Childrenbook Project

[rubberduck]

I got a new project going on, this time for a childrenbook.
I can't tell much about the story, secret:o :) But I can tell that it has to do with a boy and his dream.
Here's one of the characters in it.

[sarN]

haha
funny little monkey... :D

[ManiHack]

I like its its very nice.
But he's a little too symmetric, you should add a flower pinned to his fur or something to break the symmetry.

[rubberduck]

Thank guys

Manihack: A flower?:eek: Won't fit in the story

Here's some different "monkey" expressions:)

[ManiHack]

I dont care, if Symmetry is what you like, then I have to say you're pretty good at it.

[wolfy]

Theres just no stopping this man. I love the facial expressions on him. Nice set of morph targets. So is he going to a dream like sequence of a jungle or a city. Im just trying to get what your doing as its a secret dude.
Looking good so far, nice style as well.:D :D :D :xyz:

[goat]

cool looking guy you got there rubberduck. I would sat try and get more variation on the eyebrows on the morphs. they kinda all look the same. keep it up

also play with the ears too!

[Black_Robe]

i think you should have one that looks like hes grinning like this :D but in monkey language that means hes threatening or something...

[RickStefani]

Haha, great characture.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

Wolfy: Jungle..that's all I can say:eek: :haha:

Goat & Black Robe: I'll tweak the morphs(ears/eyebraws) some more too:)

Here's the main character in the story

[goat]

That kid looks great! Good job man. can't wait to see more. hands look a bit small. but that could be me. sweet so far. the area around his legs/hips looks like they are seprate from his body. are they supose to be wrinkles? looks good!

[rubberduck]

Thanks Goat:)

Yes, they're supposed to be wrinkles
I'll check on the hands, it may just be the camera angle?:D

[rubberduck]

Building/modeling furniture for the boy's bedroom and tweaked some more on the monkey morphs too:)

[rubberduck]

And the monkey morphs:D

[kuman]

really cool man,

i dig the kid a lot, no crits there. plus damn i love monkeys. my only crit there is that the mouth forms in your morphs seem kinda blocky along the lip lines. the first render has a much softer mouth form it seams, i think that a bit of interesting curvature and mis balance between the two sides would add a life to those forms.

looking forward to catchin your progress

-k

[TyKeiL]

that kid looks great, his face is especially good

i do have a problem with his upper body and arms tho, mabe its just teh way the clothes sit on his upper body and arms

but verything else looks spot on, just like he's wearing the pajamas and sneaking some time watching telly behind the couch hoping that nobody will see him and send him to bed :O)

[kribz]

great work...i like what u did with the monkeys facial expressions...the kid is really good to...i think he should have some kind of teddybear that he never lets go of...thats the first thing i thought of when i saw him..just a suggestion...:)
/kribz

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:)

Kuman: I see what you mean, I'll fix it

TyKeiL: You're right, I'll tweak that

kribz: Good idea, but not sure yet about the teddybear yet

Another update: Changed the wood textures and added a stuffed llama and is that big:D

[rubberduck]

A closeup of the llama...

[3Dan]

Nice work as usual, duck.

A little c&c:
You might make everything more assymetrical, incl. the monkey and the beds. For instance, the bed poles might not be upright, the beds themselves not quite paralell to each other and the shelf, the llama legs a little bit crooked and uneven, bigger, cocked heads perhaps, you get my point. A bit of movement/expression, even if the renders are stills.

And has the monkey borrowed Mr. Highland Jock's eyes?;)

[Daniel]

great stuff, expecially the kid, his face looks really good.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

3Dan: No, No, you don't understand:D This room has to be really neat and clean, the mother is a neat freak:) in real life.
The character and the room is based on a real child and his room.
I could tweak the llama I guess:)

Of course he has a tractor lamp sitting on the table between the beds, so I have to make a tractor:eek: :o :)

Anyone seen any blueprints of one(if there's such thing)on the net?
I have had no luck finding any
I may just have to use reference pictures. I'm thinking about making a Ford 9N or a Massey Ferguson


The answer is no, they may look alike but they're not:)

[3Dan]

Sorry for completely missing the point.
Radarhead modeled a tractor in the Faster than... thread. Must it be very detailed? Anyway go take a look.

[viragoLDR]

For the love of God, give the brown fella a tail =) Without tail, he would be an ape, not a monkey, but he'd be a very shabby ape =))


Models look good, but like most people mentioned already, the models seem a bit too clean and symetrical. Everything looks fresh from the store at the moment, I think making things look a bit used would liven things up =)

[goat]

looking good. I would agree about the llamas legs. and the top of the neck seems to be a bit pinched in a small area. but it looks good. keep us updated.:D

[Rinne]

Great work, only the smooth on the very right furniture looks bad, it's too heavy!

[wolfy]

Cute little lama dude, though theres somthing about his eyes that bother me not really sure what it is. I agree with dan move some of the objects about a bit. Its to neat. Still nice work buddy.:D :D :D :xyz:

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

I'm back from a short vacation, so expect some updates later on today:D :p :o

3Dan-3DT: I looked, but never found the tractor Radarhead did:( :) I have started modeling my tractor today, will post a render later today, it will be a toy tractor with less detail than a real one

viragoLDR: Hehe, he does have a tail, just can't see it from that angle:) I'll tweak him some so he doesn't look too clean and symetrical


Goat: Llamas legs and neck will be fixed too:)

Rinne: Do you mean the legs on the beds? I've fixed them already:)

Wolfy: I'll tweak his eye too, you're right about that looks a little weird:D
I know it's to neat for a childs room, but it has to be in this case:o :) I'll talk to the person I'm doing this for and maybe I can suggest some changes:o :)

[rubberduck]

Sorry I didn't uploaded any renders last night, like I said I would:( :o :)
But if anyone is still watching this thread, here's some updates, added several things to the room and tweaked some things too.

[rubberduck]

Another one
It's a Lockheed Vega in case anyone knows something about planes:) I think that's what Amelie Earhart flew when she did her nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean

[RickStefani]

Looking cool. I cannot wait to see the animation. Or is it going to be stills?

