Slow Day Because...

People are trying their hardest to get me down!

Let me elaborate on this a little... Right, before this course started, I was given the go ahead to do this course from the Test Manager within my workplace. Wednesdays are the days myself and my other friend (Anthony) have been given to attend college and to do our work. In fact, we have to pay for the course ourselves which is quite a bit of money over the 2 years and at a BA Hons level it ain't cheap!

Anyhow, today is a Wednesday and due to the time of year college is closed. Since weve been given Wednesdays to do our work all day, I've been working to try and get most of my modeling done before Christmas (in two days). I got a phone call from a guy a work stating that something is going on at work today and why myself and my friend are not in and that college is closed. Well duh... we are studying and using the time effectively to get our work done which we have approved by our Test Manager.  A few years prior to this course on our Foundation Degree, me, Anthony and one other person from the course PASSED!! We have proven ourselves that we are not slackers and we dont take liberties;... Our Test Manager is very understanding and he allowed us to do this course.

We are grateful for that but there are always some snakes who try and make it hard for us. Every Tuesday I get "oh, you going college tomorrow?" Well obviously, and then on the Thursday, I get... "oh, how was your day off?" These guys are idiots. They have taken this too far now. Previously, we had a Training Room within work with the relevant software on the PC's, this training room doesn't exist now and hasn't for a few years. Back then we came into work on the days college was closed and did our work there... so if we are suppose to come in on those days college is close then how do we pass the course? Is someone gonna pay for it for me if I don't do my work at home because I have to go into work?

I'm so angry today that I couldn't focus enough. I've got some work done today but I know that I could have done so much more! I'm angry at those involved in work and I'll be complaining to the max tomorrow!

I'll write up a proper update after all this mess get sorted. Anyhow here s a few renders of the re-modeled Viking Barn. I took my tutors advice and make it look more worn etc...

Re-Model Barn - Render 1

Re-Model Barn - Render 2

Re-Model Barn - Render 3

Re-Model Barn - Render 4

Screen Grab 1

Screen Grab 2

Screen Grab 3

Screen Grab 4 - Poly-Count

Today's Workload....

After having some useful information...

From my Mentor and Rob, I have decided to work my butt off. (In a manner). Today, I re-worked my Viking Homes and now the models have been done to a standard that I'm happy with. I know now that I need to get myself into gear and to just go for it with them and all my other models.

I also manged to create a Viking Blacksmith workshop which was hard due to not having any real references for it. It was a challenge but I'm pleased with the outcome. I know that I have more work to do on it like adding a water barrel, swords, shields and wood in various places but it's at 95% completion in the modeling area. I've also decide to do show you a list of what I have done and what need doing below... This will also help me so see it up on my blog!

My Completed Models are as follows... (which need texturing)

5 x Viking Homes

2 x Helmets

2 x Swords

2 x Axes

1 x Watch Tower

2 x Barns

2 x Under Construction Barns

1 x Row Boat

1 x Shield (need to add different textures to make have a variety)

My list of assets which I need to make are as follows...

2 x Swords

2 x Axes

3 x Barrels

10 x Rocks

1 x Weapon Shop

2 x Longboats

3 x Row Boats - Fishing Boat

2 x Pier (Walkway)

2 x Wooden Fences (Different Styles)

1 x Wooden Table

1 x Well

2 x ENVIRONMENT - Viking Village Area (which is near the shore) and Forest Area.

Looking at this list I feel that I may have missed something but I can also see that I have a lot to be getting on with so, if I remember what I've missed then I'll add it.  Before I go I just want to say thanks to a few people... They know who they are...

Symone, Claudia, Nick, Rob and Anthony. All of you have been so supportive that I feel that I can achieve much more now. You guys/gals are the best!

Right, I'm gonna attempt to add my images for today now...

Barn Render 1

Barn Render 2

Finished / Unfinished Barn Render 1

Note: This is what will be going in my environment like this to show that the Viking are still building Houses, Barns, Longboat, Row Boats etc...

