3D version of the unit reference pictures

Edit to keep the most recent version at the top: 7 down, 6 to go (Hercules, Science Vessel, Raven, Minotaur, Viking, maybe SCV).

http://i.imgur.com/iNzYX.jpg

Minotaur is WIP
http://i.imgur.com/VEiva.jpg

The old thread is reserved for just updates to the whole size/reference chart. But here's a new thread, let's see if it goes anywhere. It might not. :P

While working on all those side-views I couldn't help but wonder if/desperately hope that the drawings would still be accurate in 3D— maybe if the battlecruiser's wings are as far down as they are in my drawing, they're actually at a silly angle from the front. I know the mothership drawing is pretty off, perspective-wise.

I'm trying to teach myself 3D animation (I have a student version of Maya), so I want to try and model some of the ships. None of the infantry or anything, and none of the Protoss or Zerg stuff, they're all too curvy and complicated for my current skill level. But a 3D version of the Terran fleet would be nice, don't you think?

I started with the Valkyrie, and it looks awesome, better than I could have hoped. The drawing was almost perfect, the wings were just a bit too high.


http://i.imgur.com/f55oYh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rKjGt.jpg

I don't think I'll be going detailed enough to worry about landing gear and things, but: A minotaur battlecruiser probably has hangars, where on the ship are they? Does the science vessel have hangars, or just a docking ring? etc. So there is lore stuff to discuss, stuff that may or may not have any official basis.

Goddammit, you are way to good at everything, ever.

Sick. The 2d version was already a mind explosion. My body is not ready for a 3d version. :3

Sweet, another Robear project! Moar please!

Robear, once you cut your teeth on those Terran vehicles, I'm pretty sure your 3D skills would be more than capable of tackling the Protoss and Zerg stuff in time. ;)

I have absolutely zero idea of how to texture these, so while I can dream of them one day looking like Freespace's ships (the one on the left, the right is too complicated to even think about :P)...

http://sclegacy.com/features/final-m...-evolution.jpg

for now they'll just be dull and grey and unlit. Someday, though, someday...

(I would love for him to drop by and talk about how he did those textures though. The ship on the left, plus some little windows, is really exactly exactly what I would want to do.)

Here's the wraith— I figured it would be easy since there's so much reference of them in the cinematics, but those wing angles are really tough. I had to make the lower wing a bit more sharply angled, and I fear the upper wings are too long, but the whole thing still looks really good.


http://i.imgur.com/zDFTP.jpg

Edit: Since these pictures I've made the lower wing a bit longer.

Awesome stuff, Robear. Keep 'em coming.

Texturing can be fairly simple depending on what tools you're using, but I think it's a bit more complex based on how many different surfaces you're looking at.

Grizzly done! The drawing on this one turned out to be pretty bad. I drew it looking only at screenshots that never showed the rear clearly, and I knew right away it wasn't accurate, but figured nobody would care— plus this was in the early days when I was sort of redesigning units as I went. The 3d model still isn't quite right; the area that connects the tail and main body was wider in the game, but, eh, it's close.


http://i.imgur.com/J8L9e.jpg

I wonder whether or not I should fix up the drawings that turn out to be inaccurate for the HotS version of the chart...

The bars around the cockpit are the most complicated thing I've modeled. :P Of course a professional would have just done them with textures.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robear

The bars around the cockpit are the most complicated thing I've modeled. :P Of course a professional would have just done them with textures.

---

Heck. That's a one-minute extrude job in Solidworks!
On the other hand, you don't get a model that can be used in a game or anything at the end. That's life. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Quirel

Heck. That's a one-minute extrude job in Solidworks!
On the other hand, you don't get a model that can be used in a game or anything at the end. That's life. :(

---

Oh, don't get me wrong, it should only be a five-second extrude job in Maya, too. I ended up doing it a really roundabout, complicated way, but I'm learning from my experiences. :P

Turns out I way overestimated how much space the wings would take up in the dropship drawing. Another thing to fix...

Also note that this is one of the slightly-redesigned Brood War units— the area around the cockpit looks cool in the sprite, but pretty weird and difficult close up, so mine has something different, which I think still looks good.

