Ok this isn't how the environment is going to look, this is purely a test to see if the glow on the words can illuminate the scene, and they can, (the words represent glowing street signs/shop signs etc) there is no sunlight, only a skylight, and the words with SI, the floor being reflective also helps.
The environment will hopefully look a bit more cartoony, 2.5D, GTA style, as ive said before. I do like this floor though, a bit less detailed and it will look a bit more game like, but im happy that the scene is illuminated well so far, gotta keep goin, but for now, back to modelling.
ok so im around 4 weeks into the project, which is scaring me because the work i have produced so far doesn't seem enough, then again its still pre production in my head, im still designing particular parts before i model.
In the past i have gone straight into working in 3D, but i want to get my workflow correct and professional. I am still doing 3D work as i sketch out designs though.
I have begun making another base mesh for the creatures, i think i can use the same base for all 5 drivers, but i want another big character for the guy who hits the gong at the start.
I also tried some lighting tests today, i built a simple environment, but then i got lazy and didnt do any lighting, il do it soon.
as far as pod racers go, i still haven't completed the first one i posted a while back, but as i said, still designing ideas, so once every design is complete, it should be easy to work from, rather than finding what i like in 3D.
so thats where i am right now, im also learning zBrush on the side, for me.
This is mainly for me to look at and see what iv'e done for my project so far, you don't need to read this.
WHAT I HAVE DONE
- List of every cut that need to be storyboarded.
- Storyboarding should be done this weekend, ready for presentation, no need to go back and look over, every scene has been accounted for and written down. Except end scene which isn't scripted in original star wars anyway. - List of everything that needs to be created.
- this includes fire and smoke. - Visual style and references for how i want it to look.
- many many many referenced images - for environment, characters, pod racers, fast and furious cars, rockstar games images (texture reference), tunnels.
- found my texture. - sketches and drawings have begun. - story is finalized. - low poly base mesh model - first attempt created. - 1 pod racer is 3/4 complete - done before hand.
NEED TO DO - BEFORE PRESENTATION
- possibly a mood board of styles and references
- Id rather just print screen my folders of images as creating an actual mood board holds no significance to me, it only presents what iv'e looked at nicely, which is in no way helpful to my production timeline, i would rather just show the images, and move onto real work. - Storyboard. - make the presentation - Project plan
- A schedule of some sort, to help me sort out what needs to be done by when so i don't go over the deadline.
i say first attempt, the first 2 times i tried to make a guy, i kept trying to bevel in some abs, but it failed, so i started over, so this is my 3rd attempt, nothing special, just a simple model.
OK so after like, 6 hours straight, i think iv'e got to a texture style close to the GTA style i was after, I'm happy with how the pod looks once textured, i can definitely improve on some parts, but in general, its the look i was after.
I also did not use Ink n Paint, as i find it very limited, instead its another shader i found and worked on to give the look i needed, using mental ray, and so the texture isn't as limited.
Don't think about this environment too much, it was just a quick scene i made to give this image more depth and to see how it would look in a 'city'.
Now that i have this visual example of the style im after, i can go back to focusing on the start of the project as i need to now storyboard everything. This texturing was mainly for me to see if it was possible and find out if i should do the whole scene this way, and i would prefer this way over the 'live action' background. I do feel having images as the background would be easier, but i don't want easier, i want to be able to show my capabilities of creating a city in 3D, so this is the path im going for. enjoy.
Oh and there was also the option to give the texture a black border or a 'contour' over every edge, but i felt it looked better without it, a tiny bit less cartoon'y.
ok so im going backwards a bit now, i have 2 different ideas for how i can do this project.
idea 1 - the same way i have explained, slightly cartoon-y with a 3D modeled environment.
Idea 2 - a bit more tricky, but if i was to texture my pod racers how i had originally done it (if you go back a few posts you can see my original pod racer almost complete)
but then use a live action background i.e photo's of a city. This could be very useful, and look a lot more realistic, as i could use Nottingham city centre for the race track. The only fall back would be camera movements. If the background was a picture, then obviously the camera would have to be still, otherwise the background would just move with the camera (unless the picture was massive and i panned across it).
The only solution i can think of would be to simply have a lot of cuts, meaning no camera movement itself, but lots of different angles (would mean i need a LOT of photos).
And for any extra scenes where i want a close up of the pod or racer in motion (the scene where the 2 pod racers are talking to each other for about 2 seconds) i can simply make a 3D environment, as it would be motion blurred anyway, and hopefully i can match it as close as possible to the actual environment.
I was using my existing pod racer and a quick street scene i created to get an idea for how i want it to look in style. So i re textured my pod using Ink n Paint and got the style of paint i want to make it look quite similar to the theme i mentioned earlier. so as far as texturing it i think i know what i want to do, but there was a MASSIVE problem, and that is the lighting situation, Ink n Paint seems to have a lot of problems with lights and shadows and stuff like that, even with a lot of paint levels, there was no depth in the scene, 1 light would illuminate the entire scene rather than the part i wanted, and that is a problem if i want it to look like night time, so im going to need to do a lot of research on either how i can get accurate lighting with this material, or find a way of making normal textures look slightly cartoon-y, which seems like the more obvious option, so we will see.
This is similar to how i want it to be textured, its still a bit cartoon-y, but im working on it, this style could even work, but we will see how it goes.
A podracer was a repulsorlift racing vehicle piloted duringpodraces across the galaxy, though specifically in the lawlessOuter Rim Territories. The term "podracer" was also used in reference to a being who piloted these racers.
A podracer, or "pod", was essentially a one-pilot cockpit attached to two racing engines via strong cables, such as those produced by Steelton. The special engines for these craft traditionally came in one of two varieties of mechanical action: internal combustion engine types or rocket motor types (engines using moving mechanical parts and rocket motors using no moving mechanical parts). At a distance, one could differentiate engines from motors by noting if there are rotating fan/turbines at the front of the craft (engines having large rotating fans, motors lacking them). Energy binders projected from each engine connected both turbines together, forming a loose triangular configuration with the pod itself, dragged behind the engines, at the highest point. A racer could commonly achieve speeds in excess of eight hundred kilometers per hour. Because of this, podracing required lightning-fast reflexes, and only species with a wide range of sensory organs and multiple limbs or durable bodies were known to race pods. Species such as Humans rarely took part in races, and never won—with a single exception.
Podracers were commonly customized by their owners, whether to achieve greater speed or agility, or simply to end up with a unique-looking racer. The infamousSebulba piloted one of the largest podracers on the Outer Rim circuits, complete with numerous hidden features and secret weaponry, while young Anakin Skywalkerbuilt a custom racer in his yard in Mos Espa. Many podracers were painted by their owners to symbolize different things or just to look good.
The podracer evolved from the animal-drawn carts used in racing sports, and later, the swoop racers commonly seen in competitions on Taris, Manaan, and Nar Shaddaa following the Great Sith War. It was a daring mechanic called Phoeboswho designed the first podracer, and a pilot named Gustab Wenbus took this machine for its first experimental flight. Since then, podracing became widely popular on the Outer Rim Territories, and though it was outlawed when the Galactic Empire came to power (although some continued it illegally), the sport enjoyed a resurgence following the Yuuzhan Vong War.
Podracing was a popular sport in the less-developed regions of the galaxy. It has been called "the ultimate test of skill and daring onTatooine," and was certainly one of the most dangerous sports ever invented, killing many racers.
Podracers were small, one-man repulsorcraft, composed of an anti-gravitypod propelled by one or more pairs of large turbine engines. The engines were not physically connected to each other, being linked instead by power couplings consisting of plasma discharges. The engines were connected to the pods themselves by means of long, Steelton cables.
Besides housing the racer's pilot, each pod contained a repulsorlift engine that kept the craft at a specific, low-level altitude. The turbine engines were incredibly powerful, and were connected by an energy binder that kept them from flying apart. Podracing was popularized in the Outer Rim Territories during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. Its underground nature, great excitement, and almost gladiatorial propensity for carnage held immense appeal to all manner of folk living on the fringes of society.
Because of the reflexes needed to control the pod as it raced around the course at breakneck speeds, as well as the dexterity needed to control the pod racer, all pod racers (apart from Anakin Skywalker) were nonhumans. Inhuman physical attributes, as well as extra pairs of hands, came in handy when trying to control the pod at its top speed of around 900 km/h.
Podracing traced its roots back to the days of animal-drawn carts, from which evolved races with hanno speeders. Ultimately, this sport's development kept pace with that of galactic technology to evolve into Podracing. The concept of modern day podracing was started on Malastare by alien racer Gustab Wenbus. Wenbus had entered himself in a race with a super-fast prototype pod designed by a mechanic named Phoebos.
Although technically illegal (often controlled by the Hutts)[1][2] Podracing flourished during the rule of the Galactic Republic, particularly among planets in the Outer Rim and on worlds such as Malastare and Ando Prime. The sport was also watched by citizens from the Core Worlds; large viewscreens in seedy establishments such as theOutlander Club on Coruscant relayed Podraces from all over the Rim territories. Podracing's popularity reached an all-time high following Skywalker's win, but as the political situation in the Republic deteriorated, so did the appeal of Podracing.
Many of the sport's generally-accepted criminal activities were exposed, and some of the most famous racers were arrested for a variety of crimes. Podracing was soon outlawed in the Core. Shortly before the outbreak of theClone Wars, it was reported that attendance had dropped more than fifty percent from the era of the Battle of Naboo, although betting transactions remained at an all-time high.[2] Podracing soon gave way to swoop racingand other forms of extreme sports.
With the Declaration of the New Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire, Podracing became outlawed, and under the Empire's far more stringent standards of law enforcement, the sport fell out of popularity altogether, though by30 ABY, it was noted that the sport had been making a comeback in some systems.
A podrace was shown in the holoscreen in the cantina where Starkiller found Rahm Kota.
In 137 ABY, a podrace was shown on a holoscreen in a drinking establishment on Coruscant, suggesting that the sport continued to regain popularity.
