Eon (3D Scene) Entry: Tim Dunn

[aurora]

I have been watching all the work everybody has been doing here since just about the beginning. I loved the info provided, grabbed the book and I'm about half way through it although I have skimmed the whole thing a couple times for details. Thanks to all the great work everybody else is doing I had no choice but join. You guys are infectious!
No images yet but I do have a plan in mind. I'm going to work on when Olmy brings Patricia through the shield into Axis City for the first time. Will post my concepts real soon.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1162762958_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1162762958_large.jpg)

Ortho view of expanse of Axis City: The Cross, cubes, buffer zone, Axis Nader, Central City, Axis Thoreau, and Axis Euclid. The Corridor itself is not in this image. The blue shaft is of course the Plasma tube and the red is the singularity.
Just crude block ins for now to get a feel for size based on book descriptions.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1162763053_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1162763053_large.jpg)

Just a extremely crude prespective view from somewhere above the corridor and sitting south of Axis City.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163024385_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163024385_large.jpg)

Just another crude, rough block in concept for a Flaw ship which I'll use as approaching Axis City. One thing that has to change is that upper canopy the more I look at it the less I like it.

[angel]

Hey, there you are. Well it is very smart to read the book before getting into this full time. I'm looking forward to the next update.:thumbsup:

[walrus]

Really nice start so far on both the city and the FlawShip. I love the rotated-square-pyramids on the back: It's a shape Bear uses several places in the Way; the Gates, in Axis City... so nice to see it make an appearance here too, subtly connecting it to the rest of the Way's technology.
Cheers! :)

-mike

[aurora]

Thanks SNoWS and Walrus. I'm so intensly strapped for time but also have become so addicted to both the story and this challenge that its driving me loco.
I've got to make some minor changes to the Flaw Ship to make it match the book a bit more. I want to make the Flaw ship rise up and attach to the singularity like the book describes when they leave Timbal, thats housld be fun.
As for the rotate step pyramids, yeah Greg Bear mentions them all over the place so I plan on using them alot (going to add a gate to the scene too). I cheated and wrote a quick script to create them so its fast and easy for me to build them and pop them in.
Started working on the real geometry for the Axis City drive/navigation units. Should have something rough to show soon.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163290813_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163290813_large.jpg)

Finally started some real modeling. This is the first bit of work on the drive/navagation cubes for Axis City's south end. I'll add in lots more detail later as displacement maps.

I also have a cool new design for my flaw ship. Got to get that out of my head and into bytes real soon. But next step is to get the base for the cross section done so I can make sure I attach it to the drive cube correctly.

[AndreiSzasz]

hey! i like the cube, reminds me of the borg cube from star trek :D . at the begining of this challenge i thougt to make something similar too :buonce: :D
good luck :thumbsup:

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163633747_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163633747_large.jpg)

Just beginning to flesh out the shape of the 'maltese cross' unit thats part of Axis Cities Drive/Navigation unit?

Big question, I'm assuming that when Axis City and Central City got sealed in the Way at the end that this unit went along with it? I don't see how/why it woulden't have. But???

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163785631_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163785631_large.jpg)

Started adding details to the cross unit.

[pogo575]

Very nice so far! I have yet to pick up the book myself but the samples I read were great.

I really dig how the detail is comming along.

[aurora]

Thanks pogo. I have a ton of detailing I want to do but I think I'm going get all the major parts and major deatiling done first and then come back to each and add in more and more as time permits. I wish I had started a month earlier but.........

I've go a bit more major detailing on the cross I want to do and then I'm going to start on the Axis Nader itself. I may drop Axis Euclid and Axis-Thoreau and take this as a scene from the end as the Way is seperated from the Seventh Chamber not sure yet which route I have buried in my mind I'll finally go with because I want to have the camera down low and would love to have a ton of traffic moving in the scene but I also have a funky idea for a scene from the end too. In the end I'll probably flip a coin:shrug:

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163982249_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1163982249_large.jpg)

Added a bit more detail to the cross unit. I have yet to figure out how I'm going to attach this to the first cube unit. Until I figure out how I want them attached I'm going to start working on Axis Nader. I figure I'll have tons of doodles on how to connect the two units nicely and what direction I want to take the rest of the details on the cross as well as redoing the details on the cubes. To much to do and to little time.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164162141_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164162141_large.jpg)

Started working on Axis Nader. Lots and lots is going to go into the city. I've pretty much decided not to do Axis Euclid and Axis Thoreau.

[Bergquist]

Nice! Lookin all axisy!

I haven't read the book yet, plan to do that this week, but all your parts are lookin cool! Can't wait to see em fit together with some dramtic camera angles!

- I've just entered this competition, so hopefully when I pull something together you'll have a look and let me know what you think. Peace Peace, and good luck finishing all that you desire!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164319443_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164319443_large.jpg)

Added a wee bit more detail work to the beacon arrays and plus through in a couple crude building stand in's to start judging sizes I'll need.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164525383_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164525383_large.jpg)

Started work on one of the 'mega's for my Axis Nader. Granted the Mega's were described in Axis City or the Seventh chamber at all. It kinda works in to my idea none-the-less.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164680051_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1164680051_large.jpg)

Just something to show I'm still working. This is just laying out where I want this form of mega's in Axis Nader. I've started doing modifications so each of the five are slightly different. I have also started working on a few other buildings which I'll end up using but I'll post all those later. I want to get my general city layout designed next including transit lines, parks, buildings ect. Then with that in place I'll build the rest of the city around all that including the megas.

[abscnth]

Hey Tim
blimey you have done a staggering amount more work than me, thanks for the comments btw. I toyed with doing the city section as well but due to time considerations chose to concentrate just on the point where the flaw ship reaches the drive cubes. Really like your concepts, makes for a stronger challenge when people have chosen similar scenes to depict... best of luck.... now where is that double ended candle to burn :)

sean

[ChewyPixels]

Wow! Looks like you're going all out on the chamber. What animation do you plan on having for the end?

Just remember to not model more than you need to. Believe me, I do it more often than I realize. :D

[aurora]

abscnth & Jedi-Juice - thanks. While suffering through a rather boring class Thursday I came up with a whole new and much better take on the buildings for Axis-Nader. I was a doodeling fool, but alas now I'm so swamped in finishing off projects, finals, work and something else that I don't think I'll get a chance to work on it till late next week. Theres a reason why you do the school thing when you're young. This second time around stuff being, err, old-er is just insane.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1166137765_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1166137765_large.jpg)

Its been a while thanks to a couple deaths among family and friends plus finals. But I finally started working again. I started adding details to the exterior of Axis Nader with lots more work to go.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1166144286_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1166144286_large.jpg)

Heres the roughout for Central City which lies just north of Axis Nader along the Flaw (which along with the plasma tube I have not included).

