@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) posted a new topic, subject "WIP For Blenderguru SciFi Competition". It read:

   This is my first thread on this forum, and I would like to thank those who have helped me get around the site, and apologise for anthing I have got wrong.  
    I have been using Blender for about 2 years, and I think it is a wonderfull programme. I am a hobbyist, although I have a background in art and design, and am a long standing SciFi fan, so this is the ideal competition for me to join.
    
    My entry is based loosely on a small part of a novel entitled “Downbelow Station” by the excellent author CJ.Cheryyh.  
    The end result will be a short animation, but at the moment I am producing the models.  
    So far after about eight to ten hours work, which includes about 90 percent of the texture maps, I have 2 models.  
    One of the Alliance Carrier “Norway”, and one of the Hellburner attack craft that it carries, so far with some lighting, but at this point no backgrounds or compositing. The Shuttle attached to the “Norway” has not yet been textured and is next on the list.  
    These are rendered in Blender Internal, as I don't consider myself up to speed with Cycles yet.  
    
    
    Ridership3 .jpg1920×1080 77.9 KB
    
      
    
    
    ### Attachments
    
    NorwayBow .jpg1920×1080 156 KB
    
      
    
    
    NorwaySideOn .jpg1920×1080 180 KB

So @jagdpanther (jagdpanther) replied

    good model, but a bit too dark.

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    jagdpanther:
    
    > good model, but a bit too dark.
    
    Personally I quite like mean and moody spaceshots, but than my mother is always telling me to lighten up.:yes:  
    
    
    Norway Lighter .jpg1920×1080 127 KB
    
      
    
    
    ### Attachments
    
    Ridership4 .jpg1920×1080 303 KB

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    This is the rear of the Norway with the riderships installed, I may come back to this if the animation needs it, but I need to go on to some other stuff or I will get bogged down.  
    
    
    Norwayrearwithriderships.jpg1920×1080 248 KB

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Quick update, ship now has textured shuttle. On to pellstation next.  
    
    
    Norwaywithtextureshuttle.jpg1920×1080 217 KB

Then @Scott_Graham (Scott Graham) said

    majestic! Very nice model - if you ever make a tut. i will watch it

Then @orux (orux) said

    yeah indeed modeling is really nice, as well as texturing of ship!

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Scott Graham:
    
    > majestic! Very nice model - if you ever make a tut. i will watch it 
    
    [QUOTE=yeah indeed modeling is really nice, as well as texturing of ship[/QUOTE]
    
    Thanks guys, I am flattered, I still consider myself a relative novice. The models are relatively low poly, and most of the work has gone into creating the textures.

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Last one for today, I am doing this while simultaniously redecorating my kitchen (I hope I do not get the projects mixed up). This is Pellstation, it is very big, with about 250,000 inhabitants. At this point they are unsure whether the intentions of the fleet to which the Norway belongs, are either benign or malign. They should be their protectors, but the politics have become complicated, as earth is no longer funding the fleet, and so they now raise taxes from the hinder stations, (sometimes forcibly), Pellstation is the richest of the stations, but it is also of vital strategic importance in the fight against the Union, who are the main adverseries in the story. “Downbelow Station” on which this project is based (Author CJ Cherryh) won both the H  
    ugo and Nebula awards in the 1980s, and remains one of my favourite SciFi novels.
    
    The model took about 2 and a half hours, but I am reckong on twice that to assign all the textures, (I have made a start, but it is now 1.32 am and I should go to bed.
    
    Pellstation.jpg1920×1080 228 KB

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Close up of pellstation, I am goling to have to continue on this for some time, as the ships will be flying in close, and the near detail is going to have to stand up to scrutiny.  
    
    
    Pellstationcloseup.jpg1920×1080 444 KB

@anacraiga (anacraiga) replied

    Love the scale of the models, they look HUGE! Which, of course, they would be.

So @ampace (Andrew Pace) replied

    Looks amazing! Can't wait to see the final product.
    
    The panels on the station - is that a tileable texture? If so, it looks very convincing! If not, I salute your greebling abilities!  Either way, looking great!

So @uriel (uriel) replied

    Nice ship design ! maybe some antennas, thin detailed extensions, to break the usual shapes (cylinder, box with rounded corners…)  
    good luck

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Latest update, Will reply more fully later, but have to go to work.  
    
