Topic: Any guides to scratchbuilding out there?

[Wolf2525]

I was just wondering.  Trying to get up the go to try and model a few of the early ships in between working on my wargame minis.  I have the basic idea down, but I was wondering if there were any guides out there for modeling or texturing.  I'd just like something to fall back on instead of going into it blind.

[Captain Ron]

There are for texturing but i haven't really found a good one for making models. Most have good areas for how to fix errors and other issues but not anything on how to actually do most are just try this and see if you like it. I think it is because everyone developes what works for them and it may not be as good for another.

[sandman69247]

1st, what program are you using? If it's max, there's a good tut for building the original Enterprise 1701 "No bloody a,b,c or d". I'm on my wifes puter right now so don't have the addy, but IIRC it is  web page . Then there are the ones at Scifi-Meshes, they're really good too, but more for high poly models. Hope this helps.

PS: Just chk'd the link it works.

 

[Wolf2525]

Cool, that'll get me started.  Thanks guys!

[sandman69247]

Quote:
Cool, that'll get me started.  Thanks guys!  

Great! Hope they help you ot. Also, I know it sounds weird, but the tut that you get with gmax for the P-38 fighter, has a lot of the stuff you can use in building a ship. As you practice more, you'll develop your own unique way of doing things, based on your preferences. Every model I do gets a little better than the last because you learn as you go.   Hope to see something from you soon...we're all here to help so holler if ya need us!

 

[Magnum357]

Ya, Sandman is right.  The more models you do, the better you get at it.  My new models I'm working on now are a little better then the first one I worked on because I came up with a few new minor techniques that really make the models a little more detailed.  Just take you time and have fun with it.  Heck, listen to Star Trek music while you work on your models.  I always listen to First Contact Music or Music from Star Trek 2: The warth of Khan.  They really help inspire me.

[sandman69247]

I listen to Hard Rock myself, lol.

 

[Wolf2525]

I'd really like to make my own set of TOS ships.  I doubt that I'd be able to produce anything that anyone else would want to use, lol, but just for the sake of fun, and knowing I had built them myself.  Of course, texturing them is a whole other matter.  

And not to sound totally helpless, but does anyone know where to find good three-views of TOS ships?  I've had some trouble locating any good ones.  The only ones I've been able to find are the paint guides on the backs of the packages for my SFB minis, lol.  Other than that, I've got some I can use from Ertl models, but those I have are not TOS era.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the help.

And those older ships on your site, Sandman, are pretty cool!  I had never seen anything like that before.  Where did you get the info for those?

Hehe, Magnum, that's probably a good idea...

<Edit:  I did find some at Staryards, but I'm having trouble downloading them.  I got a few, but I'm trying to work on an old DN from the drawing on the miniature's box.  Unfortunately, I am a dolt with Gmax...    Oh well, it's fun to learn, and I had to do it sometime.  I've been itching to try my hand at it, so these first things ought to be pretty scary....  >

[DookeyKing]

Sandman - That TOS Ent tutorial is fantastic.  I've learned more about MAX in the time I've been working on that than in the whole time I've had the proggie.  Thanks a million for the link.

Scott  

[sandman69247]

Well, let's see... Starship Schematics is a good one...canon and fan based designs there. Then there's  Ex Astris Scientia , that's where Starfleet Museum is located and that's where I got the pics and info for the pre-TOS ships. Another one is  Daystrom Technical Institute but that's more a place for info as the images are usually screenshots and blurry. For some really great fanships you can go here:  Star Trek Miranda it's mainly an online RP game, but some really awesome designs there. Hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[Wolf2525]

That's exactly what I'd been trying to find.  Thank you very, very much!  I really appreciate the help!

[Wolf2525]

I started building a Dreadnought.  Here's what I have so far...
 

It's easier than I had thought it was, even though it's my first work with Max.  Granted, it's not very easy, but much easier than I thought.

I'd have more done, but the rolling blackouts up here are putting a damper on things, lol...  

[sandman69247]

Looks good so far...can't wait for more.

 

[Wolf2525]

Hereit is with the secondary hull complete.  I noticed I have some bits that need cleaning, but it's coming along nicely.  I just need to figure out what program to use to texture it.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I could use some, lol...

 

   

[sandman69247]

You can use Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop to do the textures. That's looking fantastic!! Keep on truckin' bud!!

 

[Wolf2525]

Model is finally done.  I shrank the picture down to 640x480 to keep from making this thread 8 feet wide, lol, but here it is.

 

It came out pretty well, I think.  Or at least it looks kinda like a dreadnought...  I didn't get too fancy with the details, to keep it simple, and because I'm only just learning the program.

Regardless, thanks so much for the help.  It made this substantially easier.  The tutorial you pointed me to was an immense help.  I just modified it as I needed to to build this, and simplified it.  

[Wolf2525]

I have no idea how to create and map textures....  lol....

Oh, and another thing, is it not a good idea to combine everything into one large object?  When I left them as is, it would occasionally scramble up some of the objects, and then I would have to reposition everything.  I haven't any idea why that keeps happening, but it does, and it seems random.

[sandman69247]

Yeah, attach everything together. Just select one item, then in the right panel scroll down until you see "Attach" and "Attach List"; click the list one, select all then select...now you can go to edit>object properties and see how many faces there are.

Looks very good, alot better than my first, lol.

 

[Wolf2525]

DOH!!!!

Way too many faces....  At least compared to the standard models...  Oopsie...

Not to mention that I can't get it to export anything to Illustrator format.  Keeps telling me "no data selected", even when I have an object selected....

[Scorpion]

I just wanted to say good job Wolf.  That looks way better than my first model too.  And thank you very much Sandman.  That tutorial helps a lot.  I'm planning to go back and update my first model using what I have learned.  (I've only done two from scratch so far and have plans for more).