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__...p_SC1_Art1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Wsxul.jpg

Edit: I also finished the Medivac, and I'm actually really proud of this one. I've improved so much in just a few days. The curvy shapes are way more complicated and I modeled them way better than the Grizzly. This model is actually good, like, I-could-see-it-in-a-game good. Although I'm sure it's just because I had so much reference of actual Blizzard game models, and I could see how they might model things. Again, my original drawing wasn't great.

http://i.imgur.com/SIHPP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yn7RL.jpg

Here's where we're at:

http://i.imgur.com/iNleQ.jpg

Well shit, dude. That's some sexy modeling right there. Will you be texturing these?

Thanks, I thought so too, and yes, I'm trying to learn how to texture these as we speak. I basically want to be able to make something like this when I'm done with these models, and it seems very achievable.

Now I've come to a lore/artistic direction question for you guys to chime in on:

The Banshee's propeller blades are sitting on top of some sort of engine, but it doesn't look like there's anything actually connecting that engine to the main body of the aircraft.

http://www.hedfiles.net/banshee.jpg

There isn't anything visible even in the pre-rendered cinematic version.
http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/im...2_DevCine1.jpg

The same is true of the ingame model.
http://i.imgur.com/WkPWE.png

So are we to assume that the whole fanblade assembly just floats in the middle there, without being actually secured to anything? I mean, I guess the Terrans have the technology to do that... Contrast this with the Scorpions in Avatar, which have a little arm extending to the middle of the ring to hold everything up.
http://images.wikia.com/jamescameron...on_Gunship.JPG

Should I model in that arm even though I'd be making it up? When I did my original drawing I added one just assuming that it was there and I couldn't see it in my reference picture. Did Blizzard just ignore it or is it really not supposed to be there because this is some future helicopter tech that doesn't need to be attached?

I'd say the Banshee uses some sort of magnetic ring as an engine for its blades. Just like bullet trains. The main problem with the little arm is that it reduces the strengh of the engine, either by lose of energy due to the amount of gears or because it must be small enough to fit the arm. I'd say a magnetic ring is the best answer for this vehicles.

You know, instead of making all your own models you could conceivably use the SC2 models and resize them based on your unit pictures chart.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gradius

You know, instead of making all your own models you could conceivably use the SC2 models and resize them based on your unit pictures chart.

---

Except they suck.

I've come to love Pronogo. His presence makes me happy.

Regardless of whether they suck or not:

• I would only get a couple of units out of it (and I don't really want to use the Hyperion/battlecruiser model they have since I didn't use its design), and they would really clash with all the ones I would have to make myself/make mine look bad.
• I kind of want to make them all myself. It's the same as with the drawings— I could have taken screenshots of the models from the side and scaled those, but that wasn't the point for me. Plus, it's really good for my art skills to learn from Blizzard's models while making my own.

Also this way I get to throw in a bit of my own style. For example, I'm trying out the design of the in-game Banshee's cockpit glass instead of the boxier campaign model.

The magnetically floating rotors are funny because there's no way that assembly on the bottom actually does anything, since there's no way to get fuel to it... Unless power is conducted from the frame through the rotor blades somehow. Which is possible. But, yeah, it looks right.

Hmm...
Honestly, I can't see any way to make those spindles the engines and make them make sense.

Perhaps its got something to do with the Banshee's cloaking system? Something that damps out the sound of the rotors?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robear

The magnetically floating rotors are funny because there's no way that assembly on the bottom actually does anything, since there's no way to get fuel to it... Unless power is conducted from the frame through the rotor blades somehow. Which is possible. But, yeah, it looks right.

---

Don't think too hard on this one, your mind will explode. :)

I would suggest that the rotors are powered by the same magnetic force (coming from the ring structure) that holds the whole rotor in place. Don't forget that there maybe some localised anti-grav (which we know the Terrans have) tech probably involved in keeping it altogether and afloat as well.

The whole thing is kind of bullshitty anyway, like how in the in-game model the pods on either side of the cockpit are clearly where the missiles fire from (note the 4-hole arrangement),
http://www.carlsguides.com/starcraft...ts/banshee.gif
and then in the Card to Play cinematic they're engine intakes, and the missiles just magically appear beneath the main body. Are they engines or rocket pods? Pick one, don't have both in the game at once! *sigh*

Anyway, here's my Banshee, complete with floating rotors. It's a bit higher-detail than the others, maybe I'll bring the others up to this quality, maybe not. Turned out the tail in my drawing was too short.
http://i.imgur.com/xWf7P.jpg

Kindregan mentioned the banshee had a separate engine for flying through space. Is that what the side-pods are?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gradius

Kindregan mentioned the banshee had a separate engine for flying through space. Is that what the side-pods are?

