Two tanks & landscape, WIP

# 1 17-09-2005 , 12:12 PM

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Here is a single frame from a 600 frame sequence (in the process of rendering as I type). The two tanks are "freelanced" (ie I largely "eyeballed" them) British WWI types. The treads move and the guns also animate. There are exhaust emitters on both tanks (I intend to add gunfire EFX in "post", ie in after effects).

The two specks in the background are actually airplanes doing a flyover. I submitted a WIP of the plane a while back, it should still be posted a few pages in.

The background is somewhat simplistic (my computer is somewhat old and slow, but no excuse, I suppose! :-) ). Just a large NURBS plane with a handmade Photoshop "mud" pattern, a Brownian, and a bump map. The sky is from a stock photo.

I could certainly use any constructive criticism, particularly on landscaping, lighting, &c &c! Overall I am happy with it for now, but there is ALWAYS room for improvement, and seeing some of the other wonderful work in progress from all of the talented folks in this community constantly reminds me of that! :-)

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"Ad astra per aspera..."

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# 2 17-09-2005 , 12:42 PM

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Hmm... I wouldnt call it bad. Nope! But the ground texture, well, it just doesnt fit, I don't know... and you can barely tell what the specs are in the back without anywone telling what they are. Like, I didn't know they were airplanes. The tanks dont look bad, not much to criticize on them. Keep working, and it will look good.

Cheers, user added image

,Matt

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# 3 17-09-2005 , 12:48 PM

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Matt,

I fully concur about the ground. The planes are visible earlier in this sequence, but I wanted to concentrate on the tanks! :-)

I've been stumped about ground cover and can't seem to find any tutorials or info on the subject. It's all been trial and error thus far, and what I have is still more error than trial! :-) ANY leads as to tutorials or any method which will allow me to create better ground cover would be GREATLY appreciated!

Otherwise, thanks for your comments!

Carry on...

"Ad astra per aspera..."

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# 4 17-09-2005 , 09:49 PM

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Why dont you create a large tileable ground map, or just increase the repeats for the texture you have now. And take the bump down a little

Jay

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# 5 18-09-2005 , 09:59 PM

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Jay,

How would I go about "tiling" a map? The texture I used COULD be tiled (that's how I built it in Photoshop), but I wouldn't know how to "tile"something onto a NURBS plane. I suppose I could try creating some sort of UV map and texture directly over that. As it is, the Photoshop texture file is rather large (2000 X 2000 pixels or something like that)...!

And yes, I suppose the bump could come down a bit more! I forgot my settings off hand (I'm away from my own computer right now), but I know a little goes a LONG way. The bump depth on the tank models is set somewhere like .02

Thanks again Jay and Matt for your comments!

Carry on...

"Ad astra per aspera..."

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# 6 22-09-2005 , 04:13 PM

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OK, the bump depth was NOT set at .02!

I reworked the surface .jpg in photoshop, increasing the resolution (but not the image size) and also the bump map .jpg. I set the bump depth to .02, did a test render, and it looks a LOT better. It's rendering now, but when it gets to the point where I posted the last picture, I will repost the "new and improved" version for your approval.

I also tweaked a couple of the lights, but the change wasn't significant. Anyway, thanks for your comments so far, and I look forward to more as I post this WIP...

"Ad astra per aspera..."

Last edited by Lt Jim; 23-09-2005 at 04:18 AM.

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# 7 22-09-2005 , 09:05 PM

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Here is an updated render.

I worked on the ground (which could STILL probably stand some improvement), and I do think it looks a little more convincing. Comments welcome!

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# 8 22-09-2005 , 10:29 PM

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much better

but, me have suggestion, y dont u put those tanks, towards the moddle of the field, so we can see a better catchy image, then having the tanks right in our faces:headbang:

Aim:Nshad BB Court
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# 9 23-09-2005 , 04:17 AM

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metallicjet,

You are probably right that the whole scene could be repositioned, but for now I wanted to see how the tanks looked! I will probably take your advice when everything's fixed.

As it is, I already noticed something horribly wrong (this after a 600 frame render)! One of the directional lights was facing the wrong way, and this led to some "interesting" shadows (not to mention one reason everything's so dark). I shuffled the lights around, and the offending shadow is now gone.

But worse yet, there was a "moving shadow" on the tank itself which was following the rotation of the treads. I realized this was becase my treads were part of a UV wrap (which isn't supposed to move a whole lot!). I had to go back to my UV map, delete the tread color, and create a "tread shader" (easy enough) and apply it to every individual tread. By all accounts, this should solve a problem which has been plaguing my tank animations since day one! Anyone currently modelling/rendering any sort of tracked vehicle may wish to take note!

I will post yet again tomorrow, but I do appreciate your comments! Maybe I will pose the tanks mid-field as per your suggestion...

Carry on...!

"Ad astra per aspera..."

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Two tanks & landscape, WIP

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