[rubberduck]

Lamp closeup

When I'm done with the tractor, it'll be sitting on the base of the lamp

[RickStefani]

Lamps look cool. Might want to add some translucency to the lamp shade.

[rubberduck]

and the tractor I'm working on, still have a lot to do on it

It's a Ford and it'll be a mix between an 8N & an 9N model, but it's going to look like a toy, so it will have less details

[rubberduck]

A monkey pose, just to show that he does have a tail:D

[3Dan]

Hey i love 30s planes, can i have a closer look at the Lockheed Vega?:)

[rubberduck]

Rick: Thanks. It's going to be stills for a book:)

3Dan: You had to ask didn't you:D Don't say that I didn't warn you, it's not a pretty sight up close, I got some subpatch problems several place, it was only meant to be seen from a distance:( :o :D :D It's not really textured yet, just put the model number? on the wing

[sarN]

dude i wish i had a llama in a story when i was a kid... :(
nice models :D of course youll tell us about teh story when everythings complete???

[rubberduck]

Well I/we're creating one now:)
I can't tell you the story till after if the book gets published, sorry:) :o

[rubberduck]

Another update on the tractor, got lots more to do on it:eek:

[3Dan]

Thanks for the closeups:)
About that tractor, don't you think - given the fact that it's also supposed to be viewed from a distance - those wheels and tires could just be bumped?

[rubberduck]

3Dan: No problem. hope I didn't disappoint you with the plane closeups, it's not very good:o

I know I could have used a bump map for the tires, but I decided to model them, may kill my computer when I render the whole scene:eek: :D

[viragoLDR]

Yay! Now everyone knows the monkey has a tail, he'll be all happy :D

[Trevorn]

This is looking great. Do you really need that much detail for the tractor? It's looking great, but if you put too much detail into it it might not fit with your other models.;)

[rubberduck]

Haha:D Doesen't take much to please you, viragoLDR :D

Trevorn: I'm not sure but I think there'll be a closeup of the boys face when he's taking a nap and the tractor will be right next to his head, so:D Maybe I'll have to put some more details on some of the other models too?:o

Anyway, here's an update on the tractor :)

[rubberduck]

Another update...for those of you watching this thread, if any:D

[3Dan]

This model alone deserves a thread of its own.:cool:

[rubberduck]

Wow, Thank you 3Dan:D :D

[rubberduck]

I'm back:D :( :)

I had some major problems with the other computer here
Ended up reformatting and reinstalling everything, don't you just love computers:roll:

Haven't done anything else on my project untill today
The tractor is done, I guess, so here's a couple of renders

[rubberduck]

another one......

[RickStefani]

That is great. Hope you do a close up for the book. You worked hard on that puppy and it shows.

[kribz]

i like that tractor very much...nice work...
/kribz

[ido]

yes, the tractor is very nice :)
It looks like an interesting project, this children book, you must have a lot more work ahead of you..

[rubberduck]

Thank you guys:D

Rick: Oh, it better be in the close-up with the boy lying in the bed getting ready to sleep:D

Ido: Yes, I got a lot more work to do:eek: :)

[rubberduck]

Ok, time for some updates, haven't had much time lately to work on the project, but did some work last night and today.

Made some changes to the boy and been tweaking "the sleeping" still, made a zebra and some bananas for later in the story.
The boy will be riding the zebra away from the monkeys that will be throwing bananas after him.:) :eek:

[rubberduck]

and the boy with changes made...

[rubberduck]

A zebra

[rubberduck]

some bananas:)

[rubberduck]

No C&C's, is it that bad? :eek:
Anyway, here's another render

[RickStefani]

Not bad at all. I do not see any faults. I think it looks great. Cool little story.

[rubberduck]

Thanks buddy:D

[Daniel]

yeah it's great man, I like all your stuff. But for the kid, the face seems to like a bit like an adults, I'd try to make it look more childish and innocent, as for where his legs meets the rest of the body, it looks strange as well. Is he made in more than 1 piece? if so it might be why. But that's the only thing I can think of, you got some good stuff there man.

[kuman]

hey that's a beautifully sculpted zebra rduck

can you post a bigger better lit one and a wire?

lookin great so far man

-k

[rubberduck]

DanielB: Thanks:D
About the face, do you mean the picture where he's standing?
I know his legs looks a little weird, but they'll be fixed when he's in different poses:) I'
The body is all in one piece, hands and head are separate

Kuman: Thanks:D It's nothing compared to your character you're working on right now:eek: :)

It's really not that great, it's mostly the texturing and the lighting that makes it look better, but here are some wires and a brighter render

[rubberduck]

and the wires, the first one is not subpatched, but the second one is
I think subpatch is the same as meshsmmoth in 3dsMax

[sarN]

aweoms ework rubberduck
seems like a really fun story too :D

[rubberduck]

Thanks sarN:D

Another render, this time a shot of a monkey in the tree, mad at the boy;) for something he did
Still working on the texture on the monkey

[kuman]

i am shocked and appalled at how few polys that zebra is ;) . i was totally expecting to see a mesh 4-5 times as dense. what i mean to say is great job using smoothing to its full extent on that model

the textures also add so depth there.

dig the monkey too
-k

[rubberduck]

Thank you kuman:D I try to keep the polygon count low, the boy has the most, I think:eek:

Just a small update, the boy holding his teddybear, he'll be placed in another enviroment later:)

[Daniel]

man that zebra is low poly and he looks really great!

As for my comment on the kid, yeah it's that pose. Maybe if his eyebrows weren't black but blonde, like the rest of his hair, maybe his eyes blue? And the laugh lines, those creese where his cheeks are, maybe if they weren't as deep. But that's only my opinion though :) It's your project of course and your doing an excellent job

[Bre]

Geeze, I can't wait to see all of this stuff animated! Its looking great! Personally I would have preferred if the boy was a bit more cartoonish, but I'm sure the way you have it will fit in nicely with what you are trying to do. I'll be looking forward to new updates!

