Star Trek Enterprise build - how would you do it?

[Anonymous]

Okies...I was going to go into a long winded explaination of what I've done already, along with the options I'm considering, HOWEVER...I'll just ask...

...the lower cylindrical section of the hull...how would you go about creating that with holes for the windows?  Shaping the cylinder itself isn't a problem...a few edge loops here and there....it's those windows that are giving me a rash.  So, as the thread title says, how would you do it?

Thanks!

[J450NP13]

Cut them in with the multi-cut tool and extrude faces...extract...

[damaggio]

Yes, you can start like J450 is suggesting adding edge loops and extruding, expect  the mesh to get denser = more render time, I know you might wanna get closer to the model as you animate but modeling a higher resolution model might take a long time and if it is not done right you might encounter  problems down the line...let's not forget UVing everything again....you can take a look at these snapshots for reference but I would twink twice before moving in this Subd direction...as J4 suggests you can think as a medium poly model with all the edge loops you need to extrude the windows in and leave it like that ..done.

Another route is to keep the model as you have and redo in photoshop higher resolution texture 4k and up ...tiff 16 bit for a bump map containing the windows and even slightly raised panels in the fuselage...and use higher texture maps in general for close ups , spec, reflect etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys...I'm grateful for the assist.

I'm glad you popped your head in here D...I was starting to suspect you had more than a passing interest in "Trek" 🙂

So, here's the full story...

With the earlier attempts, yes...I used Booleans to cut the windows.  This had a few pro's and con's.  The upside is that as long as I didn't try to smooth or anything, yea...the render actually looked pretty decent with Maya software (as seen in my other thread on rendering).  Likewise, the textures weren't too much of a headache either, as I was able to create the UV's based on the camera view.  The down side however, is that I think this may be what has been wreaking havoc with Mentel Ray...when "good geometry goes bad".

So in exploring this, trying to get the best results visually with better geometry, I've been trying to explore some options...since this is for my own amusement more than anything, it's not like I'm on a deadline or anything, so I have some time to screw around with it. 

     Option 1 - skip trying to "cut" the windows and just do windows over the primary cylinder.  It's "ok" and was fairly easy to do, however when I go to add the ambiant occlusion layer, it don't quite look right.  Those windows really need to be cut and set into the hull.

     Option 2 - yea...I was ahead of you guys here and cut some extra geometry into the hull then extruded the windows in.  It's "better", however, the geometry (at this point at least) is still fairly messy...I'm honestly not sure if it's really THAT much better than the geometry from the Booleans (although I haven't tried any exports yet to test this theory).  The problem of course is that trying to cut the geometry into the hull means having to deal with that taper.  That said however, I did use the cut faces tool and was cutting across the WHOLE lower hull...ended up with a lot of tri's instead of quads. Looking at D's work there, I think I have a better idea (although suggestions are still quite welcome).

Now with that all said, here's an updated still using Option 2

Interestingly enough, this is actually a 3 layer render (not including the background), it's got a Maya Software layer, a Mental Ray layer and ambiant occlusion.  I do think it's a fair sight better and, visually at least, moving in the right direction...but we're gonna be talking some MASSIVE render times if I try to go this route...at the moment I estimate the final animation is likely to be around 12.000 frames and so far, I haven't included the second ship or any planets or anything else...you get the idea.

Needless to say, once I hit post here, I'm gonna take yet ANOTHER crack at it...I think I've cut around 40 different versions of that hull during the little project.

Again thanks for the suggestions and a push in the right direction...please feel free to add more!  🙂

[J450NP13]

I didn't read the whole post but you may think about using a render farm buddy.

[damaggio]

This latest render looks even better, the metallic look is really coming thru now..press on Kmarkus.

[Anonymous]

Render farm?  If I had ANY clue where to find such services...and find them for free...you can bet I'd already be using them.  I've even spoken with a friend of mine who's a professor at the local community college, however he just doesn't have the access to the systems to install the needed software (because the Autodesk stuff essentially  runs thru a Unix window, we have to have access to the school's servers and such in order for it to run..in other words, we already tried).

Nice idea...so's a nice home in a tropical paradise...don't see either happening at the moment.

[J450NP13]

It can get pricey ...I know.  We use a farm at my job.  A 1-1.5 minute animation can cost up to a couple thousand dollars depending on your render times.

[J450NP13]

I read about a bunch of guys that were all into making "fan" animations and they connected all their machines on a network to create a renderfarm...maybe look into that.

[Anonymous]

Alrighty...I submit for your approval, the new lower hull...

Over-all I actually think it looks pretty decent...and without the Booleans!  LOL!  Ended up doing it as basically two pieces (the sensory array, shuttlecraft bay, lights and blocks at the front of the hull are all seperate assemblies, etc).

I've also re-done the "neck" (the support for the saucer section) along with the middle piece in the saucer section...

I still need to re-cut the bridge section again...that employed the use of Booleans as well, however that shouldn't be nearly as big a deal, as I have a spare (all I have to do is cut the windows).  I can't really say it's had much of an effect on the render time so far...I would have thought the improved geometry would have lent itself to better/faster renders, as there should be little/no tesellation this time around, but so far they seem about the same as before.

Anyways, please lemme know what you think along with any suggestions for improvement.

Thanks!

[J450NP13]

I think you should use some weathering in the texture.  You don't warp speed around with getting a little burnt...)

[Anonymous]

I have actually added a little (just a very slight touch of burn and scorch here and there), however in Trek terms - that's what the deflector dish is for 🙂

My "treknobabble" is a tad rusty, however essentially the deflector dish projects "an energy beam" ahead of the ship that deflects minor space debris...keeps those micro-meteorites and such from piercing the hull (even at sub-light speed). And since there's no chance of oxidation in space, there's no reason to suspect she'd have anything like rust either.

Besides who's to say she didn't just pull out of space dock anyways...