CGTalk - MGAC 63: Utility Bot

kromano

07-08-2008, 08:17 PM

yeah a typo. should be beauty and I mean an ordinary render/screengrab.
Yes you could use how many 1024s you like. It's not the combined texture space.
I think I will join this one as well.
cheers

Good to know, thanks. I'm going to treat it as combined texture space anyway, though. At 1500 tris using 1024x1024 seems excessive. I can't think of many systems which would have a model of that resolution with a material file that scale. Plus I want to get better at optimizing my texture space and not rely on just "making it bigger"

Vonulf

07-08-2008, 10:07 PM

Cool topic, theres gunna be some awesome examples for this i think. Although atm im a little stumped for ideas what I could do. need to look around for some inspiration

xbiten

07-08-2008, 10:52 PM

yeah, I believe there'e gonna be some cool ideas!

I also increased the triangle count to 2000. Hope it doesn't ruin for anyone.

cheers
Rikard

JuddWack

07-09-2008, 12:03 AM

Cool topic. I'm going to go with DentiBot. I hope to have a concept up before I hit the sack tonight.

Again about the textures, you do mean a total of 1024x1024 per channel, right Xbiten? You did say "You could use how many 1024s you like" but I just want to make sure people don't take that as you can use 2 1024x1024 texture maps for just diffuse. Maybe I'm picking apart the rules to much but that's what happens after writing bugs all day for a year :P

kromano

07-09-2008, 12:15 AM

xbiten

07-09-2008, 12:28 AM

Yes your're right JuddWack. It's 1*1024x1024 color, 1*1024x1024 specular, 1*1024x1024 normal etc...Thanks for clearing that out. Wouldn't be that great with entries with 2*1024 colormaps etc. :P
Now it's off to bed!
good luck everyone!

Swift3D

07-09-2008, 01:19 AM

kromano

07-09-2008, 02:09 AM

I think i'm going to have to go with a 4 legged robot with a big water cannon on his back (fire engine-bot)

is it ok if we make our entries under the tri count/texture size or will this be counted against us?

No, under is fine. In some cases might be better. The idea is to make the best use of the poly limit provided. Don't add in detail just 'cuz, make it worthwhile.

JuddWack

07-09-2008, 06:51 AM

Here's my concept. I'm not a very good drawer but I think it will still help a lot having a pretty detailed image with all the things I want to incorporate on the model.

He's not a super advanced robot so can only do some basic dental work. Deep cleanings for periodontal treatment is probably the most difficult procedure he is capable of. I think I may move the tires to the outside and make them larger so the DentiBot appears a bit more dated and also gives more room for the battery and waste compartment.

I haven't completely decided on the eyebrows yet. There's a lot I want to do here, hopefully I'll have the time to finish before the deadline. I think my camera is broken btw. Sorry for the bad pic :P

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/5503/dentibotgg5.jpg

xbiten

07-09-2008, 07:52 AM

I think i'm going to have to go with a 4 legged robot with a big water cannon on his back (fire engine-bot)

is it ok if we make our entries under the tri count/texture size or will this be counted against us?

no, ofcourse that's ok. Use the specs that's suits your entry. Think about using the polys where they are needed the most.

Swift3D

07-09-2008, 12:04 PM

Ok :) In the few mgacs i've entered in all bar one i've gone fairly drasticaly under the poly count and have been picked up on it. I guess it was just that I wasn't making the most effective use of the polys I was using though?

Juddwack:
Very nice concept, the pocket looks a bit off though as it looks like he has fabric attatched to some sort of alloy chest.
I think making it more oval shaped and not puuting the fold-over flap at the top would help this.
You forgot the lolly pops and stickers! Every dental assistant must have them. :)

blacker

07-09-2008, 04:45 PM

I'm in, but can't guarantee I'll finish! :D I'm about 40% done modeling on my entry. It's a Fisher-Bot for that tedious chore of fishing. :shrug:

Not 100% sure this is "Utility" in nature, but I guess anything we're lazy enough to have a robot do is utilitarian.

He's going to have 2 big fishpots, a tackle box, a coolie hat, a pipe, a rod, a wheel for mobility and possibly a propeller (for aquatic travel). I'm also condidering a robot fish for no purposes other than I think it would look cool. Maybe I should borrow some real fish from Matsman's fish club? ;)

Hope to have pictures up soon.

kromano

07-09-2008, 07:38 PM

I'm never going to the dentist again... I think fishing up that club would be way better than fishing up real fish. Hmm, especially if it WAS made from real fish. Think of how awful it would smell after a few days. Then you HIT people with it!?

I still can't come up with a function I want to process, but at 2,000 polys I might try for a full bipedal android type. I hope I don't wind up humming and hawing about this until it's too late.

ScottHomer

07-09-2008, 11:28 PM

Bored out of my mind, im doing another challenge!

Heres the concept, the Crap-Bot, a robotic toilet, that hones in on you, when you are most in need of the toilet. A key chain button, activates it, and it then hones in on your position.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x211/Sabrenoose/concept.jpg

lowlevel21

07-09-2008, 11:31 PM

yea i think i'm gonna get in this one...i have an idea and a gimmic to go along...but the overall look is stumping me, i have 2 designs in my head, one very comedic looking and one very serious, but i dunno, for the sake of having to do "another" serious looking model i think i'm gonna go comedy with this one...i should hopefully have a crappy sketch today, possibly tomorrow..

good luck!

ScottHomer

07-10-2008, 12:17 AM

Pyrotechnic

07-10-2008, 01:12 AM

I was wondering, do our models have to be one single model item, or can we model it as 2 or 3, as i have wheels on my model and i will need to put them as a seperate object!

Im half way through modelling mine anyway.

Yeah, that should be fine as far as I can see.

I have started modelling a 'BinBot' basically a bin that collects rubbish by itself, but now I'm thinking of changing it to a construction robot, with some nice hefty hydraulics...

ScottHomer

07-10-2008, 01:55 AM

Ahh right great, well the modelling is nearly done, its gunna be a pain to texture it all up.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x211/Sabrenoose/comp-1.jpg

lowlevel21

07-10-2008, 02:11 AM

looks good scott, but i see you can loosin up on some verts in the wheels, more specifically the back of the wheels...looks like you have beveled edges that go in and then out, and to be honest you wont need those faces, even in a beauty shot those won't be seen. Take care of some smoothing group issues and your a go, good stuff man...

p.s: i saw you got 1897polys, i think we were suppose to work in tris though...

JuddWack

07-10-2008, 02:18 AM

Looking good Homer. I think you can save some polys in places though with some vert welding. You should also try to eliminate those long stretchy shaped polys. It is sometimes unavoidable, but you should try to minimize the problem as much as possible. Also by looking at the concept it seems to look more like a toilet strapped to a piece of wood. What is robotic about it? One question, where does the poo go? You might want to consider a septic tank with your remaining polys.

About the pocket Swift, that's just my crappy drawing skills. It's not a pocket. It's actually a spit catcher. Think of a small basin with a drain attached to his chest. I thought a really funny concept would be people spitting on my robot, for a practical use... not just because he's scary.

ScottHomer

07-10-2008, 02:44 AM

Ahh okay then guys, i can see what you mean, i really need to tighten my modelling up, thank god you told me before i started the textures!

Its kinda a fantasy object, i have a radio control unit at the front, and a motor behind it, its unrealistic but the other night i was in a club and nature called and the toilets where busy, took me ages to get a loo. Kinda inspired me to come up with a toilet on wheels that is radio controlled and would come to your assistance.

Is it possible for me to convert my entry from poly's to triangles without completely remodelling it, if there isnt i wont bother entering the contest and ill just post up my rests afterwards :)

JuddWack

07-10-2008, 03:12 AM

I don't know anybody that works in tris the whole time, but we measure and render in tris because it is the polygon with the lowest amount of edges and easiest to render. Any poly of 4 four or more verts can be divided in some place to make 2 polys. Those 2 may be able to be divided by connecting verts again, and so on, until you are left with a bunch of 3 sided polys (tris).