[Goj]

Nice stuff man. The tractor is great. Awsome details on that one.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

Daniel: The boy that this story is based on, does have blond hair like this and dark brown eyes and eyebrows too.
His dad's eyes/eyebrows are dark brown and has dark brown hair, so I'm sure the boy's hair will turn to a darker color as he gets older, it happened to me:) I was a blonde as a kid and now it's dark blond, must have been sometihng in the water:eek: :D


Bre: It won't be animated, it's for a book.
I'm trying to keep it in between cartoonish and realistic looking

[Rinne]

Hey, sure thousands of people watching this thread, it's not bad, nothing in this thread is bad!!!

It's all great!

How can you do those genius organic models, like the zebra??????


Beeeaaaaaaatifffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllllll!

[rubberduck]

Thanks Rinne, you're too kind:D

As I have mentioned before I use LightWave and when I build/model an object in this case the zebra, I look for reference pictures on the net and when I find some good ones, I load them into LightWave as a backdrop, like a side view or front view, depends on what reference pictures I have that I can use.


I need some ideas, please.
I need to do a still image where the boy is sleeping and beginning to dream, how would you show that in one image.
Would you do like a split image, like 2 in one or...?

[kribz]

i think u can do it like this....never mind the proportions of my sketch...i did it really fast in a minute or two...but i think u get the idea, right:)

[Rinne]

Haha, Kribz, that really looks like a bad boy:D

But the idea is good, it's typical for comics etc.

Maybe too typical, I don't know if this should be a special book ;)

MAybe you can make the view unsharp and with a green haze (right word?). That's how it's made in the game Max Payne. It works without making an animation, but I don't know if children would understand it by just seeing the picture :(

[kribz]

yeh lol...he does look a little mean...and maybe your right about it being to typical, but on the other hand there won´t be any doubt to what he´s doing since it will be quite obvious that he is dreaming...but i didn´t give too much thought on the other hand...and just sketched the first thing that came to mind...
/kribz

[rubberduck]

Thanks for the ideas guys.
I'm not sure I want to use your idea kribz, sorry:D it's just you see it all the time, I would like to try/figure something else out, not sure what, I'm still thinking about it and searching the net for ideas too:) But please let me know if you have any other suggestions:D

[kribz]

sure thing!:)
/kribz

[wolfy]

Dude, ive just caught up on the whole thread and its look lovely buddy, i just love the tractor. The kids look cool, thought a little grown up, the face needs to be a little cuter maybe, not to sure buddy. Also on a perosnal note i would tke his teddy bear up in size. Still very nice indeed dude...:D :D :D :xyz:

[rubberduck]

Thanks wolfy:D

Yeah, you're right about the face, will fix that soon:)
Teddybears comes in different sizes:eek: :o , but I will see what it'll look like made bigger

Haven't had much time lately to work on this project:grr: but I did manage to create this still(it's for the tree race;) )image today.
The boy will be in the tree race too, but in a different still image, there will be several images.
This will be the image he is "seeing" when he's beginning to fall asleep

[Bre]

my god, they're attacking!!!

SAVE YOURSELVES!

[FCR]

Just an idea: on the lower left side the boy in his bed fading to the upper right with his dream. Kepping the dream image blurry should also help.
Don't know if this works. As said before, just an idea.

[Zytrex]

Whoa... it's Chubby Cox... in the jungle. That monkey is gonna give me nightmares. So how realistic are the characters supposed to be?

[rubberduck]

Bre: You better run dude:D

FCR: But it's a good idea:D

Zytrex: Sorry about the nightmares:D
It's a mix in between realistic and cartoony

Sorry for the lack of updates:ugh: :o :o :D
Just have had to may projects going on, but I'm back on this one again, so there'll be several updates here soon.
Here's a Toco Toucan that will be sitting in a tree while the boy and the monkeys are swinging in the trees in the tree race.
Working on the textures today.

[rubberduck]

Still not finished, but here's an update...

[Daniel]

cool bird, but why are his legs seperate from the body ?

[kribz]

i wonder that too!
/kribz

[wolfy]

Ive said this before dude, i go away and then i come back and i see some amazing work buddy.
That bird is so cool. Is there any chance we can see the texture sheet for him?????
Loving it all buddy.:D :D :D :xyz:

[SAPPER POPOV]

very very interesting !!!!!! i think i think it's ...... very very nice !
lol

in french je dirais meme ! que ca claque pas mal ! et que le concept tue un pti peu , et que sans dec c du bo boulot ! reste plus qu'a tout assembler pour faire un bon pti délir , en attendant les singes me font bien tripper ! lol

courrage !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's excellent !

[mvotre]

very nice!:D
i loved that hot rod in the room. can you post bigger pictures of it ???

in the tree race (???-forgot the name :roll: ) i think the background would be lighter. maybe was just me and my cheap monitor :(

[rubberduck]

Daniel & Kribz: That's just the way I modeled it, every part is separate, the beak, legs, feet, tailfeathers, eyes and wings:o

Wolfy: Thanks for the kind words, too kind:D :D But I'll take em':D
Sure, I'll post some smaller versions of them, but then they have bump maps and procedural textures and several other settings applied to them like, specularity and so on
The maps I painted in Photoshop, BTW.
The texture maps are all separate, I just copied and pasted them into one smaller image just to show:o
Didn't include the bump maps

I'm sure you're getting tired of hearing this, but I would love to see an update on the swampy island :o :D


SAPPER POPOV: Thanks:D Not sure what you're writing in French, but I asume it's all good, so Thanks again:D


mvotre: Thanks:D The background will be lighter in the final render of that image you're talking about:)
You can find the Zapor= hotrod here

http://forums.3dtotal.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6219&highlight=Zapor

[rubberduck]

and the texture....which I forgot:o :D

[Rinne]

Wohoow, cool work, dude :)

I love your comic skills, they're great

[rubberduck]

Thanks Rinne:D :D


Here's an update, the mother of the child.......

[3Dan]

Cool work but i'm afraid the neck is too thick for a lady;)
The toucan rocks.

[FCR]

the mother scares me

[rubberduck]

Thanks Dan:D Made several changes on her face and I think it's better?

