Category: Screencasts

Watch me create, teach, or share, the things that I am working on.

The Razorback – Part 13: Instruments Tweaking and a Test Render

I don’t practice using the MoGraph module enough, and this video proves it.

We start this video on a critical note as I realize that I’m still not happy with the instrumentation cluster on the front of the machine.

At the end of the video, there’s a test render with some simple Global Illumination.

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The Razorback – Part 12: Blades Shape and FLIR Adjustments

In part 12 of the Razorback series, we take a look at the blade disposal system and the instrumentation array. The instruments are the Razorback’s eyes and ears. This array of optics and other sensors will allow the machine to move through the environment.

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The Razorback – Part 11: Blades Mounting System

In part 11 of the Razorback series, we start off by looking at the blades and the blade mounting system.

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The Razorback – Part 10: Robotic Arms Base and Rough Shape

In this part, we take a look at the shape and mass of the robotic arms. The last video looked at the rough layout of the arms, just focusing on where they will fit, and how they will be able to articulate.

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The Razorback – Part 9: Robotic Arms Shape and Layout

In this (relatively) short video, we tackle the layout of the robotic arms. We experiment a bit with the scale of the arms and the reach. We start with a simple sketch of the arms as I see them in my head and then we move on to various considerations.

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The Razorback – Part 8: Start of LIDAR and FLIR Instruments

The eyes of the Razorback are going to be comprised of a combination of LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging [basically a type of 3D scanning]) and FLIR (Forward looking infrared). This instrument array is pretty ad-hoc as the novel doesn’t talk too much about the look of them.

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The Razorback – Part 7: Kickstand Pivot and Ram Brackets

This video is a bit longer than the others (sorry), but there’s some good modeling technique in there. We look at creating the brackets/cradles for the hydraulic rams of the Razorback. Before getting into that heavy modeling, we look at the approach I settled on for pivoting them into and out of position.

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Boolean Tips for Cinema 4D Modelers

In these two videos, I take a quick look at the way Boolean operations work in Cinema 4D. Specifically, I take a look at my usual approach and examine it a bit further. I’ve heard some 3D veterans and amateurs alike say things like, “Booleans always create messy geometry” or “Just don’t use Booleans… Ever!” I disagree however. As long as Read More

The Razorback – Part 6: Steering Servo Brackets and Kickstands

In this video we cover the modeling of the brackets that connect the steering servo gearboxes to the frame. While modeling the brackets, we get to use the Bridge tool to patch up geometry and focus on the benefits of using quads instead of triangles.

We also take a look at the kickstand placement taking issues such as ground clearance and style into account.

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The Razorback – Part 5: Steering Mechanism Linkages

In this video we look more closely at the steering mechanism linkages. We start out by creating a few ball joints and linkages for the steering. We then work on the rigging of the linkages via some Xpresso and the Range Mapper node.

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The Razorback – Part 4: Steering Mechanism

In this part of the Razorback series, we tackle the steering mechanism of the machine. I explore a bit of the setup necessary to make the steering work without a human involved and even get into some Xpresso.

You can see where I use a combination of the Target tag and the Xpresso Range Mapper node to get the desired effect of the servo steering system. Read on to see the video, and leave me a comment if you like what I’m doing with this project.

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The Razorback – Part 3: Flywheel Housing and Sword Blades

 The Flywheel

There’s not much talk in Daemon about the flywheel. We know that it’s a “Graphite-epoxy flywheel spinning at seventy thousand rpm in a vacuum. Floating on a bed of magnetism.” This detail is interesting as it would be easier to float the flywheel if it were horizontally mounted, and it would likely have better gyroscopic characteristics if it were hard mounted using bearings—again, I’m not an engineer.

Blades

The blades are currently simple proxy objects. If any of you think you know what kind of blade it should be, post a comment and let me know what it’s called. If you have specs and an idea of why the blade should be that particular type, let me know.

Read on for the video; this time it weighs in at around 20 minutes.

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