Ok, here goes nothing. I painted a really quick sketch of my idea for the Lost World challenge. I started scouring the web for photo references and decided upon an Incan Temple - it's really based off of Machu Picchu. I added some other temples to make it more grandiose (not that Machu Picchu isn't already grandiose). Now, if I can just model this stuff in A:M, I'll be groovy .

So here goes! Wish me luck!

- Michael

Nice work.
Can't wait to see how more.

Gustavo

Well, I wish I could "quickly sketch" like that, haha. Nice choice. I think this one going to be awesome.

Well, perhaps really quick was an exaggeration - it took about 20 - 30 minutes - but for a painted sketch I thought it was quick . Let's see if I can remotely translate this to 3D!!!! I may be biting off WAY MORE than I can chew .

- Michael

good luck ok do you know what your getting into man lol!?
Good LUCK indeed i think you can do it!


Connor Case

quick sketch

i wish i could SLOW sketch. lol

but nice idea.. and cant wait till the end to see it.

-Caleb

I could use many of those kinda quick sketches!

Good luck Michael,

Are you going for a Photo real look or stylised?

Jay

I'm going for a hand-painted look. I want the final 3D scene to look like a painting rather than actually realistic. But like a painting from the old masters. So it will still be photo-real. But I'll hand paint all the textures instead of using photographs for them (I know - I'm freakin' INSANE!) I figure it will be a really good way for me to learn how to texture in A:M .

- Michael

That'll be really exciting - I love that look. Nice temples.

Do you do all your painting in Photoshop & Painter? I've got Twisted Brush, and I love seeing what people who can actually paint do with it.

Holy cow Michael! If this was a sketch contest we'd all be toast right now!

Keep it up and good luck!

Lee

Awesome Start! Man.. I was going to post a touched up picture of Machu Pichu for the examples to. Lol.. great minds think alike. Definately on topic and one of my favorite subjects to boot.

My entry might be of an Incan inspiration as well. I'm debating still.

Can't wait to see how it evolves. You might want to look up an old artistic rendering thread I did that showed how to use AM's hair feature to get an oil painted look.

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showt...amp;hl=van+gogh

Hope you get some good ideas from it. Good luck with the contest!

Holy Monkey, Colin! What an incredible thread! I wonder how long that would take to render? hmmm..... I suppose I could model and texture it all, then take the finished rendered image, bring it back into A:M and play with the hair to give it a more painterly feel. Of course, I have to get this monstrosity modeled first! HA HA HA HA.

Thanks again for putting that link here. I think it needs to be bumped so more people can view it. It's just breathtaking.

- Michael

Hey Caroline -

I actually very rarely use Photoshop. I pretty much do everything in Painter. I have used ArtRage and Dogwaffle as well and like them. Twisted Brush I couldn't get my brain around the interface. The brushes included are fantastic, though! I've been using Painter for so long, I'm just used to the interface .

- Michael

oh yeah.. one more option for you Mike.

Gertrudis. I have it and it great with lots of control. check it out.

That looks so awesome, Colin. I think I would feel like I'm cheating, however - since it seems to pretty much create the painting for you (not that there's anything wrong with that - talk about a great, quick way to create artwork - concept art, etc.) Heh, with that said, I'm going to download it to give it a go anyway. Looks really fantastic!

Thanks!
- Michael

Yeah Mike.. its not as automated as all that. If you want it to look good, you'll need to push a button or two ;-)

I think the trick with what you are going for will be in the lighting and textures. Imagine a very warm almost yellowish tent to everything and some sort of effect that darkens the darks like an old oil painting.

I'm getting really psyched to see all the wips everyone is putting up.

So here's the beginning building blocks for the topmost temple. Not much, I know, but it's a start - I am still a n00b at this program .

- Michael

Hey Mike.

Its a good start. You might want to bevel the sides of the stones, just to get a softer edge and mimic the types of Masonry that the civilizations in the americas had.

also. Displacement maps or at least normal maps will be your friend. add some blocks created with this...

http://www.3d-rekonstruktionen.de/bricksntiles/

and you'll be golden ;-)

Thanks, Colin! Yes, I was already thinking bevels and have started to add it. The image above was my first pass.

Thanks so much for the Bricks'nTiles link. I will most likely be putting this to work .

Thanks so much for all your help, thus far, Colin!
- Michael

Some really nice modelling there Michael,hopefully if I'm half as good as you are I'll be happy.
This is coming along really nicely can't wait to see how you tackle the hill's and mountains for the image.

Jay.

HA HA HA HA - neither can I! I have no idea yet how I'm going to approach them!

- Michael

Well good luck. I agree with cfree that you should bevel the blocks. It really adds a lot of realism to the images. Do you have photoshop or somthing like that for the textures?

I don't know if beveling would be all that needed at the distance the building will be from the camera. Putting a bevel on it I would think it would have to be 10 feet across at that distance to be picked up. I'm probably wrong here though, haha. I'm not known for my great archetectual modeling skills .