FCR: Scared me too:D

[3Dan]

Well i think she's scarier now:smug:
Teeth too protruding, reduce them to fit the mouth.

[rubberduck]

You're right, redid the teeth completely, hope it's better:mad: :D

[rubberduck]

Had some time today to tweak the face some more, now going to make the body.

I know the hair texture looks weird, but I'll fix it:)

[geoMan]

very cool dude....no critiques!...pretty organic...


Maybe i am taking the word organic too seriously! ;)

[geoMan]

you are making me laugh with those monkey aerobatics! cool!

[rubberduck]

Thanks Geoman:D Glad I made someone laugh:)

Here's an update, making the body. Head is not attached yet and she will have a shirt and a skirt on when she is finished

[bIOHZRd]

Better put some clothes on her, the poor kid will get scared seeing his mom naked running from a parrot!

Hehe, good job man, the stuff is looking pretty good for akids book. How about maybe cell shading stuff to give it a more Cartoony look?

[rubberduck]

bIOHZRd:Thanks, Haha:) She now has clothes on, better? :)
Sorry, don't think I'm going to celshade it:o

[rubberduck]

Here's another character for the story.
A python snake, toonstylish, still have alot of tweaking to do on the head, just have the basic shape done and the textures may just be temporarily.

[rubberduck]

Finished the Mom, made her feet/shoes.
Haven't done anything on the snake, not sure if I should redo it or just tweak it?:o

[RickStefani]

Cool still. Something creappy about her smile. I would not trust her. She is up to something.

[Daniel]

Lol yeah, I like her alot, one of those 60's stuck up moms. But her smile... it makes me think the first time your asleep, she's gonna creep in your room with a hatchet and go 'lizzie borden' on you.

[Stylus]

Great models rubberduck, i envy your skills in texturing :D and modeling so quickly to such a high standard... ( you sure you dont have a whole dev team working on this :p ) jk.
keep updating, however small...


Stylus.

[3Dan]

Haha i think it's all planned in the story.
Otherwise you might suggest the author to change the script.:D
I like the snake but it lacks contrast. We can't see its expression very well.

[Stylus]

I think white eyes would suit your snake better.


Stylus.

[rubberduck]

RickStefani: Thanks:) I know, but that's the way she smiles in real life:eek: :D

DanielB: Thanks:D You hit the nail on the head:D That's ecxactly what she is, a 60's stuck up mom, in real life too:o

Stylus: Thanks man:) You're too kind, nope don't have a team, just a 12 pound orange tabby, who wants to be in my lap:D
Haven't decided on the color of the eyes or skin yet on the snake:)


3Dan-3DT: Yeah, I know, I'll work on that, not sure if I'm going to tweak it or redo it, I don't like it right now:( :)

Don't have any updates, maybe later if I work on the snake some;)

[rubberduck]

Update on the snake, still not satisfied with the head, still tweaking it:mad: :D

[Daniel]

snake looks good, but the head kinda looks like a duck :D

[rubberduck]

Hehe:) Kinda does, tweaked it some more, is this better?

[rubberduck]

Update on the snake.
Not sure if it's going to be on the ground, wrapped around a branch like this or around a tree, or wrapped around the character:eek: :o

[Chris-3DT]

still looks like a duck, lol. he ain't a distant relative of you, now is he? :p


the problem is a simple one: a real snake had is flat, it has no hump to house the eyes in. those are on the left and right of the head about on the same level as the mouth

http://mzn.nm.ru/kobra.jpg

[RickStefani]

Snakes heads are more diamond shaped. They do not have a noticeable forhead. It is alomost like one upperjaw and the eyes are on the side of it. It looks more like a goose like it is. Sorry for being blunt.

[rubberduck]

No he's not a relative:D
It's one of those new discovered species, called ducksnakes:D
Tweaked it some more, may be a little better, the problem is that I want it to have a semi cartoony look to him, anyways, here's another render.

[rubberduck]

Started to make the hippo, only have the head made and I'll add more detail to it, like wrinkled/folds on the skin

[rubberduck]

Update on the Hippo.
Pretty much done with legs/feet
Head needs inside stuff, like tongue and teeth.
Just beginning to shape the body...

[rubberduck]

Another update............

[rubberduck]

Almost done.....needs more flesh color inside the mouth and 5 more teeth in the upper part of the mouth

[rubberduck]

I guess I'm done with the hippo.
Not going to make the 5 teeth in the upper mouth, you want be able to see them anyway.
I now have to make lions, giraffes and elephants:eek: :)
BTW, they want the "ducksnake", because it looks friendlier and cartoony:o
No C&C...:hmm: is it that bad?

[3Dan]

Keep going, do the whole zoo, man - it's coming out great:cool:

[lillypusher]

very nice, textures good too.

... the toe claws don't quite touch the ground...... not sure about that. aren't they supposed to?

do hippos nostrils realy turn inward like that? neat!

[Kujoe]

Looks great ,Keep it up..:cool:

[divaid]

i just... i just love this project. I'm thinking of starting something like it myself too, will be totally different offcourse. anyway, GREAT project, you have to finish this...

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D :D

3Dan-3DT: I don't know about the whole zoo:eek: could be fun though:) So far the animals in this story is, Zebra, giraffes, snake, hippo, lions, elephants, monkeys, toucans.


lillypusher: I'll correct that, Thanks. About the nostrils, I think they do, as far as I can see on the reference pictures, they don't all look the same.


divaid: You should, go for it:)
I plan to finish it;) Have about 4 weeks left to do it.

Started the lioness last night, here's what I have made so far on the lioness, head is still not attached and is not finished yet, needs some more tweaking.

[rubberduck]

An update on the lions, they won't be seen up close like this, they'll be in the background in one or two scenes/stills.

Anyone know where I can find some kind of info or an image on the different sizes of the animals to get the right size when I put them next to each other?

