Modeling a Spaceship Cockpit Windshield

Dope! Thx a heep!

Sascha Rossier

0:33 how did he know?

I don't know how I missed this one, but it's a slice of fried gold. I'm amazed at how well that cockpit turned out in such a short time, and hearing how and why you made each decision was extremely insightful. Suddenly modelling windows seems exciting again!

Pete Burges

i cannot for the life of me get this bolt detail around the window to behave. I've modeled it right next to the window, added an array modifier, then a curve modifier but it's not showing up anywhere near the curve - it's not even curvy! Oh blender- what have I done to spurn you so? EDIT - I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO WORK! Okay, so if you're array modifier and curve are not acting like you want then do this: make sure to take your detail object and clear the median transform in the edit properties. In EDIT mode, hit 'N' and you'll find you can zero these out (effectively putting the geometry back into the center of the world) - Make sure you do this "Locally" and not "globally" (I.e. the options below the transform. Then all will be well in the blendworld. Cheers!

This is like Onlyfans for CG nerds, leaves us all satisfied at the end and worth every cent hahaha

David

I know you find making these isn't always viable but they're always my favorites to watch and learn from, the modeling stuff is always the best stuff you make imo

Clarity

I just found yesterday that you can explore inside ISS on Google Earth... it was pretty enlightening... There is sriracha sauce at both ends so that in the event of half the ship being sectioned off or jettisoned they don't have to eat rehydrated fish without some zing on it

Noneya D Biznazz

It's been mentioned before, but I not only come here for amazing Blender tricks, I really also enjoy your wholesome enthusiasm for modeling everyday objects. I sometimes feel like it's a chore to model "boring" items, but now I usually go "How would Ian do this?" and that lightens the mood considerably. Thank You! :-)

Thomas Sturm

When you conver to curve you have to make the origin point in object mode not edit mode as I did. I am now running late for work and its al your fault. :-) Will you ever do a tutorial on how to edit, cut and paste HDRI is Gimp? I have been experementing but with no real success. Thanks for all of these tutorials.

Benja Min

Look at this!!! https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS066&roll=E&frame=37532

Ian Hubert

OH WHOA!!!! Hey yeah! Thanks! SO MUCH good stuff there!

Ian Hubert

amazing. your patreon is without a doubt the best money i spend every month. thanks!

Like a lot of government resources it's weirdly well hidden but I've found eol.jsc.nasa.gov is the absolute motherlode for good space images!

Ah yeah! It'll almost always take a bit of finagling to align the model with the curve, but the biggest things to keep in mind is you want the origin of the curve and the origin of the object-you-want-arrayed-around-the-curve to be in the same place (and you also want the geometry of the object-you-want-arrayed to be centered on that origin, as well)- that makes it a ton easier to line up. It's the bit I cover (fairly quick) at 18:50 :)

Ian Hubert

Ah! You're not doing anything wrong- curve's just have weird rules, and I didn't go into all of them. Yeah the curve does deform everything (that's exactly the point, I guess), and the hope is mostly that the deformation of smaller details isn't distractingly noticeable. 3 things I can think of: 1.) The further from the curve the geometry is, the more you'll notice the distortion, so maybe try to line up the bolts so they're centered over the curve, instead of offset. 2.) The sharpness of the corners definitely plays a bit part. If you have a really really tight curve, you could have one bolt trying to stretch over a full 90 degree span, which would look ridiculous and 3.) The size of the bolt- the larger it is, the more obvious the deformation will be. But my guess is #1 could be the most useful- I hope that helps!

Ian Hubert

Following along with this and when i started creating the bolts along the window with an array and attaching it to the curve i got some pretty significant stretching of my bolt model around the curves of the window. Wondering what i might have done wrong lol

When I add the curve modifier I end up with the array in the cockpit as oppose to on the inside of the window.

Benja Min

Love these kind of videos!

