Wow Leigh! I’m lost for words. I can’t think of any nouns, verbs or adjectives to demonstrate my appreciation. 
When I first posted the model, It was sort of half textured, and that’s what PDK was refering to. I ended up replacing the renders with simple grey shaded ones. I was getting a bit ahead of myself, and I’m trying to get the model completely finished before I move on to the texturing.
Thanks again!
AJ
Aaah, I was wondering if perhaps he’d accidentally posted in the wrong thread (it happens sometimes). Now it makes sense.
Looking forward to seeing this finished!
I think my current plan is to get the model finished in a neutral pose will all of the sails and rigging deployed. Ill then crank out a few museum style renders that just show the model, with some close ups on the carvings and other important areas.
After that’s done, Ill start to get my composition worked out for a hero shot on the sea. I’ve got a few paintings to use as reference, and It shouldn’t be to much work to pose the sails if I rig them correctly. But I really don’t want to get ahead of myself, I really need to get the model done.
Thanks for the reply arctor, and welcome back to the WIP forum, Leigh. 
-AJ
Superb work! I am posting to show my interest because I’m in the vol. 15 of the Aubrey-Maturin Series (Master and Commander, ring a bell?). I am devoted corps et âme to anything related to Napoleonic Naval Warfare and even had thoughts about modeling the HMS Surprise myself.
I would gladly stand behind your desk as acting steward, keeping the coffee pot ready until you finish that colossal task! I wish you all the luck in the world on your endeavour and will come back to see the progress with avid interest.
@Leigh: Excellent!
AJ1, out of curiosity, have you ever seen a proper old warship like this in real life? Not a replica, but a real original one? I’ve been to see the Vasa ship in Stockholm and I must say, if you ever get the chance, you have to go see it yourself. The Vasa ship is a bit older than the one you’re modelling but it’s no less spectacular. I was absolutely in awe of it when I went to see it. It’s huge.
The Vasa ship is like something from The Goonies, it looks like a set!
HMS Victory is quite a sight too.
I also think anything less than a rolling ocean and ominous skies wouldn’t do this justice AJ.
Hey Leigh,
I have not. :cry: I live out in corn country in Indiana, and I don't make it out to the coast very often.
I've seen some pictures of the Vasa in my research (I've actually recommended another member to check out some photos of it to help with his project). Its absolutely stunning the condition its in after 350 years. I'm pretty jealous you got to go see it. :drool:
Most of my reference photos are of the HMS Victory in Portsmouth. I've probably got around 500 images that I've mined from google images, everything from ship models, drawings, paintings, photos of real ships, and even a few 3D models that others have made.
This ship itself is from around 1790, and was the last generation of the all wooden ships before they started using iron. I was compelled to model it because it was the ultimate expression of what a wooden ship could be. I thought the triple deckers like the Victory looked too tall and vulgar, and that the single deck frigates like Surprise looked a bit weak, so I went with the double decker as a compromise. If you compare this ship to something like the Vasa or the Mary Rose, it looks really sleek and high tech. Although it doesn't have the hull decoration of the Vasa, it still would have some pretty detailed carving work that I haven't finished yet. I don't think my art skills are quite strong enough to tackle the carvings just yet though. I don't have any exact reference on them, so I kind of have to design and fill in the blanks. :blush:
I don't have much reference material on the 74 gun ships like this one, so most of the detail is interpolated from other sources, like the Victory, Surprise, and various models and drawings I've found. I've been using 3 books about rigging to help me along with that. So basically this whole model has been one giant puzzle.
@Thanks for the kind words Thierry! If you looking to tackle the Surprise, you cant do with out this book.
[http://www.amazon.com/Rigging-Period-Models-Step-Step/dp/1557509700](http://www.amazon.com/Rigging-Period-Models-Step-Step/dp/1557509700)
It shows every single rope on a late 18th century English frigate, and has been a huge help on my project.
@Thanks Matt! I read that ILM used the Vasa as reference for many of the ships in POTC.
@Thanks conbom! I only get between 10-20 hours per week to work on it, so I’m defiantly more than a year a way from getting it done. Ill keep at it though.
Thanks again to everyone for the feedback! I've done some major detail work on the head rails to get ready for the new figurehead installation, and Ill post my results from that in a week or two.
-AJI’m going to embark on a similar project to this in the near future so i’m watching this very very closely. Your work so far is breathtaking. Hope to see more soon!
N
Hey Nick,
Thanks man, I really appreciate it!
I’ve got a pretty big pile of research on these types of boats. If you need any help, I’m more than happy to share.
-AJ
Thanks, I have some minimal research gathered already, but I’m sure i will certainly be having to ask you a bunch of questions. And you can never have too much reference! I’m far from the best modeller in the world, so when i do make a start it will probably push me well past breaking point, but it will be interesting…
You are doing an amzing job on this one though so i will learn a lot just from seeing this develop.
AJ1, One can see the influences of HMS Victory, and they’ve served you well. Regards the above question, with effort and with work like that … you just made it and you interesting
Just noticed this project and I have to say this is truly awesome! Like others have said, it really deserves a full out battle scene! That’s what they were made for after all.
A rendering of this (in battle) belongs in a real museum 
Hey man I just want to say some good work you are doing.
Very very dedicated and nice. I think it will turn out great.
@Mattias- Thanks!
@Nick- Cool! Feel free to hit me up at my gmail, reply to this thread, or pm me if you have any specific questions, or want to see some part of the model.
@Chris- Haha! Thanks! I would say a big majority of the details have been pulled from photos of Victory. I’m glad someone finds these things as interesting as I do!
@dpetty43- Thanks for the kind words!
@Len- Thanks! I’ve got some ideas in my head based of some paintings I’ve seen. I might try to do a concept painting for composition, and post it so people can critique. :arteest:
@Alm- Thanks! Nice work on your museum piece so far! Ill write you up some feedback here in a bit on your latest update.
@Carlos- Thank you sir. :bowdown:
@Igor- Thanks man! I appreciate it.
Here is a small update showing my progress on the revamped figurehead. Everyone’s on holiday, so I’ve bad plenty of time to work. 
It’s supposed to be Zeus, and I’m trying to convey a certain amount of swag with the facial expression and body pose. According to the internet, Zeus had a pet eagle, and Ill place that in the same place its shown in my main reference image. I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but if anyone has any feedback, I would greatly appreciate it.
So other than the main statue, there will be some clouds, a Cherub, some rocks, trees, water waves, a mermaid, and some sea creatures to fill out the rest of the space in-between those two head rails.
Other than the carvings, I finally got the gunports rigged so they can be opened and closed. I added some detail to the head rails, and got most of the rigging done on the fore stunsail boom. I also need to clean up some wobbliness and sloppiness in the model. 
I’ll post an update showing the more detailed canvas and the stunsail soon.
Thanks again for all your feedback!
-AJ
Click for fullsize
Click for fullsize
Fantastic model. I agree that this deserves to be seen at sea.
Out of curiosity, what program are you modeling in?
Edit: Nevermind, I see that it’s Maya 
:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: