modifier in max--do is enable you to create a very basic, low-poly object
that is representative of the final, high-poly object. The tool then tessellates
the low poly "hull" and smooths out the rough edges at render time. This
enables you to work on a model that shows up as ten thousand polys in the
viewport, but is tessellated in the render to many times that amount. This
may sound like a very inefficient way to render, but computers are fast
enough now to handle hundreds of thousands of polys without much
slowdown, especially if you're lucky enough to have a decent rendering
farm to work with.
Getting back to the model, British Motors provided me with a ton of refer-
ence material on the Mangusta. They even gave me a file that contained
the AutoDesk CAD model. Unfortunately, this model had been converted
from NURBS to polys, and all the edges had buckled--none of them joined
up properly anymore. I couldn't use any of the supplied mesh for the final
renders, but it did give me excellent reference on which to base my model.
I spent six weeks modeling and texturing the Mangusta, and the client was
very happy with the final product. British Motors signed off on it, and I
sent all my final assets to them. Although they were very happy with what
I sent, I have yet to see it anywhere on their website.
I decided to improve it even more for use as a portfolio piece, so I spent an
additional four weeks just tweaking textures and moving vertices. By the
end of the whole project, it had taken just under three months of part-time
work to create a piece that I am very proud of, despite the fact that until
now it has appeared only in my demo reel.
Q: Do you have any "dream project" that you'd like to work on?
A: I have always enjoyed sci-fi books, but my first love is the fantasy genre.
The fantasy books I like best are the ones that take themselves seriously and
have a darker story to tell. One of the books that I always thought would
be awesome to do as a movie was The Lord of the Rings. Judging by the box
office numbers and the fact that I have seen it four times now, that was a
good choice. Because The Lord of the Rings is now being done in grand style,
the other books I would like to see made into films are The Wheel of Time
series by Robert Jordan. I think it has a unique vision and an engaging story
filled with lots of character development and interaction. The first few
books in particular had a perfect balance between action, adventure, char-
acter development, and story. Now, if he would just finish the epic in this
decade, someone could start a script for it.
C
H A P T E R
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O D E L I N G
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