It been nearly two months since I done any work on this.
But since it the holiday season and I am off work, I finally had time to sit down and get some work done.
I have been working on the front of the secondary hull adding in the details and the RCS.
I might have to redo that as I think it a bit to forward.
Before starting to work on detailing the rest of the Secondary Hull, I am going to start modelling the warp nacelles and the pylons first.
Once that is in place I will go back to finish off the details.
The details there are looking great, though aren't those cylinders at the left of the torpedo tubes a bit overkill regarding polys, when compared to the rest of the geometry?
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
Yeah they are.
I did a close up render of that area and those parts look awful with less Geometry but the rest looks fine.
So I increased the number of Vert until it look better.
I don't plan to get close enough where I need them that high. But you never know, so it a bit of Future proofing. LOL
Looking great!
I usually find that a cylinder or a sphere with around 40 polys round does a good job at looking good and smooth at most distances. 20 if its buried somewhere or small, or no plans to see up macro close
Good luck on the nacelles! those look simple but are really complicated!
Yeah they look simple but far from hit. I spent a day just working on the font and that part is still not done.
But I am now back at work, so I'll be able to work on her at the weekends if I get to the computer I am building her on before the kids.
No update on this at the moment I did not get a chance to work on her last week. Hoping I can get a little done this week.
I am also currently building the TNG Type 7 Shuttle.
there are no decent blueprints of her and a just a couple of Orthros which are not accurate. So at the moment I am just play around with the shape trying to get it to work with it dementions.
Hoping to post something this week.
@D-Jota Thanks I have that one. I have another which I think came from the Fact Files, which I was using.
But I think I am going to scrap that and start again and use this one.
Just a quick update on TMP Enterprise. I have not really be able to work on it. I am building it on a PC at home that the whole family uses.
My Son will be taking his GCSE this year, so with that he is spending every free moment on that machine revising for the tests he will be taking in June/ July. My other machine is not powerful enough for it.
Anyway with that said on to my other build, The Type 7 Shuttle form Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I have modelled the warp nacelles and pylons for them. I have knocked out the basic shape of the main hull, however I getting the shaping right or the rear end of it to be a right pain in the arise. (The white section.) It is a separate object and must of modelled it about 20 times.
I am still no happy with it as I keep finding error, I still need to model the bottom section of this. Which you can see in the front view picture. This is all dark as there is currently nothing there.
But for now here is where it stand.
This thing is ont of those PITA shapes.
I would loose the loops as they near the top to avoid that pinching but for the butt part I hate to say it but with the way it flows into the struts you might have to look at modeling the entire hull as a single object. That or seam it along the waistline.
I should give it a go, I have always passed this shuttle up as every time I look at it I think of the late 80s fad for mini vans. lol, though least they were functional vs the 2000s SUVs.
I think the pitching is because Blender dose not like Tir and prefers Quads, well at least when it come to an edge of an object.
Below is a wire render of the section with the problem areas highlighted.
As for the part where it meat with the nacelle pylon, I am still working on it, but I think you right, it might have to be a single object.
No doubt a real pain to do.
As doing this section has sapped the will to continue.
I need to take a break from it as it driving me mad. As I have not done a 2d pin up picture since last year, I am working on one now (Non Trek Related.). As soon as I have finished that I plan to come back to this refreshed.
I was referring to the tan part near the top of the cabin. The subdiv loops running front to back (in cross section) need to be pulled in to avoid the change in curvature.
Subdiv distances between the outer geo edge and the next loop are more important than distribution or evenness of loops between each other.
As for that back section I would alter the flow of the geo to roll around that top part vs ending all those edges in a bundle. I would plan the flow of geo to accommodate that hatch way as it is a repeated curvature to the rim of the hull. Probably a doodle would better illustrate this.
Give me a few hrs as I am doing some things atm.
do not get doscouraged once you pick up the things to look for it'll come easier in the future.
First image shows what I referred to by the pinch. In max there is a handy tool called smoothing groups so it makes this process easier but what the intent is is to arrange your loops so that corners round out in a even manner. So closer to the edges the more even you want them along the length. ATM the loops appear to tighten up to the edge more than they do on either end. This case the length being the C call out. Looking at the drawing and memory of the shuttle it should actually have a less tight curve the higher up the hull it goes.
