Competition #13 - Burton (Sentientv2)

[Sentientv2]

I know I'm a bit late entering this competition, but I just finished my next to last school quarter on 3/20 and I've got some chunks of time between now and 3/31 when I start back to work on this project.

To be honest I'm probably not going to post any concepts. I've done so many random ones and used so many different elements from them I really don't have a concrete "this is what I'm doing" sketch. I can say that my theme is going to lean heavily on the word "mother" in "mothership". Hopefully some of the shape forms of my larger ship will convey that when the ship is viewed from certain angles.

That said I'm anticipating that normal maps will be my biggest hurdle. I'm not very comfortable with either Mudbox or Zbrush, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse not to give this a shot. If anyone has any tutorials or links (mainly for more mechanical pieces as opposed to zbrush creature or face modeling that you usually find) I'd greatly appreciate the help.

I'll post an update and screenshot when I'm a little bit further. Take care,

-Sentientv2

p.s. The people who have already started are doing fantastic jobs and I'd like to thank you all for inspiring me to try this.

[Sentientv2]

Here is what I came up with over a few hours today. I'll have much more time this next week to develop everything and put this project's schedule into overdrive to catch up. I'm mostly happy with the shape but I'm a big fan of the mechanical pistons and "tech" designs so I'd like to incorporate it into this very organic looking structure. It will not be an "alien" craft but instead very much made of metal.

The domes will most likely will have the appearance of a "colony" inside and the part that is shielded, the "child" of the ship, will be where the transports, support, and fighter craft are deployed. I would very much like for there to be a miniature scene in there that is lit. I still haven't determined what part of the structure the craft are deployed from. It would be hard to do a scene if they came from the bottom, but logistically it would make the most sense for the craft to be launched downwards towards a planet.

Perspective view


Top View


Side View


p.s. Both of the back dome like structures are not attached at the moment. I'm still deciding on how I want them shaped and structured.

[fabiodan]

hmm, the design seems really empty right now, let's see what you can do with that...
Also try adding an edge loop to the connection from the bridge to the main piece, because it looks really triangulated-like.
otherwise looks like a solid start, take your go and good luck!

[Sentientv2]

Fabiodan:
Yea this was definitely a base blueprint to define where I'd like to go from here.

I've been caught up in the family stuff over the holiday but hopefully I'll have the mothership low poly mesh finished by Tuesday afternoon. I've got so many things in the pipe to do these days, but completing this competition is my fun time so please stay tuned for some swells of progress during this week. I forced myself to stay away from computers this weekend, but I'm back in the hunt. Take care,

-Sentientv2

[Sentientv2]

Alright, this will look totally different. I started to lean heavily on the idea of a serpent-like ship. I was going to have that form incorporated into my first design, but the way I went about modeling it was entirely static. I went back to the drawing board and came up with something I'm much happier with.

I've got plenty of polys to use, so I'll be adding more detail in the next day or two and moving along to texture maps as quickly as I can. The fighter ship is 820 polys, and the main ship is 3306. The way the main ship hull looks now is bland, but it is modeled so I can rig it and pose it for my final render shot.

Note: I'm not master of renders in Maya, so excuse the wireframe not having all of the edges present. They're definitely there.











There's a good bit of unconnected and unshaped stuff with respect to the main ship. I'll be reshaping the sections of the main hull a bit and the tail is not nearly done. I'll also be adding some more machinery parts in certain places as wel (hoses, booster tanks, etc.)

[Atius]

very nice concept, more original than ur previous one , now the only thing u really need to finish is the texturing part

[chris89]

i actually loved the first idea ;( but meh

[Sentientv2]

Originally Posted by chris89

i actually loved the first idea ;( but meh

Hopefully when I figured out exactly what I'd like to do with the body (and quick), I can rig it and pose it and you'll still like what's going on a bit. You saying that actually gave me some clarity on the shape of the hull that I want to detail. I've got one more crazy night of flash programming cramming and I should be able to focus for the entire week on just this project, since I want to put it in my portfolio.

Thanks for the feedback.

[fabiodan]

looks nice. Now you've gotta texture it!

go go go!!

[Sentientv2]

I'm still feverishly working on my submission, but I think it is impossible for me to finish at this point with the level of completeness that I'd like to have. My knowledge of Zbrush is a bit lacking and I spent half of the week banging my head on the wall trying to learn Mudbox, which proved to be a bit difficult for me to sculpt hard surface details with. Anyways, I'll keep at it and won't give up. I just have like three obligations that I have to do before tomorrow night so forfeiting sleep will probably be in the itinerary now. Take care and everyone keep up the great work!