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I love starships. Look through this thread... I wanna fly, man... Fly!!! :ahhh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8_H1NqA_6Fk
Thank you much, sir! Very fine work.
One of the things I seem to obsess over is non-planar polys. Hex is rife with them after a sub-d. Carrara is good about
non-planar but how much before it spits them out I don't know.
Do you think it's much of a consideration in modeling?
Great job, dude!
Another thing I'm trying to work on is smooth graceful turns when animated in Carrara. I know it can be done. I've seen it. Just can't do it.
Thanks, Man!
Someone who saw that told me how - but I've never used the graph editor, so I don't remember. I can do better... I'll have to work on it! :)
Love AntFarms ride though. Nothing like a little wind in the face!
Great job, dude!
Another thing I'm trying to work on is smooth graceful turns when animated in Carrara. I know it can be done. I've seen it. Just can't do it.
Try motion paths, or off-set the hotpoint and rotate around that. Whatever method you use, try using the bezier tweeners and adjust the ease in and out to suit. Watch some good sci-fi films. You'll notice there are plenty of cuts and cut-aways to break up the action and hide weak spots. The biggest mistake people using 3D to animate make, is thinking they need a huge, long, unedited sequence. Not many people know when that type of shot is appropriate, and fewer still know how to make it work.
This video I made a few years ago testing animating with a motion path, uses multiple cameras and angles to follow the craft. It's one motion path, but I used multiple angles to try and keep it interesting, and to provide enough footage to allow me to edit around rough spots in my animation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBX28ZsaVUg&feature=share&list=UU6wB1FKPN4DWpuoVsQY2o8Q
Dartan you need to use some tweening on your movements Maybe ease in and out
One thing i have never understood about Craft in the movies that are for traveling through only space is that they are streamlined! I have no idea why. Any craft going through a perfect vacuum would not have to be streamlined like a jet fighter.....
When I first saw the BORG episodes on Star Trek... That modeler got it! ONE BIG CUBE or a sphere like the death star would be perfect...
NOW go watch the movie ALIENS the second one. The main ship was a little too streamline BUT the DROP ship which would enter the atmosphere was more streamlined. That makes sense...
And I have no idea WHY that drop ship always reminded me of an old Huey Vietnam ear Helicopter.
You know you have all inspired me!~ I think a Main ship with drop ships will be my next project. Teasing the local press and cops is getting boring.
HUMM Maybe a few anonymous videos sent to the paper of predator drones flying over my town are in order as well
Try motion paths, or off-set the hotpoint and rotate around that. Whatever method you use, try using the bezier tweeners and adjust the ease in and out to suit. Watch some good sci-fi films. You'll notice there are plenty of cuts and cut-aways to break up the action and hide weak spots. The biggest mistake people using 3D to animate make, is thinking they need a huge, long, unedited sequence. Not many people know when that type of shot is appropriate, and fewer still know how to make it work.
This video I made a few years ago testing animating with a motion path, uses multiple cameras and angles to follow the craft. It's one motion path, but I used multiple angles to try and keep it interesting, and to provide enough footage to allow me to edit around rough spots in my animation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBX28ZsaVUg&feature=share&list=UU6wB1FKPN4DWpuoVsQY2o8Q
And that was the vid I saw with the graceful turns. :) I know about motion paths and the tweeners. Clearly, I missed something. A ton by the look of it. I'll give it another whack.
Action sequences beg for quick cuts. Our eyes need the constant stimulation to tell the brain that danger is happening. I totally agree that it's first nature to hold that shot until we make sure everything we painstakingly rendered hit the screen. I have a lot of respect for editors who do their job well because assembling a sequence 3-4 seconds at a time is really hard.
When I do a live action shot, I make the actors shoot the scene several times so I can reposition the camera. I only have one camera so I have to make them do all the work. I haven't played yet with Adobe Premiere's multi cam editor but, I think it's going to make assembling those types of shots easier. You sync the shots with a beginning point, then it sets the angles up like a Brady Bunch group on the left, then the main screen on the right. Then using your mouse you just click on the shots you want while it's playing and it assembles the edit. May have been around for years but it's new and kickass to me, so I'm excited.
If I'm reading right, you are able to use multiple cameras in Carrara, then render out separate shots? That makes a lot of sense - I'm going to try that. It would really give a chance to be exact in the framing where you get unlimited opportunities to get the shot you want. I had forgotten that I can use multiple cameras. Again, thanks for the inspiration! This whole thread has got me thinking that maybe it's possible for me to pull this off.
