Interest in Macross 3D Model and Content Website

[Aurel Tristen]

Hello my fellow Macross fans. I was reading a post here recently that involved an argument about sharing 3D models and things. I thought it was kinda silly in this day and age to be trading flies and bickering like its 1998.

It just so happens that I'm a web designer (among other things), so I propose the creation of a Macross files website to centralize Macross content. This would not include videos, comics, full games or anything that might be illegal, but would contain works that fans have made (primarily 3D models) as well as sounds and animations. Models ripped from games may be offered too, if someone submits them.

I'm not only willing to build and host the site, I'll even thrown in all of my 3D models. They're not going to blow your mind, but they're free. What I need to know is:

• Are any of you interested in having such a website available?
• Would any of you donate to keep it up? (Details on costs below)
• Would any of you be willing to submit your hard work, know that at least it'll be presented nicely, credited to you and protected by a CC agreement?

Costs:

I'm not looking to earn money on this, so let me lay out the costs. I can put this baby up with 2TB of data transfer per month for $10. If things get crazy, I'd need to bump up to $40 a month for more TX. If I can get enough donations to cover that (after it is built, I'm not here to scam you) I'd be happy to do it. Essentially I'd turn off the donation button once a year was paid for, unless bandwidth needs exceeded the allowance. Worst case, I'll be out a few bucks and will have to shut it down.

Please vote and let me know what you think.

[sketchley]

Costs:

I'm not looking to earn money on this, so let me lay out the costs. I can put this baby up with 2TB of data transfer per month for $10. If things get crazy, I'd need to bump up to $40 a month for more TX. If I can get enough donations to cover that (after it is built, I'm not here to scam you) I'd be happy to do it. Essentially I'd turn off the donation button once a year was paid for, unless bandwidth needs exceeded the allowance. Worst case, I'll be out a few bucks and will have to shut it down.

Please vote and let me know what you think.

Why not start on a free hosting site first? See how things go. Maybe you'll never need to use paid hosting - especially if you can keep bandwidth low aside from where it really matters.

[Aurel Tristen]

I'm not aware of any service that will host a website for free. I already own some URLS that could work, but I am not aware of any free hosting services that will accommodate my needs (PHP database, WP integration, snapshot backups, reasonable bandwidth for downloads).

[Galaxy_Stranger]

This would be a great site to have. I don't even think it would cost a ton of money.

[Zinjo]

I like it.

Perhaps set it up as a private server for members to contribute and share their works (many artists are not too keen on having their work freely available to the masses, have them used without permission or worse, capitalized on by scumbag web users). Private members are easier to keep track of and the models can be better protected.

Being a composite artist, but not a 3D rendering artist, having access to quality models to pose and light for artwork would be huge!

Any art contributions resulting from the models and renders can be offered free to the public as Western Marketing for the Macross franchise.

Just a thought

Edited March 23, 2015 by Zinjo

[Galaxy_Stranger]

You know, just having a central repository of blueprints and orthographics would be worth gold.

[Mr March]

One of my primary motives for building the Macross Mecha Manual was to provide reference for artists to build 2D and 3D artwork of the Macross mecha. I'm always trying to add as many schematics and diagrams to the M3 website as I can, but they can be difficult to obtain. To my knowledge there has never been a single book of Macross blueprints/orthographics. I've pieced together what I have thus far by scanning art from dozens of different fan/art books, which given the age and rarity of these books has taken 7-8 years for me to collect. Your best bet for obtaining valkyrie schematics right now would be to collect the Variable Fighter Master File series of books published by SoftBank Creative. These books are all new, published in just the last few years. They contain a lot of schematics of the variable fighters, many featuring art in all three modes.

The instruction/decal sheets for models/toys are an entirely different beast. They may, or may not necessarily depict the Macross mecha in proper, official proportions. And those sheets can be even harder to obtain than the Macross books.

[Galaxy_Stranger]

Yeah, I got a hold of a couple of the master files books - awesome stuff, but ARE expensive! I just have to scan some of the stuff in. I wish they had an English translation somewhere...

I tried using some of the orthographic images off of the mecha manual - but they aren't to scale with one another - like the side view doesn't match the front-view.

[Mr March]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean the side view and the "top" view schematics of the valkyrie variable fighters are not to scale with each other (like the VF-1 Valkyrie compared to the YF-19)? Or do you mean some of the drawn schematics of the destroids and the like? Perhaps I can help if I understood what the problem was.

[Galaxy_Stranger]

You know - it wasn't even from the mecha database. But the line art was done by the same artist. Nevermind. No, it was the front-view vs. the side view of the VF-1.

I made the engine via the side view and then switched to the front view - and the engine I made wasn't the same proportions.

I'm gonna post a question about this in a new thread.

[Zinjo]

Yeah, I got a hold of a couple of the master files books - awesome stuff, but ARE expensive! I just have to scan some of the stuff in. I wish they had an English translation somewhere...

I tried using some of the orthographic images off of the mecha manual - but they aren't to scale with one another - like the side view doesn't match the front-view.

Startling with Sketchley's translation site would be a good start. He may not have every item you want already translated, but this is an excellent repository of English translated media to work with.

http://www.mtranslation.host-ed.me/

Edited March 25, 2015 by Zinjo

[Galaxy_Stranger]

Thanks!

[Aurel Tristen]

Sorry that I lost track of this thread. I think adding schematics and Orthographics isn't a bad idea, though it covers a lot of the same ground as Mr. March's site. (Side note: your website has been essential to every Macross model I've ever made, thanks!)

I'd like to have a few 3D artists on board before putting the work into building it, but I'm still interested. I'm also not sure if it could generate enough ad hits to pay for its self, so it would primarily survive off of donations. That and I hate ads so much that anything more than google ad words would make me feel like a hypocrite.

Can someone chime in about the legality of publishing lineart for references? I have an art book I picked up at a con once which has art I've never seen before, and I'd like to share it too if I can. Here is a picture of the cover. Perhaps it isn't very rare or exciting, I have no idea.

[Mr March]

We aim to please

That's Miyatake Kazutaka's art book. It's not for sale anymore, but it's not very rare at all. I obtained a copy not but a year or two ago for $15; how rare could it be?

Scanning and posting art on the internet is a touchy subject legally. Good news is you're not likely to be sued. If you are, you'll probably just be forced to remove the material from online. Problem is the internet is just one big sharing space and millions of people have posted billions of copyright scans already, with more every year. Some companies have tried suing people for doing so, but the result is futile. Companies would have to sue all their customers; at that point, why run a business at all? Which is what many young people have been arguing for over 15 years now. We should have new business models that no longer create artificial scarcity to make money. Anyway...

[sketchley]

Can someone chime in about the legality of publishing lineart for references?

As Mr March mentioned, it's a grey area (though I fundamentally disagree with his opinion the business model - he not being in the target market for starters).

I recommend that you limit what you post to individual pieces or sets of pieces (ie don't scan a page and post it as is). Also, be wary about including complete blocks of text from the book (not applicable to the artist's notes) - in this case, it's not just the artist and Big West, but also the book publisher that may or may not have an interest in things. Best to err on the side of caution and limit who you involve.

Lastly, if you feel like including any watermarks are signs that you released the image, I humbly recommend using what I add: "Property Big West". At the very least, you're reconfirming the rightful legal ownership.