[LightSovereign]

The amount of work placed into this is phenominal. Noticable are the twisted Pyramid motif emblem and the maltese cross, they are both stunning, can't wait to see the end result..

best of luck

Marley!

[angel]

Hey there, making some progress! I'm curious to see what kind of composition you come up with for all of these elements. Nice work, keep it up:thumbsup:

[aurora]

Thanks guys. I have alot more detailing done but not at apoint I'm ready to setup for a render yet. Too much more detailing to do first.
Believe it or not putting the Cross, Drive/Navigation cubes, Axis Nader and Centeral City together is not the part that bothers me, its what I plan on doing for the way and backdrop that is beginning to really freak me out. I NEED MORE DAYS IN MY HOURS AND WEEKS IN MY DAYS!!!

[BlackDidThis]

I guess some one that read the book; if not parts of it... can make a serious difference.

I honestly loved your aproach to the construction of the Axis City...
The units the details, many things are very well thought of! It really makes the descriptions so much easier to place.
(Not too sure about how much I liked the Axis Nader/outside details for some reason.. it apears to take from all the amazing work. I guess with lighting and decent rendering, it is definately going to look it's better)


Have you ever thought of (even though it is well more an amount of work) constructing the "Tube" more what like a cage?
Sort of having islands of city la out on beams of highways and connectors... my whole worry is that you have such a good idea for the "Mega"'s and also a really good job on the exterior... Since you are planning on presenting the entrance of the flaw ship as well.. it may not be too easy to display both your hard work at one screen shot.

Hence the reason for the idea of a "Cage-Like" structure...


All that said...
No offence but I think I have to agree with you on the canopy... it fits functionality without sacrificing from the "Arrowhead" description... but does look un-fitting.

In the scale you are planning on doing things... does it really mater? Or are you planning a close-up shot to the flaw ship, rendering all the rest to the background?


BEST of luck! And never mind Zando (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=4081163&postcount=6)'s turkey... get this thing completed.. it is very promising to compare to so many I have viewed recently. And I am VERY curious on what you may have a mind for, for the backdrop...


GOOD LUCK!:thumbsup:


Black

Ps: My deepest condolences for your loses...
Death is one thing... but Deaths?!! Was there an accident or something? Glad you are still moving on with this though. I believe it is going to be great!

Pss: Whats the "question" bit about your post #11 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=4008184&postcount=11)? You lost me there

[aurora]

BlackDidThis - Thanks for the comments they are deeply appreciated. First as for the question from post#11. I was talking about the cross and drive units, did they go along with Axis Nader down the Way. It was not perfectly clear in Eon if they did or if they were left behind. However after reading Eternity I realized that yes they did go down the Way. Duhhh, how else could Axis Nader and Central City accelerate to relativistic velocities after the Sundering?

As for the details on the outside of Axis Nader the plan, time permitting, was/is to add another layer or two of larger builidings to all the nurnie work already done. Plus I still have other infrastructure work I plan to add to help smooth the whole thing together.

For the interior I actually did plan on lots and lots of inbetween/hanging type buildings meshing between the buildings off of the central cylinder and the inside of the main cylinder. However, after building a ton of really nice looking builidngs and then trying to add them onto the central cylinder I generated WAY to many polys and sadly I choose LW9 for my modeling instead of XSI. I'm a thousand times faster at modeling in LW then XSI but it slows to a crawl with high poly (anything over a million) polys. XSI on the other hand handels near infinite polys as if you were only working with a couple. So now the issue is stay in LW or transfer to XSI.

But the real issue is time, or should I say the sever lack there of. In fact I'm out of town till next week and only have my very old very slow (P3 750mHz laptop) with no real graphics card (sniff , sniff). So what I'm probably going to do is restructure the short animation so I can conserve poly count by adding parts in only where they will be seen and take different angles such as not traveling through the city as I had planned. That way I can add some nice detailed buildings but not needing thousands of them.

What I'm working on right now is textures. Alot of my detail has to come through the textures and I have lots and lots of buildings and other strucutres so I have tons of work to do.

I do have alot more done on the inside but that will have to wait till I'm back home to post.

Till then I wish everybody a wonderful and happy holidays.

[BlackDidThis]

Woow.. so somebody that has dug into the trilogy eh?
I honestly didn’t enjoy the Eon series as much from the moment of the Russian Attach… Guess I was too overwhelmed by the build up, and I had expected a different follow up… loosing the magic (Unfortunately the series to follow just couldn’t revive the ecstasy and expectations…) But what so ever I am amazed at his creativity and scientific ingenuity even if fiction.. the ideas are outstanding and always. His books are always a pleasure to read (I have 20 or 21 of them.. as I recall he should have 28 books .. not too sure)

Now you already happen to know the answer … it was already answered before having to look it up in Eternity or Legacy… but to quote from the book:
---> Reference Text (From Page 355-356):
The farthest southern extension of the city was a broad Maltese cross, extended from two cubes mounted one behind the other on the flaw. The center of the cross accepted the flaw, which then extended through the cubes. Here was the machinery which powered, propelled and guided the city along the singularity. The same effect that could move the city along the flaw, and had propelled the tuberider, also provided much of the city's energy. Generators within the cubes were spun by turbines whose "blades" intersected the singularity and were subjected to the spatial transform.So basically the Cross is what got them there, and the thing that brought them back as I get it.


As for the speed and manageability of Lightwave… I had used it last back in the days of Pentium II being the top of the line and PentiumIII being a miracle. So in those days, even the thought of 1 million poly’s was out of my range of testing.
I personally (pretty fanatically) use MaYA and those who buy it rarely are those that can afford many other high end software :(… luckily MaYA leave little need for any other software. And since version 7.0 it is pretty capable of handling a good amount of polygons. So with a good enough computer: you are usually pretty able to go nuts in the polygon count.

If I were you personally I would try setting a pipeline that permits your cross usage of both software… not necessarily obligating you to model in XSI. But in the end it is your time and your decisions to make... wish for the best on your part.