I added beveling (will post soon after i model the surounding structures). I have both Photoshop and Corel Painter.Texturing is the only thing I know how to do at the moment. Modeling, I'm a total n00b. It takes me forever!! Thank goodness I have until June to finish. If I can get it modeled by the end of the month - place holders at least, I just might be able to finish this in time .

- Michael

hey you wanna know something weird...for some reason you post stays on top....and the time of the last post is a half-hour from right now....weird...

I feel you. I got good at texturing so now im trying to make good models to texture

Here's an update. I've started laying the surrounding ground. I realize the stairs are too big and I have to correct that, but I'll do that tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

- Michael

Looking Nice! I guess the bevels do look good. That's alot of bevels. *sighs, thinking of his Lost World WIP*

Superb work Michael,
This is really starting to come to come together now.keep up the good work.

Jay

That looks great even under the default lighting Michael! It's exciting to see it come together!

Lee

Hey All -

Ok - here's more. I'm not sure yet where the final camera angle is. I still have more of the foreground to add in. I've been trying my hand at the background mountains.

I'll keep refining as I add to the scene.


Thanks everyone for your fantastic support! You are all wonderful.

- Michael

Looking good ..will hhave to add to mine had an idea on way home tonight.

Looks good!

I know it's way early to bring it up but I will anyway ...

Just a small comment on composition. the mountain in the back behind the temple is the same shape and position as the temple. They sort of "match" and the temple gets "lost" a bit. It would be nice to see some contrast in the shapes of the foreground and background. Of course I have no idea what the final camera angle will be. Way early for these comments.

-vern

Michael,This is coming together nicely.I'm with Vern a little bit on the Temple getting a little lost in the composition at present, but once you start texturing the scene it will bring it to life so may change things a bit.

Keep up the great work.

Jay

Hey Vern & Jay - Thanks for the composition notes. That's really helpful. I doubt I'll keep the camera angle I have at the moment. Once I have everything in place, I'll see what the best camera angle is for the most visual impact. But you're right, it does get a bit lost in there.

Now, I could really use some help. So far, things have been going pretty smoothly. I haven't really run into any snags....until now.

I have begun working on the buildings that will surround the temple and I have run into a problem. I'm creating a base building, one I will duplicate and build off of for the rest of the buildings (why reinvent the wheel, right?) and I noticed that when rendered, parts of the building do not show up. but in the workspace, they are there. At first I thought perhaps this was due to the normals, but I checked those and they are all facing outward.

I've attached the images for reference. If someone has some ideas, I'd greatly appreciate it.



Thanks.
- Michael

Have you tried breaking and reconnecting the splines? Just a quick thought.

Thanks, Daniel. I gave that a try but it didn't work. So I deleted half of the building, copied, flipped and attached the other half and now it looks correct. So at least I figured out a solution .

Hi All -

Here's further progress. Now I need to add details to the surrounding grounds (and add more surrounding grounds) as well as add roofs to some of the buildings, add more stairs and more buildings to the scene.

Then it will be time to texture!

Comments are always welcome.

- Michael

I think the temple is comming along very nicely. The part that keeps thowing me off is the mountains. Im not sure if its the position of them as to apposed to the temple. I just dunno i cant put my finger on it.. If it hits me ill edit what i mean. But its to late for this sick dog..

This is coming together nicely Michael,when you start to texture the scene i might comment about the mountains but i really need to do that after the textures are laid down.The buildings are looking real good and will start to bring the scene to life once completed.

My only real niggle with the picture is i noticed the stairs are blending into the structure on some points,i don't know if that's intentional or not.

Click to view attachment

Keep up the good work Michael.

Jay

thats looking awesome Mike,

You guys are gonna be so far along you'll be able to tweek lighting and texturing forever!

I really like the way you worked the tiers and plateus into the architecture. Youd've made a good Incan ;-)

Thanks everyone for your encouragement!

Logrus - you're right, there is something a bit funky about the mountains. Part of it could be because I didn't do a full 3D model, they are 3/4. Also, the camera will not be facing quite at this angle in the finished version. I think I may also bring the camera in a bit more to crop out some of the mountains and focus more on the temple and surrounding grounds. Not sure yet. I will know as I continue to model, texture and light.

Jay thanks for pointing out those stairs. I have corrected them and will post an update of my progress soon.

Colin - thanks for creating this "little" image contest. It is really helping my A:M modeling skills enormously! I'm starting to feel almost proficient at it (let's see how I do with character modeling next ).

- Michael

Here are my latest changes. I moved the camera in a bit, moved the mountains a touch, and added more details to the surrounding grounds. I also added fog and bloom for atmosphere. Just playing around, but I like where this is heading.

Comments are always welcome .

- Michael

OMG ! Just beautiful Michael,I like where this is going.

Jay

You got a winner in the making, great stuff. Keep at it.

NICE!!!!!

Wow! It's getting a magical look about it with the fog and light. I think maybe there is a hidden treasure trove of gold up there...

I haven't looked in on you in and and wow... you've been making really great progress.
Your lost world is looking very painterly. Nice!

I'm still hoping to enter this challenge but you've made me change my theme a little.
Probably for the best though as you would have kicked my butt.

Keep it up!

This is coming along very well already, nice lighting etc

John