3D Thursday - These Boots were Made for Transforming

Megatron's transformation begins here.  He transforms similarly to the 2-Pack Classics Megatron with the tank turret becoming the arms and hiding the head, but his legs are a different matter.

Bulky boots with tiny toes.

The bumpers split and fold along the canopy, the tires fold behind the foot and the top of the cockpit area folds out to become his toes.  I'm still working on the way for the upper legs and knees to work, but I should have that complete next week.

3D Thursday - Megatron 2

Since finishing the Moore Automotive logo, I took my time getting back to the Prototytan Project.  My wife and I are doing a lot of personal stuff now, so I've had a lot of distractions, but last night I got back into the groove - enough to finish Megatron's vehicle mode.  

Big roller.

It's not designed exactly like the G6 Rhino, most evident in the end of the barrel.  Instead of using the flat plate that the vehicle used, I just replicated Megatron's cannon.  The whole thing will contract into itself, but it's still going to be a lot bigger than Megatron's original cannon.

I just realized I forgot to add an aiming piece to the top of the barrel pivot.  Poop.

3D Thursday - Megatron 2

I've spent the majority of this week working on my friend's logo (Which is awaiting final approval today), but I found some time this weekend to work on Megatron some more.  

I really need to work on my lighting.

I built up the turret and added a few panels to the top of the chassis.  I need to get rid of some extra polygons on the turret face though and then I'll start work on the barrel.  I'll be ready to start tearing it apart for the robot mode after that.  I'm trying to focus on a good detail vs time ratio, so instead of taking a ton of time and making it super-detailed, I just want to pump out a decent model as soon as I can.  We'll see how well that turns out once I get a better grip on Blender.

3D Thursday - Megatron 2

Starting work on a full Transformer and I decided to go with Megatron again because of the familiarity working with this vehicle mode.  I've got to say that it's so much easier working with Blender now.

Looks like a Bic Razor.

I'm taking a break from modeling for a little while, however.  I was recently hired by a friend to design a logo for them.  I'll post a picture when it's finished, but I'm having a good time with it and hope to finish it by the middle of September to allow some changes before their new shop opens the beginning of October.

3D Thursday - Head Job

While working on common elements, I can't forget to do the one thing that every Transformer has - a head!  I started on a generic head from a subdivided cube (I didn't want to use a background image).  I cut that cube up so much that the face didn't even look robotic anymore, which of course is a definite must for a Cybertronian face.  A little smoothing and it turns out closer to a cartoon-y guy face.  I'll use it for the human characters.

Angry man!

So I had to start over and try to make a robot face that keeps as much angles as possible. I'm not even going to touch the smooth button on this guy.

Cheeky fellow.

He's got sunken eyes and a small mouth and that's about it.  I might need to scale the sides in a bit.  I'll add a helmet, a crest, a chin, etc and it should work for just about any Transformer out there...

And this will work for the rest.

3d Thursday - Give Me a Hand

Yeah, of course it's a lame pun, but it fits.  Along with most models requiring tires, even more require hands.  In fact, just a few of Soundwave's minions don't (and there will be others that show up in the comic later that won't need them either).

May I have another?

Rock on!

Okie dokie, artichokie!

I'm still iffy on the raised bit of the palm, but I can live with it.  The back of the hand (which isn't shown for a reason!) is just two beveled faces that make a split down the middle.  I might just leave it flat and just add details on for each individual robot.  It'll make them a little more personalized, especially the ones that have weapons attached.

3DThursday - Commonality

I'm finally starting out some real Transformers modeling, but first I've got to get some props built that will be common to a lot of the characters.  There are hands obviously, and a template for heads (male and female).  I realized another one that'll be used pretty often are tires.  Practically everyone needs them, except maybe Cosmos, but since he's not in this comic, just ignore that.

Boring caps.

Ugly sporty caps.

Here's the two I've modeled so far.  The boring caps actually look good to me, but I'm a bit disappointed by the sporty caps.  I might go in and subdivide the spokes so I can smooth them out better.  I'm also going to check out some tutorials on them because I've got an off road tire modeled, along with a few industrial caps too.  Should be done with them by next week.

