The random model thread!

[Spherix]

Damn that really blends in a whole lot better now. Nice work!

[tr0nic]

pure sex

[Sigma]

Last time I posted on these forums I was touching 3D software for the first time. It's been years and I learned a lot. Had an idea for some sci-fi stuff the other day and tried to draw a little concept. Here's some of what it resulted in(yes it's a pillar). Going for a VERY clean style.

 

Model is 342 tris, and I made two different texture sets to break things up when it goes into a level some time in the future.(All 3 are the same model, just to show different angles)

 

 

These are very nicely done. My only suggestion would be to add an access panel to the side of it via texturing. Right now, it makes me think of a small futuristic HVAC system.

 

 

Played around with the textures some more and added a bit more visual noise to them. I think they look more ground into the environment now , but I'm not sure:

 

 

 

 

Much better! Before I thought I was looking at 1940's prisoner trains whereas now I don't get that same depressing feeling. Good change!

Edited September 5, 2013 by Sigma

[kab]

These are very nicely done. My only suggestion would be to add an access panel to the side of it via texturing. Right now, it makes me think of a small futuristic HVAC system.

 

Thank you Sigma! I know they do look like they are missing something, though I'm not sure what you mean by "access panel". If you would be so kind as to point in some direction of what you are talking about, that would be nice!

 

I updated it a little. Made the black edge more defined and going "into the wall" instead of being an inch away from walls(a bit hard to see here though). Also made an additional straight pillar(last one was a corner-piece):

 

 

Any feedback is good feedback!

 

Also those trains look fantastic penE!!

Edited September 5, 2013 by kab

[Sigma]

 

 

Any feedback is good feedback!

 

Also those trains look fantastic penE!!

 

 

I like these, they are a little more interesting visually. By the access panel, I meant something "similar" to this (although seeing the updated version I am not so certain it is necessary anymore to provide more interesting visuals):

 

Edited September 6, 2013 by Sigma

[mjens]

Wow guys, sci-fi stuff and trains look awesome!

[kab]

Ah ok I see Sigma, thank you for the hint:) Maybe I'll just make a separate texture that includes something like that, it's not like it's a huge waste of time. Would be a quick process to add, and anything that can provide more detail to the scene I'm planning is good. But I'll save it for later I think, need to focus on other parts. Started on a wall section. I'll be posting more once I have something presentable!

 

Thank you too seir, warms my heart! (wasn't sure my sci-fi was any good at all!)

Edited September 6, 2013 by kab

[kab]

I spent some time working on and reworking a wall section for my sci-fi prototype. I got some weird artifacts on some edges, so I made the model simpler to get rid of those. I made two versions of this one too, one with and one without the extra panels.

 

Here's what they look like:

 

 

 

358 tris with the panels on and 34 tris without them.

 

Feedback appreciated

Edited September 9, 2013 by kab

[Rick_D]

Ok so, it doesn't look like metal. Metal needs specular to come alive, whether it's painted into the diffuse (not much point doing that these days) or using a specular texture.

 

You're also missing wear and tear, even the cleanest metal surfaces have some kind of history to them, whether it's remnants of how they were fabricated or day-to-day damage or dirt build-up.

 

https://d27fcql9yjk2c0.cloudfront.net/assets/4984513/view_large/Skye-Industrial-Metal-Panel-1.jpg?1327619244

http://perfectsphere.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/metalPanelsDarkBlueSheet3.jpg

http://preview.turbosquid.com/Preview/2010/12/04__15_30_00/FloorPanels%20Preview.jpgc8d9b5cc-eb33-45ec-9d67-84959062fe87Larger.jpg

http://preview.turbosquid.com/Preview/2013/04/14__23_56_31/06b.png41db6217-c133-43fe-ba22-a1aa9c39ad6dLarge.jpg

http://www.janeng.com/portfolio2/images/artwork/ma_door_01.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSk4NWAKJ5PhfYxB1amipma5O0Z9hB3GjZa5I6wiydaNEKvpe3G

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/jochenschoenfeld/jochenschoenfeld0912/jochenschoenfeld091200030/6071949-scratched-metal-surface-as-a-background-silver.jpg

http://www.trinity3d.com/media/evermotion/textures4ever_vol6/textures4ever_vol_6_sample1.jpg

http://buildipedia.com/images/masterformat/Channels/At_Home/Countertops_101/Stainless_Steel.jpg

 

Look at how people achieve a metal look. If you are going for a clean look you should add in subtle variations of hue and luminance, pock marks and scratches, fabrication lines (look at brushed metal, it's called brushed because of how they create it).

