Renderosity Magazine: Issue 6, excerpt 2: ARRAY TUTORIAL

Mar 31, 2004 at 12:00 am by LillianH


Graphic1979.jpg
"Array"
The most important element in this image is the DPS (Duplicated Primitive Symmetrical) Satellite, so lets get started. The top of the satellite consists of two crosshair-like sections and a dish. Start with a torus radius set at 55. Turn it horizontally using the blue horizon line for alignment. Next create a cylinder, resizing it slightly thinner than the torus. Turn it horizontally, and stretch the cylinder so that each end protrudes a little from the torus. Duplicate this cylinder and rotate it on the Y-axis, centering it to the torus to make the first crosshair shape. Make sure there is space left on the end of each cylinder. Next, creating the fuel cells at the tip of each cylinder. First, create a cube, and flatten it to approximately the same size as the torus. Move this flatten cube on the end of one of the cylinders; this will be the mount for the first fuel cell. Create another sphere, the same size as the square, and place it on the flattened cube. Duplicate the sphere, and resize to the original size. Move it to the top, aligning it about halfway out of the top of the sphere.
Graphic1981.jpg
Make one sphere protrude out of each part of the sphere (top, bottom, left, and right). Group the flattened cube and all of the spheres together and name it cell. Duplicate the cell and place one on each end of the two cylinders. This will create a symmetrical crosshair object. Group this together and name it top section. Create a cylinder with a slightly larger width than the first cylinders, and place it at the center of the crosshair. Stretch it on the Y-axis so that it rises above the top-section and goes below it as well. This will be the main shaft that will hold up the dish, and connect the other parts of the satellite. Duplicate the torus and turn it horizontal making it slightly thinner and smaller than the original one. Create a cylinder smaller then the torus, and turn it horizontally. Center it to the torus, stretching it to protrude from the edges.
Graphic1982.jpg
[Note: if you resize and move your objects by clicking on and moving them, or using the small black dots in each corner, then I strongly suggest you use the reposition and resize buttons under the edit menu. Simply by clicking on the middle of the resize button and dragging, you can resize the object without taking it off-center, and therefore making a more aligned and symmetrical image. Its a good habit to get into!] Duplicate the cylinder you just made, and rotate it 90 degrees. This becomes the second crosshair shape. Group the 2 cylinders and 1 torus together and name it bottom section. Place it below the top section, and center it to the shaft made earlier. You should now have something that looks like a space-age spindle.
Graphic1983.jpg
Making the radar-dish is fairly easy. If you are using Bryce 5, there should be a bowl preset under the create > menu, otherwise, you can make a simple bowl shape out of a negative flattened sphere and a slightly larger positive sphere. Flatten the bowl shape until it looks like a radar dish, and name it dish. Move it over the shaft of the top and bottom section. resizing to the same size as the top section torus. Resize the shaft to protrude from the top of the dish. To give an extra level of detail, add a flattened cylinder to the inside of the radar dish at the end of the shaft. That finishes the hardest part of the modeling, now onto the modeling the main compartment of the DPS satellite. This section holds the solar panes in place, and balances out the model. The basic structure of the compartment is extremely simple. First, make a six-sided column, located in the preset create menu under imported objects. Resize to make it as long as the top section, bottom section, and radar dish combined (make it the same radius as the bottom torus). Make sure the shaft connecting all the parts of the satellite is long enough to connect the main compartment. Reposition the compartment so that it is centered on the end of the shaft. You should now see the basic shape of the satellite taking form!
Graphic1984.jpg
Before creating and connecting the solar panels, the main compartment needs to be expanded to add more detail. Select and duplicate the compartment. Using the resize button under the edit menu, reduce it to the size of the original. (Once again, clicking in the middle of the resize button and dragging makes this part easier!) Stretch the column down on the Y-axis, so it protrudes from the bottom of the main compartment. Duplicate the smaller column, flatten it on the Y-axis, then move it to the end of the protruding column.
Graphic1985.jpg
Now, on to the solar panels, starting with the main mount for the solar panels, under the create presets menu, select the object called organic Boolean #6. Create this object and turn it on its side. Create a cube, and flatten it from the side. Stretch the flatten cube until it takes the shape of a solar panel! Place this on the center of the organic Boolean. Group these 2 and name it solar panel. Place this on any of the sides of the main compartment. Make sure the solar panel and the mount are perpendicular to the rest of the satellite. Duplicate the solar panel group. Rotate, and place it on the opposite side, facing the opposite direction. Congratulations, you finished modeling the satellite!
Graphic1986.jpg
The easy part comes next, which is deciding the tone and color for the image. For the background, I set the sky to the preset star field, with the amount of stars turned to 3,500, and the intensity set to 50. I also added the Accurate Starfield by Wolfie, from Renderositys Free Stuff, to give a believable space background.
Graphic1980.jpg
The lighting is next. I added 2 radial lights in front of the satellite, both with an intensity of 46. The color of the planet that the satellite is near depends on the color of the radial lights. I used a red/orange tone, thinking of Jupiter or Mars. Group the radial lights and the satellite name it satellite. Rotate and reposition the satellite, keeping in mind that if it is floating in space, then its not going to be perfectly straight. Duplicate the satellite group and move it further away from your view. To avoid the new the cut and paste look, position the second satellite differently than the first. Duplicate the original satellite group again, and move it closer to your view. Once again, reposition it so it looks different than the others. The last step is texturing. The textures I used were from http://Shaderlab.com, although any mechanical/robotic textures will do. It was a lot of fun making and modeling this image, and even better was showing how I did it, so thanks for reading and happy rendering!
####
Who is woodhurst:
Graphic1988.jpg
My name is Jordan Speer, Im 16 years old and Ive been working in 3d art for almost 2 years now, but Ive only discovered Renderosity and grown in the past year. I find inspiration mainly from movies and books, and a lot from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the artists who have interpreted his world. I also find inspiration from the artists here at Renderosity, from the forums to the galleries. Im also trying to keep up with my 2d art, hoping to take what I have learned from 3d art and apply it into other mediums, and visa-versa. Im hoping to get a job in graphic design, my dream job being a conceptual artist one day for movies/video games.
####
To learn more about woodhurst's work please visit: woodhurst's gallery and woodhurst's store
Sections: Archives

Comments

or Register to post a comment



Privacy Notice

This site uses cookies to deliver the best experience. Our own cookies make user accounts and other features possible. Third-party cookies are used to display relevant ads and to analyze how Renderosity is used. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.