88 replies to this topic

[Armored Yokai]

Hey guys i was wondering if you could make a locust in a openable file for pepakura and add a red tiger camo skin to it so i can download and make it myself if you could and want to please do so and heres a pic of what i want

[Taliesin]

hmmmm.... I feel a weekend challenge coming on....

[Armored Yokai]

how would that be?

[Taliesin]

Well, I'm figuring I can make a Locust paper model from nothing to 3D mesh, UV, texture, Pepakura, layout, print and construct in a single weekend, documenting my progress in this very thread. And I mean next weekend.
This should be fun (assuming I can keep the weekend clear).

GAME ON!

Tal

Edited by Taliesin, 21 November 2011 - 01:06 PM.

[Armored Yokai]

hmmm you do have a point

[Taliesin]

Locust Begins!



First off, I need to model the Locust in 3D. I've gathered all the ref images I can find from the intertubes and as is always the way with these things, no two images of the Locust are the same - either in proportion or detail, so I've chosen one (the image from TRO 3025 shown in the screenie above) and I'm modelling it based on that, but I'll take interesting details from some of the others too.

The trick here is to keep it simple. Boxey is best. Curves can be pretty high-poly provided they only curve in one direction. If you have a compound curve like a dome or sphere, then it's best to keep the poly count low, resulting in fewer strips to glue together!

More later

Tal.

[Armored Yokai]

thanks looking good so far

[Taliesin]

Okay, base mesh done.



Now to cut it up and then UV map it.

[Firefly]

You can probably rip some of the models from any of the MechWarrior/MechCommander games. Maybe. Dunno.

[Taliesin]

Awww. What would be the fun in that?

[Grafix TM]

Taliesin, on 25 November 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:

Firefly, on 25 November 2011 - 04:35 PM, said:

You can probably rip some of the models from any of the MechWarrior/MechCommander games. Maybe. Dunno.

Awww. What would be the fun in that?

That is true + making your own mech model allows the creator to make his/her own tweaks to the design and feel of the final product.

[Taliesin]

So, the individual elements are now mapped but as you can see from the chequer pattern, the UV scales are all off, resulting in differing pixel densities. So, next step is to go through and adjust them by hand so that the chequers are square and of a uniform size across the model and then lay them all out again manually. Tedious and Maya can automate this process to an extent, but there really is no substitute for the human eye and besides, I find it kind of rewarding and theraputic.

Edited by Taliesin, 26 November 2011 - 03:06 AM.

[Armored Yokai]

That looks a bit too hard but im up to it

[Grafix TM]

Cementblade, on 25 November 2011 - 09:28 PM, said:

That looks a bit too hard but im up to it

What Taliesin is doing is the BASIC UVW mapping of the model so that he can apply texture/paint/color to the model otherwise it would just be a solid color model without any designs.

[Armored Yokai]

What ever you say man your more experienced with animation models than i am

[Raeven]

Do you know anything about sillouettes or craft cutters? As soon as you publish, I'm putting it through my cutter and building one.

[Armored Yokai]

i don't use cutters i use tape,scissors,glue,brasspins(articulation)

[Taliesin]

Cementblade, on 25 November 2011 - 09:28 PM, said:

That looks a bit too hard but im up to it

Oops! Yeah, like Grafix says, I'm just documenting my steps for the curious. When I'm done, all you'll need to do is print, cut out and glue together .

Raeven, on 25 November 2011 - 10:22 PM, said:

Do you know anything about sillouettes or craft cutters? As soon as you publish, I'm putting it through my cutter and building one.

Nice. I've read a lot about Craft Cutters on Cardboard Warriors but I've not used one. As Cementblade says, it's still good old scissors for me

[Taliesin]

There, that's better.

[Taliesin]

Now with added ambient occlusion pass.



This is baked to a texture and will be useful later on in adding some light information to the texture.
Next step is to rough out the paneling.