I don't know what program you are using but there are usually a number of ways to figure out tri count. If you are using max for example go:
Customize>viewport configurations>statistics tab
Check off tricount and you will probably want to know Total + selection
Also check the "show statistics in active viewport' box.

Soooo... to answer your question you don't have to convert it! Just get the tricount somehow and that will be good enough.

Pyrotechnic

07-10-2008, 09:48 AM

There's other little things you could do to optimise a bit more, it gets a bit anal, but always useful to know. Things like the flush in the toilet, you've obviously extruded that (well, the first inset/bevel on the back really doesn't seem to have added anything to the model really, I'd either remove it or increase the bevel so it actually does something) creating 4 tris around the flush. Now, if you have the flush handle as a seperate object, you could have the poly behind it take only 2 tris. Like I said, sounds a bit petty, but apply the same principal to the chassis of you robot, and have the toilet, remote unit etc seperate to the base, you cut down on a hell of a lot of tris there.

Pyrotechnic

07-10-2008, 10:14 AM

Apologies for the double post, didn't know who'd have read the first one already or not.

Here's (http://pyro-net.co.uk/images/Optimise.jpg) (clickety) a quick image showing an example of the different levels of optimisation, as you can see, the shaded view on the right doesn't change, but the tri count drops from 84 to 22. The first level is how you have it, the second is still extruded but with un-needed verts welded and the third level has the 2 boxes detached from the base. Of course, if you create the model as seperate bits to begin with, delete the unseen faces under the boxes. If you extrude you can then (at least in Max you can) select the polys you want then hit 'detach' to create them at seperate opbects, then weld up the verts and holes left in the base.

xbiten

07-10-2008, 11:59 AM

ohh I really hate myself right now. I were writing a reply (quite long reply) and accidentally clicked a tab which directed me to facebook :blush: and when I went back the whole message were gone. :banghead: so if I forget anything now it's because of that. Anyways...

I agree with Pyrotechnic. You could optimize the topology quite a bit by extracting objects that doesn't need to be one part. Pyrotechnic posted an image describing the process. I would also take a look at the number of sides the cylinders are.
You could also rely on a normalmap for details like bevels and insets, that's wasting a lot of your polys. A good rule is if it's not crucial to the siluette put it in the normalmap.
Allright, I think that was my two cents. Hope it helped. Goodluck with your entry!
Cheers
Rikard

ScottHomer

07-10-2008, 01:06 PM

Okay then people, the tri count is like 3500 right now, whihc means that i either have to eliminate huge areas of my model, or quit the contest, and im thinking of dropping out of the contest and just finishing the model and posting up my results. ive modified the wheels, the toilet and the flush to reduce poly's but its making very little difference.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x211/Sabrenoose/moreoptimized.jpg

CodeVeroby

07-10-2008, 02:03 PM

Here are a few tips for your toilet model !

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/162/moreoptimizedcopyku4.jpg

Pyrotechnic

07-10-2008, 02:22 PM

I'd say the bowl, both the front edge and especially the back corners, are way over polyed too. I do have one thing to say though, looking at your other work, I think you've got 2D cracked!

blenderhead

07-10-2008, 03:13 PM

Give me a chance to breathe! MGAC 62 is just over! :p

I'll have to see whether or not I enter this...hmmm.

Yeah, you can lose loads of tri's on that toilet bit mate...especially around the urn. What is with all those poly's up at the base of the flushing bit? That's a crazy amount, you wouldn't even see that in a high-poly piece. How long you been studying low-poly 3D mate?

blacker

07-10-2008, 04:53 PM

Well, I didn't get a chance to work on this at all last night, but this is my concept. Sorry for the large size, but I can't shrink them down. If I get the chance, I'll edit my post this evening with some smaller pics. And yes, I know what the pole and fishpots look like. I was going to surprise everyone with a silhouette shot and then show the actual model, but I'm going to be strapped for time this weekend.

http://www.ramelot.com/todds/fishbotfront.jpghttp://www.ramelot.com/todds/fishbotside.jpg
http://www.ramelot.com/todds/fishside.jpg

lowlevel21

07-10-2008, 05:13 PM

blacker

07-10-2008, 06:34 PM

LOL blacker i swear i wasn't thinking it till you said something bra...but to help you with your image size situation, try a program call irfan view 4.10, it will resize your images down to real smaller manageable sizes...good start though on the concept.

