HARDCORE MODELING!: 80's Cartoon: Captain Harlock's Arcadia

[FICTIS]

OK...

I did a lot of trial and error and I decided to model the tower first. I tried on the wings. After a first model, I figured some details where unclear on the images I had. I put my Harlock Saga DVD in my player and salvaged some decent screenshots. Well folks, all the models I have are different interpretations, close but not all the same so I said what the heck, I'll do a very similar model but still an interpretation no less. Here are the images I could get of the tower:

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ARCADIA_TOWER.jpg

So I started fresh as the wing section (the one I was working on) levels up in the blueprints and down in the film. Also, As I was not able to get a clear view of the rear, I improvised. the basic shape is done and I'll add a few other details, this is how it looks so far:

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP1

All of this got me back to confront my good and bad modeling techniques... upside down normals, errors in extrusions, that kind of stuff ;) As I wish to make a good model (and learn from it mainly), I re-did the wings a few times allright but now I'm on a good start.

[TheRazorsEdge]

Very cool! I had a similar ship as a model kit once.

Cheers!

[axiomatic]

wow, what an awesome ship it is too :)

looking forward to seeing this progress!

[MarioGuillermo]

Great choice for a challenge! :cool: . I built the plastic kit of the Arcadia, as well as the Death Shadow, back in the mid-80's. Plastic modeling kept me out of trouble back then. Look forward to the finished model, good luck.

[MistaFraggadeliX]

Great choice... That's a very cool looking ship. I can't for the life of me remember that particular show, but I do, however, remember that spaceship...

Good luck with the modeling. (It's nice to know that i'm not the only beginner in here... "Hardcore Modeling Challenge", it just sounds so... hardcore)

[moonchild]

great choice and fantastic spaceship

[FICTIS]

OK, second WIP post.

I was unable to work on the model for 5 days so I am beginning to fear I will not have enough time to make it in time but, still I want to do it anyways. As I was advancing the wing section of the tower, I noticed a lot of elements where either too small for me to view the details or switching from being there to not being there on my reference images so I figured I should "recreate them" using other visible elements as a reference, I made extremely rough sketches to give myself an idea of the look of the elements and I modeled them. As I put them into place, I noticed a problematic overlap between the wing vents and the rear part so I had to adjust the vent piece accordingly. I will continue to model today so I might post another WIP later. I also added a bit of details to the wing tips.

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP2.jpg

[FICTIS]

Yet another WIP for today. I'm done today so there is where I am so far with the model. I had to draw some other parts to have an overall idea on the shapes. I did the two lower parts (under the wings, the upper wings that is). Here is what it looks like so far:

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP3.jpg

[MarioGuillermo]

Very impressive modeling so far, I think you have plenty of time. Keep up the good work.

[MistaFraggadeliX]

Nah, you have time ;)

I mean look at my entry... If you don't have time, then I certainly don't :D
I only just really started work on my model this week, and I'm posting my first WIP now...

[FICTIS]

Thanks for the comments guys! I should have time to advance a little today... I hope ;)

[FICTIS]

OK,

Today's post...

I did advance today, a little erratically though, Modeled a piece from the tower, than the fuselage, than the boosters and I put a rough shape to connect the upper tower to the fuselage. As you can see, there are not many details yet in the rear part of the tower. I also do a bit of "personal interpretation" on the ship, mainly on the rear as it is rarely visible. Also, the tower from the schematics I had is somewhat less detailed and thinner than the Arcadia from the series and I decided to go along in that direction but I will add more details of my own as I progress.
http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP4.jpg

[FICTIS]

New WIP.

I worked mostly on the fuselage during the last few days. Here are the new elements: the top of the tower section, the Skull and bones and the body of the arcadia is taking shape at last. My next element will be the base of the tower (illustrated as a drawing). I plan to work on it a bit tomorrow.

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP5.jpg

[MarioGuillermo]

I really like the details, very clean modeling. Look forward to the finished pirate battleship. The green Arcadia is so much cooler than the blue one.

[MistaFraggadeliX]

Your model is shaping up nicely. I can't wait to see the textured version of the Arcadia, as you mentioned your usual line of work is texturing and lightning...

[TheRazorsEdge]

Yep, its shaping up nicely! Keep 'em updates coming. :)

Cheers!

