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09 March
2003 (Wednesday) - Day 16
Thank god for the recycle
bin. I don't think I've had to use it in years (I've finally learnt
to make backups).. Still, I managed to delete the "Head"
directory of the Dragon earlier and suddenly panicked- when I
was about to start this page and couldn't find anything. I blame
it on the dizziness; I've been laid low today after either eating
something or (more likely) a stomach bug, since yesterday. I've
not been working too much, and still feeling light headed but
it's a chance to put together the small bits and pieces I've done
on the side.
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I've made
some alterations to the SmoothClone
script (now on version 1.2).. It's essentially the same as the earlier
version with the addition of some viewport handling changes. It
now automatically sets up the viewports to solid views with a wire
overlay in the left. It also handles focusing better, returning
to a quad layout when clearing. I've a few more changes to make
later, but it's fully functional now. (I use it pretty much all
the time.)
On a side note: Any
process that involves collapsing the modifier stack will negate
the effect (!) This is not a bug, but integral to the way the script
works. If you wish to make changes which collapse the stack (such
as convert to Polygon/Mesh) it's fine, but you will have press "Clear
Reference" and then Smooth clone your object again.
Although I work solely
with Polygon objects, it does appear to work fine with Meshes etc..
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also been playing with the colourmaps for the head. I'm not looking
for a photo-realistic image (in fact, far from it) so I can have
fun with the colour scheme.
Although this is the
Red Dragon I'm working with a slightly orange caste for the time
being. It's easier to see the range for hues available (we're working
with colour, not value at this point). The lighting will change
the range later anyway, so I will match the colours better at a
later date.
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One of the first test
render passes and it's already getting close to the result I'm looking
for. I must say I really enjoy Max's renderer for doing this kind
of fantasy work; the shaders are just the right level of complexity
to achieve the results without a laborious setup. I tend to favour
the Multi-Layered shader for the ability to control specular highlights
better..
In this case I have two
specular maps to complement the bump map. The first layer is A fairly
dispersed orange, while the second is a tighter white.
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Note the breakup colour
added to the texture. I don't want wholly flat colour at any point,
so I also have a noise layer. This is done easily enough in photoshop
by adding a grey layer, then running the filter "Noise".
I then blur the noise and add it as an "Overlay" layer
in photoshop.
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Next I work on the main
horns (bump, colour and specularity maps: again favouring multi-layer)
and finally on the teeth and smaller horns. The texture maps don't
have to be overly complex; as often the real detail comes with the
interaction between multiple maps.
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mouse-over:
Horns vs Teeth |
I've finished with the colour
on the head for now. It's still in need of a little work, but I want to
spend time on the body and wings before focusing too heavily on one area.
Nothing worse than having to go back and re-do stuff.
Still, I think it'll be just
fine - I'm very happy with the expression:
Looking forward
to seeing him rigged with a skeleton..
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