I've decided to try a combination of approaches. The tutorials focus on methods of generating aztecs that are fairly random, whereas with mine I'm trying to perfectly duplicate (or as close as possible) the ones from the NX-01. To start out, I'm trying Deks' method of modeling them in Max using the top orthogonal viewport. I plan to then render them out for use as a texture map. *Technically* this could be done in Photoshop, but this kind of fine line manipulation and such I find it much easier to just use Max. I'm simply using plane primitives and editing their shape over top of the Polar Lights reference.
Crasher, I hadn't planned on it, but that sounds like a fun idea. I might do it after I'm all said and done with the main textures
This is what I've got so far on the paneling. ship_wip57.jpg
That's actually similar to how I made some maps for a ship I'm working on. I rendered out wires with an orthographic camera in Lightwave and then took those into GIMP (the poor man's Photoshop ) and filled in the paneling. It worked out really well.
Haha, me too, especially on Enterprise. I thought it was really well-done on there.
Got some more aztecs done and quickly threw them onto the hull for a test. Note that I've not done any colorations, blending, or other hull textures yet so it's still fairly bland. But, it's kinda neat to see it starting out ship_wip58.jpg
That's actually similar to how I made some maps for a ship I'm working on. I rendered out wires with an orthographic camera in Lightwave and then took those into GIMP (the poor man's Photoshop ) and filled in the paneling. It worked out really well.
8AM Aztecing... wip.jpg
What better thing to do while waiting in the doctor's office for your brother's appointment to get over?
Sorry I forgot to respond to this in the last post. It's a good method for doing Aztecs, especially when you want a really specific pattern. Nothing wrong with Gimp, it's great software, especially for being free
8AM Aztecing... wip.jpg
What better thing to do while waiting in the doctor's office for your brother's appointment to get over?
Sorry I forgot to respond to this in the last post. It's a good method for doing Aztecs, especially when you want a really specific pattern. Nothing wrong with Gimp, it's great software, especially for being free
Looking great so far.
Yeah, I love GIMP. I've never used Photoshop, so I don't know what I'm missing and I find GIMP to be all I need. Plus, it's really come a long way since I first started using it several years ago.
on the modeled hull plates - i think they are to obvious, i used a similar method myself but this is a beautiful model and i think it diserves something better , think about it they would be welded not have gaps between them
Yeah, I love GIMP. I've never used Photoshop, so I don't know what I'm missing and I find GIMP to be all I need. Plus, it's really come a long way since I first started using it several years ago.
Thanks! I'd probably be using it as well if I didn't already have the Photoshop license. Like Blender, it's great for freeware, I could just never get into it.
on the modeled hull plates - i think they are to obvious, i used a similar method myself but this is a beautiful model and i think it diserves something better , think about it they would be welded not have gaps between them
Glad you're liking it! Are you talking about the aztec patterns or the larger plates across the hull? If it's the larger plates, then they are modeled because it's that way on the studio model of the ship seen on TV. I rather like them with the gaps in them, but that's just me :O
Yeah, Gimp is good software. Not only is it free, it's open source, so it's available for any operating system. The same with Blender. That's one headache about Linux-based operating systems, trying to get Windows software to run on them. At least there are good CGI options for Linux users, if you don't mind using those applications.
Yeah, Gimp is good software. Not only is it free, it's open source, so it's available for any operating system. The same with Blender. That's one headache about Linux-based operating systems, trying to get Windows software to run on them. At least there are good CGI options for Linux users, if you don't mind using those applications.
Thanks!!
You're a Linux user then? It's a really fun and good OS to use, provided you can get what you need on it.
Lot of good progress today. Starting to finally get those textures in. It's still really rough, but those aztec hull panels are starting to shine through quite nice
You're a Linux user then? It's a really fun and good OS to use, provided you can get what you need on it.
I was for a few years. But, Wine is a pain in the butt when trying to get Windows software working, so I had to go back to Windows 7. I used to dual boot some Linux distributions with Windows, I may eventually go back to doing that. There is some really nice Linux-only software that I like.
