My wallpaper.

[leigh]

Aha! Another South African! Welcome to the forum :)

Your robot is looking cool so far, but, as you mentioned, the texture is simple - a little too simple though, I think....
Especially that bit that comes down the torso - is that supposed to be glass or metal or what?
I think overall the textures are off to a good start, but they obviously just need a little more work ;)
Add some more detail to your bump map, and it's begging for some specular too!
Something that is a bit worrying is your mesh - it looks VERY heavy :surprised Did you make it in Max?
You need to check your smoothing levels - that joint on the leg is very blocky - you can see all the segments. Unless that's how you wanted it?

[lowpolygon]

yeah...I did it in max.
when I texured it , it was like 3 in the morning....didn't feel like
go into detail.
heavy? what do you mean heavy?

[leigh]

I meant heavy as in it has an unnecessarily high poly count :)
Max meshes are always easy to spot, as they are often too heavy because up until now Max never had sub-d modelling.

[lowpolygon]

well...it is intened to be a high poly count model.
I have added a lot small details on the model, but don't think you will see it on the render I show here.
nope, I did not use sub-d method either. since I recon sub -d is probably better for creatures or something like that.

[leigh]

Yes, I know it's supposed to be a high-poly model, but even so, you have to be conservative about it.
I also only work with high-res models, but I still have to ensure that my poly-count is not unnecessarily high as this results in extended render times, as well as display/working latency.

Sub-d is also not necessarily just for organic modelling - it is basically a mixture of NURBS (which are the most accurate way to model, whether it's organic or not) and polys.
Here at work we only model with sub-d (as we do not have a NURBS modeler), whether it's a creature, a building, a helicopter or whatever :) It's just a better way to model, in my opinion.

It would be nice to see a closer render of this, so we can see the details ;)

[lowpolygon]

yeah..I know about the polycount in a working environment, but I did this as my err...side project. There is no poly limi.
Believe me, Ii always follw the poly limit I was given when I am working.
I did this mech/robot thing at home. so polycount is not exactly a issue. I model as much as I can until my machine can take it any more.
:)

I will try to bring more shot from home. But I don't have an internet connection. so I have to bring it to work.
Sub-D ..I am still trying on that.
BTW:please point out where you think might unnecessary poly.

[leigh]

hehehe you accidently created a tongue-wagging smilie there :p

So you are setting yourself no poly limit?? :surprised Even when I'm doing my own stuff at home, I'm still extra careful about poly count....
I guess with a robot it's ok, because you don't have to set up deformations and stuff which are much simpler with less polys :)

Check the image below - I've circled the areas where I think the count is far too high - you could get away with a lot less of them.. (particularly on the feet)

[lowpolygon]

mm..how did I do that?
let me try that....
:p

I got the model (non texture version) here .
I have exported to 3ds format, if you want to take a look at it..
I can send it to you.

yeah..with organic stuff. I would usually be careful with the drformation as well even though I don't do organic stuff a lot.
mechs are alway been my fav
:)

[leigh]

hehehe it's cool, I don't need a mech model :p
So you obviously like mechs a lot, eh? Well, it would be cool if you could do a battle between this one and another or something...
With lots of rockets and explosions and all that :thumbsup:

What are you currently intending to do with it? Or did you just want it for your wallpaper?

[lowpolygon]

mech is my life.
animation is deinfitely on my list. but cureently I am haveing a deadline. can't do much.
I don't think my machine will be able to handle the the total poly counts when my merge in 2 hi poly count models
:(

I will howvere create a low poly version of the models, and aniamte it.

[leigh]

Mech is your life?? Wow.... :surprised
Cool, looking forward to seeing the animation :thumbsup:
Hey, where do you work?

[lowpolygon]

hehehe...don't expect too much of my anim..it's been a while since I do animation.

I am currently working in J'burg, I-Imagine

[leigh]

Hehehe yeah it's been a while since I animated too... I always kind of dread it, but then it usually comes out ok anyway :p
I-Imagine? Cool! You guys do some great work there :thumbsup: I really like your new site design too :)

[lowpolygon]

yeah...
I just hate tweaking small little keys here and there.
take too long .

:)

thanks...we are trying.
where do yo work?