    
    Pellstation2.jpg1920×1080 335 KB

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    This picture gives an idea of relative scale. I am going to have to work hard to get the textures to match, so I am setting up camera angles to see which part of the larger model I need to concentrate on.
    
    nORWAY APPROACHES PELLSTATION.jpg1920×1080 653 KB

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    I am probably not getting enough sleep. Pell generates its gravity using Cetrifugal force. It should be this way up!
    
    nORWAY APPROACHES PELLSTATIONright way up.jpg1920×1080 555 KB

Then @Scott_Graham (Scott Graham) said

    This is a very huge spacedisc  Really like it!

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Two new pics, Texturing and lighting has a long way to go, but the weekend is nearly upon us.
    
    Norway in Dock.jpg1920×1080 365 KB
    
      
      
    
    
    Norway in Dockbehind.jpg1920×1080 745 KB
    
      
    
    
    I hope to be more sociable when I have time, unfortunately the dayjob beckons.

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Latest update. Got quite a long way on this before it was interrupted by “Foyle's War” on BBC (it was excellent and despite my best efforts I was drawn in).  
    I am taking my time on this section, as it is important that it should look good on both camera views. Essentially once I get this bit right, then the rest of the video should fall into place.
    
    Hopefully tomorrow morning I shall get a decent amount of time to answer some of the posts about this project, particularily concerning the texturing.  
    Thanks for the support.
    
    Norway in Dockbehind2.jpg1920×1080 585 KB

After which, @uriel (uriel) added

    I like it very much, mate ! that's great job !  
    i'm curious about the topology when i see the greebles… how many vertex here ?

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    uriel:
    
    > I like it very much, mate ! that's great job !  
    >  i'm curious about the topology when i see the greebles… how many vertex here ?
    
    Thanks! Here is the same picture wihout the textures.
    
    Pellstation No Texture.jpg1898×1064 613 KB
    
      
    
    
    The ship obviously has the most vertices, as it is scaled down, and is also carrying eight of the smaller ridership models, also the model of the space station is complete as I hope to do quite a long camera zoom, so what is on the screen it is fairly low poly At the moment it is running at 148511 vertices for the whole lot.
    
    By the way, could you define a greeble, I am assuming it refers to the texturing, but it is not a term I am familiar with.

So @uriel (uriel) replied

    > could you define a greeble, I am assuming it refers to the texturing,
    
    a greebles set is generally a small part of the model (especially scifi) that give some style and those parts are repeated… in case of a texture…i'm not sure it's called greeble, someone can confirm ?
    
    as i had talk about greeble, i was wrong in your case, by looking at your model without texture, it looks that the surface doesn't include small parts…sorry
    
    anyway, nice plan !

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    > as i had talk about greeble, i was wrong in your case, by looking at your model without texture, it looks that the surface doesn't include small parts…sorry
    
    No problem. I am pretty much self taught, so there are going to be big gaps in my knowledge.

Then @orux (orux) said

    This comes really nicely! Although some parts of your station are not uhm perfectly circular? I mean you can notice some corners here and there, but if that's intentional than it's ok or maybe it's just because it's relatively low poly. Anyways keep it up!

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    orux:
    
    > This comes really nicely! Although some parts of your station are not uhm perfectly circular? I mean you can notice some corners here and there, but if that's intentional than it's ok or maybe it's just because it's relatively low poly. Anyways keep it up!
    
    I like my station to have lumpy bits!  It has been built over several generations.  
    Here is the latest update.
    
    PellstationDockInterior.jpg1920×1080 476 KB

After which, @Magnavis added

    looking really good!

After which, @Astapov (Astapov) added

    This is looking really awesome.

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    Same image with a few additions. There is still a planet and some stars to do, but I'll save that for tomorrow.
    
    PellstationDockInterior2.jpg1920×1080 511 KB

After which, @tobbew (tobbew) added

    I think the environment might look even bigger if you put the camera at human eye level. Also If this is your planned final camera angle I really think it could benefit from some characters in the foreground. I think the image is very well made in itself, but as it looks currently I don't get much of a story or mood from it. What do you wish to convey with the image?