[Borg]

wow, you model pretty fast and their excelent models:D cant wait to see it all finnished

[Jenn]

how did I miss this thread!? Rubberduck you are really cranking out a crazy amount of models. The hippo rocks! Really nice work on the lions too...oh and everything else:)

As far as animal sizes go, you could email a zoo. Zoo keepers love to answer questions about their animals.

[Merrow]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Rubberduck can you write a little about how you work? Do you have some productivity tips for us or do you just work 18 hours a day?

[Daniel]

dude you model so fast! The snakes looks cool, really improved. The Hippo is awesome and the lions too! :D

[rubberduck]

Borg: Thanks:) Yeah me too, then I'll have more time to do my own stuff and create my website too

Jenn-3DT: Thanks Jenn :D Glad you like it, since I'm a fan of your's;) Saw you had some new stuff on your website, The crow looks great, I was so upset when he died and his dad too.
Those cartoon characters are awesome, the worm is still my favorite:) The morph targets made me laugh:D


Merrow: 19 hours, no just kidding :) It's no secret, I use boxmodeling(it's the best) method, for me it is and I prefer to use images for backdrops, like front, sideview and that way you can "crank" the model out fast or faster. The toucan, the hippo and the tractor took longer too do and the main character, the boy too. I only had a front picture of the boys face to work with.
I was lucky to get front and side photos of the mother.
I have a great drawing book called, How to draw animals by Jack Hamm and it has great reference sketches in there and I only paid $7.95 for it a couple of years ago.
I do alot of research on the internet too and download pictures of the things I'm going to create in 3d.


DanielB: Thanks guy:D Well not as fast as some here in the forum:eek: :)

I started the giraffe late last night, I have been out of town all day yesterday, so didn't get anything done on this project, I may have something to post later on the giraffe.

[Rinne]

Still love all your models, the hippo is sweet :)

And I like the photoshop effect on the lion ;)

Great work, keep us updated

I think you'll always get reply's to your thread's, just not, when we're all on holiday, and you're working your 19hours a day:D

[3djohnboy]

Im new to this thread and the forums but Im glad I found this one.. :D

I have to agree how do you do so much?

I just have to say the monkey rocks.. also your modelling is nice and detailed.. the rhino and the zebra wow!

Im very inpsired I went through the whole thread and I feel all caught up on your project.. Its massive isnt it?

have you ever rendered out all the characters and put them in a collage all together.. it would really show the scope of the project..

GREAT WORK! Im in awe.. very inspiring and nice to see you take the suggestions and crank out an updated version even better than before..

[Jedi Hulk]

Somebody had to say it.

[rubberduck]

Rinne: Thanks buddy:D I'll try to update as soon as possible:crazy: :)


3djohnboy: Thank you:) :) Yeah it's going to be massive:eek:
I'm not sure if my computer could handle it to render out all the models at one time:roll: :) Thanks again

Jedi Hulk::) Yep:D


I'm pretty much done with the modeling of the giraffe and I thought I would post how I did it step by step kinda
I start out with a box, make sure I have enough polygons if not I just use bandsaw(LW plugin) to add more.
Then I bevel out the legs and neck and adjust points/polys to shape the giraffes body and continue this way till it's finished;)
I would do the same way with the head, bevel out the horns and ears and shape them.

Here's the first picture of 3

[rubberduck]

2nd one

[rubberduck]

Third one

[ido]

hi rubberduck :)
great work here, i love your style.
I have been using lightwave many years ago (i think 8 or 9, i had an amiga 1200 back than)
and one of the first things i modeled was a giraff , i think it was version 4.
for the giraff texture i used nurbs and i got a very nice result,
maybe you should try playing with it and you will see for yourself :)

[wolfy]

i thought id better come and have a look at your work buddy as i havent posted here for some time, and my god you have modelled a ****** zoo. Relly nice work there buddy, i just love the hippo and the girrafe is shaping up nicely. Kepp it going dude.:D :D :D :xyz:

[rubberduck]

ido: Thanks:D So why did you quit using LightWave?:( :)
Not sure what you mean by using nurbs for the texturing of the giraffe?

wolfy: Thanks buddy:D Well it's not a ****** zoo, but it might have been if it was about an evil boy with a knife:eek: ;) :)
Hope to see an update on your space pirate soon:D


I had some time this afternoon and here's what I have done so far with the texturing, I still have some problems with it, doesn't look quite right, I think:( :o

[Borg]

I think it looks excelent:D

[ido]

First rubberduck, I want to say that your giraffe looks very lovely, the texture is very good :)
I’m sorry but I was wrong, I did not remember correctly because it was many years ago. I had to install lightwave to remember and I even found an old floppy disk with a model of the giraffe in an early stage.
I used Procedural veins for the texture and now that I look at it, it looks pretty crappy (I was very proud of myself back than :o ); I remember I rigged and animated the giraffe for a run cycle but I can’t find the file (never mind, I guess it also was pretty crappy).
As for quitting using lightwave, after a year of using lightwave during my army service I quitted 3d for a few years and than after I started studying architecture I chose to learn 3dmax because I heard it was compatible with AutoCAD. But now that I installed lightwave again I may try using it again, it is a very good program

[Rinne]

Hehe, really funny ido :P

Rubberduck, your giraffe looks really good, and the texture is good, too, but the coordinates on the head are wrong! Giraffes sometimes have no "dots" on the head, but if they have, they only have a few, and very small ones. I found this picture to show you:
http://www.smm.org/sln/tf/z/zoomachines/giraffe.gif

Hope it helps ;)

[rubberduck]

Borg: Thanks:)


Ido: Thanks buddy:) Your giraffe is not bad, just need a head and some tweaking on the texture:)
I tried procedural veins for the texture too, but didn't like it, couldn't get it to look right.
It is a great program, I have nothing against 3DSMax, I have tried it too, but LightWave was easier for me to learn and use.


Rinne: Thanks:)
I agree what you're saying about the head, believe me, I have downloaded around 20 pictures to look at:eek: :)

I haven't had much time this weekend to work on the project, pbut played some more with the textures tonight, not sure if it's better or worse?:o
I might get away with it, the way they look now, because they'll be in the background too. Anyway here's another render

[Rinne]

Looks much better now, but I think the head is brighter than the body, not darker :P

But they look great :)

[rubberduck]

Rinne: You're right about the head color and I'll fix it:) but right now I'm working on the elephant and here's what I have done so far, still along way from finished.

