Jedi Starfighter Cockpit and Imperial Star Destroyer

Brad and his friend, Jim, have completed the framework for our Jedi Starfighter cockpit! This will probably be the only real set we have in this entire movie (all of the other sets are CG models).

Here's a picture of the Jedi Starfighter:

And here are pictures of our Jedi Starfighter cockpit:

Of course, it still needs painting and detailing (hoses, switches, lights, etc.), but it still looks amazing.

Here are screenshots from our current animatic, which show the CG version of our Jedi Starfighter cockpit:


Hopefully you can use your imagination and replace all of those CG backgrounds with our real-life cockpit and visualize how awesome the final footage will look. I can't wait to film it!

On the CG-side, I added specular maps to some of our spaceships. Here are before-and-after comparisons of the Imperial Star Destroyer, as an example:

It's hard to tell at first glance, but there's more shininess on the bottom-right of the "after" picture.

Here's another before-and-after comparison:

Again, it's hard to tell but there's shininess in the "after" picture. You can see it especially well if you look at the gun turret on the bottom-left of the picture.

I was re-rendering our Bibble's Bar backgrounds and realized that I should model a "real" pad for him (and his 3 girlfriends) to sit on, so I'm currently in the middle of that. I'll include pictures in the next blog post.

Later,
Bob

Improved Texture Maps in Bibble's Bar

I just finished the latest improvements to Bibble's Bar. Here are some before-and-after comparisons:

This is Yane's view of the bar from the top of the stairs, when she first enters:

This gives a quick overview of some of the changes I made:
- The temporary images on the 1st and 3rd holopanels were replaced with video images. (If you're a "Star Trek" fan, you may notice that I borrowed their LCARS displays (which I got from the awesome website www.lcarscom.net)).
- The color scheme changed from the original grey to a more earthy brown.
- The flooring was changed to multi-colored stones to make it look more earthy.
- There's a trash can (set dressing) at the bottom of the stairs on the left. It's one of those little details that helps make the bar seem more real.
- Most of the surfaces have shininess, bumpiness, and reflections added, all of which create a more realistic, 3D look. You can't really tell in these compressed images, but you'll probably notice in the close-ups that follow.

Here's a close-up of the Kel Dorian Pilot and Bounty Hunter (represented by temporary placeholders) playing the holographic arcade game:

I made the yellow and orange lights on the holopanel (in the background) glow slightly. I also improved the texture map on the sides of the chess pedestal, giving it a metallic look rather than the old, grey, fake look.

Here's a close-up showing the seats and walls:

Aside from the change in the camera position, hopefully you can see that the shininess, bumpiness, and reflections in the "after" picture make it look much more 3D and realistic. If not, please don't tell me... I'll cry. :(

Here's another close-up. This is the entrance to the bar. The blast door is on the right.

Again, it's hard to see in these small, compressed images, but hopefully the shininess, bumpiness, and reflections make the "after" picture look more real.

Here's the final before-and-after comparison:

Not much to say here that I haven't already mentioned above, but hopefully the overall impression is that the "after" image looks a lot more realistic.

Not sure what I'm going to focus on next. Re-texture-mapping is very time-consuming, especially on a model this big. I guess you guys will just have to wait for the next blog post to find out...

Later,
Bob