Thanks, but I just meant I'm at work and won't be able to upload the re-sized pics to my website until I get home.

JuddWack

07-10-2008, 07:14 PM

Blacker that looks awesome. Can't wait to see some wip.

Homer, I wouldn't quit the contest because you are happy with your model and want to proceed forward at 3500 tris. If it's a time constraint, that's one thing, but the model is unoptimized at the moment and should really be fixed up a bit before you proceed forward. Keep in mind when you are breaking pieces off and keeping them as a separate element in order to cut down polys, you are also creating areas on your texture sheet that take up space but can't be seen. For example if you detach the handle, the area behind it will get it's own space on the texture sheet but nobody can see it (ie wasted texture space). In larger areas, like where the base meets the wood, you can use overlapping uvs and put smaller elements in the portion that will be blocked but this can lead to a messy UV layout and is a bit of trouble to manager. There are a lot of other ways you can save some polys before you start doing that, for example cutting down on the radial divisions of the wheel and removing that center vert on the wheel.

BTW I worked on mine a lot last night. I did a real quick sculp in ZBrush and then experimented with the new retoopology tool, which is awesome! I have the head and chest of my low poly almost complete and am super happy with the poly flow.

xbiten

07-10-2008, 10:47 PM

heya all!
I don't think you need to quit the challenge ScottHomer. Use the model you got now to generate a normalmap and then optimize it. It's not that hard to get rid of the extra tringles you got, just follow the pointers allready posted. I got some critique though. I have a hard time to connect your idea with the bot theme. I can see the utility in your idea but my opinion is that it's not a bot yet. Right now I read it as a toilet seat connected to wheels.

I've just started concepting my bot, I think I'll have a go with the "beer me"-bot. Right now I'm trying out some ideas. I think I'll try to have the torso function as a refrigerator. The hands are designed to only grip bottles and cans. The lower box are for bottles and the torso box are for cans. And somewhere on the bot there are going to be a canopener, right now I just don't now where. The bot is ofcourse activated on the command "BEER ME!" :). Enough said, here's the concept.

http://members.lycos.co.uk/xbiten/flash/galeries/013d/BeerMeBot.JPG

xbiten

07-10-2008, 10:52 PM

Ohh I just got an idea. What if the bot would work as a beer bot and then rotate and a hotdog bot would appear on the other side :)! it would then be a beer/hotdog vendor bot for sport events!whoho I think I'll have a go with this!

EDIT: Sadly I don't know if I have time to finish this challenge. Have very much to do at work.

Pyrotechnic

07-10-2008, 11:16 PM

I like the idea!

And somewhere on the bot there are going to be a canopener, right now I just don't now where.
Other hand? One gripper to grab the beer, then the other 'hand' is a can opener...

DanielWray

07-11-2008, 01:03 AM

first bit of modelling ive done in a long time, so go easy ;)

right, so ive decided that this is a bot everybody should have in the future...

have you ever had the urge to pick your nose, but your hands were full or covered in something or you just plain couldnt be botherd with the tedious job of moving that hefty index finger?

... well pointless patent corp. brings you the gadget of the century, the nose picker 2000, the nose picking arm is hinged on two oversized all terrain, bullet proof tires, with a stabiliser extension arm out front, for those moments when it can get a little bumpy!

using a tri jointed arm, the nose picker allows its patented rubber index finger to reach those hard to get to places!

should the need arise, the nose picker can double up as a snot flicker to get rid of that nasty evidence, now no one can accuse of you nose picking, with the nose picker 2000!

yea so that's the basic idea, this is what ive got so far :)

ScottHomer

07-11-2008, 02:46 AM

Heya guys, cheers for the really helpful comments, I will work on optomising my model tomorrow i recon i could shave off those extra poly's from what you guys have been saying. Ill work on sprusing it up alittle, i know it isnt particularly BOT'y but i wanted to go for the homebrew kinda feel, its basically supposed to look like a motor, radio control unit and a toilet strapped to a piece of wood.

