|
I think I have the mesh in good enough shape so it won't totally embarrass me. I made a stripped down version of the Blender file, which is available here. I tried playing with textures. The hideous results you see here just hammer home the fact that it will take almost as long to get the textures correct as it took to craft the mesh. It may not be obvious, but I've actually got about five textures here using the same image file. Some are spherical projection, some are cube, some are flat, some have different resolution. Experts who's advice I trust have told me that I should have two textures, one fine resolution and one coarse resolution; and to use texture maps for specularity, highlight, and reflection. I've got some work to do. |
|
Just for fun I did some wire-frame images. |
|
I still haven't done anything with the texture maps, I've been distracted by the hangar bay. Well, I did take enough time to paint the scoutship with the previous textures, with the exception of the "SAC" style insignia and white belly. The inner side of the hangar doors, according to the box art, seem to have a sort of grid, and are green. From the time when my father was a Radar-Nav on a US Air Force B-52, I have a vague memory of the wheel wells and bomb bays being painted a sort of greenish-yellow. I tried that on the doors, though I can see I made it too dark. The grid was extruded, and the edges painted with black for contrast. Looking at the results I was underwhelmed. |
|
I extended the grid to the edge of the door, and got rid of the black edges. That looked better to me. I've only done the port door so you can compare. Then I added a detail that I've always liked: a row of black holes. You can see them on the leading edge of the port hangar door and on the aft door-frame above the scout's tail. I have no idea where I got this detail from. I cannot remember if I saw it in an actual military aircraft, or from some sci-fi material such as Supercar, Fireball XL5, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, or a Wally Wood comic book. Anyway, the edge of the door was "loop-cut" twice to define the recessed edge, then the edge was extruded inward. The black holes are actually a series of black hexagons placed on the surface (hexagons in a desperate attempt to keep the polygon count down). The pillar behind the scoutship's tail is the aft support pillar for the tips of the hangar doors. The rear of the hangar just has a quick and dirty bump-mapped texture. I re-used the grid texture from the engine cowls on the floor of the hangar. |
|
This is an experiment trying to get away from the galvanized hull and zinc chromate green hangar bay doors. |