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3DLearning CG with Modo

[Deleted User][Deleted User]11 Posts: 4,002Member
edited January 2011 in Work in Progress #1
Been a lurker for a copy months now and have finally decided to take the plunge and see if i have any ability in CG modeling. Looking for any comments and crits that'll enable me to grow and hopefully get better. Seeing some of the awesome work on here i can only hope that i can do something that well in the future. Wife "surprised" me with Modo on X-Mas and have been mostly trying to figure out what i can and doing some tut's. This is what I'm at now, but at a loss on a couple of things:

('1.) Any trick to greebling? Trying to put something together that looks "right" is alot harder then it looks.

('2.) Any modo users able to help out with some render setting suggestions. Am getting various "shadow?" artifacts and can't seem to get rid of them on the middle part of the ship.

Looking forward to being a part of the community here and growing as an artist.


P.S. can anyone tell me how to get a thumbnail to show up on the forum list page?






1stship.jpg
Post edited by Unknown User on
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  • colbmistacolbmista2 Posts: 0Member
    upload ur immage as an attachment
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Thanks! appreciate the Info.
  • JennyJenny2 Posts: 0Member
    As far as I can tell, the trick to greebling is to look at every-day items and think about how they could be scaled, subdivided, rotated, etc. to make an otherwise pointless detail. Many greeblies on the 1970s Galactica, for instance, came from aircraft or armor models.
  • dwldwl0 Posts: 0Member
    Try circuit boards or oil rigs as a greeble reference. Renderable splines are good for creating quick interesting shapes. Creating generic greeble blocks might allow you to focus on the key areas of a model rather than spending lots of time on rarely seen parts.
  • Dr. JonesDr. Jones0 Posts: 0Member
    great gift, modo is one of the best 3d package around, it really deserver more attention
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    Some great comments above on how to Greeble, now let me present you with another option...Why Greeble at all? There are two ways to design a futuristic spacecraft, fantastically or realistically. A Star Destroyer, Battlestar or any Stargate ship would be examples of fantastical designs. Loaded with pointless greebles. Think about all that structure on a Star Destroyer, if you attempted to justify the design as a realistic vessel given future technology that may or may not be developed you would have to have a function for all 10 million greebles...A bit overwhelming isn't it. Beautifully designed vessels need not be greebled to death. Federation starships for example..Especially the Galaxy and Enterprise Class ( I refuse to refer to it as the simplistic Connie Refit ). Almost zero greebles (the ones that are there have a designated function) and they are two of the most elegant and beautiful designs in sci-fi history.

    Think about what type of equipment might actually be exposed on the hull of a ship. Then create a greeble for it, then place it in a position that might make sense. Do this and you will find that few systems would need to be exposed on a hull vs. protected beneath it. And you end up with a craft that has just the right amount of greebles to add detail, a good backstory explanation for those greebles adds realism then you wind up with an elegant design vs. one that would exist only in a Universe of pure fantasy.

    Yes, I'm trying to recruit you..I don't want the "greebly modeler club" to get their talons into you when you're young and impressionable...Put thought and function into your design. Don't just make a shapes because it looks cool, but because it makes sense. When you design like that you pull ahead of the pack. And even a novice model can end up being an extremely talented design.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Some great comments above on how to Greeble, now let me present you with another option...Why Greeble at all? There are two ways to design a futuristic spacecraft, fantastically or realistically. A Star Destroyer, Battlestar or any Stargate ship would be examples of fantastical designs. Loaded with pointless greebles. Think about all that structure on a Star Destroyer, if you attempted to justify the design as a realistic vessel given future technology that may or may not be developed you would have to have a function for all 10 million greebles...A bit overwhelming isn't it. Beautifully designed vessels need not be greebled to death. Federation starships for example..Especially the Galaxy and Enterprise Class ( I refuse to refer to it as the simplistic Connie Refit ). Almost zero greebles (the ones that are there have a designated function) and they are two of the most elegant and beautiful designs in sci-fi history.

