Scots Taffer on 6/12/2006 at 23:35
Quote Posted by Stitch
I realize my demands are naive and I'm basically asking for a solution that does all the work for me, but I'm trying to gauge what my options are at this point.
Shit. I had the same issue once. I came up with the idea for a western comic about a border town on the edge of the territories, no known law, and where it did the atypical narrative perspective: instead of following the troubled lawman cleaning up the town, it'd follow the scheming ratbastard who wanted to amass a criminal empire and kill the lawman. Unfortunately, I can't replicate a drawing worth shit and my sketches are layman-like, so it never got off the ground (I still have the first ten or so pages of the script written IN MY MIND to this day).
A year later Deadwood was made.
COINCIDENCE??!?!?! :mad:
Gestalt on 7/12/2006 at 00:09
Quote Posted by Stitch
Well, photoshopping existing photos wouldn't work because there is literally no place on earth like the city I've envisioned. Using photos of Eastern Block cities as a jumping off point for sketching would work--indeed, I've amassed quite the collection of reference shots--but right now I simply lack the skill to do even that.
Drat. I've been thinking of doing a comic using a variant of that method, which is why I brought it up. If you want to improve your drawing ability, you might want to pick up Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. You won't be great right away, but the book's a good place to start and you'll likely see measurable improvement within a reasonable timeframe. Other than that make sure you practice every day, as with any other skill.
Quote Posted by Stitch
I've actually wondered about this option, as the graphics of HL2 are perfectly adequate for my purposes, as long as the engine supports fog and placed light sources.
It does, though I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "placed". You can add them and put them where you want and change their properties, if that's what you mean. The catch with the lights is that you have to compile the level before you can see what they look like in-game, which takes a while.
Quote Posted by Stitch
A program that can generate cell-shaded images would be a plus, too. If done correctly then I might be able to skip drawing the backgrounds altogether.
There's a tutorial (
http://hl2world.com/wiki/index.php/Cell_Shading) here that might be helpful if you do go the HL2 route.
I can't really speak to the relative difficulty of learning a 3d modeling program vs. learning an editor, though. UnrealEd and Hammer are probably the most easy to learn editor-wise, and I like 3ds Max for modelling software. There's a free version of Softimage|xsi available specifically for creating HL2 content if you look around the web.
Any solution will require some degree of artistic skill because you're trying to make art.
Nameless Voice on 7/12/2006 at 00:12
DromEd.
Stitch on 7/12/2006 at 03:10
Quote Posted by Hewer
It's kind of hard to know what to recommend when there's nothing to show what kind of style you're after. I'd be interested in seeing some art too.
Well, I don't have any art to represent the city, but I do have some reference shots. Combine (
http://squappity.com/misc/neworleans.jpg) this with (
http://squappity.com/misc/stone.jpg) this and (
http://squappity.com/misc/street.jpg) this. Now strip away all greenery and stack several of these cities on top of each other, with the upper levels connected by catwalks and bridges.
Quote Posted by Gestalt
Drat. I've been thinking of doing a comic using a variant of that method, which is why I brought it up. If you want to improve your drawing ability, you might want to pick up Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. You won't be great right away, but the book's a good place to start and you'll likely see measurable improvement within a reasonable timeframe. Other than that make sure you practice every day, as with any other skill.
Nigga please, (
http://squappity.com/misc/chaplin.gif) I've (
http://squappity.com/misc/elevenstretched.gif) been (
http://squappity.com/misc/pinkyboneposter.png) drawing since I was sketching on my diapers with a cat turd. It's architecture that has driven me to this desperate state.
The more I look around, the more I think the answer will be some program like Bryce that has a decent library of 3D models to purchase/download and fuck with.
zacharias on 7/12/2006 at 09:10
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
That said Max and Maya are industry standard and learning anything else is a waste of time.
Pedant tangent: many 3d artists say that they're happier with XSI over Max or Maya.
scumble on 7/12/2006 at 10:22
Quote Posted by Stitch
The more I look around, the more I think the answer will be some program like Bryce that has a decent library of 3D models to purchase/download and fuck with.
You may have looked at (
http://www.daz3d.com/galleries/index.php?id=22691&sec=3) this, but it's quite promising, and mainly produced using Bryce and DAZ|Studio, apart form the bloke in the suit. It also uses this "Backstreets" (
http://www.daz3d.com/shop.php?op=itemdetails&item=4627) scene, which isn't a million miles from your reference shots. In fact, the DAZ|Studio program appears to be a free download, with a bunch of sample content in a seperate file. Armed with that and some half decent objects you could get going fairly quickly. That "backstreets" set was $35, so it's not an expensive proposition.
I'm actually interested to see what this DAZ|Studio thing can do myself...
Vigil on 7/12/2006 at 13:30
Nigga please, you're posting a thread asking for modelling programs that will help you put off the need to learn how to draw architecture.
People don't pick up Poser because they want to learn how to draw anatomy, they pick up a book on anatomy for artists. So pick up a few books on perspective drawing and drafting architecture and you're set.
Mortal Monkey on 7/12/2006 at 15:04
You can even teach yourself from the internet. Here's a link I happen to have in my favorites: (
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/perspect6.html)
You'd probably want to learn basic perspective drawing first though.
jay pettitt on 7/12/2006 at 15:51
Quote Posted by zacharias
Pedant tangent: many 3d artists say that they're happier with XSI over Max or Maya.
Sorry, I should have added users of XSI to the list of people who would disagree along with Rhino and Lightwave. My fault.
I quite agree. I got 'into' doing 3D for a bit about five years ago while twiddling my thumbs at Uni. Things may have changed since then, but at the time Maya and 3DMax were the Win 98 and Win98 ME of the 3D world while everyone else was quietly being OSX. Cinema was my personal fave and I encouraged a friend doing media to give it a whirl on the premise that good tools help you do good work. Fine advice except that you'll never find a job advertisment asking for good Cinema4D skills.
Stitch on 7/12/2006 at 15:56
Quote Posted by Vigil
Nigga please, you're posting a thread asking for modelling programs that will help you put off the need to learn how to draw architecture.
Wrong. I'm posting a thread asking for advice on modeling programs that will help me evaluate my options. I may use the results as a reference for drawing, or I may use the results as the background itself. I may not use a modeling program at all. The city is a crucial part of the story and it has to look good, and right now I'm examining the different ways I might achieve that goal.
Quote Posted by Vigil
People don't pick up Poser because they want to learn how to draw anatomy, they pick up a book on anatomy for artists.
And they might even go one step further and take a figure study class so they have a
model to draw. Likewise, wanting a building you're going to draw before you, either physically or virtually, can be invaluable.
I'm not quite sure what's earned this impotent display of obvious advice, but my comment to Gestalt was made simply to establish the basic level of drawing knowledge and skill I already possess. Not saying I'm the shit, but I already have a basic grasp of Drawing 101.
