Fanboy [Robot, help please]

[FuzzMaster]

cool

so, here’s my dilemma:

1. I’m not finished it, and I can’t because I’m not familiar with modeling robotics. I’m not sure how I should go about modeling a flexible arm that would be able to move around and still be plausible.

2. Not complex enough. Just my opinion, but I feel like it could use a looot more details. Wires, gears, I don’t know. You tell me what I should do because I’m not sure :X

3. Is it mechanically plausible? Does it at least give the illusion of something that could hypothetically exist?

Thanks. I’ll update this when I get the opportunity to work on it.

[Smoking_mirror]

Looks good, you should carry on in the same style.

Many modern robots keep all the wires and gears and whatnot covered up with shiny plastic casing. If you want to go with an I-mac look you could always make the casing partly transparent and model some details inside.

With joints, just use an enclosed ball joint. Check the robot here
for a good idea of how to do an enclosed ball joint.

Anything more mechanical will limit your rigging.

I plan to do a much more mechanical robot, with real open joints, and I’m spending a lot of time just thinking of how to create the joints. They have to be realistic, but I also want them to move correctly when rigged. Planning is the most important part of a mechanical model.

[FuzzMaster]

yea yea yea huge render, my bad. Changed outer hull completely to allow room for arm sockets, removed skeletal structure thing, opted out of medicare, and changed design to be more… ipoddy.
Should note that’s only shoulder/upper arm, not finished arm yet. They aren’t that stubby ;{

[Smoking_mirror]

Hey, that’s a really good mechanical solution to the enclosed ball joint (or here I guess it’s a partly enclosed ball joint).

I may have to steal some of those ideas for myself…

On the other hand, I think the contrast between the dark skeletal structure and the light body worked quite well. Often it’s good to have two or more different materials in a robot’s construction. It makes it look more like a real construction, where different materials are used depending on the requirements of the construction.

For example, metal is strong and hardy, but it’s also heavy so you wouldn’t want to mae the whole robot using it. It’s best to leave it for just the skeleton. Plastic on the other hand is good for casing or covers but is useless for structural features.

[FuzzMaster]

Considering making some alterations to the upper part of arm to make it seem a bit more mechanical.

edit: shader test

[Doublez]

This is a good idea. Do you plan to animate this? Maybe you could add some small wires around the joints that stick out. Not everything can be concelled in the “skelleton”.

[FuzzMaster]

I plan to rig it and tell myself I’ll animate it then shelf it and start something else

IT’S THE FUZZMASTER WAY!

[FuzzMaster]

added WIPish legs, neck, fixed pelvis and lengthened arms.