Then @niebieski (niebieski) said

    OMG great work. when i grow up i want to be like you! :spin:

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    tobbew:
    
    > I think the environment might look even bigger if you put the camera at human eye level. Also If this is your planned final camera angle I really think it could benefit from some characters in the foreground. I think the image is very well made in itself, but as it looks currently I don't get much of a story or mood from it. What do you wish to convey with the image?
    
    You have absolutely identified the main weakness with the picture, and also my achilles heel. My modelling skills have derived from producing static models for mods in Oblivion and Morrowind and as result I have never attempted a human figure, and know nothing about rigging or that whole area. I am looking at the possibility of green screen, as I bought the bits a while back, but again I've never tried it .
    
    The thing to bear in mind is that there is a story behind this, and that it is only a frame from an animation rather than a piece in it's own right. My starting point is this picture.
    
    Norway_docks_at_Pellstation_by_CareldeWinter.jpg1600×1131 396 KB
    
      
    
    
    I did this a couple of years ago in photoshop, and it is an illustration from a novel by C.J.Cherryh called |Downbelow Station, you will notice that there are several elements in this which are not in the blender render, The planet is definately going to happen, and I am looking at using the smoke generator for the steam effects. (One of the reasons that I am using BI rather than cycles, where I am still floundering a bit). The guys in the foreground add the human scale exactly as you suggest, so I may have a go if I get the time.  
    The way I am hoping to get around some of the problems is by using a soundtrack including dialogue between the Norway and the control tower at pellstation so that the story is advanced by the conversations on the radio between the captain and the station manager. So hopefully there will be a lot more to this than a single image.

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    niebieski:
    
    > OMG great work. when i grow up i want to be like you! :spin:
    
    Be carefull what you wish for, I am 54 years old and work as a gardener in a private school. :eyebrowlift:

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    Right latest update, Pellstation all lit up. Now I'm of to the pub for a pint.
    
    Pellstation lit up.jpg1920×1080 317 KB

To which @niebieski (niebieski) replied

    hahah well im 31 working in public school as a gardener , for real, but i dont have that art in my hands as you!  
    seriously i like your work really much.

After which, @jagdpanther (jagdpanther) added

    that stuff is amazing

To which @scorpion81 (scorpion81) replied

    really great work ! Love that enormous amount of detail and the sheer size of that station. Did you make extra geometry for all the details or is that just smart usage of texturing ?

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    niebieski:
    
    > hahah well im 31 working in public school as a gardener , for real, but i dont have that art in my hands as you!  
    >  seriously i like your work really much.
    
    Thanks, I appreciate it. Believe or not I was also telling the truth! Having a day job as a gardener means that I can leave the job behind when I go home and then do what I like. A long time ago I used to be a graphic designer, but I hated it.

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    jagdpanther:
    
    > that stuff is amazing
    
    Its not work if you are having fun!

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    scorpion81:
    
    > really great work ! Love that enormous amount of detail and the sheer size of that station. Did you make extra geometry for all the details or is that just smart usage of texturing ?
    
    There is some extra detail, but it is mostly texturing, and then using the lights to make the most of the textures.

To which @MarkOm (MarkOm3D) replied

    I am soooo hoping that this ends up on Blender swap

So @orux (orux) replied

    Amazing progress here! Now after you've shaded your station it kinda reminds me Giger style a bit. That dark Alien-ish universe. Keep it up!

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    orux:
    
    > Amazing progress here! Now after you've shaded your station it kinda reminds me Giger style a bit. That dark Alien-ish universe. Keep it up!
    
    That is a wonderful compliment

@Utopia780 (Utopia780) replied

    This is very impressive Carel!
    
    The models are beautiful, the textures are delicious and the lighting is very, very cool!  
    Those big shadows on the ships gives a great sense of scale.
    
    5 start from me and the best luck for the competition!

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Utopia780:
    
    > This is very impressive Carel!
    > 
    > The models are beautiful, the textures are delicious and the lighting is very, very cool!  
    >  Those big shadows on the ships gives a great sense of scale.
    > 
    > 5 start from me and the best luck for the competition!
    
    Thanks, I hope I can keep it going, the weekend has gone by far too quick, and there is still a lot to do.

