Do you guys usually set up your units as Metric or leave it as None?
Do you usually model the general fuselage first then wings or visa-versa, then sub-divide and cut out the moving parts, eg flaps, etc ?
Also since this aircraft has so many windows would it be advisable to cut these out in the high-poly version?
And with it having so many panels would it be advisable to make the panels as bump maps (because I had trouble making that work in Lux). Or cut them out separately from the model, see the detail that I’m talking about here (even though this photo is the Sunderland)
Thanks in advance and I’m looking forward to modelling this.
No posts? My guess is probably because there isn’t any definitive right answer to your questions but I will still give you my 2 cents. I’ve only been using blender for a couple of months now so I might not be the best one to give you advice, but I’ll still try. Besides, maybe you’ll get some more advice when people disagree with me;). Don’t worry I can take it.
1)If you are going to be the only person using this model and only going to be using Blender then units don’t really matter too much. If you are going to be importing other models to this scene or exporting this model to another modeling program then metric might help keep things consistent(but then again that’s what scaling is for). Also, metric might be a little easier to visualize, but that’s also a personal preference.
2)I would start at the fuselage, but that really doesn’t matter too much. I would model the plane as one mesh(with some exceptions like landing gear) then separate what you have to later. Are you going to sub-divide like crazy or are you going to use sub-surface? I’m also assuming you are mirroring so you’re only drawing one side.
3)There might be an easier way to do the windows, but if you are determined to separate them then I would separate the faces after the fuselage is modeled and or delete faces then add planes or cubes for the windows(the windows don’t actually have to be separate from the fuselage to apply separate materials).
I would do bump maps. If you are going to go crazy with the polys, then don’t forget displacement maps. I don’t think there is much to be gained from modeling them individually.
Also you might want to get a few pics of your progress so we have a better idea of what you are trying to do. Plus it might help tailor replies to your experience level. I amused by all the tutorials you are new to Blender.
Good luck.
I wouldn’t worry about scale at this point as when you are done with the model, it can be scaled according to other objects. Blender units are extremely flexible. All you need is an accurate sets of plans or blueprints to work from.
I would model the fuselage first then do the wings. Once you have the basic fuselage and wings done then I would do my cut-outs and details the model further.
As far as the windows go, I would cut them out of the low-poly version first and then refine the mesh by adding subdivisions and refining the details from there.
Cut the panels out separately from the model. I don’t recommend doing bump maps as you will be dependent on the texture and render resolutions. I try to avoid using textures and bump maps when I can actually model the object in question.
Of course, you will develop your own workflow and preferences for modeling. I tend to like to model the details rather than using textures. It depends whether you want a low-poly model or a high-poly model, and how detailed you want your render to be.
In Photoshop the dimensions all seem to be at the right length, but when I set it up in Blender the length of the wing is short in the front view when the other viewss seem right???