Man, I thought i was getting better at Blender but then Ian models a window and curtain in 5 minutes and still manages to leave me in awe.

Nate Pantumsinchai

got it thanks for replying! i know you're a very busy lad :]

Jay Gonzalez

Ooo- I don't know if this is a great answer, but usually I have to find some aspect that I'm excited about. Lately I'm trying to finish up an episode, so I'll just scrub through it until I find something incomplete that I'm interested in working on- or if it's something I'm not particularly interested in, I usually try to find some little twist/addition that I can get into (which means I tend to take a long time to finish stuff, because I'm always adding bits, but it also means there's usually something in each shot that I'm proud of, which is nice).

Ian Hubert

Sort of a non-technical question, but in your experience, what helps you get in a productive/creative mindset for 3D work?

That's an incredible model! So cool it's CC0. I was actually able to grab an HDRI inside one of those, lately (although it has, like, a dummy in one of the chairs :P)- I should upload it!

Ian Hubert

Added! :D

Ian Hubert

I don't know! I keep trying to get a sense of, like, "Oh- OpenImage works better for volumetrics!" but at this point I kinda just pick one randomly- I *think* the general consensus is OpenImage is a bit more accurate than Optix, now? But I still tend to use Optix in the viewport just... cause.

Ian Hubert

with the new updates to all the new denoisers which one do you personally use or which one do you believe works best?

Jay Gonzalez

Linux

I'll be always amazed on how fast you model and how amazing the end result is! Proud !!

Oh lol that worked! Thank you so much for these awesome tuts!

Ah yeah!!! I knew I forgot something. I’ll add it when I get home!

Ian Hubert

You have to make sure the plane geometry is offset from the object origin (just move it in edit mode), otherwise it’ll just be mirroring exactly on top of itself :D

Ian Hubert

Great video, any chance we can get that seam collection you talked about?

Daniel.skomo

Stupid question I tried to follow along at the first plane you put down and when I add the mirror modifier it doesnt mirror it. I have the exact same settings enabled.

Another masterclass that tickles my metaballs, great work Ian! This CC0 Apollo 11 command module is also a great addition to your travels across the galaxy: https://skfb.ly/6QS6I

pleasure to watch as always

Anderson Atlas

great tutorial! Consider using the free EasyHDRI combined with the rotate an HDRI addon, saves me a lot of time

I am in the middle of building out my own space ship and I really appreciate your notes on reference.

I appreciate your enthusiasm as much as the info. Thanks!

Scott Henriksen

Ian, for the vertex problem with the windows there is a free add-on called "Edge Flow". It will solve your problem with non curved geometry. The add-on comes with another function called "Set Linear", where it does the opposite. I hope it helps! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pnK0GT3nOeQ

Love this kind of tut... Thanks again Ian!! Awesome.

Doug Brown

Same! I feel like 5 out of 6 times it's the roughness map that makes something come to life :D

Ian Hubert

Those window details and specks on the glass are what sell it for me. Amazing modeling tutorial once again!

Dawson Henderson

amazing

Tolga Katas

Leon, here are some previous posts that might help- Thoughts on optimizing your cycles renders: https://www.patreon.com/posts/thoughts-on-your-37312614 Making eevee look like cycles https://www.patreon.com/posts/making-eevee-to-51340864

Zeke Faust

Awesome

This is so cool!!! By the way I was wondering if you could shed some light on render settings and stuff, there are so many buttons and sliders that straight confuse me. Like how do the shots in dynamo dream for eg. look so goddamn crisp?? Cheers ;)

Hey Ian. Just a quick tip... when you use extrude along normals operator you can just tape "s" on the keyboard to enabled the "offset even" function. You don't necessarily need to go in the undo menu all the time. :D

Simon Salord

Yes! A modeling video!!

Dawson Henderson

Great!! Ian, I missed you!

Long Wang

Stella content as always (pun intended!)

Nicholas Cummins

thrilling

LukeTheNerd