As for the “animation”… maybe something in the lines of 3D meshes appearing and disappearing (Which Is actually a render with only one object each being rendered out and composite back together) might be a way out…
I really hope you find a way around it.


Well I have just gotten back and there a few things I would like to deal with now.

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas eve... We sure did :)



Take care;

Black

[aurora]

Finally back home, for a few days anyways, I fear that due to another trip I may not be able to finish and that bugs the leaving c#@P out of me. I'll have to work long and hard everyu second I have to finish this up.

I have not read 'Legacy' and doubt I will. I did enjoy the concept in 'Eternity' alot and r4eally wish more was done discussing the 'Final Mind' and why The Way had to be closed down. The pieces were there but just not as colorful and complete as I wish it was.

As for my pipeline I actually have Maya 7.5 Unlimited which I use for fluids and PaintFX but rarely for anything else, Houdini for pFX (its by far the best!) XSI 5 which I'm still learning and LW which I have used for ages and am really fast and effiecent in. Sadly my XSI -. LW pipeline is almost none-existant. To move back and forth I have to go through a freind and I burden him with enough crap as it is so...... Thats something I plan on remeding real soon though, unless LW finally fixes modeler for near infinite poly work like XSI/Maya/C4D, ect.

[claudiojordao]

Hey, what do you mean you fear you're not gonna be able to finish... don't you dare to do so :)
come on man... you've worked so hard on this, just to give up now?!!!... I'll be waiting right here for an update of your amazing work. Don't make me wait long.

[aurora]

Thanks for the kind words claudio_jordao. I'm not giving up by any means, just not sure I'll have enough time to finish. I'm going to be gone several days next week without my computer and I still have tons and tons to do. So right now I'm trying to change and simploify my original plans a bit to not loose to much from what I had planed but enough to be able to finish. My goal right now is to get the modeling finished by midnight Sunday (no New Years party for me except with my computer). I'm just about finished with reworking somestuff on the Drive Cube's. I'm arguing with myself on geometry versus texture detail on several huge inset sections. I'll post what I have in a few, then work on the cross and think about geometry/texture details and hopefully get some feedback on what I have.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167347614_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167347614_large.jpg)

OK, I'm done (maybe) with the geometry for the drive units. The current plan is for textures to deal with the rest of the tons of detail I want. Still undecided if I shoulden't add more geometry back into those inset panels or not. Any comments on that?

Working on the final work for the cross Unit right now.

I have pFX guides all set up to link the Cross to the Drive cubes, between the Drive cubes and for the entire Buffer zone. The particles are all setup but the HV texturing is not done yet so I'll have to work on that next week and get that posted.

The goal as stated above right now is to finish the geometry off before 2007 hits me in the face.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167497213_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167497213_large.jpg)

Dang only 16 days left. I'm gone 4 of those 16 and spent yesterday either outside digging out of another storm or without power. Someone does not want me to finish this.

Anyways this is, sadly, all the modeling work I'm going to do on the Cross unit. Theres a bunch of pFX that will go into this I have yet to setup though. Thats the next step to set the Cross and Drive units up and get the pFX guides done. Then throwing the Buffer region and Axis Nader into the scene so I know exactly where I need to add buildings in Axis Nader to finish all modeling off and move on to lighting and texturing. Dang I need more time available to work on this.

Sadder still I have not decided on whether I will use a Flaw ship in the scene. I had wanted to but I don't like the one I have partly modeled. I have a cool plan for a much nicwer one but time, damn ugly time hates me.

[angel]

oh man, that's too bad, you are in Co. right? you guys are getting pounded with powder.
Hope you can find all the time you need to finish. I'm struggleing to finish myself.

[aurora]

SNoWs - yep I'm in Colorado and am happy to say we got dumped on with snow, alot more then Denver but happily I live near the mountains so did not get the 15-20 foot drifts the plains got.

A friend and I have been discussing lighting thought processes and this was my reply to him on how I'm designing mine for this scene. I'll through in images showing the results when I finish the light rig.

Man, well I was going to create a whole new sticky thread just on your post Cesar but if this is just a reader’s digest version then I'll wait.

Books Lighting Design:
This is my breakdown of how I'm approaching setting the lighting up. First this one is tricky because in essence this is an interior architectural lighting setup, yet because of massive size, an infinitely long tube which is 20 km wide it behaves like an outdoor scene. Almost all the lighting comes strictly from a 5 km wide blue, blue, blue, plasma tube running down the Way (the cylinder). What makes even harder is some of the structures are completely inside the plasma tube. This means the lighting is completely flat, saturated almost completely shadowless lighting. Well that’s easy to achieve however the image would be horrible to look at.

So the first thing you think is ahhh, the Way itself reflects light as a bounce so we can use that to provide much needed interest to the scene. But sadly the Way is not made out of real material, granted at the beginning of the Way there is dirt (brought in from other worlds), mountains, rivers, clouds, ect, here however there is nothing and the way is basically black with red and bronze splotches. Also there are no light contributions coming from either end of the Way.

Next you say the city, Axis Nader, provides lighting to the scene. yes but no. In fact when Patricia first describes the sight of Axis Nader the interior appears black (hard to believe since the plasma tube runs down it!) and the out side glitters with thousands of sparkling small lights. So little light contribution comes for it.



My Lighting Design:
Fake GI:I first created a set of lights which stretch a huge length along the plasma tubes exterior. I'll use this as faked GI with NO shadows! This is important since the light by its nature saturates almost everything with equal lighting. To do this I thought there were only two options (The lights stretch over 1000km along the tube to light the Way, meaning either area or linear lights. Linear could not be used thanks to way to much noise, even with incredibly high AA/MB levels. Area lights were extremely pretty but expensive. Final render size is 3636x2657 along with a much smaller 4-8 second animation. What I finally came up with shocked the living heck out of me, point lights! I have four point lights which I both rotate and travel 1000km along the plasma tube. Its fast, saturates the scene even though I'm only using extremely low light saturation here.

Shadows on the Way itself: I created 4 area lights which spans almost the length of Axis Naders Interior and set them up with my modified spinning light trick setup. In modeler I created a special Cylinder that matches the basic cylinder geometry of Axis Nader. I set it so it contributed shadows to only onto the Way itself and unseen otherwise.

Back Lighting: I'm cracking open the Way and adding galaxy and stars as backdrop fro symbolism. I'm using that as the background lighting, light and subtle but designed to provide different color lighting to the scene.

