Bell UH-1 Y wip

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

woohoo i didnt expect to see so much stuff !!

thx buddies , i believe this is turning out to become great !!

for this subsurfs-thingy ; isnt that blender you use ?? the pink vertices remind me of that ... blender was my very start in 3d modelling , but i dl'ed the 3dsmax trial very soon after playing arround with blender ...

another point : when subdividing the polies using subdivision surfaces so much ,  arent there way too many polies in the model ??

regards , max

[Corkey 0]

@plaintiff1,

Sorry about that, most terms are application specific and from the MAX users I've met, they say just "Subsurf."

@zee-ub00r-assi,

It depends entirely on your basic geometric construction. Usually you start out with a very low density mesh and work it up with the subsurf on the highest level you plan to use, then back the subsurf off for your different LODs.

You could also model it higher then you need and decimate it but that is usually very destructive to the overall shape and the UV mapping.

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

going to try that now ... maybe it turns out to be very interresting ...

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

using the the weld and target-weld tool i am now at 4570 polies .... that makes a poly-loss of about 25%

and : optimizing a mesh is freakin fun ....

[abs 2]

and : optimizing a mesh is freakin fun ....

Wait until you learn about the joys of UV mapping.

Abs

[blackjack-VS- 0]

zee, nice wip with the choper, its very acurated for a 1st modeling experience with max, so my respect for that...

About the mesh flow, i also feel there's some kind of "not so good" distributed iso lines in some spots...i think corkey explained it well with the screenies, but everyone has a diferent way of doing the same models..

i havent tryed a choper yet, but like all the other models with lots of curved shapes, u need to find the strong contours of the mesh, get help from reference pics and blueprints of course, then make some cv's or nurbs primitives if u have the skill to, or then just do the classic polymodeling "extrusions". i use both ways, depending on the model...

in xsi i would start with the blueprints views attached to the reference planes, then build cv lines defining main shapes. attach those lines and create surfaces. mark hard edges for the main edges then subdivide progressive.

make the choper finished around the 4000polyquads (8000 triangles), and then focus on creating all the details possible using mesh. use and abuse of it, then when u get the 100.000 barrier, extract the normal map and occlusion map from it.

apply it to the 4000polys model and voila. u will have a kick ass choper for us to play on arma

i would advise u to avoid weird polygon islands, and n-sided polys. they usually cause artefacts with realtime shaders... hope it helps!

Abs u bet those crazy bananas!! uv mapping can be so dam depressing sometimes, or extremely fun if u have decent tools... good luck for the project, and keep us posted with those wips.

[USSRsniper 0]

Nice work, but real fun didnt begin yet. Real fun will happen when you have to use UV maps

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

you guys are just soooo demotivating

.... dont bother me with all this normal maps stuff now .... i will keep on modelling until i reach the 8000 limit ... i think i have enough polies in budget to make an decent looking interior and stuff

im also planning to make these versions :

1. transport : first thing to finish , no weapons

2. FFAR's and m240d's on both sides

3. FFAR's and 50 cal.'s on both sides

4. and , of course : FFARS and a gau17 minugun on bothside

the FFAR's are already available from BIS , so ill use these

for the minuguns : i think ill do my own , because i really dont like the ones on the blackhawk ...

all armaments are available in reality

i hope i can get some script or stuff , that , when the pilot switches to manual fire , points the miniguns/m240's or 50. cals in flight direction , so they can be used better by the pilot .

and , since this is the role of this helo is the dropping off of small reconnaissance-units , i hope i can implement the fast rope script , if its coder allwos me to.

i will release thsi thing only if it looks perfect to me (dont laugh) , i want it to look as if it was done by BIS (dont laugh)

[MehMan 0]

We're not gonna laugh, we all have those kinds of expectations from us, at least I expect myself to do so. Just one thing, do you know how to texture good?

