Alright, I have the model converted, the next task is working on the textures (which are all in TIFF format and need to be converted to something usable with blender)
Actually I am going to work on that in Lightwave, see if I can get all the textures converted and remapped, then try another import. The more textures the import script can map, the less manual work for me!
Anyway here is an initial screen shot:
So. Let me get this straight…
You didni’t do the model in Blender.
You aren’t doing the textures in Blender.
What are you using Blender for??
I’m not trying to be a smart-ass, I really am curious.
Rapid protyping & animatics mainly. Blender’s quick rendering engine is great for those tasks to create demos of how scenes will look for client demos.
The model already has textures, they just happen to be in a format that Blender doesn’t read and therefore need to be converted. I am using Photoshop for that. It’s just quicker for me to retexture the thing in lightwave using the current model and just change the textures from the .TIF versions to the .jpg versions and the reimport into Blender. I can do that in an hour, two minutes to import in blender, make any adjustments the import scripts miss, and the next day upload the models for others to use.
I am beyond the spending a month to texture something by hand any more, I just don’t have the extra time. Hell, I had the stormtrooper conversion done since September, I just now had enough time to sit down and upload it and post about it.
Currently I don’t see any SW driod fighter meshes at Blenderwars or the BMR site. I have the tools to make a conversion, so I’m doing it. Most of those models, especially sci-fi ones, for blender are almost all imported from the work others did for programs such as 3D studio Max and Lightwave.
Then on another technical level, I’m exploring the use of Blender with Apple’s Xgrid technology. I maintain the ScreamernetII system at work and we’re a nearly 100% Apple shop (Final Cut Pro), and Blender is one of the few programs out there not developed by Apple that will work with Xgrid. Again, that is more of a hobby project a home between my Powermac and two MacMini’s I use as rendering agents.