On April 10, 2007, I saved my first render of Splash Mountain. (Well...not really my first, since I'd kinda prototyped it a year earlier, but nothing had come of it.) By my best estimation, I continued work on this model till about the end of May, when my focus shifted to the adjacent Haunted Mansion. The model I developed during that time was fairly successful, but it had some issues.
First of all, the blueprints I was using weren't perfectly lined up. I allowed small discrepancies between their positions and sizes and rotations over the aerial photos. These became increasingly problematic in especially detailed areas.
Secondly, my own skills as a modeler were limited. I sometimes resorted to messy, unwise solutions where I didn't know any better. These made later modifications difficult.
Thirdly, I quite simply didn't know as much about Splash Mountain then as I do now. A trip to Anaheim City Hall, a conversation with Tony Baxter, and additional online research have since yielded a scattering of new bits of info.
I'd simply correct all these issues in the existing model, except, like I said, my old sloppiness is doing a pretty good job of discouraging me from that. So I finally decided to just rebuild Splash Mountain. From scratch. All over again. Nothing from the old version will be used...except perhaps copies of a few lighting fixtures or something.
That's the first render of the new version. Probably doesn't look a whole lot better than a less complete version of this, but trust me...it is and will be a big improvement. =) I'm being EXTREMELY careful about the blueprint alignments, for one...in fact, I've already discovered some problems in my new alignments, so I'm going back for yet another round of lining 'em up. Photoshop's Warp feature is coming in handy, since the blueprint photos have some irregular distortions.
Another great thing I've done is a complete flume replacement, using a technique called BevOb. This gives me a lot more flexibility, since I can change the path of the flume and its cross-section very independently and very easily. Also, it just plain looks nicer. If you examine some of my old renders, you'll notice the flume looks jagged, especially at sharp turns or changes in slope. No more of that!
Anyway, this'll be a slow-ish process, but it's always faster the second time. There's no doubt about it, though...Splash Mountain is TOUGH to model.
5 comments:
Well, I hope things work out for Doorless Chambers. It'd be a shame to lose you. If you're worried about the October 11 deadline, don't be. You don't need a finished product, just at least an idea/proposal. We artists can be fickle with our work when we strive for the best. Change happens . . . sometimes for the best.
If you do feel that you can't participate, just let me know at least several days before the start of the event so that things can be updated accordingly.
I hope all goes well.
Thanks for your understanding. =) I hope it'll work out, too...your idea is certainly a cool one, and I think my entry has the potential to be enjoyable if I can just get it to work. I'll definitely let you know...
I know how you feel starting splash mt over from scratch. I've done that a few times, it's crazy but it's worth it. Thank goodness we don't have a deadline or anything
I followed your lead and started putting my stuff on flikr http://www.flickr.com/photos/63631877@N00/sets/72157607017226920/
Would my version of splash mt be helpful?
Ed
Definitely worth it, yep. Sometimes there's just no other way. =P
Thanks for posting your stuff on Flickr! I'd definitely love to see anything and everything you've got on the DL version of Splash Mountain. :D
Holy freakin' smokes! You've got the Matterhorn . . . and it's in multiple cut-aways! I've been wanting to create a Matterhorn paper model for quite some time, but never had the reference material to design it properly. Do you have any more elevations and cut-aways of the mountain, edindorchester?
I've tried modeling the Matterhorn in the past, but it never really came out looking any good. I've had to rely on online photos for reference, but with such a large object, perspective throws everything off.
Now I have a reason to get to the park and take some reference shots for textures. Woo-hoo!
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