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General => Image Sharing => Topic started by: DocCharly65 on October 06, 2018, 08:28:04 AM

Title: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on October 06, 2018, 08:28:04 AM
... or something like that...

I was bored from all the Enterprise bridge stuff and waiting for the animation renders so I just played around with an idea for "A" (not "THE") Starfleet Headquarter.

For animating this version is a bit too detailed and for a poster there should be more details  ::) :)
But the concept works:

[attach=1]

There is a second atmosphere for the hazy look closer to the ground.
The houses of the city are placed in 4 categories:
A city tile with very raw textured buildings and a minimum of polygons for the far away parts.
Closer buildings are in better quality with better textures but I had to place them via pops.
The closest buildings are quite detailed I invested most time to get good texturing.
For a scify look I added some futuristic looking city sets in different angles.

The models:
City far away:
low poly city by natasadikic04 on CGTrader

Closer buildings:
14 different models from the Building set A by K_Models

Buildings close to and in the park area:
3D home1 model by dmitriy051
Low Poly Building by Mutlu Kirca
Modern House by Giimann
4 different models from the Town Houses Pack by Shprott
British Colonial Complex by thinice on Turbosquid

The scify components and scycrapers:
Raffles City Tower by namk07a3
Skyscraper 02 3D model by TomaszCGB
SciFi_Human City Set05 by GrafxBox
Orion Colonial City by Herminio Nieves


Some old lamppost models from archive3d.net
The grass is dandelo's procedural grass
Trees are completely xfrog-oaks (5 different versions)
Additionally some hazelnut bushes from xfrog


The ships:
Naboo Royal Starship Andre Mueller on scifi3d.com
Rebel Transport by Sean Kennedy - Model - Andre Mueller Re-texturing 3DS in scifi3d.com
Skybus by Chris Wallace - Original - Michael Hobson -Lightwave on scifi3d.com
Pizza shuttle by Staffan Norling on scifi3d.com with an own modified texture ;)
Workbee and Cargo train from Raul Mamoru (who was also the modeller of my Enterprise)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: luvsmuzik on October 06, 2018, 08:46:52 AM
Love it! :)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on October 23, 2018, 02:03:39 AM
Long time playing around but now the city is ready for rendering the animation... So this post will continue in the animation sector :)
Some last testshots:

Planned Animations - a panorama view:

[attach=1]   [attach=2]   [attach=3]

The first one is a final from the animation. The others ar tests.
...and yes - the flags will be animated :)

A cropped detailed view of the sign on the building (created with Wings3D and the starTrek Logo from Raul Mamoru):

[attach=4]

I would have preferred a little bit more metallic look but after some tests I decided that it's more importened to be easily readable in an animation than to look impressive.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: WAS on October 23, 2018, 03:43:13 AM
How did I miss this??

This is great! Pretty elaborate populations going on here. Love the Naboo Royal Starship in the field. Haha.

I like the building reflection in the second set of images, and the flags on the starfleet building look very nice and in motion.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Dune on October 23, 2018, 04:34:23 AM
Strangely I missed this too. Mesmerizing work again, Nils!!!
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Hannes on October 23, 2018, 06:55:27 AM
A great sense of details, and the lighting is brillant.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on December 30, 2018, 04:18:09 PM
Some new ideas came when I finished the Christmas-Moose-Renders...

It will be nice to have some night views from the City in my film...

I needed many, many spotlights, some lightsources for the streetlamps in the foreground and hard work for all illumination masks of the buildings.
Then changing the overall lighting with the second atmosphere glowing a bit red and I got some city night live (first render test - some changes already in work):

[attach=1]

A closer view of the old observatory (in the render above you see it only small in the right bottom edge):

[attach=2]

And the view based on the POV of the moose-animation (only an AA2 render to test if the light settings of the moon work)

[attach=3]

Finally the first render of the animation (I think the 5th or 6th restart until I was satisfied with the look...)  ::) :D

[attach=4]

I needed a long time to get rid of the flickering of the illuminated parts ... now I must wait and we will see :)
...the safari comes a bit later... sorry ;)



Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: mhaze on December 30, 2018, 04:50:15 PM
Great work!
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Dune on December 31, 2018, 02:28:47 AM
You must be working really fast! The result is great, as always!
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: bobbystahr on December 31, 2018, 11:40:08 PM
Love the night shots but the whole 'project' is great...I love your attention to details and sense of humour. Always a chuckle in your posts.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 01, 2019, 12:05:53 AM
Thank you :)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Jo Kariboo on January 09, 2019, 10:36:20 PM
Impressive!
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: luvsmuzik on January 10, 2019, 01:16:12 PM
WOW! Great control on light sources! Very hard to isolate that burst, well done. :)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: otakar on January 10, 2019, 05:27:23 PM
Epic, that's all. All those lights, how in the world do you do that (and keep your sanity)?  ;D
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 10, 2019, 06:12:05 PM
Thanks all :)

Quote from: otakar on January 10, 2019, 05:27:23 PM
Epic, that's all. All those lights, how in the world do you do that (and keep your sanity)?  ;D

@luvs and Otakar:

On one side I never had any sanity ;D
and I did it this way (only the most complicated example for buildings without any texture map in the original model):

Make a checkerboard pattern in Corel Paint (the affordable "Photoshop for less rich people" ;) )
I divided it into different colored areas for easier later identification on the building.
[attach=5]



And of course I numbered the tiles:
[attach=1]

Then I took a texture from a model including an illumination mask.
I combined a workflow with Poseray for fast views and mapping, Corel Paint for placing and adjusting little windows and Terragen for detailed test views:

Placing the windows:
[attach=2]

Background Checkerboard set to black:
[attach=3]

The TG final testrender:
[attach=4]

Then the adjustment in the city tdg (import the new map as luminosity image and find the best suitable value) and then the next houses...
This one took appr. 8 hours.

But many others were much easier when there was a texture where I could just cut out the windows and set the rest to black...
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Kadri on January 10, 2019, 07:49:03 PM

Nice work.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Jo Kariboo on January 12, 2019, 10:43:34 PM
Ingenious techniques for all these artificial lights. Thank you for giving us this information!
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 18, 2019, 06:52:46 AM
... the beginning of joining the tunnel WIP and the Starfleet Headquarter Nightscenes WIP into one scene...

Cdr. Adama inside the Starfleet Headquarter discussing strategic affairs with the Admiral ... The Admiral will stay a secret for a while ;)

[attach=1]

Beer Pints by aeche on cgtrader
(I exchanged the logo on the glass to a version for one of my inconspicuous little jokes... :)  )
Meeting Room 3 3D by BZ_Design on Turbosquid

and all the city buildings... from before

A special guest-star: An animation made from 250 screenshots from the original Terragen 3D Preview in wireframe mode. I think I will do a closer shot from the monitor so that the wireframe design can be better seen. :)

[attach=2]
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: luvsmuzik on January 18, 2019, 09:34:01 AM
Verrrry interesting... :)

I suppose it is too late to hide the viewport navigator control? Which would add to the mystery of "How did he do that?" :)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 18, 2019, 09:45:29 AM
Quote from: luvsmuzik on January 18, 2019, 09:34:01 AM
Verrrry interesting... :)

I suppose it is too late to hide the viewport navigator control? Which would add to the mystery of "How did he do that?" :)


This is as intentional as intentionality may be only intended to show the intention with which this intention was intended... ;D ;D ;D
A little tribute to the TG 3D Preview :)

By the way, for non-TG-users it's just a technical template... but all TG users have something to smile and think: "I know how he did it"
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Dune on January 18, 2019, 10:38:19 AM
Nice again. Perhaps the cockroach can have another appearance on the table? Going for the beer  ;)
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: bobbystahr on January 18, 2019, 06:32:13 PM
YES...bring back the roach heh heh
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 19, 2019, 02:22:56 AM
Quote from: Dune on January 18, 2019, 10:38:19 AM
Nice again. Perhaps the cockroach can have another appearance on the table? Going for the beer  ;)