I was for a few years. But, Wine is a pain in the butt when trying to get Windows software working, so I had to go back to Windows 7. I used to dual boot some Linux distributions with Windows, I may eventually go back to doing that. There is some really nice Linux-only software that I like.
Glad you're liking it, because I have a whole lot more! Two full rows. I'm hoping to finish off the top of the saucer tomorrow if time permits.
Dual booting is a great option for people who use both OS' fairly equally, but I think if you find yourself in one more than the other it can just become a pain in the butt. Doesn't Lightwave have Linux distro? Or am I thinking of something else?
Dual booting is a great option for people who use both OS' fairly equally, but I think if you find yourself in one more than the other it can just become a pain in the butt. Doesn't Lightwave have Linux distro? Or am I thinking of something else?
Dual booting is a great option for people who use both OS' fairly equally, but I think if you find yourself in one more than the other it can just become a pain in the butt. Doesn't Lightwave have Linux distro? Or am I thinking of something else?
That's why I took off the dual boot, I was using Windows more for CGI and games. Though, I also have more than one computer, so I could switch something else back to Linux. My laptop is slow, I think Windows 7 is too much OS for it, even though that's what came on it. And, no, Lightwave has no Linux support. They were working on it a few years ago, but they stopped.
Thanks! The textures folder for the ship is around 500mb right now and the 3DS Max file for the ship is around 40mb so far. But there's a lot of cleanup to be done once everything is finished so I'm sure that will change.
Great looking Aztec. It's a long and tedious process to make it, but the results are their own reward.
That's why I took off the dual boot, I was using Windows more for CGI and games. Though, I also have more than one computer, so I could switch something else back to Linux. My laptop is slow, I think Windows 7 is too much OS for it, even though that's what came on it. And, no, Lightwave has no Linux support. They were working on it a few years ago, but they stopped.
Maybe it's Max I was thinking about then. I don't know, I could swear I remember one of my 3D applications having a Linux install on the disc. I could just be crazy. I thought I saw it on my Lightwave disc, guess I'm crazy
It's certainly very frustrating when you want to just relax with some Crysis or Far Cry and you find yourself in Linux lol.
Maybe it's Max I was thinking about then. I don't know, I could swear I remember one of my 3D applications having a Linux install on the disc. I could just be crazy. I thought I saw it on my Lightwave disc, guess I'm crazy
It's certainly very frustrating when you want to just relax with some Crysis or Far Cry and you find yourself in Linux lol.
The only options I have on my installation discs are Windows and Mac. I believe Max does support a Linux installation using WINE. One of the big issues with Lightwave and Linux is the dongle. For one thing, WINE has no USB support, you have to add it to the source code using a patch and compile it yourself. After repeated attempts following steps that *should* have worked, I gave up on this. They finally did away with the dongle for LW11, I may eventually be able to afford to upgrade to that, then I'll see how it works. Fortunately, I get a substantial discount when I go to upgrade, since I own LW9 and LW10.
As for gaming, it's not bad. There are a lot of options out there, especially with Steam for Linux now being a reality. I even had Star Trek Online running pretty smoothly with WINE before I switched my desktop back to Windows. But, no, you can't play every single game on there that you can for Windows. And some will run but not as well as they would in Windows. Though, one of the advantages of my laptop is that a lot of games won't run on it anyway, even using Windows, so I'm not missing much running Linux on it.
Wow, she looks pretty. I like how the hull's more grimy and dirty than she was on the show. Makes sense that a ship running without shields would get a little banged up. She feels more real than the show renders, IMO.
The black circle in the middle of the saucer has a cool look to it, are you going to keep it like that, or replace it with azteching?
The only options I have on my installation discs are Windows and Mac. I believe Max does support a Linux installation using WINE. One of the big issues with Lightwave and Linux is the dongle. For one thing, WINE has no USB support, you have to add it to the source code using a patch and compile it yourself. After repeated attempts following steps that *should* have worked, I gave up on this. They finally did away with the dongle for LW11, I may eventually be able to afford to upgrade to that, then I'll see how it works. Fortunately, I get a substantial discount when I go to upgrade, since I own LW9 and LW10.
