This is my first attempt to model something complicated without a tutorial. I was designing it for CG Weekly Challenge but my new computer died and I was unable to go further. I hope I didn’t lose my balloon.
I worked very hard on the design. I have never seen a real balloon so I had conceptualize most of it myself. I wanted an 18th or early 19th century balloon.
I am just a beginner.
Please let let me know how to improve.
That sucks. The model is not bad at all.
Design:
Designing things needs research and references, even if it’s fiction.
The balloon feels small. Wikipedia says that smallest balloon that carry one person without a basket is about 10 meters in diameter, and based on the pictures, it might be for modern ones that are able to use lighter materials
The design could also use something that puts it in right era. Using ropes and other natural materials is one thing that tells it’s old, but some design elements or details could tell more. Seeing that the first manned flight was in almost 1800
the first tethered balloon flight with humans on board took place on October 19, 1783 with the scientist Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, the manufacture manager, Jean-Baptiste Réveillon and Giroud de Villette, at the Folie Titon in Paris.
So if it’s from 1800’s, they probably tried everything, looks like nets were a thing. Perhaps it could also include something that wouldn’t make sense in a good design but what they could’ve used, like wooden basket or decorations on fabric. If it’s from 1900, the design would be more refined, like you have now, just more that would put it in that era. I haven’t done my homework on hot balloon history but you probably get the idea.
Modeling, texturing:
The balloon doesn’t seem round enough, maybe a modeling problem. The texture detail on it clashes with the ropes and the basket. It might be a matte material and wouldn’t reflect that much, dirty even, but it looks blurry compared to other detail.
The vertical ropes would probably go in the deeper grooves (seams) in the fabric. The horizontal rope around it would probably have some deformation on it, not 3D model straight.
Presentation:
If you don’t want to build a whole scene but want to showcase the design and the model, could think more about the presentation. For example
A mockup
Could put it against some old map or so. Could maybe add some sketches and/or silhouettes of the competition or history of the designs before it. Perhaps show extra renders next to it about some specific details on the balloon. This would reinforce the idea that it’s an old balloon, not a new one, it would also showcase that it’s your design and what design decisions you made.
Not to forget composition in such presentation either. Text is a hotspot for the eye, if the whole model is on the left and you show smaller renders of the details, should put those on the right to balance the image. Or balance it with other means.
Just an example that might give you ideas.
For better examples, could do a google image search for “concept art airship” and see how concept guys showcase their designs. Those are quite amazing. Don’t be overwhelmed by the awesomeness though, just look for their decisions on why they choose to show their design like they do and what they put in the background. Those could give some inspiration for model presentation.
I think they were able to back up my drive. I see what you mean about the size of the balloon. I’m wondering if I should make the balloon bigger or basket smaller.
I loved the netted ropes but I have to be honest, me and Bézier curves don’t get along. They have to be easier than I make them out to be or nobody would use them.
When I get my computer back I can make the changes then.
Thank you for all your advise,
Ang
FYI you can snap the control points of your curves to the surface using surface snapping ( same as retopo ). Nice though.
The mouth is likely to be somewhat proportional to the basket, otherwise should be able to scale whichever you choose.
Could learn how to make them if you have to have those. My point with the details was that have a reason to include everything you put in there. If you have one, it helps to tell a story, and together with other design elements it makes the whole believable and interesting. The story might be part of historical accuracy, or part of fictional story you want to tell, but it would help including design ideas that also make sense to the viewer.
Curves aren’t good for everything. Lots and lots of detail described with real geometry (or with a lot of big textures) will also bite the available resources at some point. It’s also possible to make the detail so small that the rendering resolution is not enough to show them at all, or the detail within the detail is lost, so might as well leave that detail out. Also it’s more realistic to have less visible detail as the distance to the camera increases. Human eyes can’t see high detail far away, so it’s the foreground that looks more detailed in comparison.
As an example of saving resources, the vertical ropes you have around the balloon I would make one and have the rest be instances of the first one, which saves memory.
Another is that if you have nets with thin lines it wouldn’t make much sense to model each line if they’re not seen very close anyway. Could have a tileable texture as the lines and knots, and then make them repeat over a geometry. That could look just as good at a distance as modeled net, but would take much less resources.
An example of detail that would require high resolution image to even display it. Here’s a menger sponge I made
Each hole size increases the level the sponge has. That one has 6 different sized holes so level 6 sponge, over 230 million polygons in a 2560x2048 image. The smallest holes in it are very small, and if I wanted to render level 7 sponge and include the whole sponge, I would have to render 3 times higher and wider image (9 times the area) to preserve the smallest detail.
I like it. If you want to pursue the net option you might look at this microphone tutorial. It use a technique create a weave and cast it to a spherical shape. Can jump to about 7:15 to see the actual warping of the mesh to see if it might be something that could work for you.