Thanks :)
Ulco and Bobby, you'll get the cockroach! ... unfortunately not on the table near the beer at this moment. It's because I am not satisfied with the look of the beer foam in closer looks. .... but you know me... :) Perhaps in some months I can increase the quality of the beer foam, then we can discuss this again ;)
For the moment I have planned to let the cockroach walk on the top of the monitor in a monitor's closeup ;)

...ideas and more ideas... maybe with some monitor-closeups I have a solution how to integrate the "Abrams-Enterprise" and the failure of its "Abrams lensflare drive" ;)
As well I can intergrate that Chris Pine won't play "Kirk" on that alternative Enterprise... can someone stop my brain talking to me so fast??? ;D
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: bobbystahr on January 19, 2019, 11:14:44 AM
The monitor would be just as funny Doc he he he
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on January 30, 2019, 05:01:06 AM
sorry for let you wait so long but I want to finish some things first... But a little update: A view inside the observatory ( has to do with the adventures of the discovery at the same time...

[attach=1]

[attach=2]

With Tshirt: "Alison" by renderpeople - was a freebie rigged by renderpeople, I animated in Blender
With business suit: Business Woman walking 3D model by 3dcap on Turbosquid - I rigged and animated it in Blender
The lady in the background is a 3D Dosch Lo Poly People Sample, I found on Turbosquid and rigged and animated in Blender
C64 by giuseppemilardi on CGTrader
Computer Terminal was airport terminal from archive3D
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: sboerner on January 30, 2019, 01:17:46 PM
I'm trying to picture what your WIP folder must look like. :D You are a scavenger nonpareil, my friend.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Matt on January 31, 2019, 04:13:39 PM
NTSC screen, by the looks of the pixel aspect ratio! (I grew up in PAL land).

Perhaps a bounce card or additional light source would help to light their faces in the first image?
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: bobbystahr on January 31, 2019, 06:32:36 PM
Quote from: Matt on January 31, 2019, 04:13:39 PM
NTSC screen, by the looks of the pixel aspect ratio! (I grew up in PAL land).

Perhaps a bounce card or additional light source would help to light their faces in the first image?

NTSC, haven't seen that since my Amiga 2000 days
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on February 01, 2019, 12:26:10 AM
Nice idea, Matt. I thought about it too but unfortunately the view direction of the right side woman in the office suit isn't animatable so I have refrained to light it too much. Additionally the Alison model from renderpeople has only one bone for animating the mouth so animation it is not looking so convincing in bright light. Sorry. I hope for the 3 seconds-animations (75 frames for each of the 3 animations) you'll forgive me :)

Yes, Matt and Bobby, that was a special fun for me, using that 23rt century NTSC/PAL screen ;D .  It was specially suitable to be used in this little scene with the somewhat rundown observatory...

Bobby, I in fact wanted to have an Amiga first but the Commodore C64 was the cheaper model :)

And meanwhile I found a datasette for the same price too (about 7-8 $)

Here a frame of the last animation with the closer view (and my animated "Ellen Ripleys hand" with darker skin:
(Including the 0.501 opacity technics for a brighter shadow of the ladies)

[attach=1]






Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: DocCharly65 on February 02, 2019, 11:13:05 AM
...did I say "last" animation?...
I think Matt knew which button he must press ;D

I added another 75 frames animation for this scene with a view on Alisons face reading the monitor - with an additional light, I placed in front of the monitor  ;)

[attach=1]

It was a bit tricky to separate the eyes to add a suitable reflection.
Fortunately I could easily separate them in blender as single objects and export the eyes as single animated object sequence.
Looks creepy to see only animated eyes ;D
Also I worked on some masks in the delivered texture set to have the option for different settings of roughness and reflectivity in cloth, skin and hair.

At the end Alison is a combination of 3 different object sequences in TG... so far it seams to work.
Title: Re: Starfleet Headquarter
Post by: Dune on February 02, 2019, 11:24:04 AM
Sounds good! Looking forward to the eye animation.