Complex UV Layout in Maya
Over the last couple of years UV layout in Maya has changed for the better. In this course we're going to be taking a look at some of those changes as we UV map an entire character
# 46 30-10-2010 , 11:10 PM
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I hope thats a good thing Murambi...

Mastone. Good of ya to do that, it's good to get other peoples take on things. Thanks. ...yeah, not toooooo subtle on the DOF there,(!) but I think I get where you're going with it. I like the colouring of the second image...I was playing around with PS's photo filter to alter the overall tone, and arrived at slightly more of an aquatic blue which I quite liked...I lowered the contrast and saturation aswell. How did you arrive at that browny colour scheme? I mean, did you use adjustment layers? Which ones?

Im still sort of toying i guess with what Im doing with this.I think Id like to add some more geometry, perhaps model out a building or something on the back right there, I ok I think with the cliff to the left, but the one on the right doesnt match up, scale wise, I dont think. I got given a folder chock full of reference cliff photos from a matte painter, and found in there one I liked for the background, but which only fits in better if the timing changes to daytime.... but I like the built in fog/mist it brings with it.

What's a pain, is that I didnt bookmark the camera view this render was taken from, so, when I go back to remodel the other stuff, I'll have to try matching up the image, but I wouldnt mind a little of the left (as we look at it) wing, sticking out a bit.

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# 47 31-10-2010 , 11:46 AM
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Don't mention it, I just use colorbalance and mainly touching it up with yellow and greens.
If I look at the image, I don't see much improvement in the quality of the render itself.

It is a bit grainy and the specular highlights are way to bright.
There is some stairstepping and some angular geometry that is easily solved , I would round out the shape of the body of the helicopter as well making it less straight and bigger then the " head" of he heli
I would get rid of the little harpoons that's sticking out the nose and wings and maybe put small chain guns at the front, or some nice airflow carving or something like that.

Also use DOF to make your image more interesting and believeable

See image for clarificationuser added image

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# 48 31-10-2010 , 12:08 PM
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Yeah, no, no changes made, and this goes for you Dave, too, if you read this - I'm not forgetting, or neglecting the suggestions that everyone has made on this. It's just that Im just playing with ideas at the moment, I started this picture to try and get an idea of how I could create a background for an animation, because my main goal is to animate this helicopter. If I make this into a 'final image' in itself, then I will go back and remodel, and re-render out, particularly, as Dave said, there is no front wheel(!). Then, I will put in the DOF, colour corrections, lower reflections etc. Probably wont get a chance now to do any extra/re-modelling till wednesday. I also need to do more texturing, and I want to lower the reflection on that airvent on the side, thats way too bright. Alot of the colours in this come from whacking the colour gain on the IBL up to 10, and I will possibly bring that down a notch ot two also. And do an AO pass.

I agree with you about the fatness of the body, and pulling it out a bit at the bottom to add some 'weight'. I was actually working along those lines when I modelled the original, but it was causing some wierd, not massive, but just not very good-looking creases. If I put them back in they might not show up so bad now it's all textured up though.

I was trying to set up the rotor blades last night, following the apache tutorial on here...never used expressions before. The idea is to use a bend deformer, and expressions, so that, when the helicopter is stationary the rotors curve down, like in the pic, but then when the throttle (custom attribute on the helicopter) goes up, the blades straighten out. It was all working fine, except at the end it came out backwards, so, when the throttle was at 0, the blades were straight, then as the throttle increased, and the blades spun, the blades curved down.user added image

Think the problem was with the initial bend handle setup


Last edited by ben hobden; 31-10-2010 at 12:18 PM.
# 49 02-11-2010 , 11:35 AM
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Changed a couple of bits in the background, added the cables to the left, and the building to the right, and tried to put some rays of light coming in top left. Does anyone have an opinion if these are improvements...or was it better with just the rocks?

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# 50 02-11-2010 , 01:46 PM
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Hi Ben
The building on the right look good not sure about the cables. you are starting to loose detail on the hind............dave




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# 51 02-11-2010 , 10:54 PM
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you mean with the blur?

# 52 03-11-2010 , 12:11 AM
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yes




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# 53 03-11-2010 , 06:38 AM
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Apologies ben as I am subscribed as far as I know but nothing has been coming through??

Anyway...looks really good...I agree with dave though..the front left and rear right look pretty blurred.

Nice model BTW...I like the chopper...gets tired seeing Apache's and Blackhawks all the time.

Cheers bullet


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"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
# 54 03-11-2010 , 12:27 PM
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Dave:Yeah, sometimes I look at it and think the blur is needed, other times I prefer just the plain, crystalline, no blur look. Could go either way at the moment i think, but, if I do use the blurring in the end I'll go through each layer properly and do it piece at a time. The blurring on this at the moment is just a quick 'all-over' blur, with the same strength brush and a large one at that, all on the same layer, it's kind of a quick 'placeholder' I guess, for if I do put a blur in in the end.

Bullet: No worries...user added image Still some more bits to model. Got my days off now, so should make some progress, though looking to get on top of the animation side a bit.

# 55 03-11-2010 , 04:45 PM
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Okaaaayyy....

Some little updates while I wait for my brain to defrazzle alittle,

I have...

Scaled in the sides of the rotor blades to try and give them that 'sword' effect.

Refitted and remodelled the background to start making the liftshaft interior...and got down a basic texture...still lots to do on that front.

Started making the front undercarriage - still not finished and untextured.

And fiddles with the material on the airvent to lower the overblown reflection was getting there.

I tried a couple of different lens shaders to try and cap some of that contrasting in the reflections/lighting, but nothing I got did I prefer to the original, 'un-special-lensed' camera.

Tried to set up the basic camera animation on primitive shapes. Man, Im useless at animating!!!

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# 56 05-11-2010 , 05:05 PM
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