Finished / Unfinished Barn Render 2

Viking Home 1 Render 1

Viking Home 1 Render 2

 

Viking Home 2 Render 1

Viking Home 2 Render 2

Viking Home 3 Render 1

Viking Home 3 Render 2

Viking Blacksmith Render 1

Viking Blacksmith Render 2

 Viking Blacksmith Render 3

Viking Blacksmith Extra Render 1

Viking Blacksmith Extra Render 2

These Extra version have a piece of cloth at the front of the Blacksmith. Hopefully you can see it.

It will also have a low wall on this side.

Thanks for reading and supporting me everyone! See you soon!

Problems with Blog...

I've been trying to write for at least 45 minutes about my progression so that I can have the images with the text as per usual. This is annoying so I've decided to write about my progression separately.

Right... since the last time I've posted some work. I've been re-modeling over and over since that time due to me being too fussy with my modeling.

I managed to redo one of my Viking Homes to a standard I'm happy with so that's progress! Woohoo! Today I modeled the Viking home, a Watchtower and a Barn which didn't take long to do so I'm quite pleased with the outcome. I'm not going to waffle on about them but these are the final models that will be going into the Unreal Engine 3 when the time comes.

I still have a few more models to make but I'm beginning to work a lot faster than I previously did. Like I mentioned a while ago, when you start getting more comfortable with Maya or any other software application, the work you produce will be at a better standard and done more quickly. "I love it with a plan comes together" Today has been a good day for me and my workload!

"Can I have more of these days please God?" Thanks!

Note: The renders of these are in the post 'Here's Some Progress'

Here's Some Progress -

Viking Home 1

Barn Render 1

 

Barn Render 2

Tower Render 1 - Full

Tower Render 2 - Close Up

Tower Render 3 - Front View

Tower Render 4 - Back View

Bit of a Mental Block...

After a video tutorial...

My head started to hurt. It's not just a headache but my brain is being overpowered with so much information regarding the whole modeling, texturing, polygon count etc...Currently, I’m learning how to set up a render scene for my models so there's a video I found on the internet after going through LOADS of different techniques to do this. The video I liked really helps me to do this.

Setting up cameras and the correct lighting I feel adds something special to the model or any 3D model. It can make it look superb (if done correctly) or it can make it look naf! I was getting a little tired of black render backgrounds so I thought I experiment with a few near finished models (not fully textured) to see how it would look.

After a few hours, I’m starting to get a little headache from looking at this screen nearly all day so I’m having a rest for the evening. I just wanted to post a few of the “new” renders. Yes, these still have black backgrounds but I'm experimenting and learning and the models look a lot clearer I think.

Helmet Render 1 - Added One Spotlight with various settings from the video tutorial

Helmet Render 2 -

Helmet Render 3 - Two Spotlights

I tried this with the textured Viking Ship just to see what it would look like...

Render 1 - This was added into the already created Helmet scene.

Render 2 - Looks dark still but I'm liking the shadows...

Render 3 - Dragon Mast Close Up

Render 4 - Shield Close Up

I’ve still got quite a bit to do. The texturing needs more and I’m having a battle at the moment with the UV Texturing. My mentor showed me a while ago about placing the UV’s within the correct area and setting them up. I’ve forgotten some of it but I textured the Viking Ship “my way” and it looks OK I think. I might have to do things “properly” for the Unreal Editor because I’m not sure how it must be done. I know that for a character it has to be set out correctly and in the right areas of the UV map but since I’m creating and environment with objects. Then I’m not sure if my way will be OK or will I need to map every object correctly for the Unreal Engine 3. This is something I need to look at within the next few weeks.

My asset list is still going slowly but I’m using Maya more and more so I’m getting things done more quickly! Right, I’m all typed out now so, see you soon!

This Evening's Workload...