As for gaming, it's not bad. There are a lot of options out there, especially with Steam for Linux now being a reality. I even had Star Trek Online running pretty smoothly with WINE before I switched my desktop back to Windows. But, no, you can't play every single game on there that you can for Windows. And some will run but not as well as they would in Windows. Though, one of the advantages of my laptop is that a lot of games won't run on it anyway, even using Windows, so I'm not missing much running Linux on it.
Ya know Linux is cool and all, but I really can't ever see a good reason for running it, at least on a primary basis. There's just so many work arounds and emulators and such that you have to run that just make it a pain in the butt. Doesn't it take a pretty souped up machine to run things with Wine? It's too bad that there isn't more mainstream support Linux, that would make things easier.
Wow, she looks pretty. I like how the hull's more grimy and dirty than she was on the show. Makes sense that a ship running without shields would get a little banged up. She feels more real than the show renders, IMO.
The black circle in the middle of the saucer has a cool look to it, are you going to keep it like that, or replace it with azteching?
Thank you! I hadn't decided yet how much of the grime I was going to keep, mainly because this is still so early in the process, a lot of it is just getting it roughed in. But, I may keep it in there, I kind of like the look too. I wasn't planning on keeping the black circle in, but now that you mention it, it might be kind of cool for the NX-04 variant to do some color alterations like that for the various rows of aztecs.
Very nice! Looks a lot more real then the model used on the show. Feels less... CGIish. But there are bits, like right infront of the cats, where the patterning just stops, and it looks a little odd. Also, you might want to consider toning down the grime on the larger panel lines, and adding some on the aztecing, so give the ship a more balanced appearance.
If you're going to feature multiple NX class ships, it might be a good idea to keep the color variations so you can instantly tell which ship is which.
Ya know Linux is cool and all, but I really can't ever see a good reason for running it, at least on a primary basis. There's just so many work arounds and emulators and such that you have to run that just make it a pain in the butt. Doesn't it take a pretty souped up machine to run things with Wine? It's too bad that there isn't more mainstream support Linux, that would make things easier.
It's fine if all you want to do is run alternatives. IE: LibreOffice instead of Micrsoft Office. Gimp instead of Photoshop. Blender or Wings instead of other 3D packages. Whatever games it has instead of the games Windows can run (usually indie and open source stuff, though Steam for Linux is a game changer.) If you stick to free and open source software, you'll be fine. Where people run into problems is when they expect it to BE Windows. Running software with Wine is a dicey proposition. I don't think it requires anything special as far as hardware, I've run software with it on my 1 GHz dual core laptop with 3 GB DDR3. The problem is the compatibility of software to run in that environment as opposed to Windows. Some will run great, others not so much, a lot not at all. Two of the biggest issues are DirectX and Windows drivers. DirectX can be installed in Wine, but it doesn't always work correctly and some software is dependent on running stuff with Windows drivers and will throw a hissy fit if you don't have them. And you can forget running your hardware with Windows drivers through Wine, it's not designed to do that.
So, basically, Linux is good if you don't expect it to be more than it is. Too many people just don't understand that. If you want to run Windows software, you're better off just running Windows. If you want to run Linux also, dual boot or run one OS on a virtual machine. It's better than trying to get stuff to work in a way that it's not designed to work. Honestly, if I could stand doing 3D in Wings or Blender, I'd be running Linux only now. I'm willing to give up a lot of my Windows games because I know there are plenty of gaming options on Linux. My only issue is 3D software.
Here's a picture of my account page on Lightwave. As you can see, there are only Windows and Mac versions available. I wish there was a Linux version, I'd be using it. There are Linux drivers available for the dongle.
Very nice indeed! You're definitely doing it justice. :thumb:
The only thing that stands out to me is the consistency of the grunge effect. In the outer rows of aztecs it's not as pronounced on the main panel lines, but in the last section you just completed it looks like there might be a bit too much grunge. Still, though, I envy your dedication to this portion as texturing is NOT my strong point by any means.
