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22/12/2011 12:17:54

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		Dylly wrote:


One of the ideas behind the cottage is that the Muvizu Community can cannibalise individual bits of the structure, woodwork, chimneys, doors, windows etc.. to adapt to the basic Muvizu blocks,


I really like this idea of objects which can be taken as a whole or in section for use with other objects. You could be on to something really helpful with that one!

outstanding work Dylly!

Cheers
D
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22/12/2011 19:48:48

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Looks brilliant - the more dilapidated the better! (is that how you spell that?)
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29/12/2011 00:14:13

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		Christmas has gone, the kids have used, watched,broken, swapped or eaten all the presents (the beagle thoroughly enjoyed his presents...they lasted five minutes but so far my tree is still standing unlike last year) and finally I can get back to modelling for my next clip.

Its been very much a case of back to the drawing board as I have tried to make the UVW maps for the model. Finally with a a few tutorials from the net, I sorted out a plan of some sorts. Taking a good look at the model I tried to decide on which bits would stand out and therefore deserved a higher quality texture. With this in mind I went about redesigning the model so that I could split it into sections, comprising the roof, upper floor and ground floor.

I then converted each subsection of the model into its component parts and converted each one of these into a .obj file, imported the sections into 3ds Max and combined them into one .obj file for UVW unwrapping. In the material editor I then played around with the scale of some of the components and stitched some of the parts together to get a smoother map. Those sections that would be hidden or partially hidden I shrank down to give more room on the map.

A few hours in Photoshop Elements and I had working maps...I have to admit this bit was tedious but little did I know there was worse to come.

Things got worse...quickly...bloody collision! Getting the roof section to sit on top of the upper floor was a night mare. It didn't help that I put a curve into the sides of the roof. However after causing a couple of 'Fatal Error' messages and then pouring a scotch I sat down to do a little more collision modelling and final got the roof to sit on top of the building.Now I have all of the three main sections loading into Muvizu with their texture and ambient occlusion maps.

So now its back to the bit I enjoy the most of prop making...the modelling...this time its doors, windows and a new chimney stack, the final leg.

Oh if anyone is trying to get models from sketchup to Muvizu and can't get the hang of Blender (like me) Turbosquid have the basic version of 3DsMax on their site for FREE.

Here's the progress so far...
edited by Dylly on 29/12/2011
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29/12/2011 01:10:54

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		That looks AWESOME! Go Dylly!!
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29/12/2011 10:31:20

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		Looks great!
Your dedication to the job is certainly paying off!
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04/01/2012 00:12:26

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		One step forward, two back, one to the side then a quick hop and skip...no its not part of the initiation rites of the cult of Muvizu...but then perhaps it is...couldn't find a goat...so I decided to carry on with constructing the model cottage.

It was time to move onto the doors, windows and to add a little variation I decided to make some shutters. Would you credit it? I ran straight into the brick wall of collision again. Well I would have done if the collision would have let me. This is starting to get to be a real pain in the aspect. Having made the shutter model and imported it into Muvizu, the collision I had worked out for the roof and upper floor of the cottage would not let me place the windows against the wall. After several hours of jiggery pokery trying to work out new collisions for the various levels I came to the decision that I would have to make the roof and upper floor as one single model. To make matters worse the new shutter model was covered in white flecks.


Getting rid of the white bits!
I now made a discovery. Playing about with the map in both Muvizu and 3ds max I noticed that both Photoshop and Gimp were not saving the black background of the map whenever it was saved as a targa file. Saving the file as a png and then saving the png as a targa had the black background back on the map so to speak, but I still had some white specks on the model. Back in Sketchup I made sure all the faces were the right way around (white side outwards) and then reversed them and coloured all of the internal faces black before reversing them again. Now taking the eraser tool and holding down shift, I softened all of the edges of the model. Once I had UVW unwrapped it and reapplied the fixed map, imported the shutters back into Muvizu I now had a model free from white specks. So if you are importing from sketchup to Muvizu make sure you soften the edges of the model and that any maps you are importing with it have a dark background.

So back to Sketchup and a day later I had rejigged the cottage upper floor and roof to be a single unit. Now it was time for the UVW unwrap and this map was going to be cluttered. Sure enough the map looked like a disaster zone. I then had a bit of a brain wave. I had been saving each piece of a model that sat against a face as a separate group and attaching them in 3dsMax. This reduced the warping on the surfaces of a model when imported into Muvizu. It was time to shell out on some tools for Sketchup. Oh and they work a treat! I bought the Bool Tools from Smustard.com and they allow me to join together all of the various groups within the model which also eradicates the internal faces from the UVW map. Bonus!

Textures
Now it was time to address the textures of the model before I did anything else. The textures that I was using were purchased, and although I hold a full commercial license for them there might have been ructions if I released the models onto the Muvizu site. To save Vince the job of reading through the license I decided to create my own tile-able textures. For aching, this procerssrates alongside of a bad vasectomy! Still after a couple of days doodling in Photoshop and Gimp I now have a workable set of textures, all painted by hand and made specifically for the model, so now license queries.