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

not yet , ive found a good unwrapping tutorial for max , but i only have gimp , and when i buy the edu-version of 3dsmax , im totally broke ...

is it even possible to make textures without adobe ps ?? i only see ps used everywhere ...

the mentioned tutorial gave me a little idea of how unwrapping works and i think im possible to make a good texture for the venom ,

if i can get my hands on the cobra texture so that they match eachother ingame ... dont understand me wrong : i dont want to just copy and paste it , i just want the colors and level of detailing

[abs 2]

You can use any graphic program to make textures. I've heard of some people even using MS Paint.

Abs

[Corkey 0]

A good program for texturing, if you cannot afford CS2, is artweaver. It's not the best, but it's "Better" then gimp and dogwaffle, in my humble opinion.

If you have MAX you should be able to "Bake" a normal map, although you'll have to add the details with artweaver.

UV mapping isn't overly hard, it just takes a little bit of time and practice.

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

ey , thats good news

ps: no progress yet , still thinking bout how to start the cockpit and seats

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

messed up everything today ... in an huge aggressive emotional breakout (while facing my stupidity) , i noticed that my whole mesh is a f9785 piece of crap in terms of modifyability ... i cam e to the decision that i need a break from modelling ( ... i see vertices and stuff everywhere when i close my eyes )

the trial runs out in 3 days , m going to order the edu-version today , so , i think , im at least one or one and half weeks off --- i will start from scratch then and keep an eye on clean edgeflow permanently , maybe ill try corkey's subsurf method .

I think ill get as far as i am now in a few days then , because ive got a better routine and workflow while making the parts youve seen in this thread .

I DON'T SAY THAT THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETELY DEAD OR I WONT CONTINUE WORKING ON IT IT .

so , regard this thread as closed or paused , until i'm pleased with my model .... expect to see it in maybe 2 or 3 weeks ...

thx for all critics and motivations , i expect you guys to give even harder C&C when im back

[MehMan 0]

But why, it doesn't look bad right now. But if you wish to restart it, we won't mind.

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

i dont know .... the whole mesh is some kind of experiment .

i didnt know things when i started wit the nose , for example , that i know now --- it has no sense continueing with this model , it would only get worse

but ill be back , expect to see something better then ...

[abs 2]

It happens. When I made my first model I had to restart it as well. You just learn as you go along

Abs

[Serclaes 0]

Guess it's always the same. I had to redo my first model too.

[Boomer1985 0]

Yeah before starting any modeling always keep in mind that you keep your mesh clean and overviewable. That way it's easier to modify anything later... i had the same problems when i started modeling about 2 years ago...

But keep it up buddy... learning by doing!!!

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

Quote[/b] ]... learning by doing!!!

i will

[surpher 1]

This might help you, ComputerArts-Model Aircraft Tutorial

[SelectThis 0]

Don't be afraid to throw away a model and restart it, especially while learning the trade. I redid the BAS Blackhawk many times before I was happy with it!

Keep learning.

STT

[VXR 9]

Back in the time when Sebnam got popular I believe to have seen a tutorial on how to create a Huey. Can't really remember where I have seen it but you could try searching for it on the forums.

It started with a eggshape that for shaped into a huey

[max power 21]

@Surpher

That's a great link. Cheers.

@zee-ub00r-assi

If you're starting over, don't subdivide the mesh until later. You can check out how it's going to look at differing stages using the subsurf section of the edittable poligons\poligons subobject rollout under the heading of something like 'Surface Subdivision'. I would start out as simple as possible first, then try to add detail. What you're building is a low poly model so I would recommend you use low poly techniques primarily!

[zee-ub00r-assi 0]

yeah i know the huey tut , its done in xsi softimage i think ... the seaking isnt new to me either , its a good quality tut , but it focusses on modelling with meshmooth in mind so it isnt that useful .

ive learned the most things by watching the a3-tutorial at 3d-palace.com , you actually see how the model is made and then can pick some techniques that you like .

the login there is really worth it