If you guys where wondering i am COMPLETELY self taught, other than 1 or 2 tutorials back in the day i have spent the last year or so tinkering with 3dsmax as a hobby. Im going to university to study 3d Games Art in september, and i figured that seeing as i have some more spare time now i would work on some low poly models as it is an area i havent really worked in before, as you can see i have alot to learn, but i really really appreciate your critique and i enjoy learning new techniques and bettering my skills. Thanks folks.

Pyrotechnic

07-11-2008, 03:07 AM

We're always learning, which in turn means there must always someone better then us, to learn from.

Anyway, my progress so far:

http://pyro-net.co.uk/3d/pics/gac/mgac63/SurBotRender_04.jpg

It's a security/surveillance droid. I think it's similar to something in one of the Metal Gear Solid games, might be something else, that had a gun mounted underneath. This has (at the moment) just a camera.

Still needs a bit more work, needs another little prop to control the yaw and I think there's a few other little bits too (like comms, lights and some sort of drive). Currently sits at 1882 tris, so not really much to play with. I suppose I could cut the duct down a bit, and a bit drastic, but make the blades a flat plane with a texture and alpha (since they'll be spinning fast anyway). Might even have a go at a normal map...

Wires (http://pyro-net.co.uk/3d/pics/gac/mgac63/SurBotWires_01.jpg)

All the little hydrualics are rigged too, pretty simple setup but it looks cool to sit and play when 'waiting for inspiration'.

http://pyro-net.co.uk/3d/pics/gac/mgac63/SurBotRender_05.jpg

JezGreen

07-11-2008, 02:57 PM

Hi all, really cool topic.

I've spent a little while working on this washing bot, although its not to botty at the mo.

Just thought I'd post it before someone else posted one first. Cool work so far, and a nice amount of entrys!

blenderhead

07-11-2008, 03:28 PM

If you guys where wondering i am COMPLETELY self taught, other than 1 or 2 tutorials back in the day i have spent the last year or so tinkering with 3dsmax as a hobby. Im going to university to study 3d Games Art in september, and i figured that seeing as i have some more spare time now i would work on some low poly models as it is an area i havent really worked in before, as you can see i have alot to learn, but i really really appreciate your critique and i enjoy learning new techniques and bettering my skills. Thanks folks.

This is one of the best place to learn, definitely :thumbsup: Everyone's always learning; the day you stop is the day you should quit. Keep working at it, looking at others work and in particular their wireframes and by the time you start in september your work will have improved greatly :thumbsup:

Another thing you might want to address after you shave off the poly's is character. Right now it's just a toilet on a plank of wood. Try to give it some character, it is supposed to be a robot after all. Keep going though!

Pyrotechnic

07-11-2008, 04:08 PM

Give it some arms, so it can pass you loo roll and hold a newspaper for you...

kromano

07-11-2008, 10:50 PM

Give it some arms, so it can pass you loo roll and hold a newspaper for you...

If my toilet started handing me things... I think that's the day I stop going to the bathroom.

I really want to participate in this competition, but I can't seem to invent a robot. Me. Can't invent a robot... it's perplexing to my very core. I'd doodle things like this (http://members.shaw.ca/bluzz/zeppo.jpg) or that (http://members.shaw.ca/cisforbrunching/battle/Battle1-7.jpg) (part of an alternating doodle war with a friend for s & g's). And yet ideas I have not.

Hmm, well I have one. A mech-warrior style robot designed to store a single slice of pizza... Anyway.

lowlevel21

07-11-2008, 11:39 PM

This is my crappy concept for this entry, its called Principal-bot...he's the personal aide to the school principal. He goes around giving detention slips to people who are late to class, and if theres a bigger problem he uses that Paddle 9000 to smack kids in the _ _ _....lol, i know i wanted to go really funny with this contest but i mixed it up abit, i put rocket boosters on his back for flight purposes and a detention slip ticket mechanism on his head, this was abit of a challenge cause i didnt want to make it too obvious of a lowpoly model so i had to play with alot of the structure to get my desired look...and i was cutting it close to the allowed tri count, i'm right at 1,994-tri's but anyway please give me some crits, those are ALWAYS!! welcomed lol

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/4928/principalbotconcept2wv5.jpg

The kick me sign is totaled into the tri count aswell...