Well done on the modeling and texturing.
I remember when I was up all night until 5am as well doing modelling and textures for my NX-01 ... went to sleep, only to wake up at 7am and go to work.
Not something I would recommend of course
Very nice! Looks a lot more real then the model used on the show. Feels less... CGIish. But there are bits, like right infront of the cats, where the patterning just stops, and it looks a little odd. Also, you might want to consider toning down the grime on the larger panel lines, and adding some on the aztecing, so give the ship a more balanced appearance.
If you're going to feature multiple NX class ships, it might be a good idea to keep the color variations so you can instantly tell which ship is which.
Anyways, great work as always!
Thank you!! I really appreciate that, especially since I revere the ship and studio model lol.
It's fine if all you want to do is run alternatives. IE: LibreOffice instead of Micrsoft Office. Gimp instead of Photoshop. Blender or Wings instead of other 3D packages. Whatever games it has instead of the games Windows can run (usually indie and open source stuff, though Steam for Linux is a game changer.) If you stick to free and open source software, you'll be fine. Where people run into problems is when they expect it to BE Windows. Running software with Wine is a dicey proposition. I don't think it requires anything special as far as hardware, I've run software with it on my 1 GHz dual core laptop with 3 GB DDR3. The problem is the compatibility of software to run in that environment as opposed to Windows. Some will run great, others not so much, a lot not at all. Two of the biggest issues are DirectX and Windows drivers. DirectX can be installed in Wine, but it doesn't always work correctly and some software is dependent on running stuff with Windows drivers and will throw a hissy fit if you don't have them. And you can forget running your hardware with Windows drivers through Wine, it's not designed to do that.
So, basically, Linux is good if you don't expect it to be more than it is. Too many people just don't understand that. If you want to run Windows software, you're better off just running Windows. If you want to run Linux also, dual boot or run one OS on a virtual machine. It's better than trying to get stuff to work in a way that it's not designed to work. Honestly, if I could stand doing 3D in Wings or Blender, I'd be running Linux only now. I'm willing to give up a lot of my Windows games because I know there are plenty of gaming options on Linux. My only issue is 3D software.
Here's a picture of my account page on Lightwave. As you can see, there are only Windows and Mac versions available. I wish there was a Linux version, I'd be using it. There are Linux drivers available for the dongle.
Thanks You don't have to prove it to me that there's no Linux Lightwave, I believe you lol. That was one of my biggest issues with Linux as well, the lack of video editing and effects software. Was ultimately my downfall as well. I just thought it was a cool OS, but not relevant enough.
Very nice indeed! You're definitely doing it justice. :thumb:
The only thing that stands out to me is the consistency of the grunge effect. In the outer rows of aztecs it's not as pronounced on the main panel lines, but in the last section you just completed it looks like there might be a bit too much grunge. Still, though, I envy your dedication to this portion as texturing is NOT my strong point by any means.
Thanks!! I agree about the grunge effect. Texturing is my weakspot as well, I'm still learning and let me tell ya, this Star Trek film has been a great proving ground so far.
Well done on the modeling and texturing.
I remember when I was up all night until 5am as well doing modelling and textures for my NX-01 ... went to sleep, only to wake up at 7am and go to work.
Not something I would recommend of course
Haha, I'm sure if I had morning work hours I'd be in the same boat. It's just so impossible to stop sometimes. Glad you're liking it
I have a new screeny. I've worked allll day to get 'er done. I've finally finished the aztecs on the top saucer. They're pretty accurate. There's a few inconsistencies, but that's really unavoidable due to the shape of my saucer. The two lines that run around the center of the saucer are way too wide. It's an error I made months ago when I first started and was a bit...noobish Now, it'd be just too much of a pain to fix without F'ing up the rest of the model. As well, my entire ship was constructed around the saucer as an exact circle. I only recently realized that the studio saucer is squeezed by about 5% on the X axis. RAWR! Alas, I'm living with those inconsistencies now
Looks good, but the inner ring of azteching, right near the cats, looks... off somehow. Having the deep panel lines just stop before they reach anything looks wrong too. It might be consistent with the TV show model, but it just looks weird. As big a fan of the Little E that I am, I'd say fix it.
