Hey guys,

well it’s time for the release of the 2nd part of the Airship timelapse serie!

But first of all, let’s answer a few questions I received!

F.A.Q. – Airship modelling timelapse: Part1

• Q: With the bezier curve you used, how did you apply the half-pipe shape and then turn it into a cylindrical shape?
• A: Just add a curve, then go in the Editing Menu (F9). Unlcik the ‘back’ and ‘front’ button. You can click the 3d button if you want to move the bezier handles on 3 axis instead of 2. Then just give a value to BevelDepth (which control the diameter of the cilinder) and BevResol (which control the smoothing on the cilinder). Voilà!

• Q: How do you decide when to use disconnected geometry within the
  same object versus separate objects?
• A: It depends on many things. But usually, I follow a simple enough concept. If the different pieces won’t be animated individually, and if they will received the same material, and if they are all located in ’small’ region, then I usually join them together.  But it definitly depends on what kind of texturing you are planning to use. With separate objects it’s also easier to move them around one they are created. With alot of vertices on screen it can become trivial to select some of the geometry.

• Q: Could describe some of your concept development process for this
  project? Were you working from sketches, or is this all direct to 3D?
• A: Well I was working from an amazing concept art by Ben Dansie. It was continuously on my 2nd screen while I was working. You can see some of it at the beginning of the video.

• Q: Is that retopo you are using for the detail on the nose of the airship?
• A: Yes.

And now, the part #2! And again, if you have any question, feel free to email them to me or reply to this blog post! I’ll answer them next week when the next part is released!

Airship – modelling timelapse Part2 from Js Guillemette on Vimeo.

ps: Make sure to listen to the incredible music from Sigur Ros. Turn up the volume a little bit, the beginning is really faint. Oh and if the video seems to ‘lock’ and stop moving, just wait a few more seconds…that’s juste because I was leaving the computer, and keep recording, for a few minutes to get another coffee!