This evening has been a quick one due to me now being late for bible study. Here are a few more images for the Viking Ship. I've added a texture onto the shield for the Ship... Sorry, I'm in a rush now so I'll update later!

Screen Grab 1

Screen Grab 2

Image 1

Image 2

Keep Going....

I have managed to build upon the Viking Ship, adding more detail and polygons. I have taken some screen grabs to show some more progress.

It's getting there slowly but surely... adding benches and I've made the shield slightly bigger. Still more to do...

I've changed it slightly and added a little transparency to sail. I've also added more support beams and wires to the frame for the sail. I'll leave this model for now and I'll come back to it. I'm not 100% happy with this yet so it might changed like the helmet model! 

Viking Ship Test....

Here are a few Viking ship renders with the textures. I haven't be able to sort out the render yet to have the correct lighting and scene. This was a quick job as part of my experimentation with texturing and my progress.

Render 1

I really like the look of this.

Render 2

Hopefully I'll get all the objects sorted after speaking to my mentor, something hit me with a reality check about the whole modeling process. He said that "To call something finished, means that you don't have to touch it again." I have classed some of my models as finished but since they are not textured, then they are still incomplete. My deadline will still be December but now I have  to work harder and faster while maintaining my focus on High Polygon modeling.

Slight but manageable problem....

This project...

For me was really about getting as much "accurate" Viking history so that I can re-create an "historical" Viking Environment. This is still the case for me and I want to get it right. My original idea was to create 3 separate sections. After looking at more information about the Viking History I've come across a slight problem.

This issue is that my 3 sections were a Beach Area, Forest Area and the Viking Village. My sketches had it all laid out and currently the construction for these are underway (as well as my objects etc…) Looking at more accurate references, I have discovered that Viking Homes seems to be situated on shore.

Since this seems to be more accurate, I have decided to be more accurate by combining the beach area with the Viking Village areas. So from this I will be modeling two sections and not 3 as intended. I will still have two separate sections within the Beach Area but it will be a bigger map within the Unreal 3 Editor. This isn’t much of a problem I hope, so hopefully it will look something like the picture above. The forest section should still be OK and will go ahead as planned.

Shield Texture Test...

I've been modeling...

For a few more hours today since I'm on a "roll" so I thought I'd add a texture onto one of my shields. It's very rough but I'm getting ideas and running with them. Here's a test texture which I found a while ago for a shield so I  wanted to see what it would look like on my model.

Not bad I think... I like it a lot. When I get to the texturing part, I'll fix this one up good and proper!

Here's a quick render...

I'm gonna have to start configuring my render scene so it won't always be a black background.

Two Down... One To Go!

It's been a While...

Since I've posted my progression here. Today I've manage to complete two helmets and the last one is underway. I've been attempting to model a Viking Row Boat for a while now and it's annoying. I've mentioned that I'm a "perfectionist" so I started this over and over until I've got the basic shape I'm happy with. In all honesty, there's so many different methods to model something so at present, I'm just finding my own method which is taking a little time. I know now that I need to use Maya more and allocate my time effectively for this project. Anyhow, here's a few renders and a screen grab of the models I've completed.

Viking Helmet 2 Front Render

Viking Helmet 2 Side View

Viking Helmet 1 Re-made Visor

After the slight drama with the visor from my first Viking Helmet, I decided to re make it. This looks a lot better now I think.  All I've decided to do now is to use this basic shape and add different visors to it so that it will not take long to model them all from scratch! One more helmet to do (which is underway) then the Viking Longboat, then Viking Houses, Shops, etc... for the Village. I've set myself a deadline for all my objects/model for the environment to be completed by the first week in December. 

Viking Row Boat Render 1

Viking Row Boat Render 2

I've started the modeling one of my main objects which is the Viking Longboat. As I stated, there's so many different ways to model objects and this for me is a challenge. I'm not sure how many times I've started it but once its done, it will look good! Promise! In fact, I've already started to mode the Dragon Mast for it so I'll post that up soon.