Nothing wrong with a slightly different saucer shape, for a few reasons. Number one, it looks better this way. I was watching ENT just this morning, and I must say your render looks more dynamic than the renders from the show, perhaps because of the saucer.
Number two, nobody will notice. If you hadn't told me, I would have just assumed that render looked so nice because of the texture work or what have you.
Number Three: this is NX-04, not NX-01. It's perfectly logical to say the yards made some slight tweaks as mission reports from Enterprise and Colombia rolled in. Changing to a perfect circle would also simplify construction, as parts could be swapped around the perimeter, instead of each hull plate/structural member going in one place and one place only. You could handwave the changed shape as corner-cutting on the assembly line.
I agree with Borkless, that area right near the cats and the center structure looks wonky. I think it's because the outlines are so dark. The shapes are right, but that looks wrong. Also, some of the shapes should be filled in darker, like they are on the rest of the Aztecs. The rest looks great.
Thanks You don't have to prove it to me that there's no Linux Lightwave, I believe you lol. That was one of my biggest issues with Linux as well, the lack of video editing and effects software. Was ultimately my downfall as well. I just thought it was a cool OS, but not relevant enough.
I don't know when you last tried it, but my two favorite non-linear video editors are Linux only. OpenShot is one, I think it's fairly new. It's very powerful, it can even open image sequences as a video, very handy for renders. The other is KDENLive, which is almost as good. Both can save to a number of video formats and are way more versatile than any freeware video editors I've seen for Windows. I'll agree about effects software, though that's all way out of my price range anyway, no matter what OS it's for.
I agree with Borkless, that area right near the cats and the center structure looks wonky. I think it's because the outlines are so dark. The shapes are right, but that looks wrong. Also, some of the shapes should be filled in darker, like they are on the rest of the Aztecs. The rest looks great.
That's actually not what I was complaining about. I actually rather like the contrast between azteching and really grime paneling (not that you shouldn't tone it down a touch) I was more worried about bits where the panel lines just end for no apparent reason, as if they were just lines, not separate pieces of metal.
NX wony lines.jpg
Forgive the hasty MSpainting, but I think this illustrates the point better than words. Sections circled in blue are the areas I'm concerned about.
Posts
I've decided to try a combination of approaches. The tutorials focus on methods of generating aztecs that are fairly random, whereas with mine I'm trying to perfectly duplicate (or as close as possible) the ones from the NX-01. To start out, I'm trying Deks' method of modeling them in Max using the top orthogonal viewport. I plan to then render them out for use as a texture map. *Technically* this could be done in Photoshop, but this kind of fine line manipulation and such I find it much easier to just use Max. I'm simply using plane primitives and editing their shape over top of the Polar Lights reference.
Crasher, I hadn't planned on it, but that sounds like a fun idea. I might do it after I'm all said and done with the main textures
This is what I've got so far on the paneling.
ship_wip57.jpg
YES i can't wait! I LOVE the mirror universe!!!
Haha, me too, especially on Enterprise. I thought it was really well-done on there.
Got some more aztecs done and quickly threw them onto the hull for a test. Note that I've not done any colorations, blending, or other hull textures yet so it's still fairly bland. But, it's kinda neat to see it starting out
ship_wip58.jpg
8AM Aztecing...
wip.jpg
What better thing to do while waiting in the doctor's office for your brother's appointment to get over?
Sorry I forgot to respond to this in the last post. It's a good method for doing Aztecs, especially when you want a really specific pattern. Nothing wrong with Gimp, it's great software, especially for being free
Looking great so far.
Yeah, I love GIMP. I've never used Photoshop, so I don't know what I'm missing and I find GIMP to be all I need. Plus, it's really come a long way since I first started using it several years ago.
Thanks!