City Lighting: Main little point lights are going to be scattered around both the inside and outside of Axis Nader to provide little hints of lighting.

Main Spec/Color lighting: I don't care what really would happen I'm adding in some main key lights for color, spec and shadows to actually make the scene pop.

Secondary Spec/Color lighting: Even though there really is none according to the book I solved alot of the structural gaps in the book with the using of Tensor beams made up of particles/HV's. I'll use these as areas I can add in lights to help contrast color/light the scene.

It’s going to be a huge lighting rig which I'll control with a special LScript with Sliders I'm writing to help texture the scene. This also means a few bogus lights added here and there just to allow faster/easier rendering.

[angel]

Wow, that sounds like a very intricate light rig. I can't wait to see how it comes together.

[BlackDidThis]

...
Next you say the city, Axis Nader, provides lighting to the scene. yes but no. In fact when Patricia first describes the sight of Axis Nader the interior appears black (hard to believe since the plasma tube runs down it!) and the out side glitters with thousands of sparkling small lights. So little light contribution comes for it.
...
Excellent!
I don't know HOW I have had missed out on that line in the text!

This alone will add some SERIOUS drama and unmodeled business at the cost of render time. I had little intrest in a scene with Axis Nader in the Back Drop... Honestly because of the uniform lighting a large mass was going to be getting, and would have thought twice of leaving it aside had I recalled this.


I am not too sure of your reasons of setting linear lighting aside... with a globe of instanced linier lights you would pretty well get the effect I believe you are going for, and to a low expense (I am personally going to go for that for the lighting within the Stone... Even though I am going to light it a little different than the book would have fancied me to).
But then again your solution is a very practical one... I have used the under-dog point lights VERY often in my scenes... particularly if an interior animation is involved.. they are fantastic.

I couldn't follow on the main lighting for colour and specularity... but I presume those are lights that shall be "scene" dependent and are waiting for you to complete your composition.


I am truely enjoying following up on your project Tim (http://forums.cgsociety.org/member.php?u=11197)...
It would be really grea tot see where you get all this data trancuated into.



Black

[aurora]

I am not too sure of your reasons of setting linear lighting aside... with a globe of instanced linier lights you would pretty well get the effect I believe you are going for, and to a low expense (I am personally going to go for that for the lighting within the Stone... Even though I am going to light it a little different than the book would have fancied me to).

Linear lights where acutally my first choice. The concept was to create a bank of them around the circumference of the plasma tube and stretching them along its length. Sadly after spending a few hours on them I was getting so much noise from the lights even with them spinning around the plasma tube that there was no hoping in using them.

So from there I moved to expensive area lights which worked wonderfully but with long renders on my setup scene which is 1/8 final resolution. So I took a couple hour break during which for some stupid reason the concept of using point lights jumped into my head (distance and spot lights just did not look right). With only a few minutes worth of work I got decent results with the point lights for the plasma tube.

The most impoartnat thing to note with them is I controlled who gets light from them and they are actually only adding just alittle light to provide a nice GI (sans-shadows) look.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167698237_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1167698237_large.jpg)

Heres a quick look at some of the lighting I have so far. I have actually tweaked these areas a hair more but its pretty much as you see here. The lighting that will really make it pop is yet to come. But I have other things I have to deal with before I can get to those parts of the lighting rig.

The textures for the Way and the Plasma tube are just temps to give it something worth looking at.

[SEL]

Keep it up,

Even though there is not a lot of time left, I can see you know where your going with your piece! keep going with your idea, I like the shot you chose, I hope to see more details as it gets going, will check in every now and again to see your progress!!

SEL

[shattered-fx]

These are amazing models my friend, I like your attention to details! ... dead line is fast approaching, so we better hurry up!:scream: We'll hate to see our works unfinished, so cant wait to see your final touches..

-raffy

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168364276_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168364276_large.jpg)

I seriously doubt theres any chance in heaven or hell I can finish my project. I have a work project due a week from today that is sucking all my time and then some. However when my system is busy doing something for that project I continue to plug along. But to stand any chance of coming up with a finished project I have to can a lot of modeling I wanted to add still and all my textures are now quick and cheesy procedurals. I have everything UV mapped just no time to paint all the images.

I wish I could have had more time to work on this and apologize for the crap that is about to be poured out from me. Maybe later I'll come back and finish this as I had envisioned it.

[mlynch]

Tim -

Whether you finish or not - the fact that you made such an effort is worthy of praise!

Great work! :thumbsup:

[angel]

Tim -

Whether you finish or not - the fact that you made such an effort is worthy of praise!

Great work! :thumbsup:

agreed 100%

even if you aren't able to finish your piece you've provided feedback and critique to quite a few of us, and that my friend is what these challenges are all about.:beer:

[aurora]

Thanks mlynch and SNoWs, I look at a ton of entries and sadly only post to a small handful. The only reason why I don't post to more is I look at them while I'm waiting for quick code compiles or render tests. As soon as they are done I bug out. Sadly its this same method of working that I have available to working on my Eon challenge. I really REALLY wanted to complete this one. It jusy sickens me that I won't, at least not the way I had set out to do it.

But I do thank everybody that has offered such kind words and critiques through out this challenge to me. I wish I could have been as kind to everybody else.

[BlackDidThis]

Lol;

Just about the same thing had had happened with me in the first challenge I had taken part of here...
I had to wait too long for the processing, so I kept providing feedback to others and browsing the other works. But now that I have upgraded my computers and went for even more time demanding scenes... I really fell behind in any use to others :sad:


I think I can sympathise with how you want this thing finished... I sincerely hope you do.. cause the way you have helped us picture it sure seems to be worth the go.
Unfortunately luck was not on your side in the most of it. I really hope that that stage has past and your time will be enough.


It is looking great and I am really looking forward for the lighting set up in mention.


Black

[arturro]

I started my challenges from Grand Space Opera, and only finished GSO and Spectacular. Master and Servant as well as The Journey begins were my failiures. But I know one thing.
All eforts are woth their price, so try to do as much as possible. After the challenge you won't be so motivated to do it. You learn a lot from it, as you want to do something, do some research how to do it, than you try, try, develop it, and at the end you're a winner as we all. Besides we all have to face deadlines with difficult projects, a bit of stress is also a good training for the future :)

best wishes!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168460839_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168460839_large.jpg)

Deffinently not what I had want for texturing but it's this or not finishing which I'm despartely trying to do.

