Shawn Driscoll's CG Blog

Blur in Vue

2012-01-31T04:58:00.000-08:00

The blur was generated by Vue during the render.

What the heck. I had to add some postwork. Lens flare done in Photoshop.

New Total Annihilation Map Tutorial

2012-01-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Total Annihilation is not the new part. It is from the Windows 95 days. For years I've had my online map-making tutorial posted on Shonner for Total Annihilation using Bryce 5. Well, I just added a new tutorial for using Vue Infinite.

An Alien World to Visit

2012-01-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

I keep having visions of an alien world landscape for the last few days. I will have to make some models for it and see if I can recreate the scene in Vue.

Dirigible Download for Vue 10 Infinite

2011-12-25T22:37:00.000-08:00

This dirigible is now a free download in my Free Stuff area at Renderosity.

Mine Elevator Available Soon For Download

2011-12-02T02:37:00.001-08:00

Soon my Vue 10 Infinite mine elevator model will be made available as a free download over at Renderosity (in my Free Stuff area). They have to approve the model first.

ADDED: It's now available for download at Renderosity.

Highrise #1

2011-11-16T02:07:00.001-08:00

Used Amapi Pro to create a quick highrise model using NURBS. Just a bunch of boolean operations. Nothing else.

And a test render in Vue Infinite using a simple outdoor lit scene. No materials applied yet. More highrise models to add still.

30% faster Vue rendering, I hope

2011-11-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

I'm downloading Vue R10 Infinite from e-on right now. Render speeds are 30% faster than version 9, they say. So I am hoping for this with some test scenes of mine I plan to render after installing this new version.

Booleans Are Good

2011-09-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

Watching the GroBototomodo videos convinced me to upgrade my GroBoto to Version 3. So booleans are not a bad word anymore it seems? It only took what... 20 years?

A Pretty Good Matte Painting Book

2011-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of matte painters since seeing Forbidden Planet as a kid. I never thought I would be able to do matte paintings myself since the eye is very critical about such things. The Ballistic Publishing books on the subject that I've bought are cool to look through, but they don't go into every detail about how the images were created. The books only have enough pages to show the many finished scenes from the many artists that they picked from.

But finally! Yey! Sybex has put out a book by David Mattingly titled The Digital Matte Painting Handbook. The book puts you to work right away rather than leaving you lounge around by the coffee table. It reminds me of the olden days when I sat at a desk and did work in an art class. Maybe they still have art classes like that in school? I have no idea, since all I see now are people glued to their iPhones when I step outside.

I will admit though that I do not have any of the software that the author (teacher) uses. I'm just a 3D hobby person. But I do have an old version of Photoshop that can do layers, which is really what matte painting is all about. And I have enough 3D modeling and rendering software (just not Maya 2011) that can do camera projection. I don't have After Effects. But I'm not trying to do any animation or camera movement. My plan is to just do simple static matte paintings like those used in Forbidden Planet. Hey, I'm old school.

DVD fans will love the fact that the book comes with a DVD with demo workshops for the chapter lessons along with file/image/QT content. My Photoshop CS2 read the Photoshop CS5 files just fine so I could browse through them to look at the various layers in each scene discussed in the book.

It's about time a book like this has been published. Some warnings though. Knowledge of Photoshop is a must. And an artpad is recommended for doing the painting parts. But if you're like me though, you learned how to paint with a mouse in the mid '80s.

Back when airships were fast

2011-08-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Switched back to landscape using a 50mm lens. Gave the airship a slight steampunk material.

What else can I age?

2011-07-24T17:58:00.001-07:00

I love FotoSketcher! Here is my mine elevator with a Rowan tree from Martin Frost.

Here's another view with even more aging.

Finished this view by adding a hill and more plants.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDED:
This render shows the scene, minus 99% of the haze.

And this scene was shot early the next morning (funny, the same clouds were still there. Damn my playing God with nature!).

You can see the bare naked hill texture better in these two Vue renders. No postwork done on either.

I had to age this one though. Could not be helped.

Could not be helped with this one either.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDED:
Andrew Finnie mentioned some Xero-Graphics plugins to me. So I've been trying them out. This one kind of has an old '50s magazine photo look to it.

And here is a "photo" with a restored look to it, using both the Xero-Graphics and FotoSketcher filters.

Now in 35mm

2011-07-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Playing with the camera framing.

From another vue

2011-07-21T23:42:00.001-07:00

I'm guessing the dirigible docks to the top of the building to let people on/off? All I have are a couple of postcards to go by. And I'm thinking that there was some altering done to them using a mainframe of some kind.

Ok. I'll tell you the truth.

This is another view of an alternate Earth history where Nazis rule Europe in 1950.

The 30-year Great War has ended, and Germany has allied with the Confederate States of America. The CSA hopes to use the German's newly developed atomic bomb against its old enemy to the North, the United States of America. But the USA has an atomic bomb of their own.

Alternate Earth History in Real 2D

2011-07-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

A final shot. It was FotoSketched all to hell and back. My postwork of choice.

Quickly threw together a domed building using Hexagon 1.21 for this "final?" scene. Everything else was modeled in Hexagon 1.21. Textured in Carrara Pro 5.1, 3D-Coat 3.5.21, and Vue. Rendered in Vue 9.5 Infinite on my classic Windows XP 32-bit single core Pentium IV home-built.

How big is big really?

2011-07-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Just a test to see what kind of scale I could get using 70mm film. I wanted to add arcologies in the background because that is what I grew up with.

The best free software in town (maybe this year)

2011-06-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

This cannot be stated enough. Download your free copy of FotoSketcher. Just do it.

Concept drawings, better late than...

2011-06-03T16:49:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd make some concept drawings "after" already making a model. Since I skipped this step before, I thought doing it now would help me to see what was needed still for the design.

I kid. I did do some pencil drawings of this vessel on paper first before starting the modeling process. But they were super vague. My use of white space is atrocious! Not even worth their scanning for the Interweb.

Here comes the neighborhood

2011-06-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

Adding some details before I start on texturing. I'm tempted to add little wings or something on the sides. Or I had already planned to, but forgot to do the work. I was watching Birth of a Nation last night, when I should have been watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Throw in some transportation

2011-05-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Got one vehicle in the scene so far. The "blimp" is ok from this distance. But I plan on adding more detail (viewing ports and railings (smokestacks?!)) to it for closer shots. It's farther behind the building than it looks. I need more haze to show that's that case. And I want to redo the banner hanging there. Make it look like more wind is hitting on it.

Here is a Nazi armored train in progress. This model will have to be very close to the camera somehow if it's even going to be seen with the entire view of the building in the background.

An alternate earth vue

2011-05-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

I felt like working some more on my dystopian scene while an idea was still in my head from yesterday. This building will eventually be used in the background with some historical ruins in the forground. For now, I'm test-rendering a closer shot of the building to see how the default gray texture from Vue Infinite looks on it in this lighting.

Not now

2011-05-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

Added some blur in Photoshop using the z-buffer thing. This guy is just not moving out of my way, is he? Or is it a she?

Oh, crap. Is today a federal holiday? That means this place is closed! I want my parking meter dime back then.

May is Zombie Awareness Month

2011-05-04T04:33:00.000-07:00

The life you save could be your own.

2050s modular architecture

2011-05-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

It was quite often the case with 2050 Washington D.C. architecture that buildings were made modular and joined at their corners. These structures could then be used for various functions in society depending on the sizes created by such additions made to them.

The game Fallout 3 routinely uses this construction method throughout the D.C. area.

Sidewalk surfing

2011-04-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

Pouring more concrete. I goofed some on this. The sidewalk is lower than the ground plane. I guess I can drag the entire building, foundation, and sidewalk up some (as a group) after this model is imported into Vue.

Strike two! I just noticed the curb is too high. 15" at least. Watch your step there. Maybe no one will notice and I can start on the next block up the street? Some neighbors around here are going to be mad about this. Oh, well. Job security.

ADDED APR-30-2011: Ok. I shrunk the sidewalk by one-half. No more tripping over the curb.

And to think I actually wanted to work there?

2011-04-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

Trying a different glass material. Added a couple floors in the building. Hard to see them though. But real buildings don't reveal their floors all that great either.

Charlemagne in modo

2011-04-23T03:16:00.000-07:00

A modo render of Apple_UK's free Charlemagne Poser model. The Earth was rendered in Vue Infinite. The stars are from the Glitterato plugin. Postwork done in Paint Shop Pro.

It was a trick getting Poser 6 to even work with this Poser Pro 2010 ship model so I could import it into modo 401 for texturing and rendering.

The golden age of rapid transit

2011-04-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

What alternate future is this? Actually, it's the past. Our 1972 to be exact.

Just trying out a theme.

ADDED APR-21-2011: It seems the Department Of Homeland Security now has an interest in this vehicle.

ADDED APR-26-2011: Now Goodrich Corporation is sniffing around. They own what little left there is of Rohr.

What they need to do is fly out to Pueblo. The Holy Grail is what they'll find there.

Better late (fourty years) than never

2011-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

I forgot I had made these. Side and top views of the Rohr Aerotrain.

I want to redo them using the commercial Rohr paint job from the '70s, instead of the current U.S. Federal DOT colors it still has out in some desert somewhere.

One last one for the road.

Instant concrete

2011-03-27T04:36:00.000-07:00

Used Carrara to bake the concrete texture for this restored building from Fallout 3.

Not exactly friendly. Are they?

2011-03-27T01:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's safe to go inside this building now or after it's nuked?

No textures yet. But at least it's UV mapped already. Just need to get some paint now.

Test rendered in modo.

Government planning and planning and...

2011-03-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

I got hooked on Fallout 3 again. I suppose it will be my favorite computer game of all time since the history of computer games (been playing computers games since 1975).

I don't play any old computer game that sees the light of day. Just the few good ones that come out each year. The ones that are worth the time playing. Heck, even the ones worth programming, which Fallout 3 definitely falls into. And yes, I have all the add-ons for Fallout 3 which literally add-onto the game. And no, I have not played New Vegas (Fallout 4) because my computer is not dual core. But that is another story.

And if I die ("if"?), I want my Fallout 3 game and my custom PC shot into space with me. But I digress.
I'm calling this little modeling project "FALLOUT 2057". The idea is to model some selected content from Fallout 3. But in the condition it was before the nukes arrived.

So basically, the alternate future year for these models is 2057 (and not our actual future year of 2057). A good year, by the way for fusion powered cars and such.
This is one of the goverment buildings in the alternate future Washington D.C. area (un-nuked).

Note the modular design. Just simple cloning of the initial building chunk done in Hexagon.

OGRE!

2011-03-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

I see that a 6th editon of OGRE could be had soon. I have quite a few editions already that I bought over the years (I wasn't that impressed with 5th edition, though).

At any rate, modeling an OGRE Mark V for a Vue scene sounds like a fun project for the near future.

Stairway to...

2011-02-20T03:51:00.001-08:00

Had some time today to add more structural supports for the elevator part and also a few steps. I'm guessing I'm about half-way done with this model.

Are we there yet?

2011-02-07T02:40:00.000-08:00

A texture update. Still have some UVs to adjust. This is a test render in Vue Infinite. I did end up breaking the roof object into separate parts and texturing each piece using its own technique. I thought I could get away with leaving the entire roof as one object and hand painting it in 3DCoat, but it became difficult to manage and didn't allow for further mesh editing. Carrara's Anything Goos plugin added the procedural aging and the Baker plugin did most of the heavy lifting (baking out texture maps).

There's still the entire elevator shaft left to model. This is a lot of work so far on just a background model that will be viewed at quite a distance from the rendering camera for the final scene.

Tin roof... rusted!

2011-01-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

No. Not exactly a love shack.

This is a close-up of the roof work being done. Mosty it involves cutting faces, selecting them, extruding them, and tweaking their corners a bit.

This roof object is all one mesh. So far, I'm thinking of leaving it as one mesh and define shading domains for it. One for the roof material and one for the wall material. The other way is to separate the mesh into roof and wall objects and UV map each one. My goal with this model is to get all UV mapping together on one sheet.

We will see.

A minor update

2011-01-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

Anyone ever live near one of these? I thought I'd re-open this old folder and model more bits for it.

It might be hard to tell, but I banged up the walls and roof some. The procedural texture I plan to use, to give it an aged look, will have more edges/angles now to get its ques from as it is generated.

Otherwise, the result is just a perfect boxed-shape building with prefect straight lines, which certainly no building has when you examine them up close.

Middle of somewhere

2011-01-28T04:35:00.001-08:00

My attempt at creating a photo of a landscape without using a camera or actual scenery footage.

The liquid wastelands

2011-01-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

Giving Dax Pandhi's ShimmerWind Lake a try in Vue 9 Infinite. The cliffs are a preset from GeoControl 2.

Inflatable armor

2011-01-16T18:48:00.001-08:00

Fixed the blimp shoe that had been bugging me for quite awhile. This will provide the armor as well as the living quarters for the passengers and crew.

I almost added four huge steam pipes on top of this ship to give it a "Titanic" look. That still may happen if Earth's alternate future tech gets altered yet again.

A possible asbestos hazard

2010-12-07T00:39:00.000-08:00

Started on the windows. Should have Vue 9 Infinite this week for some renders.

Not sure if my scene will have just this building in it or if I'll include newer and taller arcologies surrounding this historic landmark.

A female this time

2010-11-22T00:13:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give Ballistic's ESSENCE: THE FACE a try with SSS. Their download didn't provide a hi-res or bump texture. So there is still a mannequin look to it without that detail. Ignore the slapped-on eyeballs for now.

The best thing to happen to Carrara

2010-10-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

The best thing to happen to Carrara in years has happened. Fenric has ported Thomas Luft's Ivy Generator as a plugin for Carrara. It can be downloaded from sharecg.

Getting more flight-time in on modo's SSS skin rendering.

2010-10-01T02:47:00.000-07:00

Over at Infinite-Realities you can download a 3D head model they are distributing.

This is a modo render I did using just the model's diffuse and normal maps so far.

Followed by some other lighting situations.

Vue Infinite gets used for on old RPG

2010-08-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

A re-rendered Vue Infinite scene of mine was used for the August '10 cover of Freelance Traveller. No postwork.

Thanks to Citizens of the Imperium for critiques on improving the final scene.

Using up the rest of the old film I had.

2010-07-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

A render from Vue Infinite so far, after reducing the poly count as best I could so I can start on the windows next.

The city of yesterday (but in the future)

2010-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

I had an idea for a building (also something that will be huge) to compete for rendered CG real estate with the blimp.

I'll use 3D-Coat to UV map this building and then use Carrara to texture it.

It's a design from Hugh Ferriss.

There are waterways under freeways under sidewalks.

Blimp racing

2010-06-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

Using a 70mm lens. I haven't decided yet on a proper bottom. Giant tank treads keep popping into my mind though.

Additional cargo space

2010-06-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Still working out the basic shapes here. I know for sure I'm keeping the engines.

Can I make an original scene of my own?

2010-06-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

This will be an original design that I've had on my mind for a few days. I'm still not quite sure what path to take with it. I want to do a steampunk theme. I also want to do a far future theme.

But I may end up doing both themes eventually. My goal is to do a final render in Vue that is both threatening and envied.

Azun orbit glamour shot

2010-06-07T02:05:00.000-07:00

Rendered in Vue again. No postwork of any kind.

I think next I'll do an original space scene with an original ship design.

But first, one more render using less ambient lighting.

Also no post.

Paying Azun a visit

2010-06-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Scene rendered in Vue. Tiny stars up in the right corner were added in post. Don't make fun of them.

First render crashed after 15 hours, just as it was being saved. A simple ground plane was used instead of a planetary-sized sphere for the second attempt. It rendered in only 4 hours with better render settings used even. Best of all, no crash.

Bump 'n grunge

2010-06-03T23:13:00.000-07:00

A quick render in modo after generating and baking procedural textures in Carrara.

Almost finished and ready for docking.

Have bridge and engines will travel.

2010-05-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

Pushing and pulling on polygons and using artistic licensing for the jump drive. Still not sure yet on the windshield.

Pinnace update

2010-05-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Giving some definition to the spine and bay module. Re-did the wires for the nose for better cockpit window flow for the next update.

The beginnings of a pinnace.

2010-05-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Started modeling work on a pinnace for the cruiser. One will fit into each of the two docking bays.

Rust test #2

2010-03-24T00:40:00.001-07:00

Here is another texture with different lighting.

Working on a mine elevator

2010-03-21T02:33:00.000-07:00

And doing a scientific rust test on it also.

Some sort of storage tower

2010-03-14T04:50:00.000-07:00

An addition to my "Decayed Collection" I suppose.

In a nutshell, this object was modeled in Hexagon 1.21, procedurally textured in Carrara Pro 5.1, rendered in Vue Infinite 8.

Forgot to put the clouds back.

Blue skies (kind of)

2010-03-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

A test render in Vue. The bump is generated by Vue from the color (diffuse) texture map.

Brick by brick

2010-03-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

I've been browsing the web for old factory images so I could get an idea of how to model one.

This smoke stack was modeled in Hexagon, UV mapped in 3DCoat, and textured/baked in Carrara using procedurals. Bump was added in this modo render.

Plants and landscape will be added in Vue.

Using softer light this time

2010-03-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

A V3 Sophie with the WildHair thing going on. Trying to get the most SSS for the buck.

It's beginning to look at lot like...

2010-03-02T02:33:00.000-08:00

Giving it the old school try to get Vue to nuke something. This is all one cloud, shaped using the cloud profile.

Azun starport

2010-02-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

This is the Azun starport modeled from a 1982 illustration in the Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society issue #15.

Atmosphere test

2010-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Just seeing how amto affects the model (if any).

Not the best parking job, I admit.

Weapons online

2010-01-30T04:20:00.000-08:00

Added the turrets. Still more do-dads to add.

Some broad renders of the Broadsword

2010-01-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

Trying out some textures already (my favorite part of doing GC). The diffuse map is also being used for the bump map (because I can).

modo is once again excellent at doing these draft renders for me.

The Broadsword

2010-01-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

A NURBS doodle so far of the Broadsword Class Mercenary Cruiser (from Traveller).

Lots of boolean adding and cutting so far.

Jump drives online

2010-01-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

The rear of the Azhanti High Lightning so far. Still experimenting on shapes and features.

A possible Sword World

2010-01-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

My slow computer spent 47 hours rendering this environ in Vue Infinite 8. Part of the slowness was probably because I used a spherical infinite terrain instead of using just a regular plot of terrain. I'm going to file this one under Sword Worlds for Traveller use.

Maybe someone knows already which planet this is?

Ramparts are getting ready for launch

2010-01-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Ramparts for the Azhanti High Lightning are being modeled using NURBS, the king of boolean cutting and chamfering. NURBS generate very smooth surfaces with sharp edges welded to them when needed.

Getting the "sky" ready for the AHL

2010-01-04T01:22:00.000-08:00

The spacescape was created by the Glitterato plugin for Paint Shop Pro. The Earth model from Vue Infinite was pasted in using an alpha mask.

Now to render the AHL vessel using lighting that matches the scene.

AHL weapons ready

2010-01-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

Added the spinal mount weapon above the launch tubes. There is a lot more detail to add still like the refuel bays, jump drives, and fighters. But at least the basic shape of the hull is done, which is all one mesh.

AHL work continues

2009-12-31T22:07:00.000-08:00

Added the nose dome which is where the bridge deck is located. Decks are vertical on this ship. The two tunnels are launch tubes for fighters. More still to be added later.

Azhanti High Lightning WIP

2009-12-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a test model of an Azhanti High Lightning vessel from the Traveller universe. Trying out the highlights and bumps for now. The UV mapping was quickly thrown together, so some polygons are out of alignment.

modo helps make a DVD cover

2009-11-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

modo was used to render the Rohr Aerotrain vehicle for this DVD cover for a railroad museum. My father's pencil drawing was used as the background.

Jerome Tillier put the DVD together. His video trailer can be seen on YouTube.

Zoomed out a bit for this Vue render

2009-11-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

The terrain heightmap was imported from GeoControl 2 which I'm addicted to again.

The ground is just a very simple 256x256 procedural Vue terrain object that I've applied a GeoControl 4096x4096 TIF heightmap to both its altitude and bump settings. The terrain was then scaled to 500ft high.

I probably should have made it 1000ft to get a better scene scale. This GeoControl 2 video shows how to make similar terrain.

Adding light streaks using modo

2009-10-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

My attempt at following a tutorial from Ryan Drue on adding traffic light streaks to a photo using modo 401.

He does a lot of mouse waving while discussing his technique. But his trick works.

Total Annihilation is twelve years old now

2009-10-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Updated the Arm Commander model for the updated Vue Infinite 7.51.

In a nutshell, the model was created in Amapi, tweaked in Hexagon, UV mapped in 3D-Coat, textured and baked in Carrara, and scaled and rendered in Vue.

Here is the same model rendered in modo 401 SP2.

I'm hoping I can host the modo file somewhere soon for downloading.

An Eichler makes a scene in modo 401

2009-09-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

This is just a camera, lighting, and material draft render test so far using modo 401.

There is still lots left to do here such as, fill the atrium with something other than concrete and provide a roof and furniture for the house.

Why buy only one when you can buy two for the price of two?

2009-08-24T03:02:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of monorail track I was talking about. The reaction rail will be textured metal. The rest will be concrete.

I just love the instancing in modo.

It's getting there, in a sense

2009-08-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

I got the stripes painted and added the lettering, DOT, and logo "decals". I also fixed the normals on the headlights.

The next thing is to texture the monorail.

"Figured" out body detailing

2009-08-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

I did some decal painting on a Hexagon 1.21 OBJ mesh I had imported into 3D-Coat 2.10. And when I exported the painted mesh back into Hexagon, the edges around the windows were just slightly off. Just enough so that the windows didn't fit right.

I tried everything I could think of to preserve the original mesh between the apps. Then i tired the last thing with was to "Export low-poly mesh with original positions". Since I wasn't smoothing the mesh on import, I should not have been exporting a mid-poly mesh.

So now I can paint diffuse colors on my meshes all I want without the worry of them exporting with the wrong size or in the wrong location.

Nice skirt

2009-08-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Here the skirt was remodeled. It now has air vents along the sides and the front has areas for the headlights.

I adjusted the window shape just a hair, too.

The Rohr Aerotrain has real windows now

2009-08-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

I wasn't happy with the way my clever procedural window transparency shader was rendering using Anything Goos and some domain luck. So I eventually modeled the windows manually.

Here is a quick modo render of the Aerotrain shell with some nice holes cut into to. I will be modifying the skirt as well so that its headlights and exhaust vents have enclosures.

Then my next trick is to delete all the domains from this vehicle and UV map and paint it using 3D-Coat 2.10.

The Rohr Aerotrain goes for a ride to the Pueblo Railway Museum

2009-08-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the 2010 eclipse

2009-08-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

The monolith was modeled in Hexagon 1.21 and then exported as OBJ into 3DCoat 2.10.17 to be UV mapped and sculpted. The model was then exported as OBJ into a Vue Infinite 7.5 scene where it was textured and copied a few times. Two of the monoliths got a spray from Vue's plants brush.

This latest render was created in Vue Infinite 8.

modo keeps messing up my imported Rhino meshes

2009-07-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

I was up all night trying to figure this out. But I'm too tired, so I'll just leave it for now.

Creating micro planets in Vue Infinite 7.5

2009-06-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

While waiting for the Vue Infinite 7.5 service pack to be put online, I watched a quick five minute Geekatplay Studio tutorial on how to create "micro" planets.

MatchMover and shadow catching test

2009-02-20T23:41:00.000-08:00

Just a quick test using a scale model of the Aerotrain.

Shadow Catching an Aerotrain

2009-02-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

Since Vue Infinite 7.21 doesn't support Shadow Catching while Carrara does with an added plugin, I did a trial outdoor render in Carrara. Note the shadow under it to give the illusion of it being on the street.

Building a monorail

2009-01-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here is the aerial guideway and reaction rail so far.

The production model

2009-01-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

I forgot I needed to work on the final texture. This is the orginal paint job the Rohr Aerotrain had when it was built in Chula Vista, California (ca. 1971).

That's enough for Carrara now

2009-01-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

I've reached Carrara's limit for outdoor rendering. Scenery is not its strong point. It's time to work on the original Rohr texture now for this vehicle and get it ready for some much improved outdoor rendering in Vue Infinite 7.1 (maybe 7.2 which just came out).

The future tech of high-speed travel is 36 years ago

2009-01-03T03:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the Rohr Aerotrain with the Pueblo desert textures applied. The real Aerotrain doesn't have the rust. It's mostly plastic.

Adding tiny bits to the Rohr Aerotrain

2009-01-02T01:36:00.000-08:00

This thing's got eyes and teeth now. It also has tail lights, too. Tomorrow I'll start working on the elevated monorail that it rides on.

One step forward, two steps back

2009-01-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here's some boolean texturing (if there really is such a thing as boolean texturing) for the colored striping.

Now to figure out how to get my windows edges to work with the striping.

So far, so good

2009-01-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

This time I added more geometry to the sides so that I could place the procedural windows more precisely.

Some temporary windows for the Rohr Aerotrain

2008-12-31T03:20:00.000-08:00

I used Carrara Pro 5.1 to procedurally paint some random windows on the side. This is just a rough draft to get an idea of how things will look real quick.

The windows are darkened with some transparency added. I'll fine tune the generator values later.

The Aerotrain needs some details still.

2008-12-31T01:29:00.000-08:00

Getting the window frames to smooth properly has become somewhat of a challenge. The poly-count is high enough already for this model, so I'll just paint the windows and doors on.

Here I've broken the model into two parts to better manage it and to add some color (this is one of three color schemes I'll be making for it). I also need to model the head and tail lights. And then there's a piece that goes in the front for the monorail and also the air intake grills I still need to add.

This Rohr Aerotrain is going to need some windows soon

2008-12-28T04:40:00.000-08:00

Started work on the back and adjusted the front some.

I just realized this vehicle is 36 years old now.