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Final bit for the day. Short test video as proof of concept, this is NOT the finished article, I need to put a lot more atmosphere into it.

Then @Magnavis said

    My god that was epic!

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    MarkOm:
    
    > I am soooo hoping that this ends up on Blender swap
    
    I'm not entirely sure what that is, but I am happy to share stuff.
    
    mind you when you see the chaos hiding behind all this you may not want to touch it with a bargepole!:eek:

So @Utopia780 (Utopia780) replied

    Carel de Winter:
    
    > Final bit for the day. Short test video as proof of concept, this is NOT the finished article, I need to put a lot more atmosphere into it.
    
    Indeed it need some atmosphere… the animation feels a bit cold at the moment. But very SciFi!!

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    A few new pics.
    
    Norway with riderships deployed.jpg1920×1080 204 KB
    
      
    
    
    Norway closeup.jpg1920×1080 319 KB
    
      
    
    
    Norway dock with planet.jpg1920×1080 554 KB
    
      
    
    
    I must get some sleep.

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Unfortunately I have not got the time to spend on this in the week that I would like, real life has a nasty habit of getting in the way.  
    This picture will eventually be a part of the opening shot. The ship in the distance needs its name changed to Australia, or Europe (If you want to know why read the book). The planet is not all there yet, the edge needs softening and it is too bright, and the whole thing needs compositing properly. Also I need stars, and the built in ones are not up to scratch, for various reasons. Also I think a subtle depth of field might help, but that will be for tomorrow night.
    
    Norway and Australia.jpg1920×1080 471 KB

@harleynut97 (harleynut97) replied

    Wow… very impressive all the way around, I gotta believe your going to be in the running for this contest. I particularly liked your test animation you did with the ship

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    harleynut97:
    
    > Wow… very impressive all the way around, I gotta believe your going to be in the running for this contest. I particularly liked your test animation you did with the ship
    
    Thanks! there are some very good people in this competition. some with more knowledge than I have. and certainly some with more ability both artistic and technical. This is a lot of fun to do however, so I hope to see it through to the end.  
    By the way, I followed the link to your animation, great stuff! Especially as I read today that the latest US drones have ditched windows and are running on a variation of Linux.

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    I am ready to render my opening sequence, which should hopefully run overnight (1 down 4 to go) Three shots of the Mazianni flagship Europe, with Mallory's Norway in the foreground. The two ships now support slightly different paint jobs, and I have added stars and tidied up the planet. I've rendered these shots without motion blur, as it is better for stills, and also in 720p as my computer is grumbling about full HD, but the final render should be 1080p.  
    
    
    ECS1 Europe.jpg1280×720 142 KB
    
      
    
    
    Europe and Norway.jpg1280×720 186 KB
    
      
    
    
    Europe and Norway2.jpg1280×720 190 KB

To which @harleynut97 (harleynut97) replied

    The ships are looking sweeeet… best of luck to you and your graphic card during your renders. I hope you don't regret not using motion blur for the animation. remember you can always render some stills without it. Believe me when I say rendering out a few Hirez stills is nothing, compared to rendering out animations. Thanks for checking out my video, glad you liked it.

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    harleynut97:
    
    > The ships are looking sweeeet… best of luck to you and your graphic card during your renders. I hope you don't regret not using motion blur for the animation. remember you can always render some stills without it. Believe me when I say rendering out a few Hirez stills is nothing, compared to rendering out animations. Thanks for checking out my video, glad you liked it.
    
    Actually I am using motion blur (or rather vector blur as this is blender internal), I only turned it off for the stills. I probably shouldn't complain too much having read some of the other posts, one of the reasons I am not using cycles is that I have an amd video card, so as a result BI is much quicker, at worst these were rendering at 1minute and 20 seconds per frame using an i5 2500k cpu without overclock. Anyway it rendered overnight, there's one tweak I need to make on the compositing, but otherwise I am pretty happy with the result.

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    Quick update, started on the Norway hangardeck, from which the riderships deploy.
    
    Norway hangardeck.jpg1280×720 202 KB

After which, @mateus_sann (mateus_sann) added

    Whoa! That's awesome!  
    Everytime I think in “sci-fi” I imagine space operas with huge ships and complex hangars like that… but it would take more than a year for me to make just one frame!  
    Good luck!

