I soften up the light in the shadow casting light it cam out a hole lot better thank you homeslice and to the other ones who's been helping me.

 

I need to get rid some of the red on the hand rails to much red and make a decale for back gun gallery that's still bugging me about got it the way I want it to look though.

 

 

 

 

 

It's amazing how lighting can make or break model.

[tbenefi33]

I had to reset the setting, then I made a new roof top I left the lighting and rim lighting the same and for some reason in the choreographic it's turning completely black, the lighting is black but at 25% intensity

 

 

[tbenefi33]

Ok figured it out it was real simple so simple I could kick my self in the butt. The camera was right behind a wall of the front building leading to the main cell block I for got that I haven't added any light in there yet I was just looking at a wall I hate doing mistake light that.

[tbenefi33]

Finally got the look I was going for, Time to work on the character's 3 guards and 1 prisoner haven't made up my mind who I won't the prisoner to be.