Modeling of a pistol.

Recently I got Autodesk Maya 2009 working properly on my computer, and began tinkering with it. Today, I began working on a model of a pistol, based off a piece of Concept Art for the ut3 Mod White. I am nearly finished with the model, only minor things needing changing, but I can show what I’ve done so far. I rendered it various points throughout its creation, and uploaded them here to put in a sequence to show what’s been done.

So there you have it. My pistol model, from start to finish. I’ve learned a lot over the process of building this model. Hopefully I continue to improve over time.

Screens of my map.

Here are some screens of a Push gameplay map I am developing called Urban.

Got Contribute CS3 to work.

I’ve gotten Adobe Contribute CS3 to work with this blog, so I’ll use it to update on the fly, rather than hassling with WordPress’ slow interface.

I’ve been working a lot on my map for this Thursday’s release of White. White is a mod for Unreal Tournament 3, and it’s really beginning to shape up. You can check out our website at http://whitemod.com. Since I’ve been working on this project a lot lately, I’m going to end up using this blog to post my progress and update everyone on the status of the mod, with many screens and concept pieces for your viewing pleasure.

A 5 Day Hiatus…

Later today I’m leaving to go to Oklahoma to visit family there. I won’t be back til Sunday. I have a goodie for you though. I was working on modeling some more, and began to model a gun, and, so far, it’s not looking terrible. I have the PLE, or personal learning edition, of Maya, so it overlays it with a goofy text that i can’t get rid of. But anyways, here it is.

not bad eh?

so yeah. I will be bringing my dad’s laptop with me to Oklahoma, which I’ll install Maya on, so I can work on creating decent looking models for your viewing pleasure.

What I’ve been doing with my time…

So lately, I’ve been diving headfirst into modelling. I’m not talking about walking runways here. I mean 3d modelling, in Maya to be more precise. Maya’s Personal Learning Edition, which is free for personal use, comes with a plethora of great tutorials to help me get on the right path. The first set of tutorials go over polygon modelling. It started off as a cube, and with the tutorial’s help, I turned it into a helmet-type thing.

Pretty sweet, huh?

Also, I know it has a really low poly-count, so please don’t point that out. After I finished that set of tutorials and moved on to the next, I came across NURBS. For those of you non-modellers out there that have no clue what NURBS are, here’s how Maya defines them:

NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-splines) use a method of mathematically describing curves and surfaces that are well suited to 3D applications. NURBS are characterized by the smooth organic forms they produce.

NURBS surfaces can be quickly modeled and edited using a variety of techniques. NURBS surfaces are created using one or more NURBS curves that define the profile of the shape that you want for a surface, and then using a specific construction method to create the finished surface.

NURBS curves and surfaces have many applications and are the preferred surface type for industrial and automotive designers where smooth forms with minimal data are required to define a particular form. NURBS curves are ideal for defining a smooth motion path for an animated object. With NURBS, a surface can be modeled and then converted to a poly mesh.

So, after learning that, I learned how to revolve a curve. I basically made a curve with the tool in Maya, then revolved it, making a 3d model out of it. Very useful tool. The next of the NURBs tutorial taught me how to construct a face. I finished the tutorial, and kept going, trying to make my face look as good as possible. Theres still some more to be done, but I think it looks good.

Handsome fellow, no?

Alright, that’s all for today. I’ve got places to go, people to see. My next post will be all about why Fallout 3 is the greatest game ever produced.

First post in a long while…

I’ve had a lot going lately, which has pushed this blog to the back of the list. Out of the new things I’m involved in, there are two that stand out. I am working with a mod team for a UT3 mod called White. There will be more information on the UT3 page. They’re a great team, and fun to work with. I’ve also begun to get into modeling. Before the picture gets in your mind, no, I’m not walking runways. I’m talking about 3d modeling, in Autodesk’s Maya. I’m way too poor to buy the full version, so luckily they have what’s called the Personal Learning Edition, basically, the program is free for non-commercial use, which is pretty nice. I havent been able to model too much yet, so far from what I’ve learned, I made a cheap little low-poly helmet. More info on the way as it comes.