[Rinne]

Yeah, this model is outstanding as well, great work, but I can't really figure a tail out, does it have one?

[sarN]

are these spline modelled? they look great rubberduck, and awesome textures you got on there :D

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

Rinne: No tail yet, hasn't been made yet;)

Sarn: Boxmodeled, that's the way I do most of my models

[rubberduck]

Another update...., tweaked it some more and made a tail, ears, tusks and toes

[rubberduck]

Another update.....

[rubberduck]

Another render update, final texture, I think:o

[Daniel]

Nice, I totally love the giraffe, it's really cute. The elephant is very well modeled as well, but I find his texture a bit off, it makes him look like one of those shiny plush toys, unless that's what your going for. If you want realistic, you should probably go for rugged skin, that's cracked every bit and there.

[lillypusher]

i'm with Daniel on this one. i like the giraffe, but the elephant, while very nicely modeled, its texture is a bit off IMO.

i think a bit grayer, and less splotchy.... but again, like above, depends what look you're going for.

[wolfy]

ok buddy where can i pick up one of those giraffes as a pet then, hes so cute dude.
Loving the elephant as well buddy.:D :D :D :xyz:

[ido]

the elephant looks great :)
if i remember corectly I saw in a nature documentary that elephants spread their ears like that as a threat and before they are going to attack. Also consider making his eyes darker, they are not visible enough imo.

[rubberduck]

DanielB & lillypusher: Thanks:) I agree about the texture too, so I played around some more with them, I think this is better?
Should I increase the bump map some more?

wolfy:Hey buddy, thanks. I can send you one, you don't have to feed it:D


ido: Thanks ido:) I made the eyes brighter instead, should I pull the ears back some you think?

[Dr.N]

GREAT

but where did the tail go ?

MSN : ghnoursi@hotmail.com

[Dr.N]

and the ears are just perfect , maybe a bit big

[rubberduck]

Dr.N: Thanks, the tail is still there;) Can't see it because of the camera angle, the ears are big on purpose, it is a semi real/toon looking elephant.:o

[Dr.N]

no prob. keep it up:)

[lillypusher]

the texture is much better now. are u making the elephant for background shots, like the lions?

[ido]

it looks perfect :)
about the ears, if the elephant isn't angry with anyone and you don't want to mislead the children that will be reading this book than you can pull the ears back to their normal position. Lets say that a child that read your book meets an angry African elephant on his way to school and thinks to himself "what a nice elephant, should I take him home with me", while he should actually be running for his life. If something happens to this child you will be responsible, and don’t say I didn’t warn you :D

[lillypusher]

AND u give his parents grounds for suing u...

[zoo-prod]

Very nice. Lots of modeling. Good project too.
Maybe you could work rendering a little more. (lighting or with a post-process)

i like the zebra !!! good posing.
Anyway, very good work !

[rubberduck]

lillypusher: Thanks, yes the elephants will be placed in the background, but I think it will be used for the cover of the book too, upclose.

Ido:Thanks, Ok you made your point:D Can't have any threatning looking elephants, so I adjusted the ears some, let me know if it's better:) Thanks for the warning, hehe:D

zoo-prod: Thanks:) About the rendering, it's only rendered with medium antialiasing for now and the lighting will be improved in Photoshop;) I will render all the finished stills with Enhanced Extreme antialiasing, that's what's called in LightWave

Here's a render with adjusted ears

[rubberduck]

An update..baby elephant has arrived:o

[bradjames]

im so amazed at how fast you pump out these models with texture and have them look so nice...simple amazing

[kuman]

yeah rd

there's something seriously wrong with you man ;)

how can you make so much content so fast?

are you the devil?

as for crits - well there so much to look at. i guess my biggest crit would be that i'd like to see a little more time spent on the models ;) . while you are producing work at this prodigious rate, some areas of some of some of the models look like they could use a little bit more definition. but if you don't need it for the shot then by all means keep truckin on.

-k

[sarN]

they all look great.. i collect some stars to shine for you :)

[Dr.N]

hehe , like the baby elephant ,
you can make a female now :)

[ido]

Many lives have been saved with this small did, you will be known from now on as rubberduck the merciful :D

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

Thank you for the stars:) :dance:

Kuman: No I'm not the devil, but I do like the group, 666 :)
I appreciate you looking at my thread and hope you'll continue too, to give me crits or suggestions , but which models should I improve, please tell me and I'll try to improve them;)

Ido: Not sure how to respond to that:D

Dr.N: I will make a female elephant, but right now I'm working on a jungle setting and a waterhole;)

[rubberduck]

I have been working on this jungle setting since yesterday, could use some crit or suggestions:o I'm not sure if it looks ok for the book? This one...

[rubberduck]

..or this one, or none of the above:eek: :o

[ido]

I like the first one better, looks very good :)
are they going to be animals/charcters inside? If so than i think you should test the colors with the charcters in the frame..

[Rinne]

Haha, yeah, sweet elephant :)

I agree with ido, the first one looks great, only critic I have are the quadrial leafs, make them look like leafes, use transparent maps, do anything, they look horrible:D

But the trees look cool:cool:

[Dr.N]

I like also the second one ,
the leaves are not bad like this

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:)


I changed the shape of the leaves, but when I try to render with transparency on them, LightWave crashes:( Don't even wanna know how many polys I have in the scene:eek:

Ido: Yes, there are going to be animals/characters inside, as the picture shows, the boy is riding through the jungle till he reaches the open savannah, which will be another still image.

[rubberduck]

Another scene I'm working on...

[Rinne]

Wow, absolutely incredible!!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

This looks sooo great!!!!!!!!!!!

[bradjames]

rubberduck i think it looks pretty good in my opinion isn't a jungle a little more thick...i mean shouldn't there be more trees or should the branches and leaves be closer to the ground..make things hang lower

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys;) Had some spare time today to work on the 2 scenes, so here's an update...