[FICTIS]

a small WIP post, finally, the tower is connected to the fuselage!
http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip1.jpg

[RobertoOrtiz]

One thing you should know is that Captain Harlock is a cartoon fro mthe late 70's.
I can spotlight the model, but it would not be elegible for voting.

-R

[T0BER]

"Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Arcadia of My Youth" was released in 1982 though, would it make this entry eligable if it is stated to be from that movie?

Otherwise the model is looking good. The only thing I don't like is the Jolly Rodger emblem - I think you should cut down on its depth and have it adhere to the shape of the ship more. Otherwise it's looking good.

[FICTIS]

Hi Roberto.

The 1984 series had the green arcadia, the 1978 had the blue one. Also, TOBER is right, Arcadia of my youth, Endless Odyssey SSX (being my main reference) and Captain Harlock and the queen of a thousand years (my references) are from mid-80 and the last one is listed in the list you gave us (the 80's cartoons A-to-D page), I did check on this before starting the contest.

[FICTIS]

OK, this is where I am right now. I may work on this late tomorrow, I put a bit of Ambient Occlusion to see how it looks like with it.
http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip2.jpg

[MarioGuillermo]

Great modeling Fictis. I was checking on Wikkipedia and this green Arcadia is from the mid 1980's. The ugly blue Arcadia is from the late 70's show Captain Harlock.

[FICTIS]

Had a pretty busy day allright but I had time to model the wings. Tomorrow is rather busy as well.

http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip3.jpg

[TheRazorsEdge]

Great progress here!

Cheers!

[FICTIS]

Thanks for the comments guys, no progress today (no significant progress), I'll probably post tomorrow.

[razeverius]

aw man! wait wait wait! i think I know this. If you happen to know Megas XLR in cartoonetwork they featured this ship lol. This looks cool!:applause:

[RageOfAges]

Man I forgot all about this thread. I checked it out after your first post and thought: Wow that ship looks awesome! You've done a great job with your references. This beast is looking great.

By the way I saw you are from Chicoutimi. My whole family on my mother's side is in Chicoutimi, or jonquiere, or Arvida. :)

-Rage

[FICTIS]

Gee, now I really know why I sometimes hate myself...

I'm doing the back of the ship. Once again, not so many clear images (even from the series itself) and a hell of a lot of decorations... Even better, as this challenge is a good way for me to learn the tools, I decided I would do all the leaves and decorations with vertices in order to learn vertex grouping, assigning weighting and subsurfing instead of using simple bezier curves... I also adjusted a few elements of the ship (mostly size and position) because the views I used did not match the ship from the illustrations and the series (but I will not post images yet).

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP6.jpg

[Airflow]

Really nice work here, its pumped up.

[moonchild]

hey

i've got the models (both the blue ,btw i dont think its ugly at all and i prefer the first one actually,and i have also the green arcadia(from taito))i cant take pictures of it if you really need to...

[MarioGuillermo]

Your model looks amazing, nice craftsmanship. The galleon-like stern of the Arcadia has always fascinated me. Some other ships in the series had paddlewheels, and even oars if I remember correctly.

[FICTIS]

Hey Moonchild,

Any reference would definitely help very much, a lot of details are unclear in the images I have.

[FICTIS]

Here is where I am right now with the Rear of the ship. No real assembly for the moment, I just tilted the rear part to "fit" with the side, no adjustments done yet and some overlaps will have to be corrected.

http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip4.jpg

[TheRazorsEdge]

Very sweet detail! That's what we all love to see, so keep it flowing! :thumbsup:

Cheers!:arteest:

[LMG]

Wow great progress, i thought it would be very hard to make it as its a very big ship but you managed to make it so.

Great work and hope you can have it complete in short.

Sincerelly
Leandro Giorni

[FICTIS]

Thanks for the comments guys ;)

The rear of the stern is done now and the basic shape of the side of the stern is also done. I hope to have most of the model done by wednesday...
http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP7.jpg

[MarioGuillermo]

Very nice detail, it captures the look of the Arcadia's stern castle perfectly.

[FICTIS]

The ship is finally almost done. It's been quite a challenge and I am very happy to be able to reach my goal. I've learned much indeed, very much... A lot of detailing still to be done and some pieces of the ship are still missing but I can see the end now :thumbsup:

http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP8.jpg

[theKid123]

yo very nice ... arcadia is coming along nicely ... loving the detail you put on the captain's cabinet

[MistaFraggadeliX]

Very nice, :beer:

I hadn't even noticed the stern in the reference pictures, but it's a very cool juxtaposition with the rest of the ship. And you've the captured the details very well.

