Jedi - the lighting effect is done all with real lights, for those longer areas (like the nacelle top or the bridge neck) with area lights. The impulse engine has 10 or 12 area lights in it, one for each row.
Pixel - youAâre partly right - the grid lines were originally triangle-shaped, but they are now rounded - the plates are just not seperated from each other as in the ILM model. This would only be visible if you are really very close to the model.
Time for updates...
Redid the complete photorp section to match the ILM model. I also changed the front of the secondary saucer - didnAât notice that there was an edge on top of that, right in front of the neck.
I also reworked the side element - not sure how it is called, the emblem and various other bits and pieces...
Thanks guys... I am aware of the small bumpmap problem. That happens when you mirror UVs in Maya - the bump map gets reversed. I just have to create another shader with the bump value in the opposite direction, but this is one of the last steps in the process.
The pearl effect is on all shaders, but I am not 100% happy with it, as the original has some really strange specular map that I will try to mimic a bit more when I am finally done with the geometry changes. Yes, I plan to finish this thing within the next 2 weeks...
I did some reading yesterday about the pearlescent effect, and saw a mention of them using multiple specular maps that changed depending on camera and light angle, so the map itself would actually swap out. I haven't figured out a simple way of doing it in LW yet, but I've got time to tweak.
Well, it is going to be almost completely impossible to mimic the way the speculars worked in the movie. One thing behind that is that the modelers intentionally put in some imperfections in the panelling to make it seem as though it were actually built by human hands.
Good work on the torp and the other details though!
Well, it is going to be almost completely impossible to mimic the way the speculars worked in the movie. One thing behind that is that the modelers intentionally put in some imperfections in the panelling to make it seem as though it were actually built by human hands.
Good work on the torp and the other details though!
Considering the awesomeness of this model and its details, we can assume that Tobias might not be human, so, yes, its impossible for him to mimic intentionally imperfected speculars made by man..
ps: If you dont mind:
Does nacelles or middle engine have smoothing, if so, how can you model that hard cuts (i.e: windows, radiator went thingys) without disturbing the topo of the mesh?
As much as i chamfer or cut, there always are problems for square details, especially on large surfaces like the bottom of the hull, nacelles or rim of the saucer..
adding the imperfections is the icing on the cake, on my Artoo I tried to avoid any perfect straight edges, it takes time and a lot of tweaking but the end result is well worth it
As for the specular effect that is going to entail some complex maps (well more large than a need to be specifically complex), and with an ship that size you could probably tile a lot of the specular detail and get away with it - jeez, look who I am trying to teach how to suck eggs... ok I will get my coat
Some updates - reworked among other things the lower photon torpedo launcher and bay, the registry and the hangar area.
fq: Some of these elements are smoothed meshes - e.g. the top cap of the nacelles or the main secondary hull. Harder edges are done either by inserting more polygons around the edges or the crease tool in Maya (wish basically makes edges harded, but only in a limited area). Once I am happy with the shape, it will be converted to polygons and then the windows are booled out. Of course, this has the major disadvantage of not being able to rework the cage. On the other hand, I get much cleaner and lighter meshes. I keep the cages and booled objects should I ever have to go back to that state - which I hope I wonAât have to...
Thank you very much for the info Tobias.
I was guessing you were using boolean on some of the cuts and adding poly on the borders to make a smoother transition on to the main mesh, but sadly i am using max and using boolean or proboolean on a smoothed object just makes it crash.
Anyways, i restarted to the model and try to use as less smoothing as i can.
For now, if unavoidable, i detach the part, cut/chamfer than reattach or resize to make it blend.
Some updates - reworked among other things the lower photon torpedo launcher and bay, the registry and the hangar area.
fq: Some of these elements are smoothed meshes - e.g. the top cap of the nacelles or the main secondary hull. Harder edges are done either by inserting more polygons around the edges or the crease tool in Maya (wish basically makes edges harded, but only in a limited area). Once I am happy with the shape, it will be converted to polygons and then the windows are booled out. Of course, this has the major disadvantage of not being able to rework the cage. On the other hand, I get much cleaner and lighter meshes. I keep the cages and booled objects should I ever have to go back to that state - which I hope I wonAât have to...
Awesome, always. Are those doorways on either side of the shuttlebay?
I think so - and this would reveal that they intended this ship not to be as big as it turned out. Because then these doors would be 5 or 6 meters high
EDIT:
I must correct myself - if these doors are about 3 meters high, the ship will turn out at around 1200-1300 meters length - which seems correct and within the movies parameters.
I think so - and this would reveal that they intended this ship not to be as big as it turned out. Because then these doors would be 5 or 6 meters high
Either that or the ship builders anticipated someone with Kirk's gigantic ego.
