chillyche

I think he's that dude that reposted your whole DYRL movie on his own youtube channel...

AWESOME.

Rodavan must have some good reference of that, cuz his model is pretty insane.

That is awesome. Not just because the end result is awesome, but it makes me feel like I'm not totally barking up the wrong chicken with my own work. I haven't got as strong a handle on manipulating shapes in 3D space -- sometimes I fight with a few vertices for hours -- as you have, but we're using the same basic grammar. And the time and care spent on this model obviously shows, as everybody's gushing proves. I mean, yeah, everybody here has a soft spot for valks, of course, but your model is really impressive so far otakuism aside. I think I just heard the entire forums freak out all at once. Know anything about Mudbox? I keep opening that up, in hopes that I can learn it, play with it, use it for something, but the lack of 3d mouse support just makes me quit. Which is funny, because I've been dinking around with 3D software since long before I'd even heard of 3D mice. Yet, once you get used to one... thanks Nanashi, thanks a lot. Deculture!

Oh man. Is there a MODO to Max workflow?!

At risk of sounding like an idiot danbickell, I want to say: how do you DO that? Now, to qualify that statement a little more, I guess I want to ask you: What software? Are you poly modeling or spline or nurbs or...? Do you box model and just subdivide like crazy, or do you have a poly by poly approach? Are you a mad man, a genius, or both?

An "active listener." That's what we'd always say in class if we weren't actually speaking. Heh. Anyway, nice to know that you're still around.

Wow! Haven't see YOU around in some time.

This thing is looking very awesome so far. What's up with the poly count?

I think I don't have to even say: WHAT THE FRAK?! THIS IS AWESOME. And yet, I said it anyway. Like Nanashi said, you've got bolts in freakin' landing gear bay. That's love. Now... I'm awaiting to see if you have a solution for the consoles and monitors of battroid mode, and where they come from and how.

Looks great!

That's crazy what you did with the Star Wars bits. It put me in mind of japanese space fighters from the Silpheed/Gradius era, which the original Star Wars craft did not do at all.

I know how you would kitbash with physical models... how are you kitbashing digitally? By disassembling existing models of other stuff? If so, that's kinda how I started off modeling. Just acquiring other people's stuff and then eventually learning how to make my own. When I go back and look at the cockpit I made for that VF-1, it still looks decent for what it is, but the way I made it... UGH... text book for worst practices. Learning modeling can be a long slow, trial by fire kinda process. Or, some people learn it in school, where somebody presumably explains how to do things. Crazy. Curious to see what happens next with your model.

Another clip is up: http://www.vimeo.com/19451762

Thanks Rodavan! I'm putting together a few more shots of this thing in action. Then I have to put some passengers in there.

Yeah, the camera cracks me up almost as much as the soundtrack.

Okay, here's a test of the rover. Obviously there are a lot of things (like atmospherics) missing. But, it's still kinda fun and cool. http://www.vimeo.com/19327286

I know! I was just saying this to somebody the other day!

haha, that's awesome. I think that just opened a big huge blast door to insane stuff.

I don't know how to put things in games! But if somebody has a game in mind, I'd lend the thing out. I added some ridiculous details in the dashboard, including a bunch of switches that actually flip, but I'm sure the thing is still under modern game poly counts.

Okay, here she is, sans crew.

It's funny, because when I think about it, I feel like I'm the guy who'd just design something with crazy anime magic proportions, and Kawamori and his guys would be the ones to actually engineer something that worked. The world works in mysterious ways. In this CGI time, most of our designs have to at least be plausible in three dimensions, even if there's cheating, or clipping or something. Back in the day, despite those guys being excellent draftsmen, they were able to get away with stuff today's artists cannot. And, according to at least one interview, there just aren't guys with the skills to draft something like Macross Plus by hand any more. So, while our designs are becoming more plausible, our artists are regressing. I don't think the two are entirely relational, I think industry decline and other cultural factors are likely large contributors, but at the same time, I'm working in 3DS Max because I simply lack the draftsmanship skill to draw these things by hand, let alone animate them. A lot of people have asked whether Aria will feature hand drawn characters or CGI. I have to admit, it'd be a dream come true if we could put together a team that could draw the characters by hand in such a way that they'd marry to the type of animation we're planning.

About to begin rigging the thing.

Very close now.

Okay, getting close here. I'm starting to take more and more liberties, since I'm messing with the vehicle interior which is an impossibility in time and space. I'm going to mess with the rear of the vehicle, add the license plate (essential hardware, apparently), add the side mirrors (but not the optional windshield), and maybe tweak how the wheels merge with the chassis. I've started the steering wheel, but still have to do the column and place the thing. Finally, I'll make some textures for the consoles in the dash. Aside from RPMs and KPHs and fuel and battery and odometer, I think I'll need some atmospheric and meteorological data, radar, comm system, multifunction display, and DOPE ASS STEREO SYSTEM. So, here's the thing, according to the lineart, there's just a big thick cylinder running from the wheel to the chassis. In my brain, contained within this assembly is the axle, and possibly some elements of the suspension. I'm thinking about going way off canon and adding visible springs to aid in suspension, and some differentials for these tubes to connect to. Of course, I know nothing about cars, and just learned the term "differential" so, I'm probably going to make something bonkers.