Week 7. Materials and Texturing

When all the  models where finished to a standard i was happy with i had to move onto the making and applying materials to the models.

Before i started trying to texture the models i tried out the various techniques of applying and creating materials that 3ds max has to offer.

The most basic way of applying a material is to just drag it onto the desired object. This gives you no control on how the material is displayed on the object though. While this will work for basic materials that have no pattern or particular detail, if any kind of precision is required we would be better off looking to add a UVW map modifier.

The UVW map modifier allows you to chose how you would like the material to be displayed on the object, for example as a cylinder, sphere or box.

  Planar and Box Mapping using UVW map modifier  

This gives you more control on how you want the material displayed but it still limited. The objects still have to conform with one of the mapping options available, which are still pretty basic. My ships are far more complex and mainly consist of irregular shapes and will require unique maps for each part the model.

To get the most amount of control over the maps and how they are displayed we will use the UVW unwrap modifier. This allows you unwrap the desired polygons in different ways and create a flat or box map of the object. Having all the polygons laid out flat separately allows for a more accurate application of materials. If the selected object is complex it can however become difficult to establish which polygons are which. This can partly be resolved by stitching polygons back together, which 3ds max allows you to do. This helps to reestablish where each polygon is in relation to the entire object. Which is necessary if you are going to create a pattern of some kind or require a seamless material.

Stitching a box back together at the edges 

Flatten map option of Unwrap UVW modifier, with seams identified

If you desire you can also choose which edges will be the seams where the object will unwrap to and get a flat easily distinguishable map.

Along with the flatten map options you can also use box mapping. Box mapping is slightly different as keeps the object in fewer pieces. This option can work better for high poly objects like spheres, when you need to wrap a material or pattern round a smooth surface and have no seams.

Sphere Box map UVW template 

Flatten Map UVW template of same sphere

While not a huge difference w can clearly see that box map is in fewer pieces and makes texturing the template slightly easier.

When we have a UVW map and template we are satisfied with we can take the template into some image manipulation software such as Photoshop or Gimp and paint directly onto it. For future reference i will be using gimp for all my texturing.

3Ds Max has in itself vast resources for materials creation, for this project though i will be using the simplified version of the material editor. We can still produce some interesting  materials and effects though with this compact version.  

Combining different procedural maps we can create a good looking sky and clouds material which can be seen form the ground or above depending on your preference.

Creating a sky clouds material using procedural maps 

Rendered view of completed material 

    

Other small side projects

Modelling a head tutorial 

Helmet tutorial 

This tutorial introduced me some interesting techniques like extrude to spline. This allows polygons to follow a path created using a 2d spline. Enabling a much smoother, less problematic and time consuming way of getting the desired outcome.

  

Lambda Class Imperial Shuttle Model

This is my third and final model for this assessment and with each model things get a little easier. I find setting up the studio is no longer a chore and I'm now comfortable with this aspect of the software.  

Imperial Shuttle Studio

Even though i could only find one clear blueprint that shows only two views of the shuttle i felt confident with the experience i have gained so far that this would suffice. I will not always be able to find 3 or more detailed blueprint images of a model so some intuition and improvisation will inevitably be needed so why not start now.    

Start of Fuselage

When modelling the fuselage i had to add a significant amount of edges and polygons to create the rounded, curved outer part of the fuselage. I know keeping the poly count low and as efficient as possible is a fundamental idea in modelling, however sometimes to get the desired shape you have little choice. I could later remove unused edges to reduce this count slightly. Like at the back and front of the fuselage where the faces are flat and not curved like on the sides. The more edges i have though enabled for a more accurate and gradual curvature of the fuselage.

Fuselage detail

Removing unused and unnecessary polygons at rear of fuselage 

In previous projects i have, as much as i could modify one base shape as much as i could. This did bring its own set if problems though and this time i am using a higher number of separate parts of the model which i can then just group together. This will not only help when i come to texture the model but also makes it easier for me to modify and single out one particular part of the ship without having to adjust anything else. When i had one complex shape with thousands of vertices you can sometimes select more than you want (I am still on a steep learning curve) and that unwanted modifications. Sometimes i wont even be aware of them until later on and then its a real struggle to correct these kind of mistakes. 

Top Fuselage box and wing connector 

Top Wing Started

Top wing advanced

Top Wing Finished

Again when adding details to the wing and fuselage i created new shapes and used the auto grid option for greater accuracy on uneven surfaces.

Top wing detailed and more fuselage detail 

The cockpit is also be a separate object along with the neck of the cockpit that connects it to the main fuselage. This could be thought of as a more realistic approach because aircraft's and vehicles (Fictional as this one might be) are usually made up of individually constructed parts then put together at the end. So even if some parts don't seamlessly blend into one another is not unrealistic and still gives an accurate representation.
 

