Tamriel Rebuilt

Claim type: OOT
Claim ID: TR_n6-4-Mis (#2385)
Faction: Misc
Claimed by: Parted User
Status: Unclaimed (Progress: 90%)
Files: None

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Plants for Othreleth woods.

FCG thread: http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=286134#286134

Smaller plants:
1a and 1b: The size of these plants should vary from knee-high up to over a meter tall. I'm imagining the color scheme as slate grey with orange bulbs.
3: up to a few feet tall. Color should be light grey, ivory or white.
4: Up to a man tall. I'm imagining a dark red hood and a brown stem.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2600/mushroomplants.jpg

Small, funnel mushroom on the left:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg

Could someone give a description of number 5?

Well I'm not 100% on what Myzel wants but since I drew that one I would say that the stalk should be an ivory or white color with the funnel being orange as well as the little frill on the stalk. If something were to be different it would be the funnel which could be in a different color, a yellow perhaps. Also the little bauble down at the bottom can either be a simple extension of the stem in ivory or white, or you could make it an earthy brown color, which is how I conceptualized it.

blackbird wrote:Could someone give a description of number 5?

If the number isn't in the claim description I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to model it.

Hmm, perhaps I misinterpreted what black bird said, but I though he was talking about this one.

Small, funnel mushroom on the left:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg

He wasn't. He was talking about the plant marked '5' in my bundle of concepts:
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2600/mushroomplants.jpg

But as Adanorcil has said, that one should not be modeled.

Can I claim this? I think I need something to do...

You could indeed claim it if you were so inclined. (you made the trees so it would make sense)

Alternatively, perhaps you might be interested in the other unclaimed claim. *wink wink*

The other claim doesn't have any concept art, does it? And wasn't Nalin working on the models some time ago? I'm not really sure about those models, so I think I'll stick with this claim for now, even though the other might be more needed...

CA was made, and more can be arranged on request. Nalin was working on the models but has disappeared. Really, that other claim needs to be made more do-able.

Yeah, I noticed that Nalin haven't been active lately, too bad, he is very good... I'm not too sure about the other claim, but I'll give it a try then... If you can give me a link to the concept or something, it would be great... I'll claim in the other post

It's not that I don't want to do the other claim, it's more that I don't think it will turn out good... But I'll try this one instead for now, maybe I'll give the other a shot later, if I can get some help...

granting

Here is a picture of my progress. Please comment, as a bit of guidance is always good... I don't know about the textures, I have just tried to estimate what was appropriate for the plants.
[url=http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/6252/othrelethplants.jpg][img]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/6252/othrelethplants.th.jpg[/img][/url]

The models themselves look good, not sure about those textures though. Don't forget to model the small funnel mushroom in that bottom link. It's supposed to be included in these models.

I can't comment on the models much, but I agree the textures need some work. I'll try to comment more tomorrow.

Let's talk geometry first.

- Remember to use triangles in a smart way. On the smaller of the two bulbous things, the top is clearly flat while it's supposed to be smooth and round. Similarly, you can easily spot rings of vertices on the bigger bulb, partially because the texture mapping is a little uneven there.

- Remember to look at the concepts closely. The nr 3 plant (on the right in your picture) has a bit of a different look than the concept suggests. The long bits curve inwards on yours whereas the concept art has them straight and pointing slightly outwards. This probably sounds like a nitpicky small difference, but it does suggest very different things about the plant. The concept version looks hard and perhaps even sharp whereas yours has the appearance of being bendable or squishy.

Then textures:

- I wouldn't go for quite such saturated colors. Hardly anything in Morrowind is that bright. I do like the idea of that kind of petrol blueish green for the bulbs, so maybe go with that in a slightly toned down version. The pink for the right one is just not an option, I'm afraid. Perhaps go with a lighter version of the bulb colors. It almost seems necessary to me that the straight bits on that one should look dryer and colorless, as if they're dead parts. The textures on the nr. 4 mushroom are overly dark and generally devoid of detail. (I have to admit I don't really like this one as a concept to begin with, but that's another matter.) For one thing, don't make it to dark to avoid reminding people of silt striders or bugs or such.


- Try to think of textures as more than an elaborate form of paint. More often than not what determines whether a model looks great or not is the texture rather than the geometry. On the whole, I get the impression that your textures primarily serve to put some kind of pattern on the model instead of adding detail.

