The random model thread!

[AlexM]

Hi! First time poster here. I'm looking for some critiques of my first model (a tent if you're still wondering) and texture, built in 3ds max for the purpose of becoming a prop. The skin itself is 2048x2048 which I'm not sure is too large for something like this, the transparency map for the skirt (the flaps of cloth hanging off the edges of the top) is missing (forgot to add to compile), I also haven't had the opportunity to create a normal map yet. The skin was my biggest concern because the geometry turned out pretty much how I envisioned it, the cloth texture was difficult for me because I wasn't sure how to add interesting detail to a plain washed out cloth without going overboard on dirt. The blue paint was something I added to help out some with this issue but I didn't want to go overboard on that either. The model is 788 polys and large enough to allow a player to walk in and out with little headroom.

Again any critiques are appreciated.

great job for a first model, only thing I'd say is bump the textuer down to 512 or 1024, 2048 seems like WAY too much overkill. I dont think there would be a ton of visual difference if you went down to 512 and you would save 16x texture space.

[alecmoody]

Doing some props for wesley's off limits mod. The texture is mostly done but there are still some details to be added. Its 2800 triangles with one 1024 texture

[Minos]

The texture doesn't make much sense to be honest. Why is there so much rust around edges if the body paint and the bumpers are barely dirty? Doesn't make much sense. One would expect the owner of this truck would try to fight off the rust by rubbing sandpaper or something. That's easily found on old cars. Such an old truck would also have a lot of scratches on the more exposed parts. This is where the rust would grow around. (IE: edges, bumpers etc...).

You should look for some references to check where grime builds up in real trucks. Left 4 Dead's vehicles are a good example of this. They got the right amount of grime and dirt. Here are some good refs for you:

hope it helps!

[alecmoody]

bumper is plastic. Also most of those references you posted are much older cars.

[Rick_D]

bumpers still get dirt

in fact they get the most dirt

[Schmung]

I think the thing that's making it look a bit off is that the rest of the wearing and rusting doesn't match the amount of abuse you see from the scratched and spotted areas. Age the rest of it to the match that and you should be set.

Looking at the amount of rust on it you'd expect the bumpers to have aged more. The plastic used for bumpers tends to discolour a bit with age (especially if it's had something spilled on it) and it's probably going to be covered with all sorts of crap anyway. I'd expect to see a bit more rust around the bottom of the door where it meets the arch and at the bottom of the radiator grille. Pretty much where water is going to continually drip and pool.

Hope that helps a bit.

[alecmoody]

The cab is done for now and I am starting to texture the various loads the truck can carry. I have cement mixer, waste truck, dump truck, and box truck variations.

Im sure the cab texture will get another final pass once the other parts are finished.

[Skjalg]

I think the cab texture looks decent, the only thing that is jarring now is the whiteness of the numbers plate. It needs dirt

[Pericolos0]

really like it alecmoody =). One thing that I'm noticing in minos pics is that rust on car seems to appear more in big patches instead of the tiny specs you have. Maybe that's something to try out? I think it could look interesting .

some examples from terminator salvation (look how he painted rust in big strokes):

http://www.artbypeterj.com/portfolio/co ... ure_03.jpg

http://www.artbypeterj.com/portfolio/co ... ure_04.jpg

[alecmoody]

That guys painting style is great. There is some dirt on the license plate but the tones were too light and they were getting blown out by the lighting.

Work on the cement mixer texture.

[Lord Ned]

Your cement mixer is all wrong.

The chute appears to be built wrong, and it's not big nor fat enough.

There's also no controls for controlling the speed of rotation, the angle of the chute, etc. (I've poured concrete once before from a truck.)

[D3ads]

I think that the style of that truck would fit perfectly in a TF2 map

[mjens]

Wheel texture from Kamaz?

- this big barrel thing on the back of the truck is way to small. Proportions are not cool.

[Steppenwolf]

My main point of critique for that truck is that the art style is very unclear. The geometry is very cartoony while the texture goes in a photorealistic direction.

This would work better as a portfolio piece if you would give it a cartoony TF2 style texture and it would show possible employers that you can do different styles.

[alecmoody]

Wheel texture from Kamaz?

- this big barrel thing on the back of the truck is way to small. Proportions are not cool.

I took the wheel photo years ago but I doubt it was a kamaz because It was shot in the US and you don't see a lot of them around here.

I scaled up the cement barrel significantly. I cant change the proportions of the truck bed itself because all the possible back ends have to fit together.

My main point of critique for that truck is that the art style is very unclear. The geometry is very cartoony while the texture goes in a photorealistic direction.

This would work better as a portfolio piece if you would give it a cartoony TF2 style texture and it would show possible employers that you can do different styles.

Is the cartoony feel of the geometry just coming from how simpified it is? The poly budget is pretty low since this is just a map prop. 1800 of the 2800 polys in the cab model are in the wheels.

Dump truck texture work and enlarged cement mixer: