CG Methods

[Zetaplus]

Just thought I'd see what some of our resident CG experts have to say on the matter. I've been thinking of joining the Mile High (Errr...CGer. Yeah, that's the ticket. ) Club, and am kinda curious how some of our resident experts pull off their CG masterpieces. The way I see it, being new to the 'sport', there are a couple of ways to model the Valk and it's distinctive profile:

1) Box modelling, starting with something small like the camera blisters on the nosecone and working up.

2) Painstakingly building a spline cage, spline by spline, until you get the general outline of the Valk, and then use NURBS.

Just wondering if it's as difficult as it seems, or if I'm way off the mark here. There are too damn many car tuts in the 3D modelling scene, not enough aircraft ones. <_<

[Brianw76]

I myself do plain polygon modeling. I start with a cylinder for the nose (I always start with the nose for some reaseon) and go off from there. Then after many hours it finially starts to look like a valk. Its a very slow process. I've been thinking about getting rhino and trying it the nurbs way. I've seen some pretty amazing F-18s and other aircraft modeled with rhino.

Edited November 7, 2003 by Brianw76

[Mechmaster]

I mainly do polygon work too, I analyse the subject and figure out what basic shapes it all breaks down into, then I start by building the simplest bits, parts which are for instance basically a cube or a cylinder. For more complex bits I pick the object closest to the final shape and cut or extrude polys to mold it into shape. For really complex parts I assemble them bit by bit from polygon patches derived from simpler objects, often using extruded splines or full on nurbs objects as a core upon which to build.

[Doktor Gonzo]

I mainly do polygon work too, I analyse the subject and figure out what basic shapes it all breaks down into, then I start by building the simplest bits, parts which are for instance basically a cube or a cylinder. For more complex bits I pick the object closest to the final shape and cut or extrude polys to mold it into shape. For really complex parts I assemble them bit by bit from polygon patches derived from simpler objects, often using extruded splines or full on nurbs objects as a core upon which to build.

Was going to post, but Mechmaster's approach is basically identical to mine, so see above I guess

[Gammera]

I'm a spline modeler, but I use polys. I started life in Auto Cadd hard to bust my brain out of that mode!! Here is a good question, do you model the lines in, do you put them on the texture, or do you bump map. I already know the answer for most of the old timers around here. I usually include them in my texture, BUT i am starting to experiment with bumbmaps.