Having really liked every Lego model ever done and put up here, I thought I'd do one too. This one is the 8880 set supercar, something I wish I had a real version of because it is just an incredible classic.
Depth of Field filters eh?... I shall go look for that button and start using them too...
I was going to correct your labelling, but then I realised all those 8s were the model number. I was going to show you the technic lego car we had... which was older than that.. by quite some time...
We had 8860... I think my brother got 8865 some years later but... yeah... how times have changed... *sigh*
Great modelling so far dude. Where will the heavy bolters go?
Wow. This is fantastic work. Everything is to spec (except there are no LEGO labels on the studs . . .;)) and it all has a realistic plastic feel to it!
BTW, is that a model of the Scorpion fighter from Insurrection you posted?
The LEGO logo could be done with a bump/normal map... providing I set up the UV map properly, it's something I haven't tested yet! But it should work in theory.
Yes, most of the edges are bevelled, which is why this stands at just shy of 200,000 polygons with hardly a quarter of the model made, rather than a more manageable amount. The studs probably don't help that, either as they're about 18 segments each, with bevelling, and I didn't bother deleting the ones that are hidden. I could run an optimisation to remove the excess polygons and see what I can get away with.
I'll also try to switch the bump map for a normal map with the LEGO logo as they tend to produce a much better displacement and stronger shadows, so it'll be a better result up close.
Anyway, not much in the way of modelling progress but I have split up the gears so they can be animated. There could be a video soon, just working out how long it would take to render out.
Lego is actually excellent for 3D-modeling... right sizes, and thick enough to avoid some of the distortions that come from faces that are close to each other...
We remember years ago that we thought Lego should make a computer game-like constructor... Pretty much a game based around building things... Where the various versions and addons might add new pieces to build with... Ahh... the good old times...
Page by page of the instruction manual, slowly building up the layers of gears in there. Am now on step 22 of 36, but there are a lot of side bits to assemble such as the engine and steering column that means I'm probably closer to step 22 of 56. I'm not far off doing the engine so it will look like actual progress soon enough.
That was my favourite set as well ! I think it was because of the Knight Rider and other tv shows with supercars
Your model looks absolutely stunning so far - it could be easily mistaken for the real thing.
And, because I'm a nerd, an anaglyph! So break out the old red/blues. This is a "simulated" one, which I assume is something to do with distorting the original image using the depth map that's held in the render buffer, rather than rendering twice and compositing. It's subtle, but the effect is pretty neat for what it is.
Okay, this one looks massively blurry in 2D but seriously, a pair of red/blues makes it look really nice!
it would be cool if you could rig it so all the cogs and moving bits worked
That's in progress. About half of the cranks and gears are already separate and animated, I just need to break up the rest. Since I've finished the last of the suspension pieces I should be able to break that up and animate it too. The engine would be a little trickier because it's rotary motion to linear motion in the pistons but I think I can do it, probably a case of creative kinematics and null objects to get it to work..
I don't know if you know about this or not, but www.ldraw.org has all of this done for you.
I haven't been there in years, but about 10-12 years ago I contributed quite a few parts to their parts list, not to mention I served a stint on the parts correction and selection comittees, although not "officially".
Some of the "parts" I created for use myself was an actual 3D "LEGO" top for the studs (using them would make rendering take FOREVER, but they looked really nice in closeup), and a set of actuation/pivot/collision point inserts for animations.
I also authored and submitted the shifter plate, shifter handle and several other pieces unique to the 8880 supercar...
If you think modelling with something like AutoCAD is a pain in the ass, try modelling with a program that only does point-to-point and 3 or 4 point faces and 4 decimal places for precision with no type of overlap or intersection detection and uses text files to save data...
... oh, and by the way it is DOS based and the largest GOOD screen resolution you can get on it is 800x600, or you could go 1024x768 if your eyes could handle it and you're ok with blinding headaches... :P
I think I still have a backup of the website I used to do parts authoring and creating TLG (short for "The LEGO Group" - AFOL speak for actual LEGO model builds) and MOC ("My Own Creation" - AFOL speak for "fan" created model builds)...
I also modeled an 8880 as well as an 8448 - the "Super Street Sensation", and a friend of mine has this website in case you want some overhaul modifications for your supercars:
Plus there are some tools on the LDraw.org website to output to programs like POV for direct rendering of LDraw models (see below).