Yes... this is why I'm all embarrassed! I make new camera in scenes very often. Very often. Every saved scene that I make includes Film Cam 1, Film Cam 2, Setup Loud Dome Cam, Outer Scene Setup Cam, etc., and then every character that I save has at least a face shot and full body shot cam with their names in the camera names attached to their group (I make a whole group for each character, that includes highlight lighting rigs, cameras, etc., anything that I want saved with each individual character) so that they always show up on set prepared for work. It's faster for me to delete what I don't want than to build it every time I need it! lol
HI All :)
Dartanbeck :)
Ditto on the use of tweeners and motion paths etc,. also the graph editor can help you adjust things more precisely, ,.. but it's still a nice fly sequence.
Layne :) I've done a couple of written, "basic" tutorials / guides, but not anything on video like Cripeman etc.. maybe that's an idea for the future,
Some tutorials can be informative, fun, and inspirational, (videocopilot) ...but some can be like a cake recipe, where you follow specific instructions to get a specific end result,.. which is possibly the reason that Vertex modelling tut's are scarce, and tend to provide specific modelling examples.
it's like taking a sculpting class and only learning how to make a bowl,. or a cup,. it's designed to give you some basic guidelines to modelling but not to restrict your creativity
making anything should follow some basic guidelines,. but should be free-form, rather than a series of steps.
In simple terms, I'd start with a box,. or a shape outline, like a poly-line or rectangle,. then extrude that to create a rough 3D shape, then it's a process of refining that basic shape,. knowing that you can add more definition, or take away as you like.
Use Smooth (like a preview switch) to see the model as a much smoother shape, then you can switch back, to adjust the basic shape as needed.
you can also make a Vertex model, which is made of multiple parts, (poly-meshes), so,.. for example,. the main ship hull could be one model,. then the engine could be a separate model, which could be duplicated and positioned on the ship hull.
so, don't think that you need to model your ship as a single shape,.
DaRkWyNdE :)
It's not something I consider much,. but I suppose it would depend on the modeller you're using and how that works for you,. if it's generating unwanted errors,. then it could be a program, or work-flow issue, I'm not sure. but your models look good to me :)
I use Carrara's Vertex modeller,.. because I'm lazy, and it's there inside carrara. :)
It can be quirky, and does need some TLC to bring it up to where it should be,. but it works well enough and it's easy to work with.
but it also handles things which other programs have issues with.
I suppose it also depends on your work-flow,.... if your exporting and importing between different apps, and what format's etc...
then issues like non planar poly's become more important.
Andy :)
Blondie9999 has some really good pdf tutorials that are sought after by many professional published artists, as you can see by the "quotes" in the bottom of the product descriptions. Although "Basic Rigging" and "Advanced Rigging" sounds more like rigging than modeling, they are so incredibly similar in the topic, that she ends up teaching many great modeling procedures as she goes. I haven't purchased them yet, but everyone(that I know) who buys them are really glad that they did.
Thanks Dartanbeck. This project has no timeline, which is good. It has so many layers which keeps it interesting. I mean, outside the 3D stuff, my son and I are composing the orchestral scores, I'm writing the book series that proceeds and encompasses the movie, we're recording sound effects. I'm getting excited about the Adobe stuff because I think it's going to make our little efforts in filmmaking look better than it should. I'm scouting locations for certain shots with the mindset of using the pieces I want, then using After Effects to cut out or replace what I don't want. Integrating that with digital art is ultimately what I'd like to become good with. I'm excited about the film grading/color correction powerhouse in Adobe Speedgrade. I think the audio tools in Audition are going to make assembling the hundreds of sound clips, music and dialogue a lot cleaner. I have to integrate my characters and locations with digital worlds (forest, city-scape, snow). I need to animate ships flying, exploding, battling. And I have to develop a believable monster and animate it with live action - it's a reptilian/dinosaur/warrior type creature (code name: Baby). I don't know how I'm going to do some of this stuff but, I gain more knowledge each day of trying. It's a lot of work but DAMN it's a lot of fun.
Also.... :)
on the multiple camera's thing,...
You can save and load camera positions (in the Camera menu),. so, you can save a bunch of nice camera angles,. then set any camera to use those positions, at any point in the animation.,.
it's a nice way to quickly create a couple of key Camera positions, then set the camera to each position at a different point in time,. and it'll animate between those positions in time.
or,.. user several camera's,.. starting at the same point,. but with different mid points, and perhaps different ending positions.
You can also parent Camera's to a moving object,..(so that it travels along with the object) and still have the ability to animate the camera's motion (around that object)
Like I said... Carrara TV network programming is what we should do. Have the screen fade from black onto Jeffrey Felt's sillouette with his guitar... standing on a stage in front of a huge, studio audience.
JF: "This is a show about Carrara"
and then he cranks into a guitar solo with full band accompaniment! During that instrumental, I'll use my Old Superman Episodic Announcer voice:
"It's Carrara 3d TV! Starring, < pause announcement for more tween tunes > 3D AGE, Phil Wilkes, Mike Moir, < pause announcement for more tween tunes > etc.,"
Oh the deeply odd, yet strangely endearing, mind of Dartanbeck!
