WW2 Dogfight

# 1 20-06-2006 , 12:47 PM

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Working on a piece for my Reel as I’m really looking to try and make the break into the visual effects/ post production field this year!

Decided to do some sort of dogfight over the English channel (less work needed for ground/enviroment etc) between two WW2 fighters. Basically the Messerschmitt (pictured here) will be shot down (Injured) by maybe a Hurricane or Spitfire and crash land on a beach in Normandy or something. Still working out the shots while in the process of modelling/texturing the two models. I'm not really up on my WW2 planes so the model might not be physically/texturally accurate but im happy enough with it for this sequence. This piece will mainly be to show of an all round knowledge of 3D (including composting)

I'm aiming for as close to photo realism as I can.

Here is the Messerschmitt so far:
user added image

Full Res Textured

Let me know what you think!

And if you have any ideas for what might be "cool" to add into the sequence, I’m all ears!

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# 2 20-06-2006 , 05:02 PM

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Looks like a nice start.

The only thing that I could say so far is that if your trying to get as close to photorealism as possible I feel that your going to have to add all the detail found on a real plane as well as getting the textures spot on, just because your using real named planes and people will compare your models to the real deal if you catch my drift.

Plus have you had a search on this forum (the WIP) for sir Avalons WW2 dogfight as its very very close to your idea and might give you some tips/hints.

Its a big challenge so good luck!

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# 3 20-06-2006 , 05:04 PM

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Hey Jamie

Looks very cool, I do like the 109, its a very robust looking plane.

Perhaps some reflectivity from the sun in the glass panes in the cockpit would help sell it as being 'lost in the sun'

Best
Jay

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# 4 20-06-2006 , 05:13 PM

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totally cool. it'll be very nice on a game or somthing.
just one question. iam not very good with plane contruction and anatomy but.. how does it fly??

i think those guys back then must have been quite clever. flying a Messerschmitt without the use of a propeller.
i'll be waiting for one user added image

A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice!!

Last edited by 13th_resident; 20-06-2006 at 05:17 PM.

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# 5 20-06-2006 , 06:37 PM

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13th Resident

Schmart Arse!!

_Jay

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# 6 20-06-2006 , 09:17 PM

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Thanks for all the comments!

gster123: Cheers mate, in the end im aiming for photo realisme in such sence that the planes look realistic along with the enviroment and all the effects (Sun flairs, smoke, debris from this damaged Messerschmitt etc) as opposed to 100% realistic reproduction of the plane... In saying that though i've collected a lot of pictures of the planes and the Messerschmitt seems to come in a variety of textures. So I took a mixture of them all.

I've not heard of sir Avalons project, i'll give it a search. cheers maybe give some inspiration!

I agree its quite a big project, cheers for the luck!

Hey Jay!
Cheers mate, I do like this plane too... I didn't actually realise that it had two forward mounted cannons on the nose either which are synced with the prop. Seems remarcable the engineering thats gone into the engine that can produce such a constant revolution to avoid shooting off the prop!

Ahh Sun glare! Thats something i've been working on to try and apply (more for the body of the plane to show that its made of metal). The Glass does this beautifully allready (im using a mental ray shader - Dialectic volume or something). But the body im really struggling with, using Anisotropic shader. I guess it has to do alot with lighting too? For the tests I was using a maya spot converted to a Mental Ray area light.

if you have any tips for lighting or achieving a nice sun kissed glare on the metal it be great to hear!

13th_resident: I agree with Jay... The prop will be added later as a texture because I can't afford to render the entire sequence with Mental Ray Motion blur (Far too long to render). So i'll be adding motion blur via a post effect. So the prop will be some sort of motion blurred texture stand in.

More updates tomorrow,

Thanks for the responses!

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# 7 22-06-2006 , 02:45 PM

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Originally posted by jhaydock
More updates tomorrow,

Originally Posted by

:attn: :attn: :attn:

A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice!!

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# 8 22-06-2006 , 09:30 PM

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Yup well started on the Spitfire now,

You all know what the plane should look like so this will probably be the only update untill i've finished the model and working on textures... don't want to bore you all user added image

I'll be away tomorrow and over the weekend otherwise i'd have it textured by then. So many work related things get in the way of my 3D these days. Anyway excuses aside... more updates next week!

J.

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# 9 27-06-2006 , 11:23 AM

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just quick post,

finished the spitfire model, on to texturing.
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# 10 30-06-2006 , 02:29 AM

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Really nice job on the BF-109 texturing, I'm guessing the Spitfire will be equally attractive! Looking forward to seeing your finished work!

It would seem that dogfights are all the rage around here! I'm working on one myself (post in a couple of days), though mine is decidedly more cartoony!

Again, GREAT work!

"Ad astra per aspera..."

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# 11 30-06-2006 , 01:47 PM

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Ahh cheers Jim,

I'm really looking forward to seeing this finished too user added image

I'm having a few issues with UV's at the moment. Nothing that would really be noticable in the final render but I would really like to know how I could fix the problem.

user added image

As you can see, before smoothing the UV's are fine, no spilling. After smoothing the top wing map spills over onto the bottom, this happens in several places. I can understand that its adding faces by subdividing but adding the faces to the wrong map. Turning off UV smoothing doesn't help nor does any other of the options in smooth.

I take it the only option to fix this would be to cut the faces from the top UV map and join them too the bottom... alot of work as it happens in lots of different places. If anyone knows an easier way let me know!

Cheers

j.

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# 12 30-06-2006 , 02:42 PM

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Jamie

I'll be on msn later...

Jay

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# 13 30-06-2006 , 03:42 PM

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Cheers Jay! user added image

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# 14 01-07-2006 , 06:59 PM

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Just another quick update,

Finished the spitfire finally

user added image

here is a turntable table animation for anyone interested:
Turntable animation 1.5mb

heres also a wip of the enviroment

very quick, i'll sort out the seams of the sky dome texture in photoshop before I do the final HDRI Render
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