---

Definitely, I would say. The Card to Play Banshees seem to be doing maneuvers that require jet engines while making jet engine noises. Plus all the engine glows from those side pods.

http://i.imgur.com/9zKFi.jpg

They all seem to have a single trail from only the one engine/side. Is it a contrail from the engine, and they just fly by fast enough that only one particle effect was used, or is it a smoke trail from where the rockets were launched?

http://i.imgur.com/rsMUo.jpg

And I'm pretty sure that's a turbine in there (which doesn't make sense for a space engine anyway, but, hey, that's what they've been doing.)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7P_ywtINJD...l2-550x412.jpg

6 down, ~6 to go.

http://i.imgur.com/ksYaU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZkpRU.jpg

Can't wait to see your battlecruiser. ;)

Alright, yeah, let's talk Battlecruisers, before I start modeling them and then have to change things. Let's figure out the Minotaur.

In my version of things, the Behemoth Battlecruiser, at over a kilometer long, has at least 8 hangars behind the 'hammerhead,' each tall enough to fit a dropship. There may be other hangars, (notice the lit-up areas on the backside of the wings), but that's how big it is.
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/st...uguration2.jpg

This alternate Behemoth battlecruiser either instead or in addition has a large opening underneath the hammerhead, and presumably much of the underside of the neck is a hollow large open area for storing tanks and troops and aircraft and such. (I like this design, but it doesn't really count, as the actual SCG battlecruisers looked exactly like the SCBW cinematic versions.)

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__..._SC-G_Art1.jpg

The 560m 'Minotaur' battlecruiser is smaller.

http://i.imgur.com/TUkza.jpg

http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-co...Yamato_SC2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tk2xL.png

-If there were hangars on either side of the hammerhead, there's only enough room for one on either side. It's possible, but kind of weird to have decks or hangars in there, since those parts are on an angle. But they could each have a single-dropship-hangar, for a total of 2. And the angle wouldn't matter in space, of course.

-There's no room for that centered hangar underneath since the whole neck of the Minotaur is empty down the middle to make up the Yamato cannon.

-The wings themselves seem too thin to have an entire enclosed hangar bay.

-The raised structure in the rear could be big enough for a single hangar, but that would take up a lot of space in it, and I kind of imagined it was all just bridge and command decks and a mess hall and all that kind of stuff.

-The underside could have a hangar? That could fit at least, like, 3 medivacs? It can't go in too deep, because that's where engine/reactor stuff has to go, but there is space.

-Or Minotaur Battlecruisers just don't have hangars for storing other ships, and are purely battleships, and only use docking of smaller personnel transport shuttles like the one in the Battle on the Amerigo cinematic.

Presumably, the underside of the behemoth model is for yamato shots.

Out of curiosity, why would the tanks be stored so far away from the dropship hangars? I would imagine that they are much closer together.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by topsecret221

Presumably, the underside of the behemoth model is for yamato shots.

---

Yes, the neck is mostly used by equipment for the yamato canon, but it doesn't deny the posibility of a shared space with some other ship function. With the following Submarine and Carrier diagrams:

http://www.emackinnon.com/gato-diagram-info.jpg

http://media.defenseindustrydaily.co...Cutaway_lg.jpg

We can se that space is used as efficient as possible. I'd say this applies to Terran capital ships. IIRC, in "Liberty's Crusade" they mention "one way" corridors that only allow a single marine through. Mecanics should also be able to access any area in the BC for repairs or emergencies. So, the neck should offer enough space for transit between the bridge-belly, and the hammerhead of the BC; but not enough for tanks or mechanical units to move through.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by topsecret221

Presumably, the underside of the behemoth model is for yamato shots.

Out of curiosity, why would the tanks be stored so far away from the dropship hangars? I would imagine that they are much closer together.

---

Oh, sorry if I created confusion with this— that SCG picture is not canon, at all to me, since the neck of the Behemoth from the original cinematics is completely different: There is no underside to the Behemoth in SCBW.

http://i.imgur.com/sWrk2.jpg

You can see the neck is mostly hollow, with superstructure and scaffolding around a row of large spheres, presumably reactors of some sort. Definitely no lower opening or storage area or anything.

http://i.imgur.com/hua8r.jpg

So, yeah, there's room for the Liberty's Crusade-described narrow corridors to traverse between the neck sections and not much else, so don't worry about that picture.