To be honest, I think that the old ships were underscaled. Plus, we've been down this road in this thread already, so let's drop it.
You know Shadow, the more I think about it, the more I think you might just be right. At least when it comes to the original ships as seen in TOS. Then they seemed to correct the issue in a way by the time we get to TMP. But like you said the size issue has been covered repeatedly.
That's amazing detail Tobias, I wouldn't have expected to see that in those pics.
Next step - Pylons rework (completely new UV layout and some geometry changes) and the front section of the nacelle did get a complete overhaul. This was the area that had the most errors and should now be pretty close - including these strange fans on the inside. Would be cool if anybody could point me as in what direction they spin...
I did one render with the glass cap and one without.
Next step - Pylons rework (completely new UV layout and some geometry changes) and the front section of the nacelle did get a complete overhaul. This was the area that had the most errors and should now be pretty close - including these strange fans on the inside. Would be cool if anybody could point me as in what direction they spin...
I did one render with the glass cap and one without.
Great stuff, from what I can tell the blades spin towards the hull. So the right nacelle spins anti-clockwise and the left nacelle clockwise.
Posts
Tobias's shield-grid insets are shaped like a triangle instead of the usual square one.
It's very nice method of saving polygons.
Time for updates...
Redid the complete photorp section to match the ILM model. I also changed the front of the secondary saucer - didnAât notice that there was an edge on top of that, right in front of the neck.
I also reworked the side element - not sure how it is called, the emblem and various other bits and pieces...
http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/attachments/3d-wips/77269d1264444938-uss-enterprise-star-trek-2009-enterprise_newphotorp.jpg
in fact if I look at all the bump/normal mapping I can see in that render, it's looks like it inverts down the middle
"The Mob" is helping him to be perfect!
Chris :P
Ja, ich weis...
I just thought that it was amusing that the more finished the model seems, the smaller the nitpicks get! Carry on!! :flippy:
The pearl effect is on all shaders, but I am not 100% happy with it, as the original has some really strange specular map that I will try to mimic a bit more when I am finally done with the geometry changes. Yes, I plan to finish this thing within the next 2 weeks...
Good work on the torp and the other details though!
Considering the awesomeness of this model and its details, we can assume that Tobias might not be human, so, yes, its impossible for him to mimic intentionally imperfected speculars made by man..
ps: If you dont mind:
Does nacelles or middle engine have smoothing, if so, how can you model that hard cuts (i.e: windows, radiator went thingys) without disturbing the topo of the mesh?
As much as i chamfer or cut, there always are problems for square details, especially on large surfaces like the bottom of the hull, nacelles or rim of the saucer..
As for the specular effect that is going to entail some complex maps (well more large than a need to be specifically complex), and with an ship that size you could probably tile a lot of the specular detail and get away with it - jeez, look who I am trying to teach how to suck eggs... ok I will get my coat
fq: Some of these elements are smoothed meshes - e.g. the top cap of the nacelles or the main secondary hull. Harder edges are done either by inserting more polygons around the edges or the crease tool in Maya (wish basically makes edges harded, but only in a limited area). Once I am happy with the shape, it will be converted to polygons and then the windows are booled out. Of course, this has the major disadvantage of not being able to rework the cage. On the other hand, I get much cleaner and lighter meshes. I keep the cages and booled objects should I ever have to go back to that state - which I hope I wonAât have to...
i need to do better to get this kind of quality out of maya... I' m working on it
I was guessing you were using boolean on some of the cuts and adding poly on the borders to make a smoother transition on to the main mesh, but sadly i am using max and using boolean or proboolean on a smoothed object just makes it crash.
Anyways, i restarted to the model and try to use as less smoothing as i can.
For now, if unavoidable, i detach the part, cut/chamfer than reattach or resize to make it blend.
cheers..
sure looks like it to me.
EDIT:
I must correct myself - if these doors are about 3 meters high, the ship will turn out at around 1200-1300 meters length - which seems correct and within the movies parameters.
To be honest, I think that the old ships were underscaled. Plus, we've been down this road in this thread already, so let's drop it.
You know Shadow, the more I think about it, the more I think you might just be right. At least when it comes to the original ships as seen in TOS. Then they seemed to correct the issue in a way by the time we get to TMP. But like you said the size issue has been covered repeatedly.
That's amazing detail Tobias, I wouldn't have expected to see that in those pics.
I did one render with the glass cap and one without.
Fantastic modeling Tobias.
Great stuff, from what I can tell the blades spin towards the hull. So the right nacelle spins anti-clockwise and the left nacelle clockwise.
Well in the trailer they do...
YouTube - Star Trek (2009) Trailer 1 HQ [Cloverfield]