Been experimenting on shading for the Way, getting closer but still needs more work for sure. Again its ALONG ways from what I wanted to do but, oh well. Next month :)

[LightSovereign]

just a reminder mate that there is an extra 20 days slapped onto the competition, so a little more breathing space for sure..
I think the effort shows, in all your pieces especially, in design. Love the Maltese Cross personally, very original!.

Marley

[aurora]

just a reminder mate that there is an extra 20 days slapped onto the competition,

Seriously? Man how the heck did I miss that? I woke up this morning and decided I was not going to work any further on it becuase the cheap procedurals just looked just that CHEAP and CHEESEY and I just did not want people to think I can't texture worth crap. But now?!?!?!?

Where did you see this message? I somehow missed it.

[aurora]

The cutoff is the end of the 31st of January*. If you have any questions or problems, please post in the FAQ thread (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=412270&goto=newpost). If you have any other comments about the challenge, you can direct them to me (robert@ballisticmedia.net).

YEAH!! Thats a pray answered!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168556067_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168556067_large.jpg)

This is a first round of experimenting with the Cross Unit and Drive Cubes pFX/HV's. Note I have added in the Buffer region pFX yet. Not sure if I like the color saturation on the yellow pFX yet though.
Also note this is an un-post touched render. When time comes I'll spend some time in Fusion (since I need it for the animation anyways) to really make these look nicer.
If I have enough time I'll try and do a render of the Cross, Drive Cubes, pFX and Way tonight.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168571210_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1168571210_large.jpg)

Just a quick test with the cross drive cubes and the pFX. Def not there yet but at least I now have some breathing room.
The Axis Nader cylinder is just a lowpoly stand in. The Way is just another bizzare concept and still not what I want whatever that is. Even with the extra time I won;t get the Way done the way I had wanted.

[nwiz25]

hey bro! i just went thru ur thread! n man was i zonked! :eek: 3d was smthin i wudnt've been able to work around with that much ... mainly because of the details ..:( ..

but Tim! ma man! ur work oozes with amazing details! :eek: :bounce: pls pls at any cost try n complete it in some way or the other .. u came this far dude! ... dont let it bring u down! i wholeheartedly agree with SnoWs .. in one of his comments .. that inspite of ur work being slowed down n all .. u still cheered many members ..

i respect u for that with all my heart! thats smthin undeniably awesome!

god bless u bro with all the best things in life! pls try n finish off what u toiled for ..

time has been granted .. ( there is a god :love: ) ...

waiting for u mate!

kick some dust and cross that finishing line will u! :scream: :scream: :scream: :scream:

hehehe .. cheers to u! :beer:

[aurora]

nwiz25 - Thanks! The comments arre much appreciated. I woke up yesterday and had intended in throwing in the towel and quitting becuase the textures were extremely quickly done and just plain suck. I so did not want this to turn crappy. But now I have a chance to actually have some time to work on it AFTER my work project is completed. While I still won't get it all done the way I envisioned I will be able to get something completed and makes me happy!

[angel]

nwiz25 - Thanks! The comments arre much appreciated. I woke up yesterday and had intended in throwing in the towel and quitting becuase the textures were extremely quickly done and just plain suck. I so did not want this to turn crappy. But now I have a chance to actually have some time to work on it AFTER my work project is completed. While I still won't get it all done the way I envisioned I will be able to get something completed and makes me happy!

Great to know that you now have some time to finish this up. Go Tim, we're rooting for ya!

[BlackDidThis]

This turning out to be really fascinating...
I can see now where you plan on placing the paint effects!


But Tim (http://forums.cgsociety.org/member.php?u=11197);

Have I missed out on some part that you decided to envision the part that the city is accelerated to reach near light-speed to seal the gates clean?


Or is it just that the texture is misguiding me?
And if they are... HAVE you actually concidered such a scene as well? Being the Paint FX junkie you say you are?
You can actually even include the flaw-ship you worked on... while they are trying to catch up.

I know that IF you are not going for this, it is actually offering for you to do something pretty difficult... but in the long run, you won't have to spare as much time for the texturing since you can burst most of it into motion streaks that flow along its way.

Just a thought...


Black

[zer05um]

I see that you too have gotten the twisted-pyramid thing well into your mind. Very nice indeed.

I'm very impressed by the clean quality of the modeling - somehow Hexamon tech always seemd to be clean and sparse to me.

[aurora]

Hey Black,
To be honest I'm still debating in my head how I'm going to do the animation and it depends on how much time I have to work on the Way itself. If I get everything else up to par and still have time I have alot of modeling detail I want to add to the way and I'll work on an animation Olmy's flaw ship trying to exit the Way before the sundering with a drop of the camera down from the Flaw as the Flawship approaches down to the Way as Axis Nader and company travel towards an the 'end' of the Way. There is an actual end according the Eternity but it's never described so my take while be symbolic with a transparent end and a galaxy at the end representing inifinite possiblilities.


The other option is just shot from the way as Axis City travels down the Way with the same galaxy type shot fading into view. I've stopped tinkering with the Way since its now a waste of time since now I won't decide on the animation till all texturing work and new modeling/texturing is complete so I know how much time I have left for the animation I can pull off.

[BlackDidThis]

I can understand your worry about "how much to do in how long"...
Guess it is something I had better weigh as well (Had a sort of disappointing day today :sad: )


The "closing"
I am SURE you must have watched contact... It would have been great help for you on visualising it. If you did, try to recall how they had overcome the creation of the worm holes.

A better example would be through a children’s experiment:
Two children making two screens of bubble water (Glycerine and soap mixed in water) by immersing a wide rope loop into a bucket and pulling it up, then facing each other, the way they would blow from both sides, until the budges would meet and instantly create a tunnel (the glycerine trying to preserve the shortest distance)
Shall you pull these two apart, they shall eventually 'pop', but if you carefully remove them from another they DO preserve the first shape... what happens in the middle is that they stretch then almost explode into the individual surfaces again.



So in the "Moment" of the escape through: there was not only a drag as we know from aerodynamics, but a drag of time and space, actually first pushing the northern pole of the asteroid, and then pulling it until it stretches it again as it exits.

