Finalization of plans

After discussing my 3 main projects with the lecturers  I settled on the Prometheus class on the advice of my lectures as they felt it was the most interesting, looked the best and had the most potential as an interesting project.
Most of the work has already been done over the summer as the model is finished aside from getting feedback from peers and I have created a normal map for it using a high poly version I made using Sub D methods. One of my lectures also gave me tips on good fly by locations to get good shots of the Prometheus the link to the test which is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gybCdmRU7vU

The animation is rather fast so I will explain some parts of it. The shuttles and workbees will be flying round the ship and the shipyard and the camera will be flying slow enough to see them move. Before the ship moves off the umbilical cord will detach with a small explosion of air as it disconnects. The nacelles will stutter blue then start to glow as will the red impulse engines. As the ship warps away the nacelles will glow an intense blue and once the ship has gone there will be a flash of with light.

After getting feedback and explaining that the animation is too fast and that it will be refined later on people said that it looked quite good.

To improve it I will certainly slow it down and re key the animations. I will also make the animations smoother and add animated textures and also the said particle effect, which will need research and experimentation.
I hope to have the effect researched and tested by the time texturing becomes necessary as I would like to get it out the way now, if it's simple or if it isn't then I want to have the time necessary to fix whatever issues arise and perfect it to make it look correct and believable.

123D Catch experiments

As part of my dissertation I will be using the 123D Catch software to create 3D models using only pictures. While it is solely for my dissertation I can also use it to supplement scenes in my A3D project with it.
I am currently experimenting with the program using two models I have to hand, a Steamrunner class ship from Star Trek and Cortana from Halo, and I have had varying success.

Steamrunner

Cortana

However I have learnt a lot about the program. I have found out that the user has no modeling input whatsoever. The only changes you can make is by stitching together other images using reference points that you select or 2 different pictures. Each time this is done though the model has to be resent to be rebuilt using the new images as points of reference which takes a lot of time. Another thing I have discovered is that the minimum required images is quite high. I found that anything less than 40 pictures will get unreliable results, as will taking pictures using different quality cameras as my camera ran out of battery so I tried to take some extra pictures on my phone. This created a very poor quality picture if it could even be called that, it was fuzzy and there was no detail, just a mash up of colour.

The Streamrunner class was the most successful model although the underside of it was completely missing. This proved impossible to fix as the pictures of the underside wouldn't stitch with the others. The top half worked very well and would have needed very little work, mostly deleting and bridging gaps in the topology however the underside would have required extensive modeling. The pictures had no real structure to them, I simply took lots of pictures from various angles hoping it would work.

The model of Cortana however was a nightmare. As you can clearly see this model will need a massive amount of rework and even rebuilding. Her back is also missing and the rear of the base is completely the wrong shape. The face is completely lacking in detail, the only detail being her nose. The left hand is un-usable and would need to be completely re made. The only part of the model I am happy with is the display she is holding which appears to be clear and would only need the surrounding environment deleting and possibly extruding the display as it is a little 2D. I can't say why the model has turned out like this as the Streamrunner looked fine. It is possible that, as I used a high quality camera phone for Cortana rather than my actual camera, the photo quality has contributed to it. I will only know once I get my camera charger back. It is also possible that the material Cortana is made from contributed to the above image, again I can only know for sure once I get my camera back.

My next plan is to try this software out on buildings and interiors  along with different styles of lighting as one idea I have is to 3D model a network of caves so interiors and lighting will be a big thing I need to research and will be my main focus, once my camera is charged.

ADF-10 Falken idea

My third idea is a fighter plane called the ADF-01 Falken from Ace Combat: Assault Horizons Legacy. I particularly like this plane as it has some interesting shapes and an unusual cockpit and looks surprisingly imposing.

ADF-01 Falken (1)

My original idea was to just have this plan sitting in a hanger but I found an image (below) of the plane with the 'canopy' open and that gave me an idea to have the canopy of my model open, showing the cockpit.

(2)

During the modeling phase I worked on a high poly version of both the plane and the cockpit with a fair bit of success. I found that using xNormals and Maya normal map renders were quite poor with lots of errors so I decided to try and render  out a normal map using Substance Painter. This proved to be a great idea as the map came out with very few errors, after a little experimenting as I realised that the normal map was rendering at a 512 x 512 where as the texture sheet was a 4096 x 4096 giving very blurry results but once I realised that and that using a cage file actually creates horrible errors the map rendered almost perfectly, I even rendered an AO map just to add a little extra detail to the models. The cockpit normals however have some strange errors which I will look into.

Making the cockpit however has been a slightly harder job with some artistic license needed as the cockpit is hardly ever on show, as you can see from the below picture.

(3)

This required me to go looking for other reference images for other components such as seats, pedals joysticks and throttle controls to add to the cockpit to actually make it look like one.

The hanger needs a little more artistic license as the images are not very clear as you can see in the picture. It's very spartan so I wanted to add some more detail too it such as the Falken being re-armed and fueled to add some more life to it. It was also recommended that, because I am using photogrammetry / photo scanning  techniques to create 3D models for my dissertation, I use these techniques to create some models for the hanger. This could require a trip to an aviation museum to get some good reference images.

(4)

Below are some images of where I am at currently with the model.

The normals for the cockpit have some strange errors which I will look into

If I were to pick this for my project I would certainly try the photo scanning technique to create some none important assets to help me better understand the technology for my dissertation. I think it would also help me show how versatile I can be as I can create both a vehicle and an environment, if the hanger can be classed as one. This feels like the most promising project to follow through with as I can get a lot of experience in a variety of things that will prove very useful later on. 

