Jason's BATs & Tutorials

[Jasoncw 11,840]

 

TUTORIALS

Below is a listing of tutorials found throughout my BAT thread. Clicking on the link will take you to that post in this thread.

GARDENER CENTER GLASS

This entry explains the reflective metal coated glass material I created for Gardener Center.

 

NIGHT WINDOWS WITH SELF ILLUMINATION

This tutorial explains how to make nitelites using the self illumination feature of the Arch & Design material in 3ds Max 9 and newer.

 

DERIVING DIMENSIONS (BRUTALIST FACADE PART 1)

How to use Google Earth and Adobe Photoshop to figure out the dimensions of the Central Scotland Police Headquarters' Brutalist
facade will be explained. This method is applicable to all facades. Part 2 covers how to model it.

 

BASIC POLY MODELING (BRUTALIST FACADE PART 2)

Extruding splines is the most commonly used method to create walls and other objects, but many forms can't be made by extruding
splines. This tutorial explains how to create the basic shape of brutalist facade shown above, using the Extrude and Outline tools.

 

SNAPS AND THE TRANSFORM TYPE-IN BOXES

Being able to work accurately is essential for making clean, easy-to-work-on models. This entry covers Snaps, and the Transform
Type-In boxes.

 

TEXTURING SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY INSTEAD OF MODELING IT

This entry offers advice on texturing subtle surface topography, like that found in relief carvings, spandrels, and ornament.

 

CREATING BRICKS IN PHOTOSHOP

Finding or creating brick textures that are large, have a lot of variation, and look good in SimCity can be a long and tedious ordeal.
Here's a technique for creating good bricks quickly.

 

GREEN ROOF

This entry explains how to poly model large areas of green roof, and how to create random variation in the grass material.

 

BRISE SOLEIL

This entry explains how to use a material to make the louvers instead of modeling them.

 

CATWALKS AND FENCES

This tutorial explains how to use a combination of polygon modeling, splines, and materials to quickly make catwalks, railing, fire escapes, and more.

 

REFLECTIVE METAL

Learn how to make reflective metal materials.

 

MANAGING WINDOWS

Tips for window modeling and materials that are easy to make, modify, and that don't clutter your scene.

 

NIGHT GROUND PLANE (SQUIGGLY NIGHT REFLECTIONS)

Learn how to represent reflected streetlife lights on your facade.

 

MASKING UNDERGROUND OBJECTS 

The most convenient way of masking parts of your building that are underground, like sunken plazas.

 

MAKING BUSHES (NOISY BOX METHOD)

Learn how to make a bush starting from a box.

 

MAKING BUSHES (PREMADE METHOD)

Tips on downloading premade bushes from online.

 

MAKING BUSHES (PARTICLE FLOW METHOD)

Learn how to make bushes using PClouds.

BATS

2022

• Turtle Publishing
• Target
• Savisaar Insurance
• Denton Corporation
• Beacon Apartments
• Wellman Building
• Apple Store Pack
• Continental Bank and Trust
• Kallax Residential
• Norfair Corporation

2021

• D.B. Franklin Co.
• Farrand's Department Store
• Murray Museum of Modern Art
• Albee Amphitheater
• Judith Krug Branch Library
• Morrow Building
• Union Bank Plaza

2020

• 2 Commerce Street
• Great Lakes EMS Academy
• Wellington Place

2019

• Hathaway Tower
• Residencial Rachel de Queiroz
• Guardian Building

2016

• Trier Tower V2
• Roosevelt Circle
• 994 Vargas Avenue
• Windsor Atlantica Hotel

2015

• Warwick Square
• Oakland Tribune
• Grand Haven Lighthouse
• Big Red Lighthouse
• 220 West Congress
• Porto Ponta Negra Residence
• Design Research
• Northern Trust Bank

2014

• M Maria Branch Library V2
• Le Shangri-La
• Telus Plaza South
• Telus Plaza North
• MacDonald Station
• Telus Park
• Motown Museum
• Anchor Bar
• Paulo Victor Condominiums
• Aphrodite's Garden

2013

• Charlotte Apartments
• Penobscot Building
• Telus Plaza
• Heroult-Deville
• Sojot Building V2
• Oliver Place Apartments
• Oliver Place
• Equitable Bank and Trust
• Blackburn Tower
• Kerrytown Apartments