Now this one shows what I mean to follow the features of the hull. Instead of those edges all ending in the corner like you have with that flat aligned area at the tip you want to have the loops flow along the form of the hatch and that rounded out panel.
NOW given not many apps have smoothing groups in subdiv from what I hear youll need to model with the intention of breaking the edges. This involves detaching things along the seam that will later be that hull panel. It is far easier to model parts then detach than to align separate objects along such a complex shape. You can spend weeks pulling hair out attempting to align all the bits to get a smooth demarcation line. Conversely you could stack up edge loops but I think breaking the edge or detaching that part along the seam is a faster way to deal with it.
I get vauge about where the loops go near the "butt" as the drawing really does not make clear what the shapes are doing. I dunno where my refs for this shuttle are in the "trek refs" folder so heh.
I don't know if this'll help, but here's how I tackled the shpe when doing the Type-7 for Stage 9. The whole hull is one basic shape which then had a Subdivision Surface modifier applied. It's not super clean, the topology has some tris and ngons, but these were done in areas where they wouldn't be noticeable.
For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
Funny thing is I don't use SubD unless I have no choice. I had a lot of issues with it when I first started modelling and just learnt to avoid using it if I could. Most probably not the best way to model, but it works for me.
Any way, looking at what you guys have shown me, I am going to have to bit the bullet here and use it.
I'll back at this again soon, so you won't have to wait long for updates.
Hey @Freak, I suddenly realized your modeling looks familiar to some images I have and so am wondering if you ever did a ship called the Belknap or Decatur class?
Feel free to use these images. As stated on my web page, the type 7 shuttle master pattern I created is base on Andy Probert's original design. The design viewed on screen was altered slightly, I believe due to budgetary constraints on time. My master was approved by Andy. srsprototyping.com/sample-page/291-2/
After a little break form Modelling I am back to working on the Type 7 shuttle.
I have completely redone the main hull and included the rear bump and the warp nacelle pylons, which where all separate items before.
I used Sub D tool to get this, which is something I don’t normally use when modelling. But to get the shape right I had to bit the bullet and use it.
Not to sure on the back end where the pylons join with the Hull, so I need to look for some decent references for that.
In the mean time here is where she stands.
For those waiting for updates on the TMP Enterprise, don't worry I have not forgot about it. I am still working on it but not much progress to show for the moment. I am currently building the nacelles and working on the front end.
As I have mentioned is a pervious post, I am not getting much time to get on the computer that I am building the model.
Posts
But since it the holiday season and I am off work, I finally had time to sit down and get some work done.
I have been working on the front of the secondary hull adding in the details and the RCS.
I might have to redo that as I think it a bit to forward.
Before starting to work on detailing the rest of the Secondary Hull, I am going to start modelling the warp nacelles and the pylons first.
Once that is in place I will go back to finish off the details.
@trekki, Thanks.
@Brandenberg Thanks and no problems here you go.
As you can see there are no Sub-D used here, so I can get away with out having us Quad every where.
I did a close up render of that area and those parts look awful with less Geometry but the rest looks fine.
So I increased the number of Vert until it look better.
I don't plan to get close enough where I need them that high. But you never know, so it a bit of Future proofing. LOL
I usually find that a cylinder or a sphere with around 40 polys round does a good job at looking good and smooth at most distances. 20 if its buried somewhere or small, or no plans to see up macro close
Good luck on the nacelles! those look simple but are really complicated!
Yeah they look simple but far from hit. I spent a day just working on the font and that part is still not done.
But I am now back at work, so I'll be able to work on her at the weekends if I get to the computer I am building her on before the kids.
No update on this at the moment I did not get a chance to work on her last week. Hoping I can get a little done this week.
I am also currently building the TNG Type 7 Shuttle.
there are no decent blueprints of her and a just a couple of Orthros which are not accurate. So at the moment I am just play around with the shape trying to get it to work with it dementions.
Hoping to post something this week.
But I think I am going to scrap that and start again and use this one.
@Brandenberg Thanks.