To which @artorious (artorious) replied

    absolutely gorgeous work.

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    mateus_sann:
    
    > Whoa! That's awesome!  
    >  Everytime I think in “sci-fi” I imagine space operas with huge ships and complex hangars like that… but it would take more than a year for me to make just one frame!  
    >  Good luck!
    
    The best way to describe it is that one thing leads to another. When I did the original picture I had no idea how the riderships deployed from the main vessel (at the time it was not part of the picture), I simply needed an image of a big imposing ship coming into spacedock. However the video requires that I show the rider ships deploying from the main vessel, this can be regarded as an aggravation to begin with, but as they say "necessity is the mother of invention, and what started out as a problem ended up as an opportunity for a new and interesting camera shot.

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    > 
    [code]
    >        absolutely gorgeous work
    >     
    [/code]
    
    I love doing this kind of thing

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    artorious:
    
    > absolutely gorgeous work.
    
    I love doing this kind of thing

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    New update, I got up very early to do this, I'm pretty pleased with the result.  
    I need to run a small scale test animation to check it all works.
    
    NorwayHangerdeck.jpg1920×1080 469 KB
    
      
    
    
    Norwayriderships deploying.jpg1920×1080 422 KB

Then @Webhead (Webhead) said

    wow! you are quite good at this! I'd say this is your line of work;).

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Webhead:
    
    > wow! you are quite good at this! I'd say this is your line of work;).
    
    Actually I'm a gardener and a musician.
    
    http://www.colinmasson.co.uk/

@Journeyman (Journeyman) replied

    Woah :eek:
    
    I love your work so far, keep it up

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Journeyman:
    
    > Woah :eek:
    > 
    > I love your work so far, keep it up
    
    Compared to your stuff this is very simple, I am pretty much in awe of your modelling skills.

Then @Journeyman (Journeyman) said

    Thanks Carel :o
    
    However, you are doing great work for a gardener!   
    But Really, I think you are one of the best in this competition, just that you know… 
    
    Cheers

@Journeyman (Journeyman) replied

    You know something… this reminds me a bit to the game ‘X3'

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Final update of a very long but fun day.
    
    A little test render, AA and shadows turned off, and lo res. Just wait until it's HD!

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Journeyman:
    
    > You know something… this reminds me a bit to the game ‘X3'
    
    I've no idea what that is. I shall google it.

To which @Utopia780 (Utopia780) replied

    I lost count on the times I have pressed replay in the above video!
    
    Very well made!  
    Just a suggestion: a subtle camera shake when the ships drop.
    
    Very good!

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Utopia780:
    
    > I lost count on the times I have pressed replay in the above video!
    > 
    > Very well made!  
    >  Just a suggestion: a subtle camera shake when the ships drop.
    > 
    > Very good!
    
    I reckon I can do that.

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Latest update. Some major work on the planet, A big thanks to Journeyman for the use of a new planet texture, and also some advice.  
    Even so I found this hard going, and am not sure of the results, as I have been staring at it now for too loong.
    
    ECS1 Europenew planet.jpg1920×1080 481 KB
    
      
    
    
    NorwayHangerdeck2.jpg1920×1080 504 KB
    
      
    
    
    NorwayHangerdeckEmpty.jpg1920×1080 1.37 MB

Then @harleynut97 (harleynut97) said

    Wow, the deployment animation was great, the stills really don't do it justice, until you see the animation… very well done. Did you use physics on the drop… or keyframe it?

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    It was keyframed, funnily enough I got the first half right first time, and then spent the next 4 and a half hours getting the end to work.
    
    Also I left the computer to render the opening sequence overnight in HD only to discover that I had forgotten to turn the vector blur back on.:o

After which, @Astapov (Astapov) added

    It will be pretty hard to compete with this piece.
    
    I'll second that the animation is spot on.

Then @Mieke_Roth (Mieke Roth) said

    Carel de Winter:
    
    > Final update of a very long but fun day.
    > 
    > A little test render, AA and shadows turned off, and lo res. Just wait until it's HD!
    > 
    > https://youtu.be/fUnXsxNT57I
    
    Wow! Great render!

