Messages

16

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 04, 2007, 02:23:58 pm »

The approach sequence should start with them exiting the transport portal as Sitters has it (top forward, primary engines pushing).  But as they come around the moon they transition to a "guns down" position.  I say this because the momentum they will be carrying as they approach will be enough to get them to earth.  Plus I think it would be more dramatic to see them go through the transition as they round the moon and earth comes into sight.

Regards,
Sean E

17

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 04, 2007, 04:22:56 am »

Okay, reset my scene to proper scale and distance.  Here are two of the better renders:





Critiques are welcome.
I did figure out that the textures on the carrier are light sensitive.  They will not show unless there is light shined upon them.
Looks like I am going to have to redo the model and textures so that my renderer can handle it better and I don't have lights all over the place.

Regards,
Sean E

18

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 03, 2007, 10:48:13 pm »

Nice setup.
Myself, I am using three workstations working together:
1 AMD Turion 64x2 @ 1.6ghz
1 AMD Athlon 64 @ 1.8ghz
1 AMD Athlon 64 @ 2.0 ghz

The laptop is connected on the network by wifi and is the primary workstation.
Software used is 3D Studio Max 2008 32-bit.

My 12-second rotation animation took almost 2 hours to do.
I am thinking I am using a higher resolution output with my mental ray settings as to why mine is taking a lot longer.  I'll have to hook the laptop up via hardline and see if its the same.

Regards,
Sean E

19

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 03, 2007, 09:45:53 pm »

Nicely done Sitters.
My only suggestion would be to have the Carriers already moving from behind the moon before the camera gets there and to have them move more quickly to get to Earth.  That way there isn't as much of a pause as the camera waits for them to pass.
You might also want to move the sun source more to the right in the movie.  This way you can see a piece of the waning moon crest instead of just a sliver.  It's hard to tell where you are going till you get there.   

Just out of curiosity, what type of hardware are you rendering on?  To kick out a 3 minute movie like that, it must be some big stuff.

And thanks for the link to the images.  I found a huge earth and moon image (8192x4096). Will use these.

Regards,
Sean E.

20

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 03, 2007, 07:16:00 pm »

I guess I am not understanding your point of view on textures...

If I take an image of a leaf and use it as a texture for a model, am I licensing the image (which anyone can take) or the artistic view of taking the picture?
OR....
The use of the taken picture in the context of using it as a model texture for a GPL source program?

The declaration of a GPL is indicative that the product (model, texture, et al) is to be used in open source products only without express permission to be used commercially from the original designer and that the code ( for programs ) is freely distributable as long as additions or changes to the code are included with the new incarnation.

Or am I just fishing in the dark? 

Regards,
Sean E

21

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 03, 2007, 05:55:12 pm »

If the texture is freely available on the internet, there is no need to "open-source" declare it.
It is freely available to anyone of the public.  If you were to to anything, somewhere (such as a credit listing) show where the textures were acquired from.  This will at least give credit to the person or place that is distributing it.

I have found high resolution images of both earth and the moon from NASA.  This are freely available and can be used for anything.  I would of course give credit to NASA for the images somewhere.

Regards,
Sean E

22

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 03, 2007, 04:10:02 pm »

Thanks Sitters for the advice.
I know the earth is WAY to close to the moon.  My moon texture is 2500x1250.  The largest texture I could find on the internet while I was making this rendering.
I through the whole thing together in less than 30 minutes.  It wasn't meant to be perfect just my take on the scene.
I do plan on create a scene that is correctly proportioned and can be used in animation.
If you can point me towards a place that has a higher resolution moon and earth image, I'm all for it.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Sean E

23

Discussion / Re: Wow great game.!!

« on: December 03, 2007, 03:04:52 am »

Yeah, I forgot that Wings was free.  I already downloaded it and exported the models to Max.
I have been using Max for so long that anything else seems awkward... lol

I will review the models and see what I can come up with. Because I work in poly mode, I made have to remake it a bit.

Is there anything else you can tell me about the Breeder besides what is in the text file?

Regards,
Sean E.

24

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 02, 2007, 10:58:13 pm »

Okay, here is my rendering of the moon-earth pass.
I am finding out that the model is not completely compatible with the rendering engine as I need to shine a light on the underside to get the engines to light up.  I'll have to take a look at it.  Anyways, enjoy.

I can also do animations (as previously posted ).

Regards,
Sean E

25

Discussion / Re: Wow great game.!!

« on: December 02, 2007, 10:43:03 pm »

Unfortunately, I can not import blender files into Max.
If you could export it as either 3ds or OBJ it would be very helpful.

Also, what are the possibilities of getting the unrigged Phalanx models?

Regards,
Sean E.

26

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 02, 2007, 07:03:06 pm »

You can still use it for passing through a system with much smaller moons or orbital debris.
It is still good no matter what.

27

Discussion / Re: Wow great game.!!

« on: December 02, 2007, 06:29:56 pm »

Thanks for the response Winter.  I guess it is very difficult to determine how 'harsh' words are when it is taken in context of writing.  So I apologize if I came off critical. (too much time in different forums).

The wiki has good information.  For myself, I get lost in it trying to find specifics to my questions.

As for contributing myself, I do plan on doing it.  I am just trying to find where my skills would be best suited in the flow of the project.....either modeling, texturing, rendering, animating.  I am unsure as to where to focus myself.

Regards,
Sean E.

28

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 02, 2007, 06:23:26 pm »

I am an ex-Air Force brat and have studied astronomy as well as aerospace science the 20+ years my father was enlisted.
All your calculations are either close or accurate.  I am not going to bother getting exact dimensions, but the following is a scaled representation of what I would feel a carrier task force would look like passing from the dark side of the moon.  Its blurry from the jpg compression.



I am not saying anything bad about Sitters renders and animations.  They are very good.  Perhaps some collaboration between us would be a good idea.

Winter:  How High-res of an image would you like dimension wise?

Regards,
Sean E

29

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 02, 2007, 05:08:58 pm »

I would say that this is more to scale when compared to our moon.  And the carrier is still a good distance away from the surface or else it would be effected by the moons gravitational pull.

I guess the best way to solve this issue would be to inquire what are the dimensions of the carrier and the other UFO crafts?

Regards,
Sean E

30

Artwork / Re: Renders

« on: December 02, 2007, 04:13:28 pm »

Thought I would throw my hat in on the whole animation thing.
This is the same model doing what could be considered an overview rotation.  Possibly for the UFOpedia.
File size is 13.5mb and is rendered in 640x480

http://www.scenerysoup.com/soupscenery/files/UFOAI-Carrier-Rotate.avi

Regards,
Sean E