Here is the Explorien Starship (lego 6982) that I did back in... wow... 1998:
... as well as a few other renderings:
Believe it or not but the actual placement of the parts and building of the models were done with the original LDraw program, which is a dos-based CAD type of program. This program was written YEARS before the "Lego Creator" program was a sparkle in some programmer's eye. Please go to the www.LDraw.org website and read about it and it's author.
Posts
Looking forward to seeing how this goes
You know, I don't know why I didn't start using DoF filters sooner.
I was going to correct your labelling, but then I realised all those 8s were the model number. I was going to show you the technic lego car we had... which was older than that.. by quite some time...
We had 8860... I think my brother got 8865 some years later but... yeah... how times have changed... *sigh*
Great modelling so far dude. Where will the heavy bolters go?
Bye
Well, I was inspired to try some Lego by this image:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3607124654_95911dca9e.jpg
BTW, is that a model of the Scorpion fighter from Insurrection you posted?
I'll turn down the over-exposure and depth blur later.
I'll also try to switch the bump map for a normal map with the LEGO logo as they tend to produce a much better displacement and stronger shadows, so it'll be a better result up close.
looks great!
Anyway, not much in the way of modelling progress but I have split up the gears so they can be animated. There could be a video soon, just working out how long it would take to render out.
Lego is actually excellent for 3D-modeling... right sizes, and thick enough to avoid some of the distortions that come from faces that are close to each other...
We remember years ago that we thought Lego should make a computer game-like constructor... Pretty much a game based around building things... Where the various versions and addons might add new pieces to build with... Ahh... the good old times...
There's also LDraw and a few other programs out there dedicated to Lego building, although in this case I'm just doing it the hard way!
So, first test animation. A little ropey, but it's first time I've used DoF in animation and I cut the AA passes down for a little extra speed.
lego creator is a bit too simple... the idea we had back then was much, much more complex (and detailed)... but matters little...
Your model looks absolutely stunning so far - it could be easily mistaken for the real thing.
Okay, this one looks massively blurry in 2D but seriously, a pair of red/blues makes it look really nice!
That's in progress. About half of the cranks and gears are already separate and animated, I just need to break up the rest. Since I've finished the last of the suspension pieces I should be able to break that up and animate it too. The engine would be a little trickier because it's rotary motion to linear motion in the pistons but I think I can do it, probably a case of creative kinematics and null objects to get it to work..
I haven't been there in years, but about 10-12 years ago I contributed quite a few parts to their parts list, not to mention I served a stint on the parts correction and selection comittees, although not "officially".
Some of the "parts" I created for use myself was an actual 3D "LEGO" top for the studs (using them would make rendering take FOREVER, but they looked really nice in closeup), and a set of actuation/pivot/collision point inserts for animations.
I also authored and submitted the shifter plate, shifter handle and several other pieces unique to the 8880 supercar...
If you think modelling with something like AutoCAD is a pain in the ass, try modelling with a program that only does point-to-point and 3 or 4 point faces and 4 decimal places for precision with no type of overlap or intersection detection and uses text files to save data...
... oh, and by the way it is DOS based and the largest GOOD screen resolution you can get on it is 800x600, or you could go 1024x768 if your eyes could handle it and you're ok with blinding headaches... :P
I think I still have a backup of the website I used to do parts authoring and creating TLG (short for "The LEGO Group" - AFOL speak for actual LEGO model builds) and MOC ("My Own Creation" - AFOL speak for "fan" created model builds)...
I also modeled an 8880 as well as an 8448 - the "Super Street Sensation", and a friend of mine has this website in case you want some overhaul modifications for your supercars:
http://onyx.malagraphixia.com/Sehr_Schnell/
Plus there are some tools on the LDraw.org website to output to programs like POV for direct rendering of LDraw models (see below).
Here is the Explorien Starship (lego 6982) that I did back in... wow... 1998:
... as well as a few other renderings:
Believe it or not but the actual placement of the parts and building of the models were done with the original LDraw program, which is a dos-based CAD type of program. This program was written YEARS before the "Lego Creator" program was a sparkle in some programmer's eye. Please go to the www.LDraw.org website and read about it and it's author.