March Challenge - Environment - TwistedDragon33

# 1 02-03-2011 , 04:46 PM

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March Challenge - Environment - TwistedDragon33

I think i will drop into this challenge as well. But im going to make sure i carefully plan my project so i dont have as many revisions like last time.

I was going to do a tropical island thing like Gilligans Island but i see thats being done so im going to try a local beach i practically lived at in the summer when i was younger. Hopefully i can find some pictures because it had a great diving dock/beach/boardwalk thing.

This will be my first attempt at:
-Exterior Environments
-Texturing(beyond slapping a shader on something)
-Water
-Large Scale

I have a feeling texturing is going to be the biggest part of this. that will make or break the model.

I will try and find some reference images of the place online hopefully. Its a popular tourist attraction so i dont think it would be too hard.

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# 2 02-03-2011 , 05:19 PM

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Yeah, I hear you, I think I'm going to move away from the lost isle theme altogether. Good luck and have fun and stuff user added image

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# 3 02-03-2011 , 07:22 PM

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Ill try. I already have a few sketches done and a few placeholders modeled out for perspective and scale already. I need to decide what my final image is going to comprise of so i can make those higher quality as they will be viewed more closely.

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# 4 03-03-2011 , 12:36 AM

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Here is the first image, The start of the pier, A ladder going from the pier into the swimming area.

I drove up to this beach today(its only about 15 miles away), and they did a lot of renovations to it... so im not sure if i should model what is there now or how i remember it...

An example is they changed the lights from old wooden L beams kind of like old style gallows to modern metal ones. They changed the lifeguard chairs so they dont sit up high anymore, took out the benches. The whole park seems to have less personality now. Its sad really. So im going with my memories for now unless i cant recall how something was.

And the image!

***note almost forgot the image at least 3 times in this post***

*edit*

forgot to resize the image to something more appropriate.

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Last edited by twisteddragon33; 03-03-2011 at 12:38 AM.

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# 5 03-03-2011 , 12:43 AM

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the pier itself.

I know it looks weird having the planks so wide, but this is how the pier is. The planks are at least 2 feet wide.

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# 6 04-03-2011 , 02:57 AM

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Water is just a placeholder but thought i would keep it in the render for colour sake.

Added the lights, On the inside of the L of the Pier has chains across. Still a little more to go but shaping up well so far. I hope to have plenty of time to texture.

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# 7 08-03-2011 , 04:53 AM

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Added benches to the pier. Added some detail to the beach. Finished the lights and the floats for the swimming area.

Life Gaurd chairs next. Then finish up some small things then on to texture and lighting.

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Last edited by twisteddragon33; 08-03-2011 at 02:20 PM.

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# 8 08-03-2011 , 06:12 AM

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Mate not bad from memory!!! must have been a magical place...the areas on the Swan River where I grew up have changed too...gone are the jetties and stuff...its all clinical and modern these days...it is sad...but I guess some one new will remember it in the same light as we. It all looks pretty much to scale as well man...the only thing...are the light poles that sturdy???

EDIT:...was there meant to be a new WIP PIC post LOL?

cheers bullet

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# 9 08-03-2011 , 02:20 PM

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There should be a new wip pic.. i went to edit the post and it still says it is linked to the picture so i deleted it and i will resend when i get home from work.

And yeah i remember the place well. I practically lived there during the summer from about age 9 to 16. Sometimes 14 hours a day in that town most of it spent at that beach.

And yeah the light poles are sturdier than they look. We used to shimmy up them(trying to avoid splinters) and jump off into the water. Good ol' days of being indestructable children.

Im glad it looks to scale. Especially going off memories.

The lightbulbs themselves look a little off to me because im using a more modern sconce instead of the old sphere style ones they used to have at the park. I think it will help with lighting.

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# 10 09-03-2011 , 03:37 AM

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lets try this again:

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# 11 09-03-2011 , 03:50 AM

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hmmmmmmm good effort mate....can we turn the sun down a bit?? Im being a pain arent I? Looks like a nice place to waste some time!

cheers bullet

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# 12 09-03-2011 , 08:41 PM

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Ill turn it down tonight when i get home.

I'm having trouble, the ropes for the swimming area are just place holders, i want the roped to have a little more life to them like they look like they are floating, but not sure how to achieve this. I'm thinking of making a curve and extruding a circle along it. I've never done it but from what i hear thats the best way.

I forgot a major component of the pier is the metal guards under the railings so kids dont fall into the lake... I should get working on that.

And what would be the best way to make a very uneven terrain like a mountain or something? I've rarely done anything that wasnt hard surface?

wow lots of questions i guess.

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# 13 09-03-2011 , 09:45 PM

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I will get to you after lunch mate...as for the terrain...all I do is create a dense (fairly) plane and use the scuplt tool mate...

bullet1968

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# 14 09-03-2011 , 11:47 PM

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I'm having trouble, the ropes for the swimming area are just place holders, i want the roped to have a little more life to them like they look like they are floating, but not sure how to achieve this. I'm thinking of making a curve and extruding a circle along it. I've never done it but from what i hear thats the best way.

Originally Posted by twisteddragon33

Thats a way to do rope, then you'd have to texture it and displacement map it.
hmmm displacement map... perhaps the clover curve i made before will still be useful...

In one of the maya tutorials that come with maya there is a tutorial that involves making land with the sculpt geometry tool like Bullet said, you should check it out.

that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

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# 15 14-03-2011 , 01:36 PM

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Okay i fixed the ropes and they look a little more organic. Trying some preliminary textures but having a very hard time getting sand and wood to look right.

I think my biggest problem is that the pier is made from very large planks of wood, approx 30 inches (~76cm).

I modeled each piece of wood or slab but when i try and texture it looks like many smaller pieces of wood instead. As i have almost no texturing experience this is getting troublesome but i have already learned a great deal.

The sand for the beach is also being a problem.

Now this is more of a general question but my final render is going to be a night scene with all the lights on for the pier but i dont think the beach or pier will be seen that closely. So how much detail should be given if its not going to be seen in the final?

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