[rubberduck]

and the other scene....

[mvotre]

wow dude!! the scene 1 (or 2) - the one with the hippo - looks really great. love the lightning. keep up the good work!!:D

PS: i will have to ask.... how many polys do you have in that scenes (plz. plz, dont hit me!!!:p )

[bradjames]

i think thwe jungle is much better now..its full of life now...great work as always man

[Downup]

man your... modelling is great.. how old are you?.. if you are unde 20 i will quit using 3d :roll:

[RickStefani]

That book is coming allong very well. So is it going to be published?

[rubberduck]

mvotre: Thanks guy:)
The jungle scene: 47 objects - 437432 polys
The waterhole scene: 57 objects - 639373 polys

bradjames: Thanks;)

IDownupI: Thanks :D I'm 13....:eek: just kidding, I'm in my early thirties, so keep doing 3d;) Been doing 3d for 5 years now

RickStefani: Thanks, we don't know for sure yet:eek: ;) But we hope;)

[RickStefani]

Originally posted by rubberduck

IDownupI: Thanks :D I'm 13....:eek: just kidding, I'm in my early thirties, so keep doing 3d;) Been doing 3d for 5 years now



haha, Give someone a heart attack like that.

[Rinne]

Originally posted by rubberduck

RickStefani: Thanks, we don't know for sure yet:eek: ;) But we hope;)


Is there any way we can help you with that? Like writing E-Mails to the developer, or something like that? I'd do it ;)

Absolutely great, I love the water texture!

[ido]

wow, thats beautiful :) :)

[rubberduck]

Rinne: Thanks buddy:D Really appreciate it, I'll keep that offer in mind:)

Ido: Thanks, glad you like it

Here's another still for the story....

[rubberduck]

Haven't had much time to work on the project, but here's another image, I'm working on the cover.
Any c&c or suggestions would be welcome;)

[sarN]

i hope that your name will be on the bottom of that cover :D
lookin great!

[Rinne]

It looks great, I like the poses, and mimics :)

[bradjames]

i was thinking you could add just a roundish scetion of grass...i mean not enough to cover the whole cover page but just a little patch under the elephant and boy if you know what i mean.

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:D

Bradjames: I liked your idea, so here's a render with grass, the way you suggested it, I think I may like it better with the grass;)

[bradjames]

very nice..i like it..you could also try making it not so round and see what it looks like...very nice though

[goat]

sweet rubberduck been away for a while. lot of work you've done! looks great. i would say the color for your back ground is a bit too...unhapppy of a color. I would try using a bit more of a promary color or brighter color. kids would respond to them in a better way i would think. just a thought. keep up the good work!

[[X]treme]

don't put the grass in a circle, make it more randomly dispersed

add a rock or flowers or something, that should help

looks really cool!

[Gl2eEn]

oo! dude, you just keep impressing me :D

but that kid, he looks good, but somehow he is like a little demon to me, maybe its because of this red clothes, maybe not im not sure... If u wuld take some of teeths off, he might look abit yuonger then now... but anyway ur work is so impressive you just keep doing them. Very good work!

[rubberduck]

Thanks all:D
I'll think about the suggestions with the grass and rocks and so on, haven't done anything on that image today, but pretty much finished with this one, unless someone has something to say about it, like stuff to change/improve;)

[RickStefani]

I like the last render but I agree with [X]treme, the brown for the cover does not do your work justice. I would have the grass fade out into a blurry, dreamy gungle scene in the back. Your work has been so beautiful, let the cover share some of that. Remember, if the cover does not grab you chances are they will not look into the book.

[CrazyTalk]

If you need a color, I'd suggest orange! It's the hotness :)

[rubberduck]

RickStefani: I agree with what you were saying so here's another example, is this better? I think I like this one the best

CrazyTalk: Not much, but I added a little orange to the flowers;)

[mvotre]

hey dude.. lookin f***´* great, but...
i think you need to put at least some little dirt stuff between (??- hey,im brazilian, ok??) the grass slots (just a little)
and i think that you can just change the animals poses... looks like they are posing for photo!!:D

the elephant are just looking to the camera, and the toucan showing her best angle!! :D :D

[RickStefani]

I hope you do not mind me playing around with this. I did a fast composit job so do not shoot me but this is more what I would think. Wrap vines around the title and use them to frame the picture also. I used one of your previous renders.

[rubberduck]

mvotre: Thanks, I guess I should add some dirt in between the grass, about the posing, they are meant to be posing for the cover;)

Rick: No, I don't mind you messing with my render:) but I'm not sure that I want that much jungle showing on the front cover:o
I like the idea about the vine wrapping around the title and using the vines to frame the picture. I had already thought of that, but only for the pictures inside the book though;)
I appreciate your input and ideas, thanks;)

[goat]

I'd agree with rick on that. or definitly use the vines as a boarder. well I like what you got so far.

[RickStefani]

Are you going to do some market research before you drop the proposal off. Make a few deferent covers and take it down to your local book store and give a questionare out on if they would buy it and which would grab their attension more. Publishers love that kind of a report allong with the work. They will do their own also but it shows your insistance on business. I will buy a copy if it makes its way out here.

[rubberduck]

goat: Thanks, I'm going to use vines as a border/frame around the pictures and I have been messing around in Photoshop and this is what I came up with, not sure if I like it though:o

Rick: Thanks buddy;) About the suggestions, we haven't decided yet how're going to tackle it, but I like your ideas, thanks


For now we have decided to go with this cover, image #1 one

Image(jungle) #2 is an example with vines around the image.

