WiP in WiP, post your screenshots!

Sep 19, 2010
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Started a bit of small detailing on my 72hr map. Quick question, right now that ibeam texture (dark gray around top) is an overlay. Would it be better if it were a separate brush? Gorge usees brushes, but I didn't want to commit to that in case I change it in the near future.

2014-04-25_00013.jpg
 
Aug 23, 2008
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Started a bit of small detailing on my 72hr map. Quick question, right now that ibeam texture (dark gray around top) is an overlay. Would it be better if it were a separate brush? Gorge usees brushes, but I didn't want to commit to that in case I change it in the near future.

2014-04-25_00013.jpg

Brushes. If you ever cut any of the wall brushes, you'll have to go back through and re-affix all of the overlays to the new brushes you create. Its a pain in the butt, and it makes the red/blue stripes on process/gorge a painnnnnnn. For rooftop I did away with them entirely, using the brown/darkblue computer textures instead.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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But cutting the existing brushes to make the top part a new texture will break overlays anyway!

/never ending cycle of breaking overlays
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
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In an effort to improve my modeling skills, I'm making a backyard BBQ theme with a few models. These are the first ones. I'm also working on a grill, but it doesn't look too great yet and I can't seem to get phong/specularity to work no matter what I do.

ykWnWen.png
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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The geometry on the business ends of the mallets looks a bit... soft? I feel like there should be hard edges where the painted bits meet the unpainted bits. Plus, even with all that detail, eight sides isn't enough for a cyilinder that big around.
 

Sel

Banned
Feb 18, 2009
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In an effort to improve my modeling skills, I'm making a backyard BBQ theme with a few models. These are the first ones. I'm also working on a grill, but it doesn't look too great yet and I can't seem to get phong/specularity to work no matter what I do.

ykWnWen.png

did you assign all of the bottom to a single smoothing group or something

because that's what it looks like

also the texture is a gross blurry mess and it looks like it was painted by dipping the tip of the handle into a paint bucket then turning it upside down.
 
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puxorb

L69: Emoticon
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Dec 15, 2013
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Ever since I picked up hammer a few years ago, I've been making little detail projects for fun.

shouldIdoit.JPG


I found this yesterday while going through my files and it really sparked my imagination. I think this could actually work for a dynamic payload map set in a mountainous mining facility. I don't want to just straight up copy upward though...but I might just have to make a payload map now.
 
Sep 7, 2012
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Ever since I picked up hammer a few years ago, I've been making little detail projects for fun.

shouldIdoit.JPG


I found this yesterday while going through my files and it really sparked my imagination. I think this could actually work for a dynamic payload map set in a mountainous mining facility. I don't want to just straight up copy upward though...but I might just have to make a payload map now.

That looks neat.
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
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Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
178
Do you know how smoothing groups work or do you need an explanation on how to do them properly for an object like that?

I'll take any advice/help that will improve my models, as anyone should. I just started modeling, more or less. I also use Blender, but I'm sure i can make the connections.

or just the general idea. but i can't tell if you're legitimately offering or not at this point.
 

Harribo

aa
Nov 1, 2009
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If you're in school, go grab the education license for 3DS Max and/or Maya at http://students.autodesk.com/. It's an industry standard program, has many more tutorials and whatnot for it and just generally makes more sense imo. Also if Sel is going to offer you help i'm pretty sure he uses one of them 2 anyway.

Check out http://www.kritzkast.com/tf2_mod_guide for a bunch on help with modelling and Autodesk's own YT starter videos for understanding the 3DS Max interface https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL65F8B8755BFDAA1E . Oh and download the 2010 or 2011
edition of 3DS Max if you can as plugins for TF2 start to break after that IIRC.
 

Sel

Banned
Feb 18, 2009
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If you're in school, go grab the education license for 3DS Max and/or Maya at http://students.autodesk.com/. It's an industry standard program, has many more tutorials and whatnot for it and just generally makes more sense imo. Also if Sel is going to offer you help i'm pretty sure he uses one of them 2 anyway.

This this this this this this this this THIS, if you can get access to 3ds max (they take both high school and college/uni emails iirc), then do it. Blender is absolutely shit by comparison, and if you want to pursue this professionally at some point then only knowing blender is going to massively hold you back.

I'll take any advice/help that will improve my models, as anyone should. I just started modeling, more or less. I also use Blender, but I'm sure i can make the connections.

or just the general idea. but i can't tell if you're legitimately offering or not at this point.

smoothing.jpg


Top one is no same smoothing groups touching, bottom left is alternating smoothing groups (1&2), and the bottom right is one smoothing group.

Basically if you want a hard edge somewhere, make it use a different smoothing group because what smoothing does is blends the faces together to make them look continuous.
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
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This this this this this this this this THIS, if you can get access to 3ds max (they take both high school and college/uni emails iirc), then do it. Blender is absolutely shit by comparison, and if you want to pursue this professionally at some point then only knowing blender is going to massively hold you back.



smoothing.jpg


Top one is no same smoothing groups touching, bottom left is alternating smoothing groups (1&2), and the bottom right is one smoothing group.

Basically if you want a hard edge somewhere, make it use a different smoothing group because what smoothing does is blends the faces together to make them look continuous.

but why is what I did bad? I"ve seen croquet mallets where everything is carved to look flush. Perhaps it's just my terrible texturing.
 

Sel

Banned
Feb 18, 2009
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but why is what I did bad? I"ve seen croquet mallets where everything is carved to look flush. Perhaps it's just my terrible texturing.

because it looks terrible?

find me a reference of a croquet mallet where the entire bottom is one ultra smooth curvy blob like you have, because I've never seen one that looks like that.
 

fubarFX

The "raw" in "nodraw"
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Jun 1, 2009
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because it looks terrible?

find me a reference of a croquet mallet where the entire bottom is one ultra smooth curvy blob like you have, because I've never seen one that looks like that.

smoothing groups are one thing but a better AO bake could get you a long way as well
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
178
because it looks terrible?

find me a reference of a croquet mallet where the entire bottom is one ultra smooth curvy blob like you have, because I've never seen one that looks like that.

it's either as you say "ultra smooth" or ultra sharp...or adding more faces...which isn't about smoothing groups. I'm just trying to understand, here. http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/disp...allet-and-ball-isolated-on-white-68176996.jpg

I'll mess around with it and show you a new iteration.
 
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Sel

Banned
Feb 18, 2009
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it's either as you say "ultra smooth" or ultra sharp...or adding more faces...which isn't about smoothing groups. I'm just trying to understand, here. http://thumb7.shutterstock.com/disp...allet-and-ball-isolated-on-white-68176996.jpg

I'll mess around with it and show you a new iteration.

For an object this small having hard edges from smoothing isn't going to matter, no one will ever get close enough to see them.

Just do alternating smoothing groups like the bottom left sphere in my image so that the bottom appears to be a round cylinder, but each change in the width of it doesn't get blended together.
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
178
For an object this small having hard edges from smoothing isn't going to matter, no one will ever get close enough to see them.

Just do alternating smoothing groups like the bottom left sphere in my image so that the bottom appears to be a round cylinder, but each change in the width of it doesn't get blended together.

will try that out. thanks.