After which, @Journeyman (Journeyman) added

    Looking good, Keep it coming…

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Consecutive pictures of the next sequence. I have turned a lot of stuff off to keep the render times down,because I need to keep changing things. it will need further finessing using the graph editor, but it will give you some idea of where this is going. That is for tomorrow, now it is past my bedtime.
    
    nORWAY APPROACHING PELL1.jpg1280×720 73.7 KB
    
      
    
    
    nORWAY APPROACHING PELL2.jpg1280×720 75.1 KB
    
      
    
    
    nORWAY APPROACHING PELL3.png1280×720 704 KB

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    post removed, as no longer relevant:confused:

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Latest update. Not a lot to show at the moment. I've spent the last couple of days setting up camera angles, and tracking shots. In order to make this feasible I've had to turn all the bells and whistles off so that my computer doesn't take 50 years to render everything. This doesn't make for great screenshots, but I reckon it is totally essential, because if your animation is wonky, then the best texturing or modeling in the world isn't going to make up for it. Additionally, if I get the animation sorted, I get a much better idea of where I need to increase the level of detail. Spending ages detailing something people are never going to see, is a bit of a waste of time.
    
    BTW. The bearings on my washing machine are giving up the ghost. My neighbours are not very impressed. But I am thinking that will make a superb starship engine. :eek:

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    This is a very lo res video of what I was talking about, getting the pacing right is everything. This is ok, but I am going to have to sleep on it.

After which, @Nathan.Ferguson (Nathan.Ferguson) added

    Carel de Winter:
    
    > two in a row to get all the pictures up. BTW. all models are to scale and there is no compositing at this point, I am using the old version of the planet for now as it renders much quicker.
    > 
    > [ATTACH=CONFIG]228457[/ATTACH]
    > 
    > [ATTACH=CONFIG]228458[/ATTACH]
    
    The images aren't working for some reason! I love the ships so far btw

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Nathan.Ferguson:
    
    > The image aren't working for some reason! I love the ships so far btw 
    
    I need to delete that post, as it is redundant, and they don't work for me either. Unfortunately as I am pretty new on the forum I haven't worked out how to, (And I have tried:mad:).

So @Magnavis replied

    can't delete posts…al you can do is remove the contents by editing it

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    Thanks for that, will do so now.:yes:

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Carel de Winter:
    
    > This is a very lo res video of what I was talking about, getting the pacing right is everything. This is ok, but I am going to have to sleep on it.
    > 
    > https://youtu.be/rPAvYX8za7M
    
    I am going to bump this as it is more interesting than working out how the forum works:o

After which, @Bintang_Senja (Bintang S Pratama) added

    Carel de Winter:
    
    > This is a very lo res video of what I was talking about, getting the pacing right is everything. This is ok, but I am going to have to sleep on it.
    > 
    > https://youtu.be/rPAvYX8za7M
    
    Really cool man…   
    the last camera movement is the best I think… it looks dramatic…

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Bintang Senja:
    
    > Really cool man…   
    >  the last camera movement is the best I think… it looks dramatic…
    
    I thought so too. It was a combination of using the legacy “track to” constraint, which causes the spinning effect, normally undesirable, but not so here, and reducing the focal length to force the perspective. I've lengthened it slightly to make a bit more of it.

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Final version of this sequence. I shall be rendering this overnight. 1080p, this takes approx 3min 30 sec per frame using an i5 2500 on blender internal. 125 frames. I could work out how long that is, but my maths is rubbish.  
    
    
    NorwayHangerdeckfinal.jpg1920×1080 521 KB
    
      
    
    
    By the way, does anybody know what the best format is to upload HD to you tube. this is the first full HD I've uploaded, with the latest business regarding flash vs html5 on Google, I must admit I am a bit confused.

So @harleynut97 (harleynut97) replied

    Probably about 7.5 hrs. You may want to render it out as a png sequence, that way if anything goes wrong with your render, you just re-render from where ever the screw up occured. If you render straight to a video format and there is a problem, than all is lost, and you have to re-render the whole thing over again.
    
    This may get you going
    
    http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1722171
    
    Doubtful Blender will have all the advance options, but not really sure.