Way Too Long

Wow, almost a year. I thought for a second to just wait until it's exactly a year, but that makes it more of a celebration, and there's no reason to celebrate forgetting this for 12 months.

There's a few changes to mention here:

1) Prototytan Project is going back to its roots. Gone are the Turbosquid plans, gone are the Shapeways plans. It's just modeling Transformers to make a comic. Once the comic's running, I'm hoping to get back into the Shapeways plans to make a few of my own custom figures, but it's definitely on the back burner.  Since I don't have to worry about selling anything on Turbosquid now, I'm free to do my own interpretations of vehicles too, which I am much more comfortable with anyway.

2) Lightwave is gone too. I've been having so much trouble getting used to it so I dumped it. Forget that nonsense. So I moved on to Blender. So far, it's a lot closer to 3DS Max, which I am a whole heck of a lot more comfortable. I just finished a tutorial, and this is what I got. It's a Steam Engine.

Choo-choo

That's a dark picture. But who cares, it's done.  Now it's on to modeling something else. And because of the swap, my previous Megatron model is kaput.  Oh well, his feet were a pain in the ass and I've got a much better idea in my head.

Oh yeah, and Megatrons Anonymous is on a definite hiatus. I hope to get back to it someday, but the Prototytan Project is top priority.

Distractions

I'm sure it's obvious, but I haven't done anything on here in a while.  I just finished my finals and I'm done with school.  I did create a website for the Prototytan Project, but before I can post it, I need to make some changes, like getting rid of things the teacher required for the website and replacing them with stuff I actually want.  And I have to find some money somewhere to pay for it.

But now that school's over, i've been thinking a lot about the Prototytan Project and where I want to go with it.  I'm looking forward to going back in Megatrons Anonymous also.  In the mean time, I ordered the RtS Legends from TFSource (and got my account info stolen, but that's getting taken care of now) and I love them!  Those things are awesome.  They've got me interested in making my own Legends figures even more and an idea struck me.  I want those little Legends to have weapons and accessories!  If I could make a rifle for Prime and a scope for Megs's alt mode, that would be great, but why stop there?  There are a ton of opportunities for the G1 Legends.

So that'll be my first step to the Prototytan Project, putting the comic, the models, and original characters on hold.  I'll be designing them soon and modeling them after that and posting pictures of all of them when I can.

Details Details

Okay, so while I'm working on the robot mode, I still need to worry about the alt mode and if it's ready to post online on a 3d marketplace.  I've looked at some that are available online and they're insanely more detailed than what I have here, but they aren't filling the low-poly game model market.  I'm hoping to go into that with my models, but still, I know I should still polish the model a bit.  So I'm posting more pictures of it to get some input on changes that need to be made and details that should be added.

Front view

Top view

Side view

Turret

 I'm planning on adding a few details on the turret here.  There are some canisters that go in the front on both sides of the barrel that need to be added, along with a small cage that goes around them.  I didn't show a back view of it because there isn't anything there - I need to add some windows onto it.  I'm not going to worry about the railing that goes above the barrel on the turret though.

Bumper

 I'm planning on rounding out the sides of the bumper here with some beveling.  I'm really trying to get rid of some of the sharper edges on the model.

Side panels

 No planned changes here, there's just not much detail on this part of the vehicle, except maybe a few metal slats on the big bumper here.

So what say you?  Is there anything else I'm missing?  Is it worth posting online?  Should I even bother?

Protofriday - Cold Feet

Since finishing the alt mode (though there are a few pieces I think I might go back and add on sometime), I've been working on cutting it apart and adding in the robot bits.  I started with the feet first since it quickly became apparent that my original idea for them wouldn't work.  And then the second idea wouldn't work.  And now the idea I'm going with kinda works, but still has it's problems.

As you might be able to see from this horrendous screen-grab, the section behind the front wheel folds down along the cockpit, the wheel folds back, the bump rotates and folds up and the foot assembly rotates out of the first section.... man, I'm having trouble keeping up with it and I made it myself.

