Vehicle Modelling

This week for my personal project I worked on an old Soviet truck. This project in particular taught me a great deal about different modelling techniques I had no idea about. Some examples are the bumps on top of the covering, basic surface detail modelling, tires, and grouping objects together to manage large numbers easier.

Straight away, my biggest mistake was not importing a blueprint and just eyeing the proportions on the model. Especially when modelling something that already exists, and something as precise as a vehicle, I should have imported a reference. With my next project, I will be sure to do this first thing before modelling at all. 

I did some basic modelling by utilizing the basic tools. Halfway through the project I realised that I had made another mistake: I had added too many polygons from the start, instead of connecting edges as I needed to. This made my poly count unreasonably high. I noted this and proceeded with my work. 

After watching multiple tutorials, I settled on a simple way of modelling the tires. I selected the one of the outside edges, and moved it downwards, creating the shape seen above. I believe this is close enough to the original.

I added a texture for the ground. Overall, this project was my most ambitious yet, and taught me a large number of things. Vehicle modelling has a lot of sides to it that I would like to explore, and with every project I am finding new challenges to face.

UV Mapping and Textures - Game Production Week 3

 

This week I worked on UV mapping. I learned different ways to optimize the process, and to avoid wasting texture space while keeping quality on the highest. The only trouble I had was with  unwrapping round objects, which I overcame by thinking of the 3d objects as real objects I had to unwrap. 

I redid my chest model from last week to fix some of the bad topology. 

For my unwrapping, I utilized the isolate selection tool to make it easier to see. I proceeded with selecting faces and peeling them. I stopped to check my work frequently as I had trouble with this last time.

With my model unwrapped, I rescaled and moved the islands around to the most optimal positions. I exported the file, and imported it into photoshop to do some basic texture work to check if there were any problems with the topology. 

I noticed some anomalies, such as the handles and the feet being unwrapped incorectly. I decided to work on those next. My UV map needs to be completed before I begin any actual painting, and so I will be working on this, as well as the texture next week. 

Texture Painting - Digital Art Practice Week 3

 

This week I learned the basics of texture painting and the process that goes into generating ideas for the design. I never used to do reference boards such these before, but I now see the value in using one.

For my reference board, I focused on getting only relevant references. I picked out specific parts of each reference I wanted to use and explained my processes.

I did some sample texture studies from the photographs to get a feel on the kinds of colors I would expect to use. 

 I did a basic texture paint to figure out the process. I realised here that I would need to adjust my workflow, to include more layers, as well as better selections. My UV map is also not optimal, and I will produce a better one next week.

I exported the map to 3dsmax to see how it would look like, and was satisfied with the result. 

Three-Point Perspective- Traditional Art Practice Week 3

 

This week I worked on three-point perspective. The whole project turned out to be my biggest struggle so far. I faced multiple challenges at the same time, and wasn't ready for all of them at once. Still, I believe this was a good learning moment, as I now know to focus on more landscape drawing. I also still struggle with finishing drawings in general, so I will focus on that as well.

These are some of my sketches. I iterated on the design starting from the top right until finally deciding on the lower left for my finished piece.

The composition in this first sketch was off, as I centered the building right in the middle. I also made a mistake by making both buildings on the sides the same height, even though the right one is significantly lower in real life. 

I decided this design to be my final one, as it accomplished most of what I wanted to get across. 

For my final drawing I worked mostly on location, which was new to me and caused the quality to not be as high as it could be. I did further fixes afterwards from reference. 

I later did another drawing on campus to make improvements. This time I had a better composition, and took special care to keep my lines clean.  I first started with a couple more sketches to figure out a better composition. After the two sketches below, I decided to go with a wider angle seen in the top sketch.

This time I used a variety of pencils, including a mechanical pencil to make sharper lines. Using a mechanical pencil also kept me from going into shading too early. I added some line weight to identify closer parts of the object, as well as to show overlaps.

I added some basic shading to suggest the shape and form of the objects in the scene. 

Overall, this project has taught me the importance of knowing how to finish my work, instead of being stuck in a constant cycle of re-iteration and sketching. I wouldn't say I am confident in doing this just yet, but now that I understand the importance, improvement will surely come through perseverance.

I will be sure to keep in mind the importance of quality over quantity from here on.

Personal Project, AK 47 Model

 For my personal project, I decided to model the AK 47 rifle. It is a subject that I have knowledge about, and it is easy to find blueprints. The modelling aside, this project introduced me to multiple fundamental concepts that I see myself using a lot.

I was dissapointed that Max has no option to import images directly. I created a plane and then added a bitmap, and plugged my reference into the diffuse color. This allowed me to import my reference that I would be using for the model.

The fundamental process of stabilizing my view and modelling by extending and scaling one primitive object really helped me stay focused. I decided to improve this workflow in my later projects as this process really suits my way of thinking. 

This little personal project was a really good chance for me to learn multiple good techniques that I will be using a lot in the future. I struggled mostly with rounding my model, specifically the stock and the pistol grip, for which I resorted to using the bevel tool. 