Glad you're liking it! Are you talking about the aztec patterns or the larger plates across the hull? If it's the larger plates, then they are modeled because it's that way on the studio model of the ship seen on TV. I rather like them with the gaps in them, but that's just me :O
Thank you, Mark! I really appreciate it
Oh and I almost forgot! New updates, ALMOST DONE WITH THE MESH!!! WOOO! Just a few more small details to go
ship_wip59.jpg
ship_wip60.jpg
Yeah, Gimp is good software. Not only is it free, it's open source, so it's available for any operating system. The same with Blender. That's one headache about Linux-based operating systems, trying to get Windows software to run on them. At least there are good CGI options for Linux users, if you don't mind using those applications.
You're a Linux user then? It's a really fun and good OS to use, provided you can get what you need on it.
Thank you so much!!
Lot of good progress today. Starting to finally get those textures in. It's still really rough, but those aztec hull panels are starting to shine through quite nice
ship_wip61.jpg
I was for a few years. But, Wine is a pain in the butt when trying to get Windows software working, so I had to go back to Windows 7. I used to dual boot some Linux distributions with Windows, I may eventually go back to doing that. There is some really nice Linux-only software that I like.
Glad you're liking it, because I have a whole lot more! Two full rows. I'm hoping to finish off the top of the saucer tomorrow if time permits.
ship_wip62.jpg
Dual booting is a great option for people who use both OS' fairly equally, but I think if you find yourself in one more than the other it can just become a pain in the butt. Doesn't Lightwave have Linux distro? Or am I thinking of something else?
great work, how many megabytes is this so far?
That's why I took off the dual boot, I was using Windows more for CGI and games. Though, I also have more than one computer, so I could switch something else back to Linux. My laptop is slow, I think Windows 7 is too much OS for it, even though that's what came on it. And, no, Lightwave has no Linux support. They were working on it a few years ago, but they stopped.
Thanks! The textures folder for the ship is around 500mb right now and the 3DS Max file for the ship is around 40mb so far. But there's a lot of cleanup to be done once everything is finished so I'm sure that will change.
Maybe it's Max I was thinking about then. I don't know, I could swear I remember one of my 3D applications having a Linux install on the disc. I could just be crazy. I thought I saw it on my Lightwave disc, guess I'm crazy
It's certainly very frustrating when you want to just relax with some Crysis or Far Cry and you find yourself in Linux lol.
Thank ya!
The only options I have on my installation discs are Windows and Mac. I believe Max does support a Linux installation using WINE. One of the big issues with Lightwave and Linux is the dongle. For one thing, WINE has no USB support, you have to add it to the source code using a patch and compile it yourself. After repeated attempts following steps that *should* have worked, I gave up on this. They finally did away with the dongle for LW11, I may eventually be able to afford to upgrade to that, then I'll see how it works. Fortunately, I get a substantial discount when I go to upgrade, since I own LW9 and LW10.
As for gaming, it's not bad. There are a lot of options out there, especially with Steam for Linux now being a reality. I even had Star Trek Online running pretty smoothly with WINE before I switched my desktop back to Windows. But, no, you can't play every single game on there that you can for Windows. And some will run but not as well as they would in Windows. Though, one of the advantages of my laptop is that a lot of games won't run on it anyway, even using Windows, so I'm not missing much running Linux on it.
The black circle in the middle of the saucer has a cool look to it, are you going to keep it like that, or replace it with azteching?
Maya makes a linux version. Perhaps that was what you were thinking about.
joe
Ya know Linux is cool and all, but I really can't ever see a good reason for running it, at least on a primary basis. There's just so many work arounds and emulators and such that you have to run that just make it a pain in the butt. Doesn't it take a pretty souped up machine to run things with Wine? It's too bad that there isn't more mainstream support Linux, that would make things easier.
Thank you!
Must be it!
Well, I was up until after 5am this morning working on the aztecs. I'm nearly done with the top of the saucer!
ship_wip63.jpg
If you're going to feature multiple NX class ships, it might be a good idea to keep the color variations so you can instantly tell which ship is which.