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    Thanks for the info, I did know about png's, but I only found out about the advantages of individual frames through bitter experience. so if anyone else reads this who hasn't seen it before, it is really good advice. The link does appear to give the relevant info. The problem for me is that as until recently I had a fairly modest computer running 32bit, it couldn't handle hd editing, so it's fairly new ground. I try to keep up, but things change so quick that its sometimes hard to know what is relevant.

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    This is the next sequence ready for rendering:)
    
    riderships deployingoutside.jpg1920×1080 329 KB
    
      
    
    
    Unfortunately I will have to do last nights render again as I forgot to rotate the planet. (otherwise it was ok though).

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Next sequence ready, this is a still  
    
    
    Shot 4.jpg1920×1080 208 KB

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    I am taking a day off work, so I am going to have a good go at it today. As I have the flat to myself, I'm borrowing my wife and my sons computers for the day, and I'll have a proper little renderfarm! :evilgrin:
    
    This a shot from sequence 5, 5 down 5 to go.
    
    Closeup underside.jpg1920×1080 467 KB

Then @Captain (Captain) said

    Truly top notch work, the models, the textures, the lighting, even the animation, it's all perfect and so finely detailed. Incredible, if someone told me it was a shot out a big budget movie i wouldn't doubt rachel11@example.net.

@blenderbutt (blenderbutt) replied

    Really love this work! I'm a bit new to Blender and am just curious where is a good place to get started on learning about making textures? I find the topic to be quite confusing and piece-meal. I have still managed to create textured models myself, but I want to be able to really add much more detail with multiple textures and am not really sure how.

So @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    blenderbutt:
    
    > Really love this work! I'm a bit new to Blender and am just curious where is a good place to get started on learning about making textures? I find the topic to be quite confusing and piece-meal. I have still managed to create textured models myself, but I want to be able to really add much more detail with multiple textures and am not really sure how.
    
    I only joined the forum at the beginning of the month. but I am guessing that there will be tutorials to be found here. I learned myself through trial and error, and also through watching lots of you tube videos. When the competition is over, I am going to try to put a tutorial together myself concentrating on texturing (I haven't done any tutorials before). I will also be putting up the files related to this project, if anybody wants to have a look.

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Captain:
    
    > Truly top notch work, the models, the textures, the lighting, even the animation, it's all perfect and so finely detailed. Incredible, if someone told me it was a shot out a big budget movie i wouldn't doubt rachel11@example.net.
    
    Definitely not high budget (unless you peruse my electricity bill), I have consumed a lot of beer and coffee during the course of this project however, and stayed up too late too often.:eek:

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Pellstation central hub with the Norway in the distance and pell in the background.
    
    Pellstation central hub.jpg1920×1080 283 KB

After which, @orux (orux) added

    Can't wait for the tut about texturing. It's always been hardest part for me. Good luck for ya in the contest

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    Video going up now, this has been a real skin of the teeth job, but I got there in the end!
    
    I haven't posted recently, because with the pressure building there hasn't been the time.  
    (I am also the worlds slowest typist!).

@Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    The video is up and can be accessed here,
    
    I'll do a proper post tommorrow, I'm knackered, and Cathy is going to take me down the pub! :yes:
    
    (i'll make sure it goes up on the competition thread first).

To which @harleynut97 (harleynut97) replied

    Just flat out fantastic! Barring some other masterpiece hiding out in space, If this doesn't win the animation category I will truly be shocked. You did a wonderful job on all of it.

So @Webhead (Webhead) replied

    Very nice work! you are providing us with some stiff competition.

@Magnavis replied

    WOAH! dude, that was epic!

To which @Kramon (Kramon) replied

    I think you win.

Then @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) said

    Hi, as promised a slightly fuller post this morning. (last night I couldn't get out of the house quick enough!).
    
    I would like to say how much I enjoyed doing this and that I have appreciated the friendly comments, and the help that I have had, since this is the first piece that I have done since joining the Blender forums. I thought that I would give a little background to this project, and how it came about.
    
    Firstly, I would not consider myself an expert with blender, rachel11@example.net. There are so many things I do not (yet) understand about this programme, my grasp of physics is shaky, I am only beginning to get my head around particles, I have so far not created or rigged a human character, and with the advent of cycles there is a whole lot of new stuff to learn.
    