Two Point Perspective Practice- Traditional Art Practice Week 2

This week I worked mainly on two-point perspective still life. I had a lot of trouble at first, and I would like to include the two drawings I did in class. I completely misunderstood the approach at first, as most of my horizontal lines were parallel, the proportions were off, and I wasted all my time on shading. 

After receiving feedback, I wrote it down and later did more research on my shortcomings here. 

I also corrected my second drawing. Another issue was that my vertical lines weren't straight enough for a two point perspective drawing, and my lines in general were messy. This is my habit from doing gesture drawing and sketching a lot. I concentrated on improving this aspect specifically in my later drawings.

After observing the composition,  I created a thumbnail and then sketched the general shapes. In order to keep the proportions in check, I used the technique of measuring objects using the other objects in the scene already instead of eyeballing it. I also moved the objects closer together to have a better read.

This drawing ended up being much better than the ones I made during the practical session, but it still had a lot of things it was missing. I wasn't satisified with the general look especially.

For my last drawing, I took special care to consider the vanishing points, and not to waste time on shading. Instead, I used ghosting and erasing to get better lines. I used line weight more frequently here to imply which objects are closer to the viewer. I made sure to have the higher contrast areas be closer  as well. Overall, I am proud of this drawing considering what I had made earlier this week, although I still have much to learn.

Treasure Chest Modelling - 3D Game Production Week 2

 This week I modelled the trasure chest as part of our first project. I faced new challenges in this project, mostly related to verteces and topology errors caused by my workflow. I am not used to the process of modelling this way, as I usually work by attaching separate objects together instead. This excersize was useful as it taught me to be careful and to check my model often. I also started using the Object Selection mode after seeing how much it sped up my work.

I first started with the primitive form. From my notes last week, I also remembered to name my objects this time to keep things organized. I shaped the chest a little using the shape tool.

I faced most of my issues regarding topology as I modelled the lid. Double vertices became a problem here, and I made sure to be more careful after this.

I added a little surface inside to use later when I learn texturing. This will become the treasure part of the treasure chest. I also added the handles and hinges. Splines seem to open up many opportnities, which I am very excited to explore later on. In objects such as pipes or hoses, or even organic things of a similar nature, I believe that the spline will be a useful tool. I specifically struggled with making objects of that shape last week, and now a solution has appeared.

Digital Art Practice Week 2

 

This week I focused on adapting the techniqes I learned last week into my workflow, and in refining them. I tried shading different kinds of objects using my knowledge.

My technique needs refining, and I need more practice, specifically from references and observation in general. In order to achieve my goals with digital painting, practising values is also an integral part of the process, therefore by doing these kinds of studies, I am improving in multiple areas at the same time.

Above are some of the thumbnails I made during the practical session. I mainly used a combination of the lasso tool and the default soft air brush to create simple gradients to suggest turning surfaces or distance change in one plane. I received feedback on these. The biggest issue seemed to be my lack of layer usage, as well my values not being diverse enough. I concentrated on these points when doing work later in the week.

I first created separate layers and named them appropriately. I also used layer masks to keep everything in order. This had the additional effect of me not having to worry about damaging other parts of the painting with my lasso selections, which was a very welcome change for my workflow.

I used the same techniqes from before, paired with my new knowledge of layer masks and layers in general to create the thumbnails above. Looking at it now, I can definitely see an improvement compared to last week's work. As I continue with making thumbnails such as these, I would like to branch out into other subjects such as interiors or close up compositions as well. 

Personal Modelling Project 1

 I decided to work on a military vehicle in order to learn more about the software. On top of being my area of interest, I also have previous experience working in Blender on such models, such as the model below I made last February. 

I used the M1296 APC as a base, although I did not model this vehicle directly as I do not have the skills for yet it. Nevertheless, I hope to be able to model vehicles such as this one with far better quality that seen below in the future. 

I started with a base rectangle, which I developed into a form more suited to the core of an APC. I added some sufrace details using the extrude and bevel tools. The low poly count limited me but it also allowed me to make progress on the model instead of wasting time on details.

I modelled the turret. At this point I started taking a lot of liberties and stopped looking at the reference, as I had only intended to use it up to this point anyways.

I modelled a wheel which I would later copy and insert on both sides of the vehicle. I also added little details like the bolts and the slight curvature of the wheel.

I added a simple set of coils using the provided tools to create a basic suspension for the wheels to make the model more presentable.

Finally I added all the wheels and suspension together and made a floodlight which I copied a couple of times.

Overall, this project made me more aware of my shortcomings. I struggled with bad topology, especially where I curved the surface. This ended up causing me trouble later as well, as I had to spend a lot of time on trying to bridge open edges. However, I learned a lot from this little project, and would like to work on further excersizes such as this one. I do feel like the lack of texturing is holding the model back a lot, but it is important not to rush into everything at once. I will continue to just make models using a simpler process for now.

References: 

The AK47 was created by me, here is the ArtStation link:  https://www.artstation.com/artwork/R3OR5e

The M1296 Photo is taken from http://www.military-today.com/apc/m1296_dragoon.htm