Earwax_Man's BAT Showcase!

[earwax_man 18]

In this thread, I'll post teasers of my newest and nearly finished BATs. So stay tuned!

*NOTE* Please give constructive criticism!

The Sutherland Centre:

The Sutherland Centre - Day

The Sutherland Centre - Night

Download here

[Xyloxadoria 1,099]

The modeling itself looks pretty decent but there is one thing that makes it look bad. The bricks are too big. Look at a real life building and you will notice that bricks are much smaller than what you have now.

[Vahr 341]

Earwax: Well that looks pretty good so far! The reason why the top is getting cut off is because you have to refit the LODs (BAT>Settings>Refit LODs)

Vince

[earwax_man 18]

Thank you. I'll reupload a picture soon

*Edit* It's changed

[Kryptowhite 9]

More importantly you need an entrance to this building.

[earwax_man 18]

Updated

I changed the size of the bricks, and added a rectangle around the top

[earwax_man 18]

I haven't been able to BAT for a little while, but since then; I've switched to 3DS MAX 9!

So now I'll be learning to use the new functions in it. I hope it'll be as easy as GMax

[earwax_man 18]

Hey everyone,

This is my newest BAT in developement, but I need to know what you think of the building shape; and what needs to be improved on.

This is the Sinkiang Business Centre.

 

One last thing, how can I extrude the arc downwards?

[Kryptowhite 9]

^ your better off just using the boolean tool. If you don't know how to, all you have to do is make two shapes. One, the shape that will end up being your finished product. Two, the shape that your cutting out of the object. To give you a simple example, imagine object 1 is a solid wall, and object 2 is a box 2 meters by 2 meters, that intersects the wall by 1 meter. You would select object 1, go to the rollout at the top, select compound objects, boolean, pick boolean, and then select object 2. A 2x2x1 hole would then be cut into the wall. Play around with it a bit and then i'm sure you'll know how you can make that shape you want.

As for the design, i don't particularly like it. I see what your going for, one of those modern asian tower looks, however, I think you need to look at bit more at some reference photos to get an idea of the features your trying to make. Good luck with this though, when done right those towers can be really cool.

[madhatter106 3,903]

Originally posted by: Kryptowhitehowever, I think you need to look at bit more at some reference photos to get an idea of the features your trying to make. Good luck with this though, when done right those towers can be really cool.quote>

Quoted for emphasis - do an extensive google image search and start building up a reference library of building images along the lines of what you are trying to BAT.  This last building, as well as your first, looks like something which was dreamed up out of thin air.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing outright, but if you're looking for any air of realism or believability, it's better to work from research.  And who knows, all that digging may lead to images which give you lots of new ideas and input...

[earwax_man 18]

I have finished a landmark for practice. How does it look?

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I hope this doesn't come off too harsh, but I'm just going to be straightforward. 

If you were visiting Simtropolis, and you saw a gigantic sword on the STEX, would you get excited, download it, and gleefully plop it around you city?  How much have you used the giant sword so far since you've made it?  Before now, while playing the game, have you ever felt the need to plop a giant sword in your cities?

About "how does it look?", I could tell you ways that it could be improved, but I don't think you are looking for ways to improve it, because you uploaded it immediately after asking.  I will say though, that you don't need anyone else to tell you how it looks, because you can look at it yourself and be your own judge.  So I'll reverse the question, and ask you how you think it looks.

All of these questions are rhetorical.  The point of this message is to help you see the bigger picture, so that you can get down to business and make the quality BATs that you're capable of. 

Also, the sword you made isn't a katana.

[earwax_man 18]

This is what I've done so far on a practice fountain.

 

But I still have to change the purplish texture and scale it down a little. Does it look like a real fountain besides that?

[JakeMD 107]

As I said in the chat, the texture is too purple and bright.

[earwax_man 18]

Originally posted by: SWAT-MEDIC

As I said in the chat, the texture is too purple and bright. quote>

"But I still have to change the purplish texture and scale it down a little. Does it look like a real fountain besides that?"

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Go to google or flickr.com and search for fountains, and find the type of fountain that you want to make. Recreate that fountain. Carefully judge the dimensions from the photograph.