Early stage cockpit

Beveling and extruding cockpit view port 

Adding detail to cockpit

More cockpit detail

Complete detailed cockpit and cockpit neck

Adding the fuselage guns

Fuselage guns complete

Fuselage air intakes early stage

Air intakes complete

Once all the fuselage detail was complete and correct it could be grouped together for easy access and manipulation.

The lower wings were originally planned to be two separate entities. However as they are a mirror of each other and not the same object in two different places (Like on an X-Wing for example) this was not appropriate. So i decided that making one then attaching it to the main fuselage that has a symmetry modifier i would get two identical but mirrored wings. I can then detach the wings again later when i get to adding materials, keeping with the theme of having many smaller objects as opposed to one large complex one.

Lower wings attached and mirrored 

Detailed lower wings

Adding lower wing gun mounts

Lower wings detailed with guns finished 

When adding the detail to the back of the fuselage i have used less objects than in previous models to try and keep the poly count lower and improve the overall efficiency. I didn't want to go as far as to add no 3D details at all as this would impact the overall quality of the model.

The finished model almost exactly matches my blueprints and I'm very pleased with the accuracy of the shuttle. Its more efficient than previous models too as i was less worried about the actual modelling as i have a small amount of experience now. Which made me relax and think about this aspect of modelling more.

Shuttle in x-ray mode with blueprints visible

Four way view of finished shuttle

More angles of Imperial Shuttle

Star Wars Model, X-Wing.

Learning from previous endeavors it was mush easier to set up the virtual studio for the X-Wing. It was also nice to have source images with a top down view and a back view also, this will undoubtedly give me greater accuracy when shaping the model.

X-Wing Virtual Studio

Having four sided blueprints helped with the base shaping of the fuselage. By starting with one basic shape and extruding it a small amount to each part where the fuselage grows or shrinks i could keep the model as efficient as possible. 

Early stage fuselage 

I had to create some new edges and polygons to be able to manipulate the cockpit correctly.

Cockpit beveling 

The nose of the fuselage needed more polygons than the main hub as more of a gradual reduction is size. While adding a few more polygons the model up to now is as efficient as possible so i didn't think this was  an issue and i wanted the model to be accurate.  

Sculpting nose of fuselage 

Views of finished base fuselage 

It wasn't until i was happy with the main fuselage and started on the wings that i needed a symmetry modifier. The wings in this case are extruded form the main fuselage and not separate objects, i felt this was gave the most accurate representation. I have the ability to detach them manually at a later date if i require it, for unwrapping when i add materials for example.

The fuselage we see here is actually my second attempt. The base shape for the first model was rotated before i started the extrusion of the fuselage which meant when i tried to apply a symmetry modifier on a desired axis the center of the object was not the center of my model. I wasn't thinking ahead this time, but i quickly learned form my mistake and haven't made another similar one since.

Extrusion of the wings

Extruding parts of the wing to form engine mounts

The wing guns were made as separate objects then attached to the wing. Due to the symmetry modifier this would mirror there placement on both sides of the ship. 

Guns attached and mirrored on both sides of the ship 

I hid the main fuselage when starting on the engines to enable me a better view of the blueprints. The engines had quite a few polys because i wanted to achieve a high level of detail and match the source images best i could.   

Intake part of engine

Output part of engine 

When i tried placing the engine on the engine bays of the wing some of the bay was visible and protruding in front of the engine. I cloned the engine and then could use it as a cutter and use a Boolean operation to provide a perfect fit for my engine to be mounted. Again i attached the engines once i was happy with the placement and orientation, providing perfect symmetry and reducing the workload.  

Using Boolean to cut out the engine bay holder

Engines and guns placed on one side of the ship

Guns and engines mirrored of both sides of the ship 

The detail at the rear of the ship are all separate objects grouped together appropriately. 

Adding back detail 

For some of the top fuselage detail i just used a line shape and the auto grid option to draw on a pattern which i could then extrude and apply a shell modifier to. This reduces the need for unnecessary polygons.

  

Adding top fuselage detail 

I'm very pleased with the finished model. It reflects both the blueprints and the other source images with great accuracy. I was to do this model again the only i might change do is make it up of more separate objects and not use one large complex one. When i need to unwrap and texture the model differentiating between all the polygons could prove  challenge. Apart form that the efficiency, accuracy and detail are to a standard i didn't believe i was going to be able to achieve heading into the process.    

Complete X-Wing

                   

Stylized views of finished X-Wing