Archive for the ‘pet projects’ Category

I started the work on the low polygon model but had to scrap it because… it got confusing… In the meantime here are a few weathering tests, the idea was that the metal would be slightly burnished at the edges.

I would say it doesn’t look as horrible as I thought it would 🙂

I realized that I was going to need a lot more training to make model proper welds. I took last day to try various methods and these are what I came up with so far:

1. I like the one joining the two spheres the most, mainly because it’s concave and has circle “kind of circular” weld marks (or it could be a big glob of bondo…).
2. The tube weld is probably more realistic in term of the amount of material it’s actually using, it’s a little too straight but it should do the job too.
3. The straight weld… kind of sucks, but it’s the one I will use the most I’m afraid, I tried to make it slightly concave too, but the circular weld marks are not very convincing. (Also way too much material obviously)

I did more cleanup on the hole but I think I’ll have to redo it again, it’s just not working out really. I made a smaller padlock, which I’m happy with, and I’ve cut a notch in the flange to accommodate the smaller padlock. I also started working on the hinge/ring combo (not much really yet) and made a shroud and pin system for using more normal padlocks. I still need to work on my welds.

While i do like the musical genre in general, this has nothing to do with electric guitar solos and long hairs:)

I started working on a new set of cuffs with more of a “solid” dungeon vibe to it. I’m going for a heavy metal look. Possibly steel or aluminum? I haven’t decided yet. The big straight shackle padlock is there for size reference, but I might use it too.

Actually I’m starting to wonder if this lock isn’t a little big, maybe i got all my proportions wrong 😀

I’ve been stuck the 3 past days on getting the shoelaces right, shaping them, making a proper bow and simplifying them. I’m almost done with the low polygon model. All I need to do is to lay everything properly on the different texture maps I’m planning to use and I can start texturing.

I’m reusing the hooks that where initially made for the pony boots, but I need to make smaller eyelets, not a problem thankfully. Lacing as usual is a royal pain to make and I’m leaving the knotting for tomorrow (if I do not just steal the knot of the pony boots). As it turns out the stitches I’ve baked into the test texture are too close to the hooks, so I’ll have to redo that, not a big deal.

I think that I did a pretty good job so far, the low polygon model is only 1950 triangles. Considering that the high polygon model was 11952, it’s not bad at all. I could probably go further down but Shigeko is going to kill me if I do. I need to the final UVWmapping but there is no hurry at the moment, whatever I have now is good enough to work with.

Next step: Adding all the hooks, eyes and lace it all up properly.

I’d like to add that bothering to make a low polygon model is not just “nice” it’s what make the difference between a good and a lazy modeler.

The high-resolution model is pretty much done, Unwrapping, stitches and I also have a hidden spine. I might add a couple of extra thing things later, but now it’s time to focus on the low polygon version.