Where panels are put together there's a good chance there'll be a few scratches or damage marks where somebody fucked up. where the bolts are tightened people scrape wrenches or power tools on the surface of the metal.

How long will these objects have been standing there, are they 5 years old or 5 days? dirt builds up in crevices no matter how well you try to clean it, it's just a matter of how old and compact it is.

the edges of the panels that face the corridor stand a high chance of getting hit by people moving things, or scraping along them. there's no need to go crazy but just evidence of them being used in a real environment will help to ground them in reality.

 

use a specular map to highlight the finer details. try and figure out what kind of surface it is, is it painted? so what will be underneath the paint, shiny metal or very dull metal? use the specular map to emphasise this.

 

where you have edges, a perfectly straight line is very unrealistic, nothing in real life is perfectly straight. there's just varying degrees of imperfection. gather reference of what you are trying to recreate, think about how those things come to be and then recreate them where they make sense in your model.

 

take a look at cgtextures.com and see what kind of details are in the metal, use them as reference or use the textures themselves. try overlaying different patterns and details from different textures to get a good result.

 

also, polycount is not so much a thing to focus on these days, of course it;s good but it;s no longer important to crunch your polies so hard if the detail would look better modelled in.

speaking of which, it's quite hard to know what scale these things are. there's nothing that i can reference to see how tall a human would be. it's super important to nail the scale of things, and add in reference from the real world that people can relate to.

[kab]

Thanks a bunch Rick! That helps a lot! I am using a specular texture(I did combine it with a 50% multiply of the diffuse however), I may just need to adjust it so everything becomes more shiny I guess. I'm all for the wear and tear aspect too. I'm just not sure how to implement it, but I will definitely look into it! I am actually using two metal surfaces(that I tiled) from cgtextures as a base for the texture, but I guess it's not coming out enough through the colors. Will have a look at that too!

 

As for reference objects to relate to the real world, I will be adding doors and such to the scene so it's easier to identify the scale. I just haven't got that far yet

 

Again thanks for tips and tricks! Very much appreciated!

[Rick_D]

An oldy but a goody:

http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/materials/metalmatte/metalmatte.html

A classic of our times:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=373024

Another classic:

http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photoshop/how-to-hand-paint-convincing-metal-textures/

Not sure what engine you are using or if you're just rendering in max, but if so it's worth looking at their archvis materials as they give you a lot of decent settings to start with.

[blackdog]

Played around with the textures some more and added a bit more visual noise to them. I think they look more ground into the environment now , but I'm not sure:

 

Very nice, as the others said. I too think bottom part a bit too clean.

Btw I noticed the ladder, modeling it like this changes the way players will climb on top, the one here for eg, in the official maps you climb on the side facing the wall as far as I can remember.

But if requested...

[penE]

Very nice, as the others said. I too think bottom part a bit too clean.

Btw I noticed the ladder, modeling it like this changes the way players will climb on top, the one here for eg, in the official maps you climb on the side facing the wall as far as I can remember.

But if requested...

Yeah, already changed that for the map version that's in the workshop, looks better now.

I think volcano wanted the map to play more like the version in 1.6, so .... boxy bogies and ladders in the back

[blackdog]

I honestly couldn't remember they were all in the back, back then

[kab]

An oldy but a goody:

http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/materials/metalmatte/metalmatte.html

 

That one taught me everything I know about normal map baking from 3ds max. It's awesome. Great tuts all of them. Thanks again Rick!