Design & Model Portfolio Amy-Louise Gowland | P4039865
The Viper Probe Droid
Introduction
1.7m
Height: 1.6m Manufacturer: Arakyd Industries R: 176 G: 168 B: 151
Area of Operation: Deep-space exploration & Reconnaissance First Appearance: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
R: 137 G: 123 B: 107
R: 101 G: 94 B: 88
Weaponry: Blaster Cannon & Self-destruct mechanism
Research Orange/red tones to lens glass R: 90 G: 35 B: 19
4 unique lens designs
Lights on head of droid emit light, opportunity to add points of interest.
A B
Fine indented detail, could be achieved using alphas and normal map painting. Sturdy underbody, droid can clearly support weight of arms.
A Lots of detail duplication B Fine surface scratcb detail, relatively matte surfaces.
Research cont.
Concept for animated Star Wars Rebels, details how the asset is designed to hover rather than walk.
Accurate depiction of scale
C
Plan to incorporate the films’ red shade, in detailed elements on the mesh. R: 139 G: 36 B: 53
C
Main parts of mesh, e.g. body and lenses are of a simplistic shape. Star Wars vehicles often have lots of finer detail, such as rivets around seams.
Blueprint for droid shows simple fragments for modelling. Will focus on creating body, head & arm meshes.
Material Research
Metals
Glasses Painted metal when scratched reveals a shiny brighter metal. Scratches are greater around areas of use, e.g. locks and triggers. Glass that is in areas of high use, e.g. bus shelters becomes more opaque with increased scratching. Slight reflectivity, coloured glass has slight mottled patches + roughness.
Material Reference
A
Standard Metal
Tint
Steel Gun Painted
C B
B
Steel Rust Surface
Steel Rust & Wear
Finish Rough
R: 101 G: 94 B: 88
Finish Rough
R: 137 G: 37 B: 55
Red Metal Variation
A Steel Gun Painted
+
+
+
C
+
+
+
Steel Rust Surface
Steel Rust & Wear
Glass Lens
OR Glass Visor
Glass Dirty
R: 90 G: 35 B: 19
Additional Detail
Small lens indentations slightly to intricate to model in time scale. Will use a simplistic line alpha, and masking to create this effect.
Top of droid natural place for ventilation, will place buttons in small clusters.
Lots of rivets to highlight areas of interest, too small to individually model. Imprinted rather than on top of mesh, soft gradient around alpha produces different result.
Larger detail will be modelled, but to reduce geometry, handles and buttons can be added to replicate the intricate detail.
Full View Concepts
Final
Modification
Original
Design Process
Removed the top of the pod.
Initially decided to remove the gun, in an effort to make the model appear more simplistic and clean.
Planned to involve an organic element, by adding a robotic brain. Added additional light detail in the form of small LEDs.
Settled for a more simplistic redesign of the initial concept. Also, simplified the amount of lenses, incorporated some as flood lights.
Added a droid identifier number, final design did not include either of these – and was a replica of the original concept.
Colourisation
The final colour scheme is more akin to the original design of the droid from the films.
Final
Modification
The original colour scheme was intended to be a lighter variation of the Star Wars concept. The blue and pinks shades in the robo-brain were an attempt to replicate the shades present in the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ pallete.
I decided however to add warmth to the light – in an attempt to tie all of the colours together.
Body
Detail
Lens Tint
Light
Body
Detail
Lens Tint
Light
Paint Over
In an attempt to better understand how to go about approaching the texturing of my model, I first painted over a render of my mesh. The image on the right shows a concept I tried to mimic.
Structure Sheet
Front
Left
Right
Structure Sheet cont.
Top
Perspective
Back
Bottom
Arm
UV Maps Arm
The arm consisted of lots of small repeated meshes. In order to make packing easier, I used the ‘Pack Together’ tool to push these into a small block to be more easily manipulated.
Body
I used a similar technique when approaching the body, in hindsight my UV could be a lot more optimal around the large flat circles. I could also consider grouping the small ‘T’ shaped meshes into a larger block.
Substance Materials Body Texture Top most layers, contains a base colour with only the emissive channel enabled. Particle effect brush, simulated oil dripping from the cap on body. Very high gloss material, with top most dirt layer to dull shine slightly. Base colour contains orange tint. Base colour in steel rough material, added rust and wear using a smart mask for the edges. Rough finish dulled the metal as was initially too shiny. Added a dark grey paint layer on top of the metal to achieve the desired effect.
Key: Emission, used in flood light and small LEDs. Glass material in lenses Overall metal texture
Alphas on bottom layers, includes small additional detail such as vents and bolts.
Substance Materials
Arm Texture Used Steel bright material, modified stain to be darker to reduce shine.
Again, base colour in steel rough material, added rust and wear using a smart mask for the edges. Rough finish dulled the metal as was initially too shiny.
Added a dark grey paint layer on top of the metal to achieve the desired effect.
Key: Shiny metal on pistons and pipes. Overall metal texture
Emissive Textures 1
3 Before Post-Processing, Glare:
2
Emissive layer, is a fill layer with a black mask applied.
Using mesh fill and Quick Mask, I double checked everything was black, before filling the lens with white.
I enabled post processing effects, and checked ‘Glare’. These settings produce a nice bloom effect.
With Post-Processing, Glare:
Emissive intensity can be boosted in Viewer Settings to produce brighter effects,
Beauty Sheet
Shot Description
D
A
B
c
A
Overall image of droid, shows form and silhouette.
c
Side view of droid head, shows variety of lenses. Orange emissive lights on the dual-lens mesh.
B
Close up shot of detail on body of droid, emissive lights on control panel.
D
Using the oil particle effect brush, I was able to simulate a leak coming from the cap on the top of the droid’s body.
Shot Description cont.
F E
G
E
Show leg edge detail and the contrast of the two metals. Metal appears shinier on the piping.
F
Detail shot of the alpha detail on the head of the asset.
G
Back view of the droid’s head, shows placements of lenses and antennae.
References
References
Aurebesh Font: Pixel Sagas. (2015). Aurebesh. Available: http://www.dafont.com/aurebesh.font . Last accessed 10th Dec 2016.
Viper Probe Droid Facts: Various. (2005). Viper probe droid. Available: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Viper_probe_droid/Leg ends . Last accessed 10th Dec 2016. Imperial Probe Droids. Available: http://www.st-vsw.net/STSWprobedroid.html. Last accessed 10th Dec 2016. Droid Figurine: Sideshow. (2012). Imperial Probe Droid Sixth Scale Figure by Sideshow Collectibles. Available: http://www.sideshowtoy.com/collectibles/star-warsimperial-probe-droid-sideshow-collectibles-2164/ . Last accessed 10th Dec 2016 Film Colour Swatch: Hyo Taek Kim . (2014). The Colors of Star Wars Palettes. Available: http://www.fubiz.net/en/2015/04/20/the-colors-ofstar-wars-palettes/ . Last accessed 10th Dec 2016.