References: 

(1) http://image01.seesaawiki.jp/a/y/ace-infinity/2424944bc377b58f.jpg

(2) http://orig00.deviantart.net/11fd/f/2011/173/3/3/adf_01_falken_2_by_lolmanic45-d3jom9x.jpg

(3) http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eZM9_g4LODc/maxresdefault.jpg

(4) http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2014/11/bandai_namco_announces_ace_combat_assault_horizon_legacy_plus_for_3ds/attachment/1/630x

Prometheus class idea

My second idea was a Prometheus class starship from Star Trek and is my least developed idea. I decided to have it in spacedock simply to give it a more interesting setting. This model proved very interesting and quite frustrating to build as there are some organic curves in both the saucer section and engineering sections which proved difficult to model accurately. This could be helped by a high poly version making the areas smooth and flowing. The below image should help explain the locations.

Other shots of the various parts of the model 

The completed model

I also bought a small model of the Prometheus class to assist with the modeling process and it did prove invaluable for getting different angles to work from. Currently this project is also on hold as I am unsure how best to texture the model. If I were to pick this for my project a high poly Prometheus is a must and also nailing down how to texture it. I feel Substance Painter would be a good way to do it however I would need more experience in adding decals and how to add panel lines, both of which I'm sure I could find tutorials for.
 

X1 Alpha idea

My first idea was the X1 Alpha from Future Cop. This is a game from my childhood I am really passionate about so I worked very hard to make the model look good and correct. Reference images were my biggest problem as this game was made in 1998 so the quality of the original model was very poor and the texturing was even worse so most of my reference look liked this

(1)

and with cinematic models I had trouble with poor angels for underneath the model and from behind so the original model ended up looking like this.

After getting feedback from peers they felt the model was too boring with not enough interesting geometry too it. My personal opinion was that the visor was completely wrong and the rear of the model was no way near detailed enough so I went back to reference imaging and found a blogger post (2) of a very detailed model which I used to fill in some of the gaps to make my model more detailed resulting in this version

Rendered in Maya

Rendered in Marmoset 2 using PBR textures

Using Substance painter I textured the model and got feedback on it from two groups on Facebook called Ten Thousand Hours (3) and  Next-Gen Hard Surface (4) and the overall comments were model is good, textures are bad. The comments were very helpful and one member went so far as to make a small diagram explaining so tips to improve which I found massively helpful (see below.)

(5)

This proved very useful on the 3rd texture attempt using Substance Painter. I also found a tutorial from the Allegorithmic YouTube page (6) which really helped and taught me about Generators and how useful they can be to create accurate dirt and metal wear. The result being this.

Screenshot from Substance Painter

I tested out the Generators on only the body before I went any further and the general consensus for the Facebook groups were positive but a Normal map would help the Generator work out the angles of the model and therefore the best place to add the metal edge wear.

Unfortunately Substance Painter has started crashing every time I try to open this project so it has been placed on the back burner. If I were to use this idea as my project the first thing I would do would be to create a high poly version of it and put it in a scene. This was something I did with the original model however my peers said that he diorama actually overpowered the model so if I were to do a diorama again it would have to be something subtle that complimented the model instead of take it over. I would also work on learning Substance Painter and learn more tricks to get better results to really make my model pop however this could be said for all my ideas.

References:

(1) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/b/b2/459030-future-cop-l-a-p-d-windows-screenshot-future-cop-vs-tank-platoons.jpg

(2) http://ben-yohanan.tumblr.com/post/62044682236/tac-x1-alpha-referenced-from-eas-futurecop
(3) https://www.facebook.com/groups/tenthousandhours/
(4) https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextgenhardsurface/
(5) http://ben-yohanan.tumblr.com/post/62044682236/tac-x1-alpha-referenced-from-eas-futurecop
(6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5p95HTvVsA&index=10&list=PLB0wXHrWAmCyJEDZLLQvusBxDbskFmh9K

Starting ideas

Over the summer break I decided to keep my modeling skills sharp by doing some modeling of things I really really enjoy. I had 3 models that have already been finished and UV'd from games and T.V. The first model I worked on was a personal favorite of mine and something I thoroughly enjoyed working on, this was the X1-Alpha robot from the little known hidden gem Future Cop L.A.P.D. This gave me lots of hard surface modeling experience which I have applied to other models. The second model I chose was a Prometheus class starship from Star Trek. This model featured the ship itself in a cage like shipyard with work bees and shuttle craft flying around. This was a rather large model with lots of intricate parts  and some interesting geometry connecting the saucer section to the engineering hull which proved to be a challenge to get the geometry looking right. The final model I decided to make was an ADF-10 Falken from the game Ace Combat: Assault Horizons Legacy on the 3DS.  I had recently gotten back into playing Assault Horizons and wanted to recreate one of my favored planes and also practice my high poly modeling skills, something I had neglected to work on as I found it confusing and it seemed like a waste of time to me. Nevertheless I did manage to make a high poly version of it with some success.

These are just ideas for my project but it would seem like these are good options as all models are finished bar some refinement and texturing and it would save me a lot of time and searching for ideas.

One idea I had before I realised that my 'pre-made' models were an option was to re create Commander Shepard's apartment from the Mass Effect 3 Citadel DLC and possibly to take some artistic license and add some features from some of the concept art which I felt would have been a much better idea to include in the finished model. While this would have been a nice idea it is much more geared towards environment  rather than vehicle or prop modeling which I feel is where my strengths lie. However it is a game I am very passionate about, the Citadel DLC more than most so I might be able to pull it off through my sheer passion to get it done right.

This is a brief summary of my ideas but I will create an individual post for each one to go into much more depth.