Most possibly Olmy had managed to get the flaw ship out at this moment of "stretch"...
It must of been a "one of a kind" experience, since theoretically, time must have slowed down and the surroundings must have been distorted from the way light would have travelled. It would be FAR from the sensation of a slowly closing giant iris that they are JUST about to make it through out of! :)

It would be possible to automate such an animation with animating the attraction of metaballs, but you Would need to do a lot of tweaking. A better source might be Real-Flow, if you know how to use it and have access to the programme from some where.
(Or even better... If you are into it personally... you can calculate curves from MathLab.. and then revolve them into tubes for each frame)

All in all.. I do not see any fast and dirty way to do it :sad:
It WOULD look amazing, but well time and quality is something you again shall have to weigh.





Actually Tim (http://forums.cgsociety.org/member.php?u=11197);


There is something I don't exactly get in this competition...
A lot of people, including you tend to have particular plans and textures in mind for the short animation of the whole scene.
I had always thought that all that they really would have a need for was a 3D scene in clay render (no textures required) with SOME sort of a motion or change of light presenting to the viewer how much of it is really 3D.

But NOW as I read all the plans people have for their really cool animations, not only do I feel bad (read=Lazy), but I am also starting to doubt if I had understood it correctly.

Are you putting in the extra effort for your personal pleasure? Or is it actually an obligation and to be judged?



Black

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169083877_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169083877_large.jpg)

Just a quick render of some of the new modeling I have done on the outside of Axis Nader this afternoon. Got about another hour or two's work on modeling on the exterior and I'll be done with that. Then a full days work for the interior finish up. Thats should leave me time to re-texture everything, change the lighting so its more dramatic and appealing. Then hopefully time to work on the Way before I have to deal with rendering the animation.

13 days. I'll be pushing it but I should make it now. Still not the way I had once envisioned it but at least I'll finish.

[angel]

There is something I don't exactly get in this competition...
A lot of people, including you tend to have particular plans and textures in mind for the short animation of the whole scene.
I had always thought that all that they really would have a need for was a 3D scene in clay render (no textures required) with SOME sort of a motion or change of light presenting to the viewer how much of it is really 3D.

But NOW as I read all the plans people have for their really cool animations, not only do I feel bad (read=Lazy), but I am also starting to doubt if I had understood it correctly.

Are you putting in the extra effort for your personal pleasure? Or is it actually an obligation and to be judged?
Black

I know you adressed this to Tim but here are my 2 cents on the subject:

First don't feel bad, I think there was a general confusion due to the change of how the challenge was split in 3 sections and the forum name, in the challenge page is called 3D Scene but the forum is called Model... 2 totally different things.

I never visited the FAQ page, I didn't feel like I had to. I went by the instructions on the challenge page which states:

"3D Scene:
Your final entry requires an illustration plus a 4 - 8 second animation of your completed scene (not just a model). Your animation can be as subtle as a slight camera rock or pull in, a lighting change, a subtle animation - anything that demonstrates a 3D nature of the work."

Then you have a series of milestones one of them idicating the need of texturing. All of these combined leads one to belive that you do indeed need to have your Scene textured and lit.

For what I have seen of your entry and what I understand from the challenge instructions I think you are as Tim on the right track.

BTW, the models are looking great Tim, hope you can finish on time as you envision it.:thumbsup:

[aurora]

Thank SNoWS. I got to much snow again today and spent half the day outside shoveling at least I had a smile on my face! Busy working on new buildings for inside Axis Nader right now.
As for the animation I have a couple different ideas in mind it all just comes down to how much time I'm left with at the end. And yes mine will be texture/shaded it is needed for what I have in mind.

What I had really wanted to do was the Trailer contest but knew there was not a chance in heck I could come close to finishing with everything else I had/have going on. Maybe someday when I need a break from my Legends of Dune short I'll come back and finish this up the way I have it envisioned.

Oh, BTW I also have a couple different concepts on the edge of Axis Nader I'm debating over I'll post images of both of them as soon as I finish doing buildings. I'll havce to finish the texturing for the buffer zone region as well since it is what will make the biggest difference on which will/won't work.

[OZ]

COOL AXIS CITY!! HUGE!...is so close as i imagine it!! one weeeek tooo gooooo!
!! ARGH! good luck!:buttrock:

[aurora]

Thanks Oz - Yeah it is huge as I have it built to scale and also poly count.

I finally started assembleing all the new buildings for the interior and it looks like a mess so far. So much to do so little time. I may yet go with the description of the book where in the interior was dark, but add scattered hints of the buildings and lights to add more dimension.

[mmoir]

Hey Tim,

Your models have a very Classy look to them as they seem to have the right amount of detail on them, great job on them and good luck finishing up .

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169617248_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169617248_large.jpg)

Started texturing the exterior of Axis Nader.
Also redoing the light rig. The old one just is not going to give decent results regardless of the fact it provides a lighting system simular to the book all beit not as bright. I should be able to finish texturing the exterior tomorrow and then get the interior finished off by Friday.

[Leotril]

Looking good .. i like ur axis city :thumbsup:

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169963515_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1169963515_large.jpg)

Well after running into several sever issues I was forced to either quit or redo all the buildings for Axis Nader. So I took the redo route. This is FAR from what I had wanted and worked on but at least it may allow me to finish.

[BlackDidThis]

I don't see what your problem is... it seeems a lot more impressive then what you dwarf it to be.

I understand that it was all menat to be much omre than this... but think of it this way.. as 3D model contestants, aparently we are not permitted a FInal render submission.
So our final image is again going to be 1280x1024 and 150 k in size (Found that out TOO recently).
And the amazing amount of work you are putting is amost impossible to see in such a (sorry CG-cast, ... but; ) crappy resolution.

So as long as your scene is collected t be what you aways sened t to us as, and your animation ges some close-ups to your big stuff... I believe you are already well ahead of the most of us (Including myself, not having one render posted yet)


Is there any way that oyou scatter the incandescent features to some arrangment?
Not knowing your work behind it... the buildings look more like crowded paint-effects when not paid attention to.
Maybe to include a ariaty in the hue and/or values?


All the best of luck... I believe you have done a great job... and that it shall surface by the deadline.


Black

[aurora]

Thanks Black! Your encouragement is probably the single reason I have not given up and why I keep trying to find time and ways to get this finished.

I had almost 70 complexe buildings I built for the interior of Axis Nader some of which I posted earlier and a whole heck of alot more shall we shall more exterme. I also had a bunch of lower poly filler buildings too. But due to the UV issue I mentioned to you earlier I ended up canning every last one of those buildings and created 11 lowpoly ones which I just greeble cloned several hundred times with a bit of random variation.

