Yet another school project... :cool:

[marque_pierre]

Yeah, so...

Anyway, another project of mine, for my masters degree (feel really important saying that... :roll: ) is to make an environment of my own design.

As usual I want to focus on textures. But guys, be gentle, I feel that these days I spend 98% of my time doing everything BUT textures, and when it is finally texturing time, I have either lost my mojo or have too little time to do it right.

Anyway, here is a ridiculously simple little boat. A dingy of sorts. We are aiming for realism. The planks are not quite there... There is some je ne sais pas. Please point it out to me. Preferably with detailed solutions too!

[ReNo]

I'm not a sailor (though was for a short while), but I do live in a harbour town, and this strikes me as a VERY weird shape for a boat such as this. For one, rarely are they symmetrical end-to-end. Typically you will have a flat back in order to fit an outboard motor. Also, a keel, though not all that pronounced on such a small boat, is pretty important to make the boat keep balanced. A keel is a structure under the boat that stops it simply spinning over if too much weight is applied to one side or a wave knocks it. You can see one here...

Now it could be as simple as just a ridge running along the length of the boat under the middle, anything to break the smooth curve and provide a resistance against it flipping over really. The central outdenting of the sides is a bit wierd too, and I gues is there to suggest the boat is old and warped, but the symmetry of each side makes it look more like a design feature of the boat to me. How about adding in some oar rests for additional detail too?

Hope this helps out somewhat

[marque_pierre]

A keel yes. We need that. This is for an environment based on a third world country river setting. So the boat would be pushed forward by a long stick, rather than rowed or propelled by a motor. But we need some more details. However this is just a small piece for the background.

[st0lve]

In third world countries, I think they actually still manage to build proper wooden boats, need more "flow" in it, and less "random" directions on the side.

[marque_pierre]

Damn you guys. All you can talk about is modelling! I am a texture artist, the modelling bits are selfexplanatory, but the texturing is driving me crazy. See the cracks between the planks? There is something not right about them! But I can't put my finger on it...

[von*ferret]

would help to havre a subtle grooves in the boat maybe for wood. BUt i'd normal map it instead of painting or baking the shadows.