Macross/Robotech Mecha WIP

[jason_maranto]

Hello All,

I've decided to practice my sketchup skills by building a mecha from the Macross/Robotech saga -- I will start with individual components and gradually build to the finished model.

Best,
Jason.

[jason_maranto]

BTW the rendering is done in the free version of IDX renditioner.

http://www.idx-design.com/IDX/IDXRenditioner/FreeVersionofIDXRenditionerExpress/tabid/1011/Default.aspx

Best,
Jason.

[Arkanjel]

Thanks for the renderer link. Any updates on this model?

[jubjubjedi]

Glaug!

[jason_maranto]

Sorry, I lost track of this thread -- I put this project on the back burner because I purchased a bunch of Sketchup plugins, and top of the line renderer and a sculpting software... as you can imagine I have/had quite a bit to learn in addition to my workload.

The upside is I have the ability to do many things that were not possible before -- the downside is I'm not sure me finishing this project would be of any use to others as I would definitely be using my new tools if the get the job done better/faster... so a "pure" Sketchup model would be VERY unlikely.

Best,
Jason.

[jason_maranto]

I finally got around to finishing this this -- I started from scratch and re-did everything. This is all Sketchup Pro 8 (with free ruby plugins) and renders in Maxwell Render -- here are the process shots:

http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/arm1.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/gun1.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/armandgun_posed.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_half%20done.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_assembled_2.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_assembled_3.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_assembled_4.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/main_canon.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_assembled_5.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/cockpit_assembled_6.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/leg.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/leg_front.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/Legs.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/Final%20Assemly.png
http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/glaug_ontheattack.png

Here's a render:

http://www.spotoarts.com/jason/glaug/final-render_postprocessed.jpg

I got the background for free here (http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/archive.html)

A bit late I know but better late than never.

Best,
Jason.

[rattus]

good stuff!

[orgelf]

the shapes are very cool ;)

congratulations !

[MarieX]

Does it render easy and fast ?

[jason_maranto]

Does it render easy and fast ?

I didn't see this post, sorry for the late answer... if you are asking about IDX Renditioner (the free one I posted the link to at the top) then I would say yes it is both fast and easy.

If you are asking about Maxwell Render (my render engine for all recent stuff) I would say is somewhat more difficult and definitely much slower -- but this is the price of power and Maxwell has much more power than IDX Renditioner.

It comes down to your needs, and it should be said that any tool in the hands of the right artist can make awesome art.

If you are interested in Maxwell I would suggest looking at my tutorial video series for it (the link in my sig) as they would definitely take some of the bite out of the learning curve.

Best,
Jason.

[jason_maranto]

I'll be posting some new renders of this model soon -- I've been painting textures for it in ZBrush.

But I wanted to drop a line to say that Maxwell Render now has a free plugin for SketchUp -- you can get more details here: http://www.maxwellrender.com/index.php/home/maxwell_for_sketchup

I did a short tutorial series to show how to use the new plugin which you can see below.

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Best,
Jason.

[Jason Ross]

Some of those forms on the mech seem pretty complex. Do you have any tutorials on how you create some of those forms?

[jason_maranto]

I've suggested to VTC that they allow me to create a series for "Sketchup Modeling Techniques" but I'm not sure they know anybody would be interested in such a thing.

If you would like to see me do one then please feel free to let VTC know here:
http://www.vtc.com/modules/misc/feedback.php

Besides the regular Sketchup tools I primarily used these free Ruby plugins:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=248195#p248195

and

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=100509#p100509


Best,
Jason.