I find it strange that when I converted the render image to a small enough jpg to upload all the lights went almost pure white. They actually are different hues of yellows and blues. I'll try to post something more representive late tonight.

I also think I found my comprise for how I wanted to work with the Way. I want to get that built and done today so I can get everything pieced together and rendered tomorrow night and comped on Tues. Man I'm going to be pushing it to the very last pico-second.

My only real hope is that you get time to finish yours Black I still think its years ahead of mine:thumbsup:

[aurora]

HOLY CRAP! So I made a world gate 3km in diameter (half the size of the Frant home world gate) and then added a character to the scene to size the whole thing out. Yeah right, with everything built to scale according to the book theres dang near no way to fit everything in. With out something to provide scale perspective it just does not look as big and as impressive as it really is. What a nasty catch-22.

[BlackDidThis]

That was sort of the problem I had from day one…
When I had a mind to do a trailer, I hadn’t the problem of fitting it all into one frame… but now with all the preparations and research, I just HAD to find a way to fit them all in.

So I decided to go for the camera distortion I mentioned in my thread.

You may want to look into something like that as well maybe?
Here this is a screen grab from my Advent Children DVD (I fear this is sort of illegal, I hope the size and intention helps pull it off) that might give you some inspiration on what you may do from the gate outwards:
http://blackdidthis.com/CGNetWork/Eon_3D/Others/AdventChildren_ScreenGrab.png
I think it might save the day... infact even present some of your misfortunes in the best they can aprear.
This image seems to have been shot with a 20mm camera with a zoom. How’s your character? Can it afford such a close up?
(Else you can always give it strong backlight and hide it in the shadows)

Also;
I really have no words to thank you for the extreme compliment on my enjoying your efforts and their results, but in the end they are exaggerated… since your entry and your scene are very inspirational and deserve everything of yourself you are giving them.

I too have the countdown on my desktop to haunt me now and then… And honestly it DOES help :)
…

Just hope we both get it to the finish line with the results we hoped for!

Keep em up!


Black


Ps: Oh and for the sicko's that may ask... she is wearing SHORTS!!!
You are NOT looking under her skirt!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170044122_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170044122_large.jpg)

Been playing with low poly proxies for a new setup utilizing the new character and world gate I created today. Ignore textures and lighting, this was just a test for perspective and angles.
I'm not 100% happy but then I am 200% tired so I'll work harder on it in the mroning. I think tomorrow will have to be 80% devoted to this in order to get done.

Again I was almost ready to quit then Black showed up and encouraged me on. I owe him BIG time!

[zer05um]

I like the angle to this - it's not far off my original sketch concept - I kinda wish I'd stayed with it.

However, since Vue is the only 3D tool I have access to, I simplfied and went for the traditional angle instead.

I've been following your progress with great interest - I've always loved the concept of the Axis City and you've definitely cought it how my mind's eye did.

Keep going!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170134931_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170134931_large.jpg)

Finally starting to put things together. There is so much wrong still but alas no time left to fix things. And yes I know the get Ptricia opened in the geometry stacks was directly in the Way itself but I needed something a bit more interesting.
I know it looks like crap. I have the cross and drive units to add in to the mix as well as the pFX stuff. Hopefully I'll find a few spare moments to fix a few dozen issues. But I'm worried about having enough time for the animation too. Happily all textures anf pFX are alreay animated.

[milw]

hey Tim, this is looking great, if a bit dark (but that's probably partly due to my screen). Keep it up, I really look forward to seeing your final entry! (and printing it as a big poster for my office!)

[aurora]

Thanks, but as for the poster you may want to wait till I finish this the way I intended it to be done.

Right now I have all the elements in place and am tweaking alot of little important things and trying to figure out a work around for the tons of artifacts seen in the above image. I can tell you why I'm getting those but then the powers that be would have to kill me coughneverusebetascough.

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170211623_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170211623_large.jpg)

I have ran into more problems today then I ever want to run into again. This is pretty much what is going to be included in the animation. I'm not sure if I can fix render issues for the buffer zone and pFX in time to include them or not. If I don't start the animation rendering now I won't get finished with only 21 hours left.

This is deff not what I wanted to turn in but alas my choice of software versions dictated my doom. Hopefully I can at least get those needed elements in place for the final reneder tomorrow. While off to start up the render farm, cross all my fingers and toes and pray it all turns out OK. I only have one shot at all of this now.

[angel]

Hi Tim, just dropping by to show support, hope you have enough time, go go GO!

[aurora]

Thanks SNoWS. Sadly my animation is missing alot, including the pFX (render artifact issue that requires a second pass to render to fix and no time to render it). My animation has been rendering all night on 3 machines and still cooking :(

I still have not finished enough for the final render and only a half a day to go. The only happy news in all of this is I'm starting Aggie and friends back up as soon as I post my finals. That has been the reward for me finishing this regardless of how unhappy I am by the quailty and content I'm submitting.

[jeremyhardin]

Keep it going man. Looking forward to your final. :thumbsup:

[taavi]

Sorry to hear, i am also sceptic about finishing my entry before deadline.

[aurora]

Thanks Guys! 3 hrs 24 minutes left. Animation as in-complete as it is with little to no post work is done. Final Still 50% finished. I manages to render a few passes out this morning to get some of the animation's missing parts in place. Had to create a new pass and am waiting for it to bake now. I'll make it but with only a pico-second left in the challenge.

As mush as I am unhappy about the current state of the texturing/render/dynamics I am looking forward to coming back and rework it after a short break from it (need time to get caught up on my homework, especially after skipping classes today, opps. Grad school and missed classes are not a pretty combo)

[BlackDidThis]

I truely hope for things to get somewhere on your arena!

Thank you for the continious supportive posts on my part.. unfortunately I had not had too much a chance today to work on the project (A little bit busy here) and with the moral factor added up to days of not resting, I am in no state to finis and post my final entry in this time period)


So the flag is in you guys's hands without me... the goal to present "Eon" the BOOK before anything else :)


IT is looking great!.. don't wory about it... It happens that when you look at an image too much from wroking on it, you begin to miss out on the cool parts about it!


BEST of luck!
My prayers are with you all...


Black

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170284586_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170284586_large.jpg)

Well I have less then an hour left so I have to call it quits. This is a low res version of my final image. Left 90% of the Way features I wanted out along with several pFX layers and Axis Nader is greatly diminshed from what I started working with but I'm finished (for now anyways.)