So this is where the cottage model stands at the moment, shutters are completed and I am about to see if I can import the single section upper floor into Muvizu before going on to texture the model with its own purpose painted textures. My Mrs claims that childbirth is painful...she’s obviously not tried making a 3d model!
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04/01/2012 18:33:42

gianluigidq
gianluigidq
Posts: 12 		Hi, please help me

when I save a model (.ase) in sketchup gives me this message:

at least one of thr 500 meshes has more faces. Should you only created many pieces With That If They Are Likely to be used only for the hightest ounces or of a multy-detailed LOD LOD obiect.

when I import in Muvizu is not possible to color

Thank
edited by gianluigidq on 04/01/2012
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04/01/2012 19:28:49

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		Hi gianluigi

500 meshes? That sounds like a huge model. Its a little difficult to picture the problem, but if you send me a link to your Sketchup file I don’t mind having a look to see what the problem is.

As a rule though here are a few basic steps I follow before exporting a model.

Check all lines are connected.
Look for and delete any stray lines that should not be there.
Make all faces the right direction, white side facing out.
Explode all groups and components.
Apply a colour or material to each and every face inside and out, limiting the number of colours and materials used.
Soften edges using the eraser tool making sure you are holding down the shift key.
Make sure the model is sitting on the origin before export.

There are one or two free plugins that can help here.
Look out for the ‘clean up’ tools available at Sketchucation.com These will erase duplicate faces, stray lines, unneeded materials and check the integrity of the model before export. Although check your model after use as they can occasionally remove something important to the integrity of the model.

Smustard.com has some handy plugins that will automatically shift the model to the origin and centre it ready for export.

Hope this helps, and as I say if you send me a link to your Sketchup model I don’t mind having a look at the problem, but it may be beyond my abilities limited as they are.
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04/01/2012 20:51:02

gianluigidq
gianluigidq
Posts: 12 		Hi Dylly,

I followed step by step tutorial glasgowjim "Importing from Sketchup Part 1"


except the first part of the downloading from the wicked hq and the subsequent setting with U PAINT because the site does not open. I installed this plugin:
su2ase

I imported the same model ford mustang, the problem may be the setting for sketchup?

thanks again
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04/01/2012 21:24:49

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		I'm not familiar with the su2ase plugin and seeing as how everyone struggles to find the plugin in the tutorial I've taken my plugin and zipped it up where it can be found here http://www.mediafire.com/?5o7hzr1rp4ggtbu

Try using this plugin and follow the tutorial again. I've also included the documentation and the tutorials that came with the script.

Let me know what happens,
Tim
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06/01/2012 00:26:56

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		On the final leg...less or The Dreeko & Dragon


I’ve finally managed to calculate the collision mesh for the upper floor. Everything now sits flush to the wall and the upper floor sits flush with the ground floor. After creating my own textures...I ditched them. They made the whole model look washed out, so I’m sticking with the original set of textures and hoping for the best. So I completed re-texturing the upper floor and have now moved on to the accessories.

Seeing as how I’ve had to weld the upper floor and the roof together I decided to make some extra bits and pieces to make the model more versatile. Now I must have had my beer head on as the first thing that came into my mind was ...pub! So as a quick distraction and a break from the damned collision meshes I made a pub sign.

If anyone has any other suggestions as to further accessories that would make the model more functional as a prop I would very much welcome them.I’m hoping I can get this project finished before the new release!



edited by Dylly on 06/01/2012
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06/01/2012 10:05:41

gianluigidq
gianluigidq
Posts: 12 		It's all rigth!
Thank Dylly
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06/01/2012 10:55:31

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		The Dreeko and Dragon!

I'm honoured!

Looks great can't wait to download itApplause

Cheers
D
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06/01/2012 17:28:58

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471 		Now that you have your own pub lets have a pint or two to celebrate! We can have Vince join us with his new shirt you gave him! Really really nice work there Dylly!!!
edited by mysto on 06/01/2012
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09/01/2012 23:54:42

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		Its done...finished...completed...I have to admit that's one of the steepest learning curves I've been on but I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks go to Ziggy, Toonarama, and of course Jamie for all the encouragement and help.



Just got to check out a license issue and then post it...but in the mean time...if anyone wants a copy just message me and I will pass you a link across.

Tim
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10/01/2012 04:08:06

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471 		WOW! Really nice work Dylly! Well done!
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10/01/2012 10:27:42

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		well done Dylly!

Can't wait to see them in action!
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10/01/2012 13:57:02

Marco_D
Marco_D
Posts: 582 		That's absolutely fantastic Dylly!

Well done friend

Cheers,
Marco
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10/01/2012 14:31:07

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		What a wonderful journey you've been on Dylly, it's really nice to see the evolution of your model here on the forum. The end result looks fantastic, can't wait to play with it in Muvizu!

--
Direct, don't animate!
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12/01/2012 00:09:58

DyllyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dylly
Posts: 555 		Thanks for the feedback guys, I'm hoping that I can get the house uploaded very soon. In the meantime with the new release of Muvizu out and about I'm cracking on with the sets for my next Muvi. Next up...and keeping with the fairytale theme...a wishing well for the back of the house...strangely enough its probably got more detail in it than the house...sectional again so it can be animated...if it works then Angelina Jolie is going to be busy doing some light dusting round my place!

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