Hey, I know that I'd watch that show...way back in the day, Microsoft did "VBTV" to feature Visual Basic .NET. They only did about 5 episodes but it was really entertaining for newbie programmers.
I was thinking it could be more like Dr. Sheldon Cooper, (fun with Flags) :)
...Bazinga ... :)
A question mark appears above the head of Dartanbeck. I don't think he's ever heard of that stuff before.
Realistic looking space craft got mentioned and the Atomic Rockets site has extensive information on space craft and related thing like uniforms, equipment that is worth checking out for anyone seriously interesting in designing a ship. Also, too , if you just want to look at some cool pictures. ;)
You also get to see lots of great images from book covers, movies, etc. showing out how things were done in them and comments on what is accurate and what isn't in regards to science.
Make sure you click the Show Topic button and view the site's topic pages in order. The button is in the upper right corner.
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/
Cripes Jay, do you ever run shy on resources? Thanks for this most excellent site link!
Andy made a reference to the show, The Big Bang Theory. It's hilarious. One of the few shows I watch. It celebrates and pokes fun at geek culture.
Whoa... cool show, indeed. I've only seen a couple, if even that. I remember a time machine episode. I love geekdom. Especially the way those guys (and her) make fun of it so well. I am one of the biggest geekies that I know! lol And I love being picked on about it. I do realize how silly I am most of the time. Can't help it. It's just too fun - and a refreshing way to live, for me!
Well,. I'm glad I'm not the only one watching Big Bang,.. :) ...I felt like a real geek there...making references that nobody understood :)
Anyway,. .back to ship building. here's a quick and messy ship, made as one vertex model, but built using several different parts (Poly-meshes) in the vertex modeller.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7907045/Lifter_craft.car
feel free to break it, or rip it apart. ... you can use Edit / Split object to separate the parts in the assembly room., or copy paste in the vertex modeller.
No wing's on this one, just four massive engines,. which could be made to rotate independently. giving motion in any direction.
switching fuel from liquid to gas / charged particles (ion) could make it practical for both space and air travel (in theory) :)
Thanks for the link to that Rocket site Jay Nola :),. some nice info there. peppered with humour,.
I thought I was the only one who got irritated by seeing space ships "flying" and turning like aircraft in the vacuum of space.
Here's one I did a while back. I consider it a "prospector's ship." Every piece has a purpose, and it's not designed for atmosphere.
It has arms for grabbing rocks and other things, and an escape pod for reaching Earth, and camera lenses all over. The solar array expands when it's not landing. The small tube in the front is a telescope for finding your next target rock.
P.S. why does a Carrara forum not allow uploads of .car files?
Car file link
The new Carrara Cafe forums will allow .car file uploads when they go live. Not sure when that will be.
http://carraracafe.com/
Andy, your ship looks great! I may have to DL and look. Does it have shading domains set, or do they still need to be created?
No, I just haven't watched any TV for a long time now. My wife watches her stuff, which is always courts or cops. Real life stuff that I don't really care for - so I watch tutorials or movies.
Very cool ship! Thanks for sharing!
Hi :)
There are some shading domains for the engines, windows, main hull, etc.. and basic UV mapping applied, so it should be easy to add shaders / textures.
There should also be some procedural shaders left in the scene, (my bad) ..nothing special,. just some shiny / metallic / old / rusty stuff.
feel free to use / re-cycle / discard those.
I'm liking Brian's ship too, ...nice details.
Dropbox is a nice free way to share your files, until someone makes uploading car files easier.
it would also be nice (in theory) to have an area where people could share shaders,..
In Octane, (renderer) there's an on-line database of user created shaders, which is very handy since you can just grab and apply them to your models in the program. (See pic)
on the TV stuff,. I've been watching a lot recently, while recovering. ...but probably too much :)
That is really cool. So... what, is Octane like, a stand-alone renderer thingie?
Yes,. Octane is a stand alone unbiased renderer,. you can import OBJ, and if you have something like V4 etc, with multiple shaders, it'll; load the texture maps with the object and create the basic shaders,. which you can then adjust if you need to.
Octane also has plugins for many of the major apps, like Max / maya, which enables real-time rendering (depending on your GPU)
Octane uses the Nvidia CUDA cores and GPU and video RAM of your graphics card to load all the scene components, such as models and texture maps,. so it's dependent on how much video memory you have on the card.
Octane also now supports instancing of geometry, (replicators) but the "placement" needs to be loaded from a CSV file as far as I can see (it's a new feature) but that seems to be different from the way that Carrara's replicator "distribution shader" works.
Tugpsx was working on a plugin for DS to Octane,.. and if that went well,. the next step would be to look at making a Carrara to octane plugin.
you should check out the site and have a look at some of the examples,.. if you have an Nvidia card with CUDA and GPU ram, there's a demo version
http://render.otoy.com/index.php