I know it can get pretty frustrating with placing details like these. With the Valkyrie I'm working on, it seems every artist and every different toy or model kit put in different details.

[MarioGuillermo]

Very nice model Fictis, it sure brings back memories of the TV show and films.

[TheRazorsEdge]

Very, very nice!

Look who's talking about plenty of detail on just one model. Seems to me you're quite the detail freak yourself. ;)

Great work here!

Cheers!

[FICTIS]

Right now I'm mostly into adding details to the model. I don't know if I will be able to get into the texturing process but I should be able to light it properly. I've added the wooden flooring to the front deck and made a base stand for the Cannons. I also added the big sphere between the tower and the stern. I'm out for the weekend but I should be able to work a little on it.
http://www.fictis.net/albator/ArcadiaWIP9.jpg

[razeverius]

oh yeah..i am loving them details!:buttrock:

[FICTIS]

I'm onto the texturing guys. It might not be ready (completely) for tomorrow though. I want to give it a rugged metal boat look (and wooden boat look for the wood part). Given the overall odd shapes of the ship, UV mapping is not that simple either... The texture will look like this:
http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip5.jpg

Comments and suggestions are welcome of course ;)

[theKid123]

with the shape of the ship it would really be a pain to UV map ... and texture .. but you are doing a great job with it ... loving it :)

[MarioGuillermo]

I like the look, specially the battle damage scars.

[FICTIS]

OK, There goes my "official entry"... It's been a hell of a good training ground :thumbsup:

BATTLESHIP ARCADIA (Green model)

The battleship of Captain Harlock.

It took me about 90 hours overall

Programs used: Blender 2.48, photoshop (for the textures and drawings)

Here are new edits (same views) with a corrected texture (barely, I had like 2 hours to work on it in 2 days...) Thanks to moonchild who provided me with a new basis for the texture.

http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautySide1_1600.jpg
http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautySide2_1600.jpg
http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautyBack_1600.jpg
http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautySIDE_1600.jpg
http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautyBOTTOM_1600.jpg
http://www.fictis.net/albator/BeautyTOP_1600.jpg

[MistaFraggadeliX]

Very, very cool...

Great Job, Eric. Good to see you were able to make the deadline... textures and all.

[FICTIS]

Texture and lighting is not yet finished (I would need at least a few more days to make it properly and I don't have them) I plan to finish it properly though.

[moonchild]

please check the colors

its not accurate at all
grey is too gray and grean is too green
overall it should be much more "army" colored

and the dirt shouldnt be so black and obvious ,instead i think you should do a pass of ambiant occlusion and put some light dirt in every "holes" and lines.

[FICTIS]

You're right Moonchild, still a lot of work to do on this but I don't think I will have time for the deadline. But still, I plan on finishing it in the next weeks. The burns are way too obvious I agree.

[waterlilly]

That's some really fine detail work on the model.

I think I read a post that said the deadline was extended to friday or somethin, so you have some more time to polish her up.

[FICTIS]

Thanks Waterlilly, I'm rather busy so I don't know if I'll be able to work some more on it, but I will afterwards no doubt.

[theKid123]

congrats on finishing it on time....
Great Arcadia ..... better than i imagine ...
amazing job ...

hope to your Arcadia and MarioGuillermo's Starblazers together ... would be super cool

anyway... Great job on Arcadia

[Omnilight]

you have done good job there,
may i suggest some random glowing lights and powering up the thrusters/engine in photoshop? would look awesome :-)
cheers!

[FICTIS]

Good suggestion Omnilight. The texturing is not yet done (just basic un-UV'd) for all the rear and middle green parts, and no texture at all for the wood parts (except color of course).

I made some changes to the texture and also to the mesh of the body that had a bug I knew was there but I didn't change untill now... Thanks to Moonchild who provided me with a new basis for the texture.

Thanks to your comments all, it's very appreciated.

I am preparing a diorama with Mario's Starblazer Battleship. I might not work on it until a few weeks but we will post in both threads.

Here is a close-up of the actual front texture, still a bit of tweaking to do.
http://www.fictis.net/albator/wip6.jpg

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