Cyclone from SA2
Front view of the Cyclone; colors show separate pieces of model.
Back view of the Cyclone; colors show separate pieces of model.
Bottom view wireframe of Cyclone
Front view of the Cyclone; colors show separate pieces of model.
Modeling Process
This is my latest 3D project in which I've recreated Tails' Cyclone mech walker, as seen in Sonic Adventure 2. The program I used for modeling the mech was Blender, and this is my first major project I've created using the program, so this also doubled as a way to get more comfortable with Blender's tools and workflow.
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My process for modeling this piece went like this: I started by blocking out each separate part of the mech like the body, legs, guns, and wings while using Blender's mirror modifier for a faster workflow. Next, I got the model to Tails scale by using a model of Tails I had obtained from the modeler's resource as a reference and then scaling the size of the mech to fit his size. After that, I just started going through to each part of the mech and extruding geometry inwards, adding bevels, subdividing, and adding supporting edge loops to any edges I needed to keep sharp before setting the model to have smooth shading. I chose to try and model with good topology in mind as opposed to using booleans for things like the cockpit as to both challenge myself, and as I thought the complexity of this model was simple enough not to require any booleans to complete it, thus saving me some time on retopology in the long run, meaning all that is left to do for this project is some retopology, UVs, texturing, and taking beauty shots; I also plan on posting about this project and previous ones on my new ArtStation page, and posting primarily on there in the future.
As of now however, this piece is regrettably unfinished as of the creation of this post due to other class and work responsibilities, however I am still dedicated to finishing it as I am very passionate about this project and will have a lot more free time being out of Workshop II. I have the rest of my process planned out and I will detail these plans in the next section, updating this post with the finished product once renders are completed.
Texturing Process
Once UVs are retopo are finished up in Blender, I plan to hand-paint the textures onto the UVs in Krita, but using a plug in that updates how the textures look on your model within Blender in real time as you paint them in Krita. I'll start with a blue base color layer, paint the yellow, black, and gray colors, then paint the finer details, and finally the decals and words before doing a final shading pass of the whole texture.
Unreal Master Materials
Here is where I will talk about how my Unreal Engine master materials are set up. I plan on having two total since I want to give some transparency to the windshield, and I will also be including screenshots showing off the settings I used for both.