2012

• Inland Steel Building
• Hillier Building
• LaVaughn BioTech
• Sturgeon Building
• Anthony Bikes
• Sundry Building

2011

• Scarab Club
• Frosch Elementary
• US Bank Center
• Air Filter (1x1 Round)
• Toledo Glass Pavilion

2010

• One Woodward Avenue
• Music Hall
• Gardener Center
• Byron Building
• Grosse Pointe Public Library
• Queralt Hotel

2009

• 211 West Fort Street
• Oullette Electronics
• Trier Tower
• Air Filter
• Modern Walk-Ups
• Farnsworth House
• Trier Station
• Oehler Building

2008

• J.W. Reid Building
• Nafmis Department Store
• Roth's Department Store
• Brisco's Department Store
• Barcelona Pavilion
• TruNite Rig and Tutorial
• Jasoncw CamLight Rig and Tutorial
• The Pylon
• Patrol Car Lot
• Central Police Station
• M. Maria Branch Library
• The Knoll Building
• Benjamin Pump
• Perry Station

2007

• VanWingerden Plaza C
• VanWingerden Plaza B
• VanWingerden Plaza A
• A. D. Rean Branch Library
• Happy Camera & Brei Market
• Chase Tower
• Marietta Hotel
• Washington Square Arch
• The Sojot Building
• The Olde Building

2006

• The Audubon Building
• The Vinton Building
• Chicago Water Tower
• HK Pawn Shop
• Regal Theater
• Pearl Place
• Train Station Set
• Wagner & Diehl
• Snow Modd
• The Detroit Free Press Building
• Fisk Insurance

2005

• Mary Hotel
• Wagner Hotel
• Medium Sized Train Station
• Small Train Station
• 3 Houses
• Monkey-Dragon Games
• Poirer's Pictures

mipro
Recreations
Releases from 2009 and earlier do not include DarkNite versions.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/4765/simdfpb50003mq.jpg align=baseline border=2>

 

 

I started texturing the Detroit Free Press building, and finished the modeling in the back of the building (not shown).  I started out with a grey texture like the real building, but it looked realy bad so I added some brown to it.  I'm happy with the texture since I made it from scratch.  This building is for the Barry Sanders Project and I posted this update in that thread too.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Whoa, nice! Gotta love that wall texture and the windows... so detailed and realistic!

[Kwakelaar 92]

That is indeed a beautiful wall texture, and the model is looking great too.

[jacqulina 162]

nice work

[Hordijk 18]

This is really good looking keep it up!!..

[cammo2003 20]

Great building you've got going there!

[Woko 2]

WooW!! It's nice jason!!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I haven't worked on the Free Press building very much since I last posted.  After I spend a certain amount of time on something I get sick of it and don't work very hard when I work on it.  So I'm going to wait untill I realy want to work on it so that it'll turn out good.  Next I need to texture the roof and add stuff to it.  The highest roof used to have a sun deck on it for the women employees, so that will take more concentration and effort than other things.  I'll probably use some models off the stex if there are any, I need to look through it.

I basicly finished a 1x1 tile house in for the chicago tileset (but based off a detroit house) but then the file corrupted and I lost alot (but not most) as well as my motivation to finish it.  I had actualy opened the file so that I could do final touches and render it, but it was corrupt...  Now I use the feature that makes a new file name every time you save, and I save pretty often.  I have about 50 files for the detroit free press building now I need to delete some.

 

I've been working on some of my sim mars buildings while taking a break from the Free Press building, so here are some pictures of that.  The buildings aren't done, but I've done almost everything I can do to the bottom one.  it needs a new window texture, I think that's the main problem with it.  If I can't improve it, I'll have to ditch the bottom building.  I realy like the top building, I think people will enjoy seeing it grow when they play sim mars.  It's a 2x2. 

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/7420/simmars1324vp.jpg align=baseline border=2>

 

I think my buildings turn out better when I have a concept that I'm working towards when I make them, even if they end up being something different.  For example, the top building was origonaly going to be a factory, and the result was one of those 5 story sections, except 2x4 instead of what it is now.  Then I decided the porportions where off on it so I made it slightly taller, but then it was too tall to be a factory, so I made it an office tower, and added details and reworked things untill it is what you see now.  The only idea I was working for on the bottom building was that it would be 3 wedges connected together by skybridges, I didn't have any idea for what the details.  On the top building the idea for the factory came from those windows.

