chillyche

I found one in OBJ format that looked good, but upon closer inspection, it was so-so. Did you get the files I sent you?

Almost done!

That's really awesome. Y'all are pretty good at this, huh? I'm excited to see your other dub projects (Zero and DYRL -- my Zero has the most bizarre translations, I'm hoping your dub clears it up a little). As is the case with most fans, I prefer my stuff in the original language, but if a dub is actually GOOD, it's fun to watch and lets you concentrate on the visuals, even if you're so accustomed to reading that you forget you're doing it. Frankly, I still love the Ranma 1/2 early dubs, I thought Martian Successor Nadesico had a hilarious dub (although, I've heard complaints about the same, I don't know, I think they nailed the feel of the show), and Cowboy Bebop has a solid dub, too. I'll be excited to add y'all to my hall of fame.

I've started down the path and I can't stop! This render shows, if you know where to look, some more detailing in the creases and folds in the suit. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that's changed there, but to the casual observer, not much. Also, the toon shading really hides a lot of this particular detail, so here's a pic without toon shading.

Thanks. I learned a whole ton during this process, too. That's my favorite part. It's funny, I actually have to go back and edit the legs, because I did stuff there kind of strangely, that I've learned better ways of dealing with, particularly surrounding creases (for any modelers out there, I've discovered it's better for something like this to add creases to poly or mesh's edges, rather than to the MeshSmooth modifier's edges, because you can duplicate them to the other half of the model using symmetry, and still keep your meshsmooth modifer on the top of your stack, and keep any asymmetrical UVW mapping). It's just hard to bring oneself to go back and fix things, but fix them I must, so I can add the final touches (some wrinkles around the knees/back of knees, around the waste, legs joining at hips, etc) and then get a skeleton in there. I'd like to know who wants a copy of the .MAX file when I'm finished. Also: does anybody have a decent DYRL VF-1 cockpit they'd loan/license/give/share with me?

Just right click on this bad boy to play it. EDIT: Dang! I tried to embed a flash movie right there... lemme try something else.

Okay, I have fixed the pouches for the most part, and I added the seal between the helmet and the suit. I also did some minor tweaks on the helmet. The Isamu head is looming over my own head, now. But on the plus side, there are already some facial morphs I've worked on, so this may not be too hard after all.

HO LY CRAP! That is so awesome. Are you insane? You must be insane. Only madmen make something that dope.

It's all about the Illustrate 5.4 plugin for 3DS Max. Right now, I've shifted attention to facial rigging. Needed to stop staring at that flight suit for a few days. Next up, I'm redoing the chest box with a rounder round part.

And here's me in the suit.

I guess now, for the most part, all I've got left on the suit is adding various wrinkles and seams and stuff. It sorta feels anticlimactic. Feedback? Oh, I'm waiting to do the hose connecting the pack to the helmet until I've got a head inside of there. Bunch of freelance work coming up, so progress might slow down a bit.

Now that makes plenty of sense, and that's commendable. But, to me, the thing that makes Robotech remotely appealing is that it's Macross with some other junk tacked on. Whatever. If they can tell a good story with great aerial combat, I'll see their movie. Even if they tell a crappy story, I'll probably see it (it worked for Transformers), and then just be aghast at how nobody seems to know how to tell stories in Hollywood.

If anybody has any kind of reference material, send it my way, and I'll entertain the possibility. Fan generated or otherwise.

That's a great question. Let's assume for a minute that the suits are almost identical, and it's just the pilot's body that differs -- then it wouldn't be too hard. Just a matter of tweaking the overall proportions, shortening the torso, adding a bust, slimming down things here and there, narrowing the shoulders. THAT would be really easy, truthfully. The difficulty would be if we, like so many others, insisted that for some reason, female pilots had to have far more form fitting flight suits. Oy, that would be troublesome. There are a lot of things I skipped when making this model, that would be helpful for a feminine form, certain cuts in the polygons and stuff. It wouldn't be impossible by any stretch. That may go on the to-do list, if there's enough interest. Just got back from a trip, so gimme a day to post some more updates. -Che

Well, you're more than welcome to use my Isamu when he's done. But mainly you'll be like, "what? that was AWESOME!" Maybe. It's gonna be awesome, but depending on how much of a purist you are, it might rankle you a bit. It was the BSG thing, though, that tipped me off.

You sir, are going to flip when you see what I'm working on.

I don't know nothing about Blender. But I'm almost done with an Isamu Dyson 3DS Max model. I plan to rig it for animation, and maybe even speech. Don't know if Blender can import .max files or not, but seeing as you're working on a VF-19, you might want a pilot for that bad boy.

Tweaked the gap at the top of the pack. Somehow messed up the circle in the center, and had to replace it, but somehow the circle is a bit smaller, and it's messing up when I scale it up. I think that I'm calling that finished for the time being.

Hmm, I might make the whole pack a little larger.

woops! Didn't mean to post the blue version. When I model, I use that shiny blue because it's easy to see if there's any weirdness, pinched areas, hard edges where they should be smooth, etc. Once I switch to the silver/white/light gray color, it's a little harder to see that, so I bounce back and forth as I'm modeling. I forgot to change it, my bad. How bout the new version? The backpack was really tough, because in every shot, it looks different. Sometimes, the center raised circle has space both above and below it, sometimes it's only got space below it. Sometimes it's small, sometimes it's large. It's unclear what the two smaller circles on that circle are, whether they're indentations, panels, or what. Then the notches and grooves on the bottom section of the pack are totally variable. I basically created something that was in the middle of the references I had and wouldn't kill me to figure out. I generally use the character sketch you (Mr. March) sent me as a starting point for everything, and then use some screengrabs and other materials to get other views/reference points. That character sketch is invaluable. I'm so glad you had it. I think I'm going to tackle my dreaded elbow pads now, because I want to feel like the suit is done, and just needing tweaks. Here's another part that varies quite a bit: the harnesses that go under the arms to the bottom of the chest box. Sometimes these are really wide, and go up to the suit's arm pits, othertimes, they're just a bit thicker than the top harnesses. Not sure what material they're meant to be, either -- they're colored like his gloves, so I assume they may be a similar, flexible cloth-like material, but at the same time, they could be more of a hard-shell sorta thing. I noticed that the DYRL pilot uniforms have something that looks like a shell serving the same purpose. Difficult to judge.

That just about does that.

And second try at the backpack (the first try failed miserably)

Did you ever finish the Priss model?

Funny. I'm just discovering these things. I totally dig that the general gist of the board made it into the comic.

That cracked me up.