[Aearon]

leigh ? there is no sub-d modeling in max ? how come i do it all the time ? =)

[lowpolygon]

coooooool....
another max user.
everyone here seems to be using everything else but Max.
hi fist
:)

[leigh]

:surprised
Fist - Ummmm... what I meant is that, previously (before Max 5), you had to use Meshtools and CSpolytools scripts in order to model sub-d :) It wasn't a "built-in" feature, as such :p

lowpolygon - I work at Atomic, in Cape Town :)

[lowpolygon]

errr...isn't Sub-D just another method of modeling?

I am sure I can do it without mesh tools. Unless Sub - D isn't what I thought to be?

[leigh]

Yes sub-d is just another method of modelling :)
Basically, what it does is allow you to switch between normal polys and "smoothed" (ie subdivided) versions of your model while you work.
Then, when it comes to render time, you can set your subdivision limit however high you want it to be - that way you save on memory while modelling, and then get great, smooth rendered versions of it.
Also, sub-d only works with 3- or 4-sided polys. And you cut (segment) them to definine how sharply they curve between points.
That's a very basic description though :p

[lowpolygon]

yeah..so basically I am on the right track.
model everything in low and tesslate it at final?

[leigh]

It's not quite the same thing.
It works according to different calculations.
It's not the same as modelling the whole thing in low poly and then just tessellating it, because it's not just a quick little thing at the end, it's an entire process with rules (such as I mentioned before).
Which is why you have to use the script in Max. I'm not sure how it works in Max though, because I don't use Max....
I mean, you can get smooth meshes in Max by smoothing it by however many iterations at the end, but sub-d gives you more control throughout the process of modellling in the first place :)
Plus you can get smoother curves with fewer polys ;)

[lowpolygon]

mmm....
let me look up on that.
I duuno much about sub-d since I only need to do lowpoly
so I usually use Spline or Box modeling.

[gaggle]

Originally posted by Leigh
you can get smoother curves with fewer polys ;)

Ihhdunno..I'd love to hear more on this, is there a paper or book on sub-d somewhere?
As far as I've been able to see so far, sub-d is "just" the ol' low-lowpoly cage modeling which gets meshsmoothed at render-time. Except sub-d'ing, as you say Leigh, comes with rules and guidelines that provides maximum performance out of the meshsmoothing algorithm, and tools to help you sculp the mesh..

I've always thought those tools, or many of them anyways, could just as well be applied to any mesh-object, it doesn't strictly have to be a quad mesh.. I've contributed the fact that, at least for MAX, many poly-tools (Select Edgeloop, etc), don't work on a "normal" mesh, is just because the poly-mesh has been programmed with more functions exposed to the programmers.

So summed up: in my world "sub-d" modeling is like the ol' lowpoly cage modeling, except someone sat down and figured out the rules that makes the meshsmoothing most happy.


But that's my world, what am I missing?..

Oh I should say I'm a big fan of sub-d modeling now that I've gotten to know it, I love all of these kick-ass tools. But I don't know much about its history, why I should think of it as brilliant and innovative? I just thought Mirai and Nendo came out with the rules and some tools, and everyone else jumped to try and catch up with that :)

Maybe I missed some stuff while I was living under that rock for the past years hm? :rolleyes:

[lowpolygon]

yeah..I also would to learn more about this sub-d modeling method.
BTW: don't you ppl want to comment on my wall paper?

:)

[gaggle]

oh heh, doh, I forgot to say that I can't see your wallpaper? It gives me an..error..or rather a page filled with scribbles, but I'm guessing it's..er..African?..or Marshian, I really can't tell :) I think it's giving me a 404 File Not Found thing though heh.

I've seen your 'bot from one of Leighs comment-pictures, and I could only make out the general size and shape of the thing. Looked spiffy, but I'm holding back the big ol' Flaming Sword of Critique & Comment™ until I've laid my eyes upon the actual image.

[lowpolygon]

gaggle:
I think that site where I stored the image delteted my pick and this place only allow me to send a pic like 50 k or something like that.
if I scale down any more of the image, the quality would be really bad.
I will try some more

[lowpolygon]

ok...finally.....got the size down....
crit away

[lowpolygon]

ok...
finally got my pic size down...
crit away

[lowpolygon]

HOLY ****
sorry about the bad compression. I will try again

[lowpolygon]

let me try again

[lowpolygon]

ok..I give up...I can't upload this probably.
looks fine in PhotoShop, bring when I upload it , it all screwed
:(

any idea?

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