    I was with this competition able to play to a few of my strengths.  
    Firstly, I am a sci-fi nut. I have read all the classics, and seen most of the movies good and bad, at lunchtime at work I tend to doodle spaceships, and weird bits of machinery, so producing the designs came easily.
    
    The modelling was mostly done in edit mode, with some use of the subsurf modifier. (again, most of the modifiers remain a mystery, but I do intend to learn more about them).  
    I first used blender to produce static objects for the Oblivion game. Which goes some way to explaining my lo poly hi texture approach, this is one reason that I went with blender internal rather than cycles. I am learning cycles, and intend to use it, but there appears to be a limitation to the amount of textures that correspond to your gpu (1gb in my case), and rendering on the CPU is just too slow, I notice that a few people were worried that they simply wouldn't have enough time to render their animations out, even though in some cases they were using much more powerful computers than mine. By comparison, the longest render time I had was about 3 and a half minutes on a frame. This was another reason for sticking with the internal engine, as it also gave me the luxury of doing things twice if they went wrong. (and there were several instances of that).  
    Also as far as texturing goes, I have pretty solid grasp of that area, (though there are always new things to learn), And if there is one programme that I really do know it is photoshop.
    
    I also always wanted to make a sci-fi movie, in fact I am making one, which is also a music video, It is my first Blender project, and I still haven't finished it (18 months and still going). So I had some familiarity with the use of cameras and camera constraints for this style of picture. I have been very careful not to use any of the models from that project however, even with fairly simple stuff like the stardome, that was all made from scratch.
    
    Where textures are concerned, when I started, I intended to make all the textures for this project. That didn't quite happen, but I have seen from looking at other peoples work, that they have used stuff from cgi. com and the like, so as I ran out of time, I did use a couple of outside ones in the end, even here though, they were my own. Texturing has been an interest of mine, I even take my own photographs where necessary. There are probably about 80 discrete items of texturing (including heightmaps, and specularity maps, and stencil maps), of those about 90 percent were created for this project, the rest drawn from other work of mine, and 2 or three from outside. One of these is the planets surface, which was kindly given to me by Journeyman, even that I have modified, to suit my own ends. There is also a cloud picture from NASA which I used as a stencil, and a bit of steel plating,  
    if there are any others I can't remember, but I thought that I would mention these.
    
    Finally there is the soundtrack, that was a lot of fun, I said earlier that I played to my strengths. I have been in rock band for 20 years, and do my own recording and producing, (again this is sort of high end amateur, I am a groundsman in my day job as it enables me to have the lack of stress to pursue all these hobbies). The whole thing was done yesterday, and I drew in my wife and my son, who both do drama, to do the voice characterisations, the music track was done in about 20 minutes, by noodling along to the video, and I did the voice of the panicky stationmaster.
    
    Again here I used Sonar X1 as the editing tool, as I am unsure that blender allows this level of audio  
    manipulation, even if does, I wouldn't know how to go about doing it.
    
    That's it, it's a long post, I would like to have a stab at winning, but only if it is fair, so I have posted this, with as much info as I can remember. And if I've stepped outside of the rules, then that's too bad. Whether |I do well or not, (And there are some really talented people on this forum!), I have to say that I have had an incredible amount of fun doing this project, and I hope it won't be the last!

To which @uriel (uriel) replied

    Hi mate,  
    very nice animation, i love the speed of some actions…Huuummm ! Great work !

After which, @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) added

    uriel:
    
    > Hi mate,  
    >  very nice animation, i love the speed of some actions…Huuummm ! Great work !
    
    Coming from you that is a real complement, it will be a long time before I can reach your standard!

After which, @cvlopez (cvlopez) added

    Awesome work!  
    I have followed all the thread and I'm very impressed.  
    Very good Work. I'm only begining in blender. Perhaps some day I get this level :spin:
    
    > I also always wanted to make a sci-fi movie, in fact I am making one, which is also a music video, It is my first Blender project, and I still haven't finished it (18 months and still going).
    
    Waiting to see that one too

To which @Carel_de_Winter (Carel de Winter) replied

    cvlopez:
    
    > Waiting to see that one too 
    
    When its finished I will be putting it up here.


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