    Think about what type of equipment might actually be exposed on the hull of a ship. Then create a greeble for it, then place it in a position that might make sense. Do this and you will find that few systems would need to be exposed on a hull vs. protected beneath it. And you end up with a craft that has just the right amount of greebles to add detail, a good backstory explanation for those greebles adds realism then you wind up with an elegant design vs. one that would exist only in a Universe of pure fantasy.

    Yes, I'm trying to recruit you..I don't want the "greebly modeler club" to get their talons into you when you're young and impressionable...Put thought and function into your design. Don't just make a shapes because it looks cool, but because it makes sense. When you design like that you pull ahead of the pack. And even a novice model can end up being an extremely talented design.

    Can understand and to some extent agree with you, but at this point am more comfortable with basic shapes. Have made some progress with Sub-d, but still having difficulty if i use any stenciling or booleans on the geometry. Until i can get the forms to flow correctly will have to content myself with blocky as opposed to sleek.
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    That's not what I meant...Blocky ships can be done with as much realism and thought as sleek organic ships. That is merely a style choice. I'm talking about form following function vs. form following nothing at all but pointless detail. . You can design a sleek looking organic ship and have it still turn out to be fantastical such as the Andromeda from the show of the same name, or the Whitestar calss ships from B5. Both examples were elegant and visually beautiful, but both were well beyond the unrealistic and failed miserably at suspension of disbelief. You can make a blocky ship or a sleek organic ship, but think about the layout. Imagine yourself as a starship designer/engineer in the far future. Design that way vs. designing for pure aesthetics. Starships aren't still lifes, they are not sunsets, they're not people, they are not the roof of the Sistine Chapel...Though any starship design is art, it is also technology. Technology is engineered first, designed second.

    The truly amazing artists are the ones that can create a unique and even, yes, fantastical look to a ship, but still be able to explain the reason for every shape and justify the form. The cool thing about scifi is that you are not limited to existing technology. You can invent your own technobabble to explain anything you want about a ship's design. Say you want a ship to look like a giant washing machine, well you can invent a technobabble reason for that to be the case. A humorous example but you see my point? There are limitations to how a ship can be designed before it becomes solely a work of art, vs something that could actually exist if it's technology were invented.

    For example, you can design a future car to be as weird, odd or exotic as you like, but in the end, it's still gotta have four wheels and an engine. And it's overall form must still render its function towards its intended use.

    Again, this is only one way of looking at it. It's a design philosophy. You can do as fantastical of a design or realistic as you like, in the end they are both art. But prioritizing function over form nearly always results in a much more "balanced" and beautiful design.
  • JennyJenny2 Posts: 0Member
    Boy, there's a Douglas Adams concept if I've ever heard one! "The washing machine hurtled silently through the darkness of space...."
  • cavebearcavebear179 Posts: 623Member
    robert305,

    Looking good. I see the weird shadow but can't help there as I have never used Modo before. You have a great wife for supporting your hobby too!

    Walkyrje, you mean like this:

    SSTIDE_001.jpg

    SSTIDE_002.jpg

    SSTIDE_003.png

    SSTIDE_004.png
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Was able to get a bit more done, reworked all the plating to make it more uniform and larger. Previously looked like a random mess.. think this looks a bit more uniform and realistic. got a little bit done but need to figure out how to use "bump?" so that i don't have to model out each and every grate/grill/mesh.
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    Is this an original universe design, or something from BSG? You have a good start, though I'd loose the tower thingy on top. It's out of place and breaks the flow of the rest of the ship. But if you have your heart set on keeping it I'd suggest doing away with the twin supports and going with a single structure tower. Also you would do well to slant the tower back aft. That would sleek up the ship quite a bit.

    CBear your killin me...