Anyways, great work as always!
It's fine if all you want to do is run alternatives. IE: LibreOffice instead of Micrsoft Office. Gimp instead of Photoshop. Blender or Wings instead of other 3D packages. Whatever games it has instead of the games Windows can run (usually indie and open source stuff, though Steam for Linux is a game changer.) If you stick to free and open source software, you'll be fine. Where people run into problems is when they expect it to BE Windows. Running software with Wine is a dicey proposition. I don't think it requires anything special as far as hardware, I've run software with it on my 1 GHz dual core laptop with 3 GB DDR3. The problem is the compatibility of software to run in that environment as opposed to Windows. Some will run great, others not so much, a lot not at all. Two of the biggest issues are DirectX and Windows drivers. DirectX can be installed in Wine, but it doesn't always work correctly and some software is dependent on running stuff with Windows drivers and will throw a hissy fit if you don't have them. And you can forget running your hardware with Windows drivers through Wine, it's not designed to do that.
So, basically, Linux is good if you don't expect it to be more than it is. Too many people just don't understand that. If you want to run Windows software, you're better off just running Windows. If you want to run Linux also, dual boot or run one OS on a virtual machine. It's better than trying to get stuff to work in a way that it's not designed to work. Honestly, if I could stand doing 3D in Wings or Blender, I'd be running Linux only now. I'm willing to give up a lot of my Windows games because I know there are plenty of gaming options on Linux. My only issue is 3D software.
Here's a picture of my account page on Lightwave. As you can see, there are only Windows and Mac versions available. I wish there was a Linux version, I'd be using it. There are Linux drivers available for the dongle.
The only thing that stands out to me is the consistency of the grunge effect. In the outer rows of aztecs it's not as pronounced on the main panel lines, but in the last section you just completed it looks like there might be a bit too much grunge. Still, though, I envy your dedication to this portion as texturing is NOT my strong point by any means.
I remember when I was up all night until 5am as well doing modelling and textures for my NX-01 ... went to sleep, only to wake up at 7am and go to work.
Not something I would recommend of course
Thank you!! I really appreciate that, especially since I revere the ship and studio model lol.
Thanks
Thanks!! I agree about the grunge effect. Texturing is my weakspot as well, I'm still learning and let me tell ya, this Star Trek film has been a great proving ground so far.
Haha, I'm sure if I had morning work hours I'd be in the same boat. It's just so impossible to stop sometimes. Glad you're liking it
I have a new screeny. I've worked allll day to get 'er done. I've finally finished the aztecs on the top saucer. They're pretty accurate. There's a few inconsistencies, but that's really unavoidable due to the shape of my saucer. The two lines that run around the center of the saucer are way too wide. It's an error I made months ago when I first started and was a bit...noobish
ship_wip64.jpg
Nothing wrong with a slightly different saucer shape, for a few reasons. Number one, it looks better this way. I was watching ENT just this morning, and I must say your render looks more dynamic than the renders from the show, perhaps because of the saucer.
Number two, nobody will notice. If you hadn't told me, I would have just assumed that render looked so nice because of the texture work or what have you.
Number Three: this is NX-04, not NX-01. It's perfectly logical to say the yards made some slight tweaks as mission reports from Enterprise and Colombia rolled in. Changing to a perfect circle would also simplify construction, as parts could be swapped around the perimeter, instead of each hull plate/structural member going in one place and one place only. You could handwave the changed shape as corner-cutting on the assembly line.
I don't know when you last tried it, but my two favorite non-linear video editors are Linux only. OpenShot is one, I think it's fairly new. It's very powerful, it can even open image sequences as a video, very handy for renders. The other is KDENLive, which is almost as good. Both can save to a number of video formats and are way more versatile than any freeware video editors I've seen for Windows. I'll agree about effects software, though that's all way out of my price range anyway, no matter what OS it's for.
NX wony lines.jpg
Forgive the hasty MSpainting, but I think this illustrates the point better than words. Sections circled in blue are the areas I'm concerned about.