My Son will be taking his GCSE this year, so with that he is spending every free moment on that machine revising for the tests he will be taking in June/ July. My other machine is not powerful enough for it.
Anyway with that said on to my other build, The Type 7 Shuttle form Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I have modelled the warp nacelles and pylons for them. I have knocked out the basic shape of the main hull, however I getting the shaping right or the rear end of it to be a right pain in the arise. (The white section.) It is a separate object and must of modelled it about 20 times.
I am still no happy with it as I keep finding error, I still need to model the bottom section of this. Which you can see in the front view picture. This is all dark as there is currently nothing there.
But for now here is where it stand.
I would loose the loops as they near the top to avoid that pinching but for the butt part I hate to say it but with the way it flows into the struts you might have to look at modeling the entire hull as a single object. That or seam it along the waistline.
I should give it a go, I have always passed this shuttle up as every time I look at it I think of the late 80s fad for mini vans. lol, though least they were functional vs the 2000s SUVs.
I think the pitching is because Blender dose not like Tir and prefers Quads, well at least when it come to an edge of an object.
Below is a wire render of the section with the problem areas highlighted.
As for the part where it meat with the nacelle pylon, I am still working on it, but I think you right, it might have to be a single object.
No doubt a real pain to do.
As doing this section has sapped the will to continue.
I need to take a break from it as it driving me mad. As I have not done a 2d pin up picture since last year, I am working on one now (Non Trek Related.). As soon as I have finished that I plan to come back to this refreshed.
Subdiv distances between the outer geo edge and the next loop are more important than distribution or evenness of loops between each other.
As for that back section I would alter the flow of the geo to roll around that top part vs ending all those edges in a bundle. I would plan the flow of geo to accommodate that hatch way as it is a repeated curvature to the rim of the hull. Probably a doodle would better illustrate this.
Give me a few hrs as I am doing some things atm.
do not get doscouraged once you pick up the things to look for it'll come easier in the future.
First image shows what I referred to by the pinch. In max there is a handy tool called smoothing groups so it makes this process easier but what the intent is is to arrange your loops so that corners round out in a even manner. So closer to the edges the more even you want them along the length. ATM the loops appear to tighten up to the edge more than they do on either end. This case the length being the C call out. Looking at the drawing and memory of the shuttle it should actually have a less tight curve the higher up the hull it goes.
Now this one shows what I mean to follow the features of the hull. Instead of those edges all ending in the corner like you have with that flat aligned area at the tip you want to have the loops flow along the form of the hatch and that rounded out panel.
NOW given not many apps have smoothing groups in subdiv from what I hear youll need to model with the intention of breaking the edges. This involves detaching things along the seam that will later be that hull panel. It is far easier to model parts then detach than to align separate objects along such a complex shape. You can spend weeks pulling hair out attempting to align all the bits to get a smooth demarcation line. Conversely you could stack up edge loops but I think breaking the edge or detaching that part along the seam is a faster way to deal with it.
I get vauge about where the loops go near the "butt" as the drawing really does not make clear what the shapes are doing. I dunno where my refs for this shuttle are in the "trek refs" folder so heh.
Anyhow hope it helps.
Funny thing is I don't use SubD unless I have no choice. I had a lot of issues with it when I first started modelling and just learnt to avoid using it if I could. Most probably not the best way to model, but it works for me.
Any way, looking at what you guys have shown me, I am going to have to bit the bullet here and use it.
I'll back at this again soon, so you won't have to wait long for updates.
srsprototyping.com/sample-page/291-2/
@srspicer Sweet, those pic's will be helpful when doing the underside.
@Brandenberg, No I did not do those ships.
I have completely redone the main hull and included the rear bump and the warp nacelle pylons, which where all separate items before.
I used Sub D tool to get this, which is something I don’t normally use when modelling. But to get the shape right I had to bit the bullet and use it.
Not to sure on the back end where the pylons join with the Hull, so I need to look for some decent references for that.
In the mean time here is where she stands.
For those waiting for updates on the TMP Enterprise, don't worry I have not forgot about it. I am still working on it but not much progress to show for the moment. I am currently building the nacelles and working on the front end.
As I have mentioned is a pervious post, I am not getting much time to get on the computer that I am building the model.