Deadline Proof Monk(ey)

I’m testing the 3dsmax script to do my Superspecular Soft Edge technique explained in my tutorial Superspecular Soft Edge
Whith one button you can actually have a perfectly shaded object without smoothing groups on the entire model.
It will be released soon after i have fixed some issues.
Support me with your precious comments and suggestions.

Watch it in fullscreen.
I hope you enjoy it.
If you like it socialbookmark it.
To do similar selection you need max 2010 , or any max with polyboost or another script.
If you don’t have them you have to do the edge selection by hand in the last step.
to best follow it read also how to model a soccerball the fast way
I will soon post a new tutorial on haw animate it in a cartoony way.
Model download will be available soon.
Don’t fear asking to request a specific tutorial.

This tutorial will show you techniques for game modelling that can change your life as they did with mine many years ago.
In Those years i developed some tools and script to optimize those techniques but you can use them in almost all softwares with basic tools.
Those tecniques are easy to understand and to use but require some experience.
Using them at best let you to do faster and better at the same time.

2500 poly weapon with this tecnique

This weapon don’t use normalmaps and have some of the edges chamfered and is very low poly 2500 triangles.
It use a normal gouraund shader and no smoothing groups and a slight reflection to better notice the precision of shading ( no unwanted bumps and deformations).
Compare it with whatever well made model using a unique smooth group an no texture and normal map.
Even highter poly never will show those super reflection catching edges.
With this tecnique is easy to have a good overall shading and perfectly sharp specular.
It performs as good as a lowpolyer non chamfered edges model with smoothing group but looks far better and have almost the same number of real vertices of a not filleted one.
All other details can be applied in normalmapping also without any hipoly version for the entire model but only for details maybe only some floating models, without subdivision but using the same techniques.

We will understand why and how to make superspecular soft edges with very few polygons without smoothing groups and why smothing groups and hard edges are so bad visually and in performances.
We will see how to improve the overall look of our shaded objects to a subdivision geometry level but with very few polygons and how to get the best out our normalmaps with a better visual quality.
This expecially apply to hard surfaces we can find in many props and enviroments, but can work with any kind of model.

Read the rest of the chapter one to understand a first easy tecnique to improve your shading.
Read the rest of this entry »