In order to improve in this, I think you should try to UV map your models into pieces and use textures to add details you cannot afford in the form of geometry. On the nr.3 mushroom, for example, try to draw a bunch of those outcrops on the texture since you can't model them all. The whole thing will look a lot fuller. On the tall nr.4 mushroom, use textures to make clear what is the center and what is the raggedy edge of the 'layers'. Use textures to suggest some deep ridged structures on its stem.

... Seems like I have some work to do... But it might take some time before I get the textures done, since I don't have my tablet pen at the moment.. That might also explain the lack of details in the textures... That and laziness...

Adanorcil pretty much covered it all.

I will add that on the bulb plants, the yellow really clashes with the blueish. If you change that texture, try to make the colors a little more natural and agreeable together.

I also don't really like how the right plant turned out. What Adan said about this is true. I also think the 'scales' are a bit too pronounced in the model. It would be better if that were toned down some texture painting would be done to pronounce them:

- Try to think of textures as more than an elaborate form of paint. More often than not what determines whether a model looks great or not is the texture rather than the geometry. On the whole, I get the impression that your textures primarily serve to put some kind of pattern on the model instead of adding detail.

It may not be clear in the artwork (which is my fault, sorry) but they were meant to be mere irregularities in the plant's surface rather than petals. My concept does show two rows of these, while your model pronounces only one row and makes the top row actually less pronounced than was meant, by making it flow flawlessly into the long bits.

And just in case: If you're having trouble with the concepts, say the word and I'll be happy to draw something more detailed for you.

My computer broke down 3 weeks ago, but now I have got a new one... I will have to start all over with the models and textures, but that´s probably for the best... I will make an update as soon as I have made something new

Hey, please revoke this, as I won't be able to finish it anytime soon... I might claim this again, when I have the time, if it is still here when that time comes...

Revoked on the assumption that you don't have a WiP. Hope to see you back soon.

I'd like to claim this. I already did some work on the funnel shroom when deciding to claim it or not. :)

http://i.imgur.com/WSSnS.png

No img tags in claim posts? ;_;

Granting.

Looks exactly like what I drew, nice work so far pete

I'd drop some of those polys in the stalk.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/KM8Ft.png[/img]
Current face count is 240. Is that too many for a mushroom this size?
Also, it should go without saying that the current texture for the funnel is just a placeholder. The stalk texture is very WIP also.
I think I messed up the material, it looks very flat. Still, I'll probably be re-exporting a few times, so I'll have plenty of time to fix that.

240 faces is more than okay, you can probably add another 100 and still be solidly in the 'safe' zone.

That looks far better already than my abortive attempt at modeling that concept a while back Can't wait to see the final version!

Haplo wrote:240 faces is more than okay, you can probably add another 100 and still be solidly in the 'safe' zone.

Add another 100 faces to this and othreleth gets even choppier. It's always important to go for the lowest possible poly count without taking away from the aesthetic of the piece. Faces spared where possible means more objects and prettier places.

he wasn't saying that he needed to add more faces, just that he could if the need arose.

I know, I'm just a bit of a poly sparing nazi and want everyone else to be the same

That funnel is looking really good, and the textures are a good starting point - PM me if you need any help with them.

I'll very likely be needing some advice when I get started properly on the funnel textures.

Nalin wrote:I know, I'm just a bit of a poly sparing nazi and want everyone else to be the same

Trust me. No one is more cognizant of the faces per cell than me. Just ask Scamp.

An update might be appropriate?

so, pete the goat appears to be long gone so I am revoking this. If by some strange chance you re-appear pete the goat, PLEASE upload your wip files.

Uh, hello. Sorry!

Suffice to say real life kicked in hard and fast. Anyhow, I'm back, though there's no guarantee I won't disappear again in a month or two.

I figured I'd see how I do getting this claim finished up, and hopefully do some other stuff after this.

Good to see you back, Pete.

I'm looking forward to seeing how these come along.

EDIT:Here's the textures I mentioned on IRC

Alright, time to claim this properly.
I've asked Gnober for his WIPs from earlier, and I've got the funnel mushroom looking really nice, many thanks to Nalin.

Sweet, granting.