Story, Basically this is towards the end after Axis Nader seperated and started its acceleration down the Way to blow the Jarts attack. Since I wanted more visual ques in the Way and Patricia opened het gate directly into the Way itself one shoudl assume that this character looking into a world gate is another denizen that is escaping into another world before all the gates are permently sealed by the stars plasma rushing through the gate. Having the Way extend to infinity also looked boring so I opened the Way and added a glogular cluster in to signify the infinite journy Axis Nader has started on.

Now off to submit my finals (fingers crossed I have no Idea what I'm doing here.)

Thanks to all (especially Black without whom I would have quit a couple weeks ago!) and best of luck to you all!

[aurora]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170285699_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/15/12367/12367_1170285699_large.jpg)

Software: Digital Fusion,Lightwave 3D,Photoshop

This is my high res verison and my final animation. (I hope).
OK I'm confused the instructions wanted a 3636x2657 render at 300dpi but the uploader limits you to 1280x1024 so my high res is what the uploader allows.

Play Video >> (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/eon/player.php?entry_id=77206)

[lede]

Well looks like you mad the deadline. After all the issues you ran into its not a bad finish for the amount of problems you ran into. I like you center city details with lights and busy looking effects.

-Lee

[abscnth]

Hey Tim, jst a quick line to say well done mate on getting there - looking superb, and thanks for kind comments you left on my thread.

Best wishes
Sean

[angel]

Tim, even tho you say that you are unhappy with the quality, you made a great effort. It might not be exactly what you wanted but you jumped through so many loops in order to get here, you made it buddy. Congratulations!:thumbsup:

[milw]

so cool Tim! The animation makes it look so real (even with sucky Flash compression!)
Congrats on finishing, and I really would like to get a copy of your highest res final image!
cheers- Scott

[aurora]

Thanks guys. Yeah I had to go through some really bizzare hoops to get things to work. But it was my choice to do something I warn others not to do.Enough said on that front.

I could have sworn we were supposed to have a 3636x2657 render so thats what I worked on for my final comp. In fact I managed to get several pass done up allowing to get more done for the still then for the animation. Man if I had know (I believe Black actually informed me though) that all I could upload was a 1280x1024 I could have saved at least hours of frantic render time and gotten a few more things fixed.

But alas I finished, no more excuses I'm happy I made it and I thank everybody for the support they have provided whether by posting here or even more importantly for all the wonderful work you guys did too. That was what kept me pushing on. THANKS!

milw - I have one but if you can be patient a bit longer I think I'm going to fix a few more things, do a new render and then take a break from this for a while. I despartly want to get back to my Legends of Dune project. After I get stuck there I'll take a break and come back and finish the way I wanted including the on-rushing star-core plasma unleashed from the Jarts and having Axis Nader's shock front plowing through it.

[BlackDidThis]

Thats just GREAT!
So you have made it!!!

Reading your struggle, made me actually think I was wrong to not have tried to squeeze everything into the two hours... But it was not going to happen.


I would like to see the render of the plasma from the gate the Jarts remotely opened into a star...
Do please let me know if you would like to.


Black

[aurora]

Thanks Black, SNoWS and others. I'm not really happy with what I finished with but I'm exstatic that I managed to finish (with less then a half hour to spare :blush:)

I truly would have stopped working on it along time ago without all your support fellow challengers, so again a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of you!

Black - I already made a couple minor changes to the scene. Then I went and cleaned my intensly messy directories up and then the over-whelming urge to start back up on another project totally over-whelmed me. So I'm going to work on that project for a while with the intents that some of the assets I'm going to create for it will be used in finishing this scene off later. No time table on that since alot of those assets will be from the vast city set I'll be building and then use those buildings for parts of the Way and redoing Axis Nader. Then I'll add all those nice dynamics I had started but never perfected for the animation. I'll make sure I post it when I start working on it again!

A few asked me to see the full 3636x2657 image I comped. If your interested you can dl'ing here FinalComp_HighRes_resamp.zip (http://www.auroragrafx.com/images/Posting/EON/FinalComp_HighRes_resamp.zip)

[arturro]

Hi there!
Very nice final. I really love this thing being pulled. Good luck now!

[OKMER]

Hi!Although I find the scene a bit empty, I love the huge feeling in the pic!!!Nice image!

[nwiz25]

weeeeeeeeeeeee!! congratulations my friend! :scream::buttrock::applause: i was really worried about u! :cry: im so very happy u crossed over man! :bounce: darn .. i wish we all had group photo taken or smthin .. :cry: i would take it home and frame it! a very special memoir! :love: we're all in this together! n hey! this challenge brought us all together! yay! :scream:

god bless ya ma friend!

good luck as always! :thumbsup:

[ChewyPixels]

Great to see that you made it in time! I had you beat with 43 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, all my remaining time went wasted trying to figure out why my animation wasn't converting to .flv properly. :cry: Oh well, there's always a next time. Not so sure that I'll join in on the fun (depends on my availabilty and theme), but I will definitely be there to watch and cheer others on.

Good luck with the final judging!

[zer05um]

This is my high res verison and my final animation. (I hope).
OK I'm confused the instructions wanted a 3636x2657 render at 300dpi but the uploader limits you to 1280x1024 so my high res is what the uploader allows.



Yeah, me too. I did the same. The instructions were a little confusing.

[aurora]

OKMER - Yeah the scene is empty but then so was the WEay this far down, thats why I started adding things in anyways on the last day. Just did not have anything built, textured, lite, ect for the Way and no time to really build new stuff past the cheap world gate I added in. There was supposed to be the plasma wave cruising through the Way from the gate the Jarts opened into the heart of a star but well, there was software issue which I can't talk about.

nwiz25, Jedi, Zer05um - thanks yeah pushing it to the end was scary but I was determined not to quit, Jedi I'm so sad that you ran into those problems so late into the day. I did too but managed to get lucky but trust me I wwas freaking real bad!

[aurora]

I guess I'm not done with it quite yet. I have several minor additions changes I'll be adding to this scene over the next couple weeks in my free time.
Heres part of todays changes/additions to the WorldGate. More coming soon

http://www.auroragrafx.com/images/Posting/EON/WoldGate_020507.jpg

[aurora]

Took a break from working on the new Way city and did some work on the defense wall

http://www.auroragrafx.com/images/Posting/EON/DefenseWall.jpg

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