3D version of the unit reference pictures

[Robear]

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



Minotaur is WIP


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.






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.

[topsecret221]

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

[Gradius]

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

[Turalyon]

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.

[Robear]

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)...



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.




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

[Pr0nogo]

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.

[Robear]

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.




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.

[Quirel]

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.

[Robear]

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.





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.





Here's where we're at:

[Visions of Khas]

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