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/1043/principalbot2wm5.jpg

i do have a question, if i wanted to do a small scene pedestal, maybe a short hallway with lockers and such, can i do that? or is the whole thing limited to tri's given?

Good luck !

Pyrotechnic

07-11-2008, 11:43 PM

Looking good lowlevel.

Pedastal etc would not count, they'd just be for the beauty render.

lowlevel21

07-11-2008, 11:51 PM

ahh ok sounds good thanks

JuddWack

07-12-2008, 07:49 AM

Sweet principle bot lowlevel. I'd love to see the bulb at the front a nice red like HAL from 2001.

Here's what I got with mine now. I cut A LOT out. Right now it's at about 1500 tris and the critical elements I still need are arms, with dentist tools on them, the teddy bear and hopefully the pain button remote. It's really going to be a stetch.

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/7057/dentibotwip01jy7.jpg

xbiten

07-12-2008, 01:24 PM

Hey!
Cool entries. lowlevel21 you can make an pedistal etc. Keep it up. I'm not able to finish this one. But I've spent some more time on the concept.
http://members.lycos.co.uk/xbiten/flash/galeries/013d/BeerMeBot.JPG

xbiten

07-12-2008, 05:52 PM

Update on concept in the post above.
I've changed the focus of the bot. Now it's a beer-o-bot which is driving around the streets and sell beers. You have the coin intake on the head and the selection display on the torso. It works as an vending machine, you put in money and make an selection in the display and the hatch unlocks. Maybe I'll get some time tomorrow to model and texture him. we'll see. Now it's off for some beers :D. cheers!

blenderhead

07-13-2008, 03:23 PM

Haha nice on low-level. Really nice design.

Here's mine so far...it's a space probe buggy thing

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9147/utilixtp5.jpg

lowlevel21

07-13-2008, 03:42 PM

Blenderhead-thanks blender, your bot is looking cool too!...does he have a wheel on his bottom, cause it looks like he'll be scratching his bottom chasis if he moves, but all in all great design, i wanted to do something with wheels too but i didnt like my design for it.

xbiten-love the concept design, i know you said you may not be able to finish the model, but i'd love to see it in 3D!, i wish i took that much time on my concept lol :(...but good job.

JuddWack- i know how you feel judd, i was at around 1400 or so when i had to do the arms on my bot too, i say just do the arms the way you want them and then dumb the geometry down from there, it will go over the 2k tri limit, but once you have your desired look start removing useless geometry.

good luck to all!

susia

07-13-2008, 08:43 PM

http://i33.tinypic.com/9k7c54.jpghttp://i34.tinypic.com/vqsfvr.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/2yn2wyx.jpg

It's 296 from Paradroid! Based on Niklas Janssons concept. It kinda sucks... modeling and texturing was done in about 4h or so... but it's made really fast so please forgive me :/. I wen't below the specs... sorry about that too! :)

Nice entries everyone... keep on working. :]

750 triangles
1 * 256x256 diffuse map

edit: updated the image and tweaked down the map

velenosangue

07-14-2008, 04:51 PM

xbiten-
I hope you finish yours..I'd also really like to see that in 3d.

Susia-
I don't think it sucks. I suppose the treads could use a little more detail, but overall I really like how it came out.

JuddWack

07-14-2008, 07:05 PM

I think it looks great Susia! I love the texture style.
Sorry guys, I don't think I'll be finishing mine this week due to a bunch of unexpected overtime. There's some great stuff here though.

blacker

07-14-2008, 07:33 PM

I'm running behind on mine, too. Modeling is basically done, but I haven't started unwrapping or texturing. I'll upload what I've got tonight.

Nice bot Susia! It doesn't suck, but at the same time, I know your texturing could be better. Your texture skills are amazing and this one, while still good, isn't up there with your others.

susia

07-14-2008, 07:42 PM

Thanks for the kind words and critique!