[Hordijk 18]

I'm not really fond of marsian buildings but it looks really good!!!....

[Jasoncw 11,840]

I started a small 1x2 trainstation.  Since the walls of the station are so thick, the platforms will have to be very narrow.  The railroad texture is only temporary, it was so that I'd have an idea of where the platforms (which haven't been started) would be.

 

I was also going to put a door in that open space where a door would go, but then I figured that most of the ends are open anyways, so who needs a door when there is a 15 meter opening a few feet away?

 

It was origonaly going to be the end of the railroad, but I figured it would be too small to be remotely realistic.

 

The roof is still under construction.  It hasn't been textured or anything yet, but it will be a curved copper roof.  I re-used a texture from the Detroit Free Press building on the columns.  Even though this train station doesn't actualy exist, I think they might look nice together.

[sharkbait16 0]

Interesting. I really like the style of these buildings.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1678/simtrainstation25ca.jpg align=baseline border=3>

Added the decorative railing, and the rest of the red metal stuff on the arch.  I still need to get a railroad texture that is aligned on a plane or something.  The one I'm using now is just a cropped screenshot from the lot editor.  I would just add in the rails as a texture in the lot editor, but then the windows would end up realy dark since they wouldn't have anything to be transparent with. 

 

I think the roof texture looks ok, except that the additional lack of color on the building makes it kind of depressing.  I think anyone waiting at the train station would feel so horrible by the time the train comes that they'd just jump infront of it as it goes by...  but I haven't done the inside yet, which will be brighter and more colorful.  Other than the lack of color, the roof is realy plain looking.  Becuase of the nature of the building and roof, I'm not sure what roof junk I could add.  or does it look fine now?

[Stormtrooper 2]

I been wating for a new station.

[ardecila 124]

What texture do you put on your glass? I noticed it on the Train Shed, where the glass has some wonderful shading on it that makes it look 1920s-ish.

Do you use a bitmap, or just an opacity map, and, if so, what opacity and color values?

Thanks - I just really like that glass.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Thanks for the comments everyone

ardecila: I'm glad you like the glass!  I use bitmaps for all my windows, ussualy they are just a color, with a gradient, random shapes, and random colors.  I set the opacity to around 60 I think.  I have another set of window textures (the ones that are on the Detroit Free Press building, and Mary Arms) which are off google.  Those have the opacity set at 100%.

 

If you pm me with your e-mail I can send you which ever window textures you'd like, just tell me which buildings windows you want.  Some of them are in .psd becuase I find it's easier to modify them as you go along that way.

 

Stormtrooper: I see you've been lurking for a while, I'm honored you put your first post in my thread!

[marie 1]

Your train station is excellent. I really like the atmosphere it gives. I will wait for this BAT. Thank you.

[Hordijk 18]

Nice!!!.... man I like the old style of the train station.

[gascooker 4]

Very interesting stuff - i like the solidity of your designs.

[vester_DK 477]

I really like that staion. I would like a version with the size 1x3 or 1x4.

Ill Tonkso used a texture from I japanese mine to his station. Well with mixed result.

[Glenni 1,444]

thats one fine station dude!!!!!!!!!!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

Thanks for the comments everyone

I've gotten a better rail texture, so I did that and the platforms.  I did some nightlighting, but nothing special.  I also worked on the LODs, so that you can see the train go through.  They're turning out to be sorta complex, but not too bad.

 

This shouldn't take too long to render, so I'll make a 2x3(or 4?) version.  Maybe a 1x4 version too.  Alot of people zone things in 4 tiles, so if:

 

0AAAA0

RXXXXR

RXXXXR

RXXXXR

 

R being a road, X being a zone tile, 0 being a rail line crossing a road, and A being the train station.  Then both roads can utilize the same station.

 

The texture Ill Tonkso used was a texture to be used in the lot editor, while the texture I needed was for the BAT.  I did end up just taking a realy close screenshot from the lot editor, but when you have an overlay texture selected, the base texture goes grey (becuase it's deselected), and vice versa, so I had to correct the texture a little.

[+Guest]

Hi Jason,

 

I really like your station.very functional and decorative. The 1x4 type sounds good to me. It would certainly be a very good size to fit into my towns. The roofcollour is a good choice as well I believe. I would leave the roof as it is or you could add those murky rooflanterns(if that is the right word in english) wich you often see on roofs of older stations and factories.