I was recently searching for a tutorial on how to observe detail. I didn't spend very much time searching so I didn't find anything worth sharing, but one of the pages worded something really well.

It said that when drawing (or in this case BATing), you want to make what is actually there, and not your preconceived notion of what is there.

You've modeled a very abstract simple preconceived "fountain". It has a tube for the walls and another tube inside and some blue stuff for water. I put fountain in quotations, because you modeled the idea of a fountain, and not a fountain itself.

I hope that made sense. I don't know how to explain it very well. But I think this (good observation) is the key to good BATing.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

I can only echo what Jason said. Making something that looks abstractly like a fountain, does not necessarily make it a fountain. Art, and drawing, has a similar flow as learning how to 3D model. You have to practice representing real things (sometimes over and over) to really understand how they should look in life, not just in your minds eye.

I truly abhor and loath this quote, but its relevance is undeniable: "God is in the details"

Especially if those details aren't some ornate decoration, their absence can leave the scene looking awkward, bare, and not a lot like what you intend it to look like. You are trying to convince the viewer that the jumble of geometry is not just boxes, cylinders, and so on, but a real functioning object. Creating that illusion can be difficult, but it is the line between having a fountain, and something that kinda looks like a fountain.

Textures are another matter entirely, right now I think you just need to keep practicing on modeling and continually familiarize yourself with the BAT itself. If you have trouble creating the shape you need, you can always ask about that too

-Todd

[earwax_man 18]

Thanks all, but I was basing this one on the main fountain in Sansoucci, Postdam, Berlin

I know it didn't really come off as well as I hoped, but I was hoping to recreate something like that go improve my textures/modeling.

I guess I should ask this:

"What should I BAT?"

As I'm not really sure myself. I like making skyscrapers, but I should start off smaller. I know I should follow REAL dimension, and not guess off grids in 3dsmax.

[simoly 1]

They are all very cool.

[simoly 1]

They are all very cool.

[Simcity player 13]

maybe you should do something like a mid-rise apartment block?

[madhatter106 3,903]

Just quickly looking at the fountain that you've BATted, the walls are maybe five or six feet high.  Judging roughly by the trees and what a Sim might stand at. 

Then look at the picture of the fountain you posted that you were modelling from - the thing is basically flat...it's the height of the pedestrians' (or SIMS') ankles.  There's too much of a disconnect between what you're using as research and what you're putting into BAT...

As far as using the Potsdam fountain the improve your texturing and modelling, I can think of ten thousand other things much more beneficial from which to learn - this fountain is practically a flat circle, so there's not much to model. 

I see this question often on forums like this - "what should I BAT?"  Well, what do you want  to BAT?  What interests you, what does SimCity need, what will you see through to the end?  My suggestion is to take a building which interests you, something not crazy complex, even if it's a single story or two, and try BATting that from start to finish, with textures and lighting - getting the scale right, the dimensions right, and in keeping with something that could fit in with the other buildings in SC4.

[earwax_man 18]

Well I'd like to do modern skyscrapers, not crazy ones; but maybe a stage 8 CO$$$ with a 45 degree twist. Maybe buildings that would look nice in a modern city using the atex tubes I'm modding? Maybe something that resembles the modern look of DMScorpio's BATs but can fit into a nice skyline. Maybe Beijing.

[earwax_man 18]

After a short hiatus, I'm back modelling with 3ds Max 8. This is a building I made in about 40 minutes. I still have to do lots more work on the base, more modelling, roof junk, props and I want to add realistic reflections.

What makes a good base, and how could I add reflections?

This is it so far:

Based on the Bahn Tower in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.

[Evillions 552]

Well it does have a good base as you said. Since you have 3dsmax, you should model the walls easier than gmax. I would try to had floors in your buildings and other interior stuff. It gives "life" to the building when you're doing nightlighting, or not if you're using awful maxis nightmaps. Also, to stop with the thing

"How do you make textures" thing. Here's a tip:

Good textures are made, not found

Anyways, good luck on your BAT and hope to see more!

[earwax_man 18]

I didn't say anything about making textures... I was just wondering how could I make reflections; and I'm not asking anyone to make them for me either. I'm just wondering how.