[WIP] Ebon Hawk - Star Wars KOTOR

JamesRay

Hi there. This is a WIP model of the Ebon Hawk from the Star Wars KOTOR series of rpg games. I have been working on blocking out this model for the past week. Its taken some time as finding consistent reference has been quite an issue. I have almost finished blocking out the ship with the exception of a few panels and components underneath. I really want to do this model justice and tell a story with it but I will focus more on that as I progress. Next on the to do list is to start building a more correct and detailed model from the pieces. I might make some adjustments to the overall shape such as the wing turrets as I believe that using a almost cube shape was a design choice to curb the polys on the model to keep with the standards of what computers could do back when the game was created. Let me know what you think or if I'm doing something wrong or anything for that matter.

sumisukyo

I was just thinking of doing this exact thing !

I would really recommend going and taking a look at the Star Citizen process of how they model and rig their ships, it's absolutely mind blowing.

Looking forward to updates.

JamesRay

That's a great idea. Can't believe I didn't really think to use some of their knowledge. Thanks @sumisukyo. I probably wont make an interior and if I do it would probably be the cockpit. I am planning to do some minor rigging room the landing gear and ramp so making the model feel functionable it going to be a top priority.

Kulu

Nice start. i would go for ultra detail on something like this. doing an interior , will also help you with setting up realistic interior and exterior lighting. I love interiors where natural light leaks into the inhabited space. good job

JamesRay

Thanks Kulu. Id love to do an interior but due to time constraints that might have to wait. I agree that if done well having that blend between artificial and natural light looks awesome so for that reason and also just to push the model a bit more I will probably do the cockpit interior. I think also rendering in 360 degrees for vr would be awesome so once everything is done Ill probably do that.

Elyaradine

Oh man. The nostalgia seeing this. :D

Is there something in particular you're hoping to learn from this?

JamesRay

Hi Elyaradine. I'm not hoping to learn anything in particular but I am hoping that taking on a larger and more passionate project will help me add to as well as refine the skills I have learned so far. I really want to re-envision this ship with what game engines can pull off these days. I think if there is any area that I believe I am going to learn a lot from it would be getting this all set up and put into an environment in most probably UE4. I don't want to get too ahead of myself right now but I'm hoping I can build a scene that would capture that sort of nostalgia and explain or make a mystery of where the ship ended up after the games. Reading though the lore of this ship is fascinating. It was as much as a character to the KOTOR games as any of the crew.

JamesRay

UPDATE
Made some changes to the cockpit windows, not sure If I like how little the side windows clear from the top of the ship or how wide the supports are on either side of the front window. I made the windows with the interior in mind. I think these windows will help provide a sense of security and structure towards where the exterior and interior meet.
Added some pipes and lifted panels just to get some more shapes in.
Changed up the engines using some reference I found of ships made from the same manufacturer.
Slightly lifted the lower portion underneath the cockpit to make it feel less bulky.
Made some changes to the ramp that I will probably visit again once more shapes in that area are done.
Side note - should I edit the original post to show these updates or just post it as a comment?

Elyaradine

Posting a comment is fine, but you're usually better off hosting the images elsewhere, and then sticking the URL inside [img] tags. That way we can see them just by scrolling past, without having to click on individual thumbnails first.

Looking good! :)

sumisukyo

JamesRay said:

UPDATE
Made some changes to the cockpit windows, not sure If I like how little the side windows clear from the top of the ship or how wide the supports are on either side of the front window. I made the windows with the interior in mind. I think these windows will help provide a sense of security and structure towards where the exterior and interior meet.
Added some pipes and lifted panels just to get some more shapes in.
Changed up the engines using some reference I found of ships made from the same manufacturer.
Slightly lifted the lower portion underneath the cockpit to make it feel less bulky.
Made some changes to the ramp that I will probably visit again once more shapes in that area are done.
Side note - should I edit the original post to show these updates or just post it as a comment?

Hey James, the Makegamessa org is less an art posting board more a programmers side, If your looking for a great community look into joining Dinusty
https://dinustyempire.com/

Its a really great place for 3D artists.

pieter

More generally, MakeGamesSA is a "get feedback on your game related work and skills, and tips on how to improve them".

So stuff like (I'm not an artist) low poly modelling, rigging and texture mapping of assets to be imported into a gaming project. What is a good poly count for a character or background, what is a good size for a texture, what does a well packed texture look like. Asking questions/tips regarding these aspect is what's going to give you the most value here, as that is the expertise of the people working in the gaming industry.

You are more than welcome to post your portfolio work here as well, as the artists here are more than qualified to give you feedback on your work, and potential employers definitely look at them. But the artists here have so much more to give, especially from the technical side ;)

JamesRay

Thanks Elyaradine, will do that in future. Thanks sumisukyo and pieter, As this project moves forward I will be getting into rigging, particles, and more of the technical side of things within UE4. These are areas where Ill probably find the most resistance being that I'm not entirely familiar with UE4. I am very excited to get to that point and learn more with UE4. Ill definitely need feedback a on more technical things once the model and its textures are done.

garethf

Very nice!

sumisukyo

No Problem @JamesRay,

I lecture at CityVarsity Cape Town in Game Design so msg me if you get stuck, or are looking for a place to study xD

JamesRay

Thanks garethf. I am currently studying in JHB at the moment sumisukyo, almost finished my second year. Thanks for the offer though.

JamesRay

Been a while since I have been able to work on the model but here is some progress. I have added Unique details to some of the areas of the ship. The main body is still in blocking so that I can still make adjustments If I need to. I have been looking quite a bit into the shape language used on the ship in the game and I believe most of the design choices were to poly count limitations so I will be trying out different shapes for the turrets and landing gear instead of using the original ships design.