ONE MORE THING. Fallout 3 comes out today, so after I give it some playtime, I’ll hop on here and write a review for your viewing pleasure.

ANOTHER THING. Talking about Fallout 3 makes me think of other games, so when I get home, I’ll write a whole post about games that came out that I think look good, what’s in the forecast, etc.

Until then, peace out.

Finally…

I finally have some time to get around to this. I’m revamping the style of my blog, as well as adding new content, some of it including: Movie Reviews, My UT3 Maps, and My Drawings. Eventually, I may add chapters for the story I am writing, and make it a serial novel. More coming later, so stick with it and check up on this blog. Peace my friends.

=Dave

Cleaning my mute…

So, here’s my trumpet mute, before I began to clean it. It’s a Tom Crown copper bottom straight mute. Very nice mute, very nice sound.

Now you can see the problem, it’s very unsightly. Everyone else that I know who owns this mute, theirs is very shiny, and not all tarnished like mine, and mine is newer than theirs! So I took it upon myself to clean it. My dad has a metal polisher that can be used for all sorts of common metals, from chrome, to aluminum, to copper, to brass. So, I took some of this, and began cleaning it, which can be seen here.

I mean, wow. This stuff is working tremendously. I begin working on the rest of it, polishing the entire copper side. It began to look really good. Then I ran the polish over it one more time, and it was astounding how much cleaner it had gotten. Here’s the final product of my labor.

Here’s the polish I used:

The stuff retails at around $15 for a bottle. If you wish to look into it, their website is www.xtremegloss.com/

Frisbee and the like…

So lately, I’ve been getting really into playing frisbee. My friends and I all met last Saturday, and played for about 5 hours, then walked to a local hot dog joint for lunch. Since then, I’ve been getting outside to play frisbee whenever I could. I think the thing I like most about frisbee is its free-ness. It’s not a super competitive game, and its just plain fun. It also totally fits in with the fact that my neighbor calls me a “crazy hippie.” Then on Monday, my friend Josh and I couldn’t find anyone to play that had their own frisbee, because neither of us had one. So we gathered up some money, and walked to a Walgreen’s a few blocks away, there, we spent about $10 on four frisbees. Two of them are official sized, 180g frisbees, and the other two are smaller ones, obviously directed towards younger players. Turns out, the official sized ones were made really poorly (they were only $2.99) and the smaller ones were shaped very well (and at only $1.99, I thought, “what a steal”)

Shown above are the four frisbees we purchased, the smaller clear ones are really really nice. They fly amazingly, and are really easy to throw. The larger ones are poorly made, the molding of it was really shoddy, so that there was a sharp line running along the bottom of the disc, so that it’d cut up your hand when you threw it.

Playing so much got me thinking. Frisbee is a very mellow game, so it probably wouldn’t attract the more competitive, jock-type people that we all know and hate. Shown below is an example of this, just two people having non-competitive fun playing frisbee in a field or something.

I’ve thought up an idea that will bring in the over-competitive, fun-sucking ghouls that ruin everything, and suck their money. It’s called the MurderDisck, and will retail for $49.95 per disc. Below is an illustration of my idea. If there’s anybody out there who would help me produce these, I could do the marketing, and we could start a new craze among the violent, the jocks, and the depressed who want to end it all.

I think that picture says enough. I nearly have my idea down, I will work on the schematics for its function later. This will either end in an arrest, or the biggest stock market rise in history. You be the judge.

Now for real life stuff…

So a lot is going on this week. It’s my brother’s birthday today, so we will probably visit my mother, if she does not return home today. Also, tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, our school’s drama club is putting on a version of George Orwell’s play 1984. I believe it has something to do with communism, so it shall be interesting. I’ll be going to see that with my girlfriend hopefully. Well, that’s all for today, I need to get off to school.