I basicly added abit more details to the threads tweaked down the map to 256x256 since there wasn't considerably loss to the overall detail. I really tried to push my time with this texture: I only used 3-4px brushes to avoid overdetailing, because it takes so much time just to tweak the little tiny parts... it might look abit unfinished because of that.

I updated the previous post.

lowlevel21

07-14-2008, 07:54 PM

susia great work on that bot bra, i love the color and style used, i'm hoping today i can finish mine and maybe cut it close by tomorrow when this thing is due, so much other stuff going on...but great job all around people!:wavey:

xbiten

07-16-2008, 01:35 AM

And the winner is...*drums*... susia. I love your handpainted texturing style. You're a very skilled texturer. A nice entry that's optimized to the max. Only critique I can come up with is that you could have pushed it even further with the specs given, i'm really interested what you would have come up with if you were to spend another 4h. Good job!

To bad there wasn't more entries that finished. I know this size of the challenge might have been too timeconsuming.
My personal favorite was the principal bot which I was really interested where it was going, it was a strong contribution. Too bad it didn't finish.

So now it's susias turn to come up with the next challenge! I hope I have more time so I can join in. Good job everyone.

Pyrotechnic

07-16-2008, 02:18 AM

Haha, oops, forgot about this...

Well done Susia.

lowlevel21

07-16-2008, 02:29 AM

yea susia had some great work there, texture work was outstanding...thankyou for the kind words on my principal bot xbiten :thumbsup: , i thought i had time, but anyway good job to all, i hope to get into the next one...i will though post principal anyway just to let you guys know how he comes out.

see ya in the next comp! :wavey:

blenderhead

07-16-2008, 04:48 PM

Woah...didn't nearly finish this one...unwrapping aint even done! Nice entry suz, real nice.

Can we get something organic/environmental for the next challenge please? ;)

blacker

07-16-2008, 08:15 PM

Didn't get to texturing. This is how far I got. The hands are pretty weak. I didn't have time to fix them, though I had some polys to spare. Just not enough time over that weekend. :(

I meant to post this last night, too, not that it's anywhere near completed enough to compete. :D I had fun on it though! Congrats Susia!

http://www.ramelot.com/todds/fishbot.jpg

The fish pots (the big balls) would have been split at the edgeloop below the protrusions. The white things on the sides would have been cloth upon which was painted in Chinese characters, "Carp" (or Koi as they are the same species) and some other kind of freshwater fish, possibly catfish. Again, the hands I would certainly fix, given the time. His coolee hat would have been straw with an alpha map to make parts of it frayed and see-through. The tackle-box on the back would have been whicker made of bamboo. The rod and pipe would be bamboo. The pots would be terra-cotta and ideally have a lip around the lid to show it's removeable. If I have the time, I'll finish this one since I really enjoyed it. I'm still working on a bunch of other old models though.. soo... we'll see.

susia

07-17-2008, 05:40 PM

velenosangue

07-17-2008, 06:53 PM

Hi Susia,

The elemental one could be fun. The health pack one seems a bit close to the pickup item competition.

I'd be interested in seeing some kind of environment competiton since it's been a while since the last one.

Another one that just came to mind is post-apocalyptic toys.

lowlevel21

07-18-2008, 01:57 AM

a good one would be to pick a subject and run with it (scene wise)

i.e: We take a concept like a construction site and everyone try to make there own scene
surrounded around the concept, you make a pedastel and set-up a situation for the scene, everyone take something from a construction site i.e: cones, machinery, etc and model a scene around the idea.

another concept would be a park, like the construction site concept, you'd take an item from the park, i.e:monkey bars, swings, etc, and create a scene around it...

hopefully this will get the environment fanatics (me included :) ) into the contest.

Dekker3D

07-18-2008, 11:26 AM

i like the elemental idea. it'd be fun to try..

JezGreen

07-18-2008, 11:58 AM

How a bout a little / big project, along the lines of hunny I shrunk the kids?

Zerafian

07-18-2008, 12:27 PM

umm looks like a penis right now ( no offence :) )

why do I get the feeling he was kinda going for that look all along...seems like fate...the whole model screams it...not that its not going to come out looking cool, heh.

matsman

07-18-2008, 02:35 PM

Hi everybody... was on a bit of a holiday... so I didn't join this one. Despite being a bit like the pickup challenge I do like the healthpack very much...

