Just finished watching season 2 of Legend Of The Seeker on DVD.

Gotta love it…

When I saw the gate in the title sequence, I immediately felt an urge to pixelate it.
That is, make a 3D model out of it.

It’s weird where we artists find inspiration for our creations…

A few days later, there it was… Little did I know, that I was not only inspired to model the gate, but also push the envelope and add LOTS of more detail.

In fact, to make this the most detailed model I’ve ever done.

The idea to add tons of details came from a scene in the series, right inside a prison cell, where there was sand and other stuff on the ground. A close up that didn’t inspire to a new model, but to add more detail to the model that I was going to make…

Cool…

Very cool.

It’s all in the details… Since it’s the details that make things complete.

If you’ve had visions or got ideas for your art or 3d models, let me know–I’d love to hear from you!

It’s awesome to see what drives us and motivates us artists…

Keep Tweaking!

DAZ Studio prop, previewed in DS native render engine and kick ass render speed with gorgeous lighting straight out of the box… Out Now! Grab it HERE.

Click for full size:

Have you ever been thinking of doing a new 3D model and whaaaaammm… No inspiration?

Well, here’s some sources you can use for inspiration:

1. Other artists models (of course!)

2. Other artists 3D images

3. Sci-Fi / Adventure Movies or TV-shows on DVD. Currently watching Stargate Universe and I gotta tell you – it’s FULL of inspiration in every set.

4. PC / MAC Games – The cool thing is that you can go and look at the scenery as much as you like and often even take screen shots for reference. Very handy! I’ve just been playing Borderlands, Rage and Serious Sam 3 – and there’s a TON of inspiration right there.

5. Go out with your photo camera and grab some references while travelling. This is way cool for finding unique textures as well as documenting buildings and details.

As always, start with simple geometry and work your way up. THE most important aspect of any 3D model is the texturing process. That’s where you add all the details. It’s amazing how simple some models look without the texutres – because modeling is really 30% modeling and 70% texturing.

When you have some references, and follow a path – 3D modeling becomes a lot easier and faster.

Alright, now – go and have som fun!

PS. Need 3D modeling and texturing training? Check it out HERE.

Most 3D artists would agree, that modeling is simpler and more fun than UV-mapping… During the years, I’ve come up with two ways of doing UV-mapping that make the entire process much faster and more fun.

1. UV-Map Early On

This method actually changed the entire concept of UV-Mapping. This applies to surfaces or objects where you have minial distortion. For instance, you create a plane – uV-map it – and then go wild with subdividing it and altering it’s shape into a landscape. Same goes for simple organic shapes, such as stones. On the positive side, is the fact that your UV-map will remain square and you can therefore paint with precision later on. On the negative side, is that this only works to some degree. If you bend polygons too much, you’ll have to battle some stretching. Alright, you can fine-tune that on the UV-map, but it’s good to know.

2. UV-Map After

This is the dreded scenario. You have a complex object and you’re about to start UV-Mapping. Here’s a few things that will make it a lot easier. First, divide your prop into pieces. And detach them from the rest. If you can work in layers, that is to be preferred. Why? Because when you UV-map chunks, while they are connected you might experience some weird UV-mapping errors. So, as you divide it into smaller chunks, be sure to remove the pieces and paste them into a new layer.

Next, you can see the chunks as closley related primitives, such as a plane, box, cylinder or sphere. Those UV-mapping layouts will work best when used with a similar shape. In some cases, the altas-layout might work best. It will lay out all the pieces flat. It can also be good to work on pieces from various angles. To you work on X in one go and then do Z on the next UV-map.

When you have worked your way through all the pieces, assemble them back again and run the merge points function. (I think this is for Lightwave Modeler, but there might be similar functions in other 3D modelers).

By now, you should have a complete object, fully UV-mapped in one piece.

Got questions? Let me know if this was helpful!

PS. Wanna learn more about modeling? Then go HERE.

Ever been looking at your next 3D modeling project and thought: Man, that’s going to take ages?

In fact, you can cut your modeling time of larger props, such as cities, outdoor settings or even indoor buildings by a factor of 10, if you follow these simple principles…

1. Have a plan or design. A sketch or something that will give you an idea of where you’re heading is PRICELESS. Look for reference photos or draw your references. This step alone will save you lots of time.

2. Break it into chunks. Ever been playing with Lego? Yeah, that wasn’t exactly yesterday, but here’s my point… Don’t do everything from scratch. Make up pieces, much like Lego pieces – but even larger. Create small chuncks you can then easily copy and paste through out your entire prop / layout. Work in increments of 1, 2 or 4 meters so that you can easily fit and rotate your pieces on the snap-grid.

3. Complete each piece before you start copying & pasting it. This means, create the UV map and even texture it. This will make the entire process of UV-mapping and texturing a LOT easier and save you lots of time.

4. If you need more variation, then create 2 or 3 variantes for weach chunk or piece. Then arrange those pieces so that they don’t look like exact copies.

5. Work in layers. For instance, do the walls in one layer, floor pieces in another and reiling or other details in a third layer. This will ensure that once you’re done, you can easily make changes to something that ain’t right, instead of painfully selecting those pieces manually amoung all the other polygons.

And that’s it.

Have fun modeling..!