Image(savannah) #3 is what I'm working on at the moment

Sorry for the lack of updates, been sooo busy:eek: :o

[rubberduck]

Image #2

[rubberduck]

Image #3

[bradjames]

i love image one..its just like i had mentioned before but i think its too round...its a perfect circle...very nice work...i love he ideas you have and how quick you model....keep it up

[goat]

Ok here we go. looking at the compistion of the first image I think you'll have to get that tree out of there because it's taking my eye away from the main focus( the kid) it's a streight line and my eye just follows it. you should also think about shapes and where they v=bring your eye threw out the peice. mabey mave the trunk of the elephant to curve with the circle. have the birds beek arc a little more down so the tip of it points tword the elephants ear. that line will bring you down to the trunk then to the kid. then have some roots come up from the kids left foot and have to tree just go back to the bird. this will take your veiwers eye around the entire image.I know this is a lot but when it comes to illustrating where you want the eye to go is very important. Hope I'm not rambling too much

the second image I like the image I like the boarder but not together. I think it needs some thing more. maybe like a nice frame. Like from a museum. maybe make the the boarder smaller.

things are coming along man. Hope to see you get it in a book store. or at least online or something!!

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:)
I'll make some more changes to the cover image and try some of your suggestions;) I have been thinking about different ideas for borders too, but don't have an update to post yet

[p0lym0rph]

verry nice work guy!
:)

[rubberduck]

Thanks poly:D Did you make your avatar, I really like him

[RickStefani]

This was looking so awsome...UPDATE!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JDPCreations]

I think image #2 would make a great book cover, the kid riding the house in front and the rest in back with text describing the book.

[ido]

I'm with RickStefani, we want the duck! We want The Duck! ....
:D

[rubberduck]

Thanks guys:) :) You're too kind:o

I'm hoping to continue on this project at the end of this week or this weekend. I'll see if I can post some updates soon, thanks again;)

[Downup]

hehe.. i like what u have done. In this time:!!!:

[rubberduck]

IDownupI: Thanks:D

Here's what I've been working on lately(about 4 days off and on)the boys dad, still have alot of tweaking to do on his face(have to make him a body too), not much to show, but at least it's an update:)

Has threedy been down or having problems? This is the first time today that I have been able to goto the site:cry: :o

[ido]

looks very good rubberduck :)
the only thing I thing you can work on some more is the eyebrows

[rubberduck]

Thanks ido:) Love your cow btw

Here's another update, still playing with the texture on hair and eyebraws

[goat]

cool guy you got there rubberduck. the onlything i can see to crit is the the ear it seems too far back. i played withit in photoshop a bit. sorry . keep going man!! looking good!!

[rubberduck]

goat: Thanks and yes you've right about the ears, I moved them forward, but you can't tell in this render update.
Did some more tweaking and I think I'm done with the face, now I need to work on the body

[Gl2eEn]

nice work there rubberduck :D what software are u using?

[rubberduck]

Thanks Gl2eEn:D LightWave 3D 7.5

[Gl2eEn]

do u have a website rubberduck? i just have seen so much uve done, i cant even count in my head what ive seen ;D well if u have then u probably have really BIG server :P

i like that "glowy" effect oh them, looks like its in dream or something like that :I

[ido]

Looking very good rubberduck :)
But maybe the eyelashes will look better thicker (just a thoght)

[rubberduck]

Gl2eEn: Yes and no, it's in the middle of being redesigned, hasn't been updated for almost a year. I'll put a link up when it's ready :)
That "glowy" effect is just some gaussian blur and some light added in Photoshop. If you have Photoshop I can e-mail you the action if you want, let me know;)

ido: Thanks:D They are a pain to make I think, so I just made them darker

Did several changes after I got a good photo reference to look at, since it's based on real person, the boys' dad.

[olympus]

cool character :), one thought though, his face below cheek bones seems kind of sqaurish (was this intentional?)

i think this character definately reflects the time and hard work you put into it :D

[rubberduck]

Here are 2 new images: A banana tree and a group of angry monkeys.
They'll be in the same image when I'm done with it, btw they're angry with the boy, can't tell you why;)

BTW, good to have the Forum back:)


olympus: Thanks, that was what I was going for, the chunky look;)

[rubberduck]

Angry monkeys....

[MonteCristo]

Hey RD, the Dad character has much improved now. When you've finished some of the scenes, will we get to see some of the pages? I'd be really interested, in seeing how this all fits together... :cool:

[Gl2eEn]

That "glowy" effect is just some gaussian blur and some light...

hehe thanks mate, i think i got it, there are some plugins which can make such effect in render in programs like max or maya or lightwave, i just thought u had it hehe..

Thats a lovely three :D loads of nanas, i like it ;)

[olympus]

the banana trees leafs may have to to much specular, as is they tend to have a rubber quality to them (i like the effect that this creates, even though it isn't organic looking)

for the angry monkeys, i would have to say those are good poses, however the one on the far right looks less like someone inciting terror, and more like someone in terror :)

good work, like MonteCristo-3DT said we'd all be interested in seeing how this fits together :)

[neiy0]

Hey rubberduck, where do you work? Pixar? Seriously you crank out these models like a one man factory... I have been following all of your work on these 17 amazing pages and I havent said anything yet until that title stuff came up. I really like the composition with the elephant, the tucan, and the boy, the grass is good as well, but I personally think the circle of grass should be less perfect, and have some dirt coming out of the edges, like a rugged look. I really prefer the second composition over any of the other ones, and I think that by adding that tree in there, it takes away from the other characters, which seem to be more important in the book.

I have a closet full of children books, and I thought that these 3 could be of interest to you
1) Welcome to the Green House by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Laura Regan.
2) The Animal House Ivor Cutler, and Helen Oxenbury.
Most importantly:
3) Wanted: Perfect Parents by John Himmelman

I hope those help you some how...

[rubberduck]

MonteCristo-3DT: Thanks alot;) Yes when it's all finished, I'll post some of the pages

Gl2eEn: Thanks;) The plugin you're talking about, I think in LightWave it's called Bloom

olympus: Thanks guy;) I toned the specularity down some and changed the pose of the monkey you've talking about, is it better?

neiy0: Me working at Pixar, I wish!;) I see what you mean about the tree and grass stuff for the front cover and I'll change some of it, maybe loose the tree? I'll post some different renders soon, Thanks for the input and I'll take a look at those books, next time I go to the bookstore;)

Here's another update on the angry monkeys scene

[rubberduck]

I tweaked/played around with the cover image some more, any suggestions?;)