 

Just some food for thought. If you would raise your station. would that not make it a beautifull railstation for elevated or monorail? In my opinion it would fit in neatly with New York and Chicago style cities.

 

BTW the free press building really looks good with those collours.

 

LL

 

[sharkbait16 0]

It still seems a little short. I remember train stations going the length of a couple blocks.

[toxicpiano 125]

it's cool!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

LadyLettuce: An elevated rail stop wouldn't be too hard to make, that's definitly a possiblity.  Plus, el rails where more common in the days of the New York and Chicago tilesets, while the game doesn't have any stations from those periods.  I'm probably not going to add any of those styled lamps into the BAT, but I think I'll add them in the lot editor.  The monorail would be similair.  There might be a difficulty with these though, both of them use models made in gmax, as far as I know.  I would have to model the monorail and el rail tracks, and then find out the exact height and stuff.  I could probably just ask someone who has made a good el/monorail to send me part of their file or something.

sharkbait16: That's very true, but I think the STEX already has enough huge stations.  The origonal intention of this station was to be able to plop it in those little spaces downtown, where you want a station to increase ridership, reduce the road congestion and to increase pedestrain traffic.  And the platforms inside my trainstation are only about 3 meters deep, and the yellow (do not pass) line on the ground is about half a meter in, so realy, there isn't anywhere to even stand. but there are benches.  I guess they just kinda scoot on the bench and then when the train comes they stand up and they're on the train or something!

 

toxicpiano: thanks!

 

There isn't anything new to report, I haven't touched the trainstation since I last updated.  I've been playing Final Fantasy VI.  My gau does either two 9999s, or two ~6000, and I'm about to make it 8   (edit: actualy 4, I thought merit award let you equip two weapons) I also have Celes, who is second strongest, and she does the parties big magic, I have locke, but since I picked him up last in the WoR he's a few levels weaker than the rest of the party.  Then there's Terra, who does 2 attacks of around 3,000.  I use gau as a healing battery for healing outside of battles, since doesn't use much magic during battles.  He used to have runningshoes (automatic haste) and blackbelt (random counterattacking), but now he has the merit award (can equip weapons) and the one relic that lets you hold two weapons.  I'm going for the Wind God Gau, which he will be the next time I play.  Of course no credit goes to me, since I didn't discover it or anything, I read about it online.  My goal this time around while playing was to use characters that I normaly wouldn't, which was why I used gau, terra and locke (both of them where too weak when I found them in the WoR for me to continue them last time I played.  I only had one party of good characters and the rest where low levels, so they averaged out to return to me at low levels).  Umaro, Mog, Edgar, and Sabin are my second team, everyone is about 5 levels lower than the other party except for Edgar who is at the same level as the other party.  I'll try to incorperate Gogo once I get him.  I never played him at all, so it'll be fun to explore what he does.  I had never played Umaro either, but uh, there isn't much to explore with him...

 

Well, that's enough about FFVI

[Jasoncw 11,840]

The 1x2 version has been rendered, and has it's lot made and everything.  Right now it's going to be tested and tweaked and stuff.  There is one problem that might require a re-render, but the render took alot less time than I thought it would anyways, so that might not be too bad. 

[zmveliger 16]

I really like the train station. The black roof is nice but the first picture gave me an idea... It should be interesting to put a copper roof - an old one with a lot of green oxidation.

Looking forward its release!!!

[Jasoncw 11,840]

My origonal plan was to have a copper roof but I couldn't get it to look good so I changed it.  The black roof texture that's on it now is actualy my copper roof texture that's just been made black instead of green.

I'm working on the roof deck (during World War II there was a roof deck for all of the new women emplyees).  It's been surprisingly hard to find a wooden deck texture!  I thought that would be a commonly made texture but I guess not.  I made a nice roof texture for the building though, it's the black asphault kind, but I bet the real building has a grey roof.

 

Edit: A picture!

 

 

I think I'm going to have to end up making the chairs white or grey or something.  There's so much color on the deck that I think it draws attention away from the rest of the building, and I can't change the rest of the building becuase it's from real life.

[Hordijk 18]

The idea with the deck is really something I like!!!...
I do agree with you that making the chairs grey/white is the best for the whole picture....