Even though I don't know what each of the sections on the Behemoth is for, I at least have something to copy, whereas the underside of the Minotaur I'm pretty much making up.

This one's gonna take me a while, and final exams are approaching, so there may be an update lull. But, here's a preview of how big the Behemoth hammerhead is compared with the other units...

http://i.imgur.com/hr7DB.jpg

This is just based on my drawings, and I fear the original might actually be a bit bigger than my earlier estimates.

http://i.imgur.com/IdTtv.jpg

It's hard to tell, because those ships are pretty big (wraiths are like 30 feet tall). So, actually it might be just about right.

Wow, so you figure a Valkyrie could fit into one of those hangar bays?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Visions of Khas

Wow, so you figure a Valkyrie could fit into one of those hangar bays?

---

Heh, not quite, it actually just doesn't fit.
http://i.imgur.com/XzYEJ.jpg

Even if it was the exact same height as the hangar, there'd still have to be space around it; there has to be headroom for the ship to hover off the deck (like the dropship in WoL's campaign or fighters in Star Wars) before flying out into space, and for getting into the hangar without scraping the sides. You can see that the dropships and fighters have that maneuvering room, but there's no way the Valkyrie would.

Well, I finished the Behemoth model. I basically ditched my drawing in favor of more directly copying the look of the original cinematics.

http://i.imgur.com/iNzYX.jpg

And here's the view from inside one of the hangars:

http://i.imgur.com/Fr3qD.jpg

Cannot wait to texture this. :3

The Minotaur looks like a little baby. :/

http://i.imgur.com/VEiva.jpg

It's at least a bit more respectable when it's only compared to the smaller ships.

http://i.imgur.com/Da8OF.jpg

To be honest I'm not thrilled with how low-poly this one still looks. The whole hammerhead/bridge/main body sections probably just need to be remade, but, I still have finals, so I'm not doing anything about it right now. The ends of the wings, the engines, the neck, and the yamato cannon area are all fine, because they were based more on my drawing, while the bad parts were based more off the in-game model. So those parts still look like a game model rather than a real ship.

I'm reminded of the Norad crash cinematic where a scourge was as big as that valkyrie you have there. :P

It seems there's a lot more detail you can bring into your piece if you so choose. But I think these will really shine when you texture your Minotaur model. :)





http://gadgetsin.com/uploads/2010/12...er_craft_1.jpg

http://www.theuen.com/images/battlecruiser.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Visions of Khas

It seems there's a lot more detail you can bring into your piece if you so choose. But I think these will really shine when you texture [them].

---

I'm working on it. Textures/materials in Maya are not at all intuitive, but I'm learning slowly.

http://i.imgur.com/Y0jFX.jpg

Oh that's right Robear. Do a Dominion and KMC Wraith but not a UP one. Never mind the little guys or anything.;)

Still, snark aside, nice job. Like the look. Keep at it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robear

Textures/materials in Maya are not at all intuitive, but I'm learning slowly.

---

Tell me about it. I had some classes using Maya 3D and I absolutely hated the texture interface. Texturing itself is a whole lot of fun, it's just applying it to the model that sucks. You get used to it, though. :) I wish I remembered more about it than I do.

If I try to finish the 3D version of all the ships, they'll probably just be untextured models; I'm kind of giving up on texturing and lighting. There's no way, given how much trouble I've had so far with terran ships, that I could do a good job with curvy protoss stuff. I'm also just still having problems with Maya like getting shadows to work. You won't see any higher-resolution renders than this from me any time soon because at higher resolution you can tell that everything looks like crap.

http://i.imgur.com/AGCBn.jpg

Thank you at least for being a total badass ;)

Good luck on any more future endeavors

I'm not done with awesome Starcraft projects yet, not by a long shot. :P Though I am recovering from the huge blow that Heart of the Swarm won't work in my current operating system... Mac OS 10.6 isn't going to be supported anymore, which seems crazy to me... I always loved that Blizzard games were accessible to the lowest common denominator, and you'd think a 3-year-old computer would be a-ok, but I guess not... Upgrading is probably only like, $20, so maybe I just will... But still, annoying.

:(

Anyway, I do have something, a secret, super-awesome project that'll be coming out in the next week or two. So, look out for that.

This looking good, Robear. Love to see such passion in fans of the game.