The elemental is going to be quite hard to handle... since characters are a lot more work usually and the fun of this challenge is definitely that they are a kind of finger exercises for the big stuff (at least that is what I think)... also if an entry gets more complex there are less people likely to enter and even less to finish...

So what I am suggesting is to go with an elemental- thing... special effect, staff of power, wizards attire... That'll be easier and less time consuming.
Or if you go with the healthpack maybe go for a heath station instead, that is different enough from a pickup.

Or, I have seen the game art-test thread, you can post a concept, and let everyone work from that... I think that'll be cool too, to see the difference in style and how people solve certain problems.

:) Just joining the aftermath fray of ideas here :) looking forward to the next, even though I also have to work on my insectwar entry this weekend...

blacker

07-18-2008, 06:26 PM

Hiyas!
blacker: Nice model... you could lose some pollies around the pipe, and on the small metal "dots" on those balls. And maybe add some unmirrored elements to it... and the rod... umm looks like a penis right now ( no offence :) ) other than it its really great. Shame that we won't see it textured.

I will always try to make everything done whatever I start. It's really shame to work on the model for 2-3h and leave it like that since you can't really add it up to your folio thus its almost lost time to me... well maybe you learn something from it but the bottom line for me is to _finish everything_ :).Thanks Susia! I'm not too concerned with the metal studs on the pots since they are there to add to the silhouette and I wanted them as rounded as possible, but I'll concede it is a bit wateful. The pipe could be reduced a bit, too, but again, I don't feel it would need to be reduced. It's under 25 or so tris, I think (the stem is 6 tris, though I could weld the points inside his head to cut it to 3), and given that it's basically an extension of the face, I'm OK with the # of tris used. I can definitely agree that this should be less symmetrical. :D As for the look of the rod (and pots), as Zerafian said, yeah, it was sort of meant to look like that. It thought it would be funny to have an unlit silhouette where the shape would lead you into thinking it was one thing, and then the lighted/textured would show you that it is something else entirely. :) I will certainly try to finish it. I hate having unfinished models, but the little time I have to work on stuff coupled with my constant desire to make something new make it tough. ;) I'm sort of at an area where I've got 20 or so models in various stages of completion, so I'm trying to choose the best of them to finish. I appreciate your comments though!

I'd like the Elemental challenge. I have an idea for a wax golem/elemental that I could finish at under 700 tris. Heck, we could reduce it to 300 and it would still probably work. :) I think the health pack is too similar to the "pickup" challenge we just had.

xbiten

07-18-2008, 06:35 PM

Yeah I like both ideas. But I think a elemental challenge is too big for this challenge.
1+ on the healthpack

lowlevel21

07-18-2008, 07:36 PM

Been doing some thinking and i can came up with these possibles:

catapults (make a machine/device that will throw something of your choice)

garden tools (items from a lawn mower to branch clippers)

power tools (things you'd find in your dad's garage)

ultimate melee weapon (hand combat, can be anything from elemental bracers to a staff)

ultimate range weapon (can be something that shoots elemental matter, i.e lightning bolts, fire, or a cannon that shoots cats)

Elemental beast (this will be any animal of your choosing, this will also be a two part theme, meaning the elemental animal you make in this one will be the pet, or mount of the elemental being that you make in the contest after this one)

just throwing these ideas out there peeps, since everyone seems to be stuck on the elements lol!...i'm diggin the elemental beast theme, seeing as its a two parter, and seeing as how we all can do a beauty image when the elemental beast and the elemental being is done, which will add another portfolio piece!!

kromano

07-18-2008, 10:13 PM

What about a teleportation device? Could be a gun that shoots portals... or your classic platform that sends you somewhere else or whatever you can think of.

Of course, whatever it is, it should happen soon.

I'd avoid doing ultimate melee or pickup items, too similar to challenges that just recently occured.

How about Design a Megaman Robot, Redeux. I always was disappointed I missed that one.