The biggest problem that shows up is how absurdly small the foot will be.  For it to fit within the section behind the front wheel it needs to be very small and flat.  I've made toes and a heel that fold out but it's still so small I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to hold him up if it were a figure.  I don't like the joint system I'm using either, with the giant cog-thingees creating the ankle joint, and the huge pivot on the foot itself.

I'm thinking I'll revamp most of it, replacing the ankle system here with a normal ball-and-socket and extending the back of the foot out to allow for a bigger toe and heel.  Right now both of them rotate out, but I'll probably change them to sliding out so I can make them wider as well.

In all though, the feet are going to be damn small.  And unfortunately, I'm still learning with Lightwave and every change I make takes way too long.  I'm getting more comfortable with it though and hopefully more revamps will come about quicker.

Protosaturday - This Is It!

I'm done!  Honestly, it's a cross between "I've done as much as I can" with "I don't think I really care anymore".  I've done what I wanted to do though - create a very low-poly model vehicle that will be easy to convert to a robot model.  I'm not aiming for those highly-detailed Unicron Trilogy 3D and definitely not the hyder-detailed movie styles - I'm trying to stick with a Generation 1 asthetic.  I think this model fits pretty well within that criteria. 

Now from here, I've got two different directions I need to go with this model.  Everything else I model will go through both of these steps.

1. Texture this model with realistic colors.  Once it's all brown and green camo, I'll post it online as is for sale to other people wanting a very low poly model. 
2. Cut this guy up for transformation.

I'm not going to be posting step 1 on the blog though, instead focusing solely on step 2 here.  So next time you see this model, expect to see it in pieces!

Prototuesday - Almost Done

.... with the alt mode.  What, did you think this was just a regular vehicle?  Of course it's a Transformer!

So anyway, I'm almost done with vehicle mode here - with just a few changes to the turret and barrel.  Once that's done, I'll start cutting it apart and building the robot mode with the pieces!  

Protomonday - Closing In

Added a few more details to the front and messed with the turret.  Still need to do some more work on the body, then I'll finish up the turret, barrel, and add some tires.  I've actually taking this week off, so I'm hoping I'll make a lot of progress.  Of course, I've got a bunch of homework too, so we'll see how much that takes.

Protomonday - Another step or two

Took me a while, but I got back into Lightwave this week and made a few more things to the Rhino here.  Cut out the wheel wells, added some windows to the cockpit and a panel in front of it, and put the vents on the sides in front of the wheels.  Also corrected the rear of the turret and cut out the pivot for the barrel.  I would have done more, but Lightwave died on me after I did most of it but not before I could save it.  Of course.

Next step will be adding the lights/speakers/whatevers on the front section, then modding the turret on the sides of the barrel, which needs to be lower and have a few rounded covers added.  Hopefully, I can get that done tomorrow or Wednesday.

Protosunday - Getting There

Okay, so last I posted here, I was really pissed off at myself for going absolutely nowhere with the project.  I had hoped that in the new year I'd turn it around and really get stuff going.  It's almost a month later and I thought I'd get an update for you.

Shortly after the first of the year, I ordered a Lightwave training book and I've got through the first chapters and the more basic tutorials.  I'm only dealing with modeling for the time being.  I ditched the moonbase idea (thought the rocket I modeled earlier will still be useful to me) and have started on a different model.

It's coming along.  This is about 10 hours of modeling so far, what with fideling with all the controls and all.  It's a G6 Rhino self-propelled Howitzer.  Missing the wheels, of course.  I mainly picked it out because of all the sharp corners and flat surfaces.  There's a lot of work to be done on it before I'm ready to even surface it, which will take another couple of tutorials.

I'm slowly getting the hang of Lightwave.  I still forget to to deselect the modify tools before I try to select a different poly and I've accidentally moved way too much stuff and had to start over because I couldn't fix it.  But it's getting there.

Protofriday - New Years Eve

Earlier this year, I laid out some pretty ambitious plans for the next few years, with the first step being learning Lightwave.  With today being the last day of my training period, it's time to look back on exactly how much I've accomplished so far....