    Join us on the Voyages of the SS Tide, using state of the art steam injection technology and electromagnetic centrifugal drive to rid the Universe of vile Space Dust ONCE and FOR ALL!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Original design. I thought would be easier to learn if i wasn't constrained to following someone else's vision. Have already encountered things I'd like to do but lack the knowledge on how to accomplish at the moment. Lot of this is just trial and error. Figure this is about 7 or 8 hours and know that this will go along much faster in the future. As for the tower, that was experimentation with the bridge command, and may or may not keep it. Working my way backwards from the front.

    On a side note, are details that are more then likely to small to see at the distance i wish to do final render worth including?

    hatchdetail.jpg




    Above section is not really even visable when looking at whole ship.. is hatch area above right exhaust grill.

    render4.jpg
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    That depends on your ultimate goal for the model. Do you want to be able to do still renders close up on certain sections? Something like that is really up to the artist. I tend to over detail my models with small detail that cannot be identified unless its a close up shot, but that's just my OCD taking over , LOL
  • cavebearcavebear179 Posts: 623Member
    That depends on your ultimate goal for the model. Do you want to be able to do still renders close up on certain sections? Something like that is really up to the artist. I tend to over detail my models with small detail that cannot be identified unless its a close up shot, but that's just my OCD taking over , LOL

    In your case the OCD is worth it. I love the small well thought out details you always include. I seem to keep adding detail that no one is going to see unless I do a very close render. But I think it is part of the fun I get out of creating a model.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Added a bit more today, namely some defensive 50mm gun emplacements.



    gunso.jpg

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Help! Am trying to learn a bit on sub - d's so decided to redo my guns as sub-d. Problem is that i'm getting some weird artifacts and am unable to determine what i need to do to get rid of them. Any help is greatly appreciated!


    gunk.jpg
  • Capt DaveCapt Dave0 Posts: 0Member
    cavebear wrote: »
    Walkyrje wrote: »
    Boy, there's a Douglas Adams concept if I've ever heard one! "The washing machine hurtled silently through the darkness of space...."
    Walkyrje, you mean like this:

    SSTIDE_001.jpg
    ROTFLMAO! SS Tide!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    Finally finished gun... learned alot in regards to sub-d's and what is/is not possible. Think it would of been easier if i had just done polys for it, but didn't want to give up.




    gunc.jpg
  • hazendhazend171 Posts: 0Member
    This looks great robert.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    @hazend : Thanks!

    Redoing the greebling in the open area next to the gun... trying to make it look a bit more logical.


    greebling.jpg
  • cavebearcavebear179 Posts: 623Member
    The gun looks pretty good. I would add more support for the ladder on the gun as obviously it won't be going all the way down to the deck as it is attached to a swivelling gun. I would get rid of the windows behind the gun too. Otherwise, looks good :thumb:
    Oh, just had a thought: to improve range of motion for the gun you could dish out the bulkhead behind it to allow the gun to swivel around even more giving it a larger arc of fire.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]2 Posts: 3Member
    @cavebear: Thanks for the feedback. Tried to sorta open the guns up a bit, modifing a design is a tad bit harder once geometry is built in. Took me a while to figure out how to get rid of the windows. Figure to make an airlock there and a way for personel to actually come out and perform maintenence on them.

    Here's what i have so far:

    revisedgunarea.jpg
  • JennyJenny2 Posts: 0Member
    I rather like that airlock... very utilitarian. :cool:
  • cavebearcavebear179 Posts: 623Member
    Now that is more like it! The guns now have room to move, better arc's of fire and with the addition of a maintenance airlock, will seem far more real to the viewer :thumb: You could even add (up against the bulkhead, close to where your air lock will be) a tool shed to service the guns. This would be where all required tools would be stored so that your maintenance team doesn't have to go back and forth through the airlock for special tools they discover may be needed to repair the gun system. All it would have to be is a sliding panel that could be slid out of the way to access the tools.

    Just a thought :)
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