Finally satisfied with this. It took way too long, but I also learned a lot. Great course for beginners.
One of the best things I learned (not from the course) was how quad topo doesn't have to be stressful. There are shortcuts and weird unorthodox edge connections that resolve perfectly fine. Let's just say making the panels was a deep dive into what was possible for great shading versus best practice.
It didn’t take long to find the plane to mashup with the course. The P-51D Mustang is iconic and pops up everywhere. The course is just modeling, so I took it further as I tend to do.
The plane is over 750 objects. I made all the panels myself once I figured out a consistent and predictable method that didn’t scare the crap out of me in case of mistakes. I placed every rivet by hand/snapping and it was actually a little fun. And also organic as it was impossible to be perfect, but then looking at real examples, they aren’t either.
I learned about parts of a plane so that was a bonus that I’ll probably never use.
Clocking in at around 6-7M faces per plane (only because I’m cranking sub-d to 3 with already considerable bases). Every single part is editable in a comfortable controlled way even though it may look scary, it’s really not. Or maybe I’m just numb to it now 😆
As usual, please feel free to ask me questions if you want to know more about what I did!
Here's a larger version.
I’m of the opinion there’s no such thing as taking “way too long” when:
A.) you’re learning through the process, and
B.) your results turn out THIS GOOD!!!!
One of my “learning” projects (a full cyberpunk gas station environment with tons of objects, tons of lighting, background buildings for depth, flying background zeppelins) took me over 5 months as I continued taking other tutorials but circling back to make progress on the gas station. Speed will come from more reps. But SOLID and INSPIRING results fuel more momentum. You should absolutely be proud of these results, m’man. Truly looks AWESOME!!! 😍
Love the detailed rivets. And the “blender bombshell” graphic is such a nice touch. Also having the runway appear a little wet so you can see the reflections truly sells the environment. Love it!!!