Nothing.  This holiday season has totally kicked my ass, with all the shopping for presents and getting ready for company, I haven't had time to devote to the Prototytan Project at all.  Well, I did do one sketch of a Prototytan-designed Shockwave, which is unnecessary since he isn't even slated to show up in the comic.  Anyway, here have a looksy.

So where does all this slackery leave me?  Frustrated, disappointed, and even a bit disgusted.  There's no reason for me to be so behind.  Frankly, I'm having way more trouble adjusting to Lightwave than I should.  It's supposed to be a lot easier to learn since I knew how to work 3DSMax, but I find it's made learning Lightwave even harder.  Max had some great controls and tools that I can't even find substitutes for in Lightwave.  I'm not saying it'll be impossible to learn the new system, but it's going to take a lot longer than I previously thought.  And even after I think I've learned everything, I'm sure many more problems will crop up.  For the time being though, I'm going to keep the 2013 timetable and the 11-day modeling schedule.  We'll just have to see how well I can stick with it.

Protofriday - Training

When I was in my first 3D modeling class in school, the final project I had to do was build a moonbase.  It included about 37 distinct structures and vehicles; a power plant, a med bay, a shuttle, etc.  It tested everything I had learned in the class up to that point; polygons, geometry, splines, bevels, again etc.  I got a B- on it. 


So now that I'm learning Lightwave, I've decided I'm going to do the same final project to learn everything I need to.  I don't remember everything that the first project required, but I'm making up a new list that will again have 37 different objects.  I've got a lot longer to finish it than my class offered, but I have to figure it all out, model and surface it by the end of the year.  So far I've made this rocket.

It's not much, but it was quick and helpful,  And I think it was a great starting point.  From now on, 3D updates like this will be posted on W3Dnesdays, and Protofriday will stick specifically with the Prototytan sketches, designs, and profiles.  Megatron Monday is on hiatus this week because of a vacation, but will be back next week as well.  So come back often and see how this is going.

Protofriday - Timeline

I think I've got a plan!  There's a lot of stuff for me to do and, luckily for me, there's not a little time to do it in.  I posted earlier about my asset list and everything I'll have to make up for the Prototytan Project; fourty-six robots, a half-dozen humans, a few sets, and a lot of props - and that's just for the first season.  But before I do all that, I still have to learn Lightwave.  It's not completely new since I'm transitioning from 3DS Max, but it's still taking some time before I get comfortable with it.  It's an uphill battle, though, because I'm stubborn and hate having to adjust to new things. 

I've looked at all the assets and I've figured out a timeline that I think will give me enough time to get everything modeled.  The timeline has a few steps; the first is the learning phase.  I'm giving myself til the end of the year to learn as much as I have to about Lightwave.  I'll go through a ton of tutorials, I'll model a bunch of junk, I'll mess with the materials, everything I can do to learn without feeling pressured to make a Prototytan just yet.  I don't want to start out trying to model Huffer or Reaper and just get frustrated when nothing's turning out right.  So I'll start out with toasters or rockets or whatever else I can think of.  Also during this time, I'll finalize the alt mode and design for all the robots.  There'll be lots of sketches here so hopefully I'll have a lot to post here.

The second step is the asset production.  As soon as it turns to 2011, I'm going to start modeling with a purpose.  I'm giving myself a long time - two years - to model everything I need.  I'll start with the robots and give myself 11 days to model and surface each one.  By the time that 11th day hits, I'll have a model of the alt mode ready to sell online, and have a fully transformable robot.  I measured this out and all together, it should take me 18 months.  That'll give me 6 months to model out everything else; the people, sets and props.  During this time, the Prototytan Project will have daily updates to keep me going.

The final thing I'll have to do before the deadline is get the first update ready to post online.  It's not a long one, I think just a few pages, but it has to be ready to go by January 1st, 2013.  That Tuesday is officially... Prototuesday!  Watch for it!

Insignia

Just a quick render of the three insignias I'll be using. They're my first models in Lightwave and they definitely show. I'm still figuring out the cel-shader and you would not believe how long it took me just to figure out how to get the image files into 3D. So far this transition has been a lot harder that I thought it would be.