My Other Hobby

Namactual

Elite member
I have always been into aircraft as far back as I can remember, but the RC hobby is relatively new for me. I started probably 2-3 years ago now. My main hobby until then was art. Both 2D and 3D. Anything from simple pencil sketches to detailed paintings. Low poly computer game models to hi poly show pieces. I even tried to turn it into a career at one point. It was fun while it lasted, but living on a very unstable income just was not for me. On the bright side, it did teach me how to balance a budget, live well on little wealth and how to stretch a dollar.:)
2DDwarf.jpg 2DBatF.jpg

Anyway, I almost completely gave up on it for about 12 years or so when I started the job I have now. I have done a few sketches here and there, but nothing substantial. When painting the Rhino skins I realized how much I missed it. I think that's why I spend so much time on them. This new hobby allows me to use a lot of different skill sets that have been sitting idle for over a decade.
AutarchPencils.jpg 3DPistol.jpg 3DWPRend.jpg

I guess that's where this thread comes in. I have been toying with the idea of using the 3D art / 3D printing for RC aircraft as well. I already have played around a little bit with the simple weapons for the Rhino along with the more detailed canopy and nose cone for the Phantom. That's just the beginning though. I used to love doing character studies. I started with pencil and paper and eventually migrated to the 3D software. I plan to use these skills in the near future as well.
MU01.jpg MU02.jpg MU03.jpg MU04.jpg

That said, while I love doing this it takes time. A LOT of time. I can spend days on the smallest little details. I will update this thread as I go, but depending on free time and motivation, the updates could be few and far between.
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
Excellent! This explains a lot. It has been clear to me that your design work has something more, some "je ne sais quoi" that makes them look just right. The artists eye!

DamoRC
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Nice! love the look of the mech, reminds me somewhat of the old Madcats from Battletech days...
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks guys!
Nice! love the look of the mech, reminds me somewhat of the old Madcats from Battletech days...
That mech is an Imperial Warhound Titan from Warhammer 40k. I am a huge 40k fan/geek/nerd.:geek: I started that model back in early 2000's. That is as far as I could go because the polygon count was so high it ended up crashing my computer at the time. That particular render took almost 20 hours. This was before the days of image based lighting, ambient occlusion and radiosity. To achieve that look, I had to create over 200 lights in that scene.o_O

Excellent! This explains a lot. It has been clear to me that your design work has something more, some "je ne sais quoi" that makes them look just right. The artists eye!

DamoRC
Thanks D!
They say a true artist can express more with one line than others can using a thousand. I am no true artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I know just enough to be able to fake it pretty well.
 

Tench745

Master member
Beautiful work. Now-adays you can almost go from those great models straight to a 3-D print. I am jealous of your skills, sir. I would say "talent," but talents are instinctual, skills are earned.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Here is something I have been working on a bit for @F106DeltaDart
H01.jpg H02.jpg
Clothing is one of those things that is easy for me to draw on paper, but it's a hard thing to model in 3D. It has to be detailed enough to be convincing, but also simple enough to manipulate when you need to. The idea is to get the general shape down with the lowest number of polygons possible and once happy, start adding the complicated details. Making big changes after you add the details makes it almost impossible.

Today between calls I have been working on the collar area...
H03.jpg
It's going slow as I can only work on this for a few minutes at a time, but it's getting there.
 

F106DeltaDart

Elite member
Awesome work! The Kiowa pilot is coming along very nicely. You have some excellent skills to be able to model people. I can model most mechanical items, parts, aircraft, etc, but people are a whole different level of skill.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks brother.

I learned early on that no matter how much time I spent on say, a piece of armor, if the person wearing it was wrong the entire picture was wrong. Since I wanted to create cool looking things, I spent a lot of time focusing on the base anatomy.

Trust me, if I can do it anyone can. It just takes some time to study. I can't count the amount of hours I would study and sketch human anatomy starting with the bones and working my way out to the skin.

If someone was interested in doing this themselves I would suggest picking up a few books by Andrew Loomis and Burne Hogarth. There are tons of others, but those two seemed to speak more of my language if that makes any sense.

Back to the Kiowa pilot though, that's one of the most rewarding parts for me. Documenting each change/stage of detail. I do the same thing with my pencil sketches...
FemScorpPencils.jpg
This was the first real pencil sketch I did in like seven years...

Sometimes the first pass looks so rough it's almost hard not to throw the entire sketch away and start over. A lot of times I do. I almost did on that one actually. If I can force myself to work past the ugly stage though, it's amazing how quickly the image turns around on the last pass.

Again, it's just a lot of work. It's worth it in the end though.
...most of the time.:)
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Killer sketches! I took a cartooning class a couple years back with my daughter and it spent over half the time focusing on anatomy too - I was amazed how much working on the basic human proportions helped even with drawing intentionally funny looking comic characters.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks Rocky!
It's crazy isn't it? Even after all of that study it's still hard to get the proportions right. Or the pose.

It's amazing how a small little detail like that can be picked up by the brain on a totally subconscious level. You don't know what it is, but you know something is not right.
 

Namactual

Elite member
I was not sure where to post this, but this will work.

I have been MIA for a while, work related, but I actually had a day off today. Yay for snow days! Another reason I actually have time to post here. I spent the day catching up on some CAD work for our schools FIRST Robotics entry. I have been at this all day, but I am making good progress...

Rest.png
Here is the robot at rest carrying a game disc.

Extend.png
Here is the robot at full extension carrying a game ball.

Lift.png
Here is the robot climbing to the highest dock.

Not all of the details are there, but the heavy lifting is done. We also have another snow day tomorrow. HAZZAH! I might actually get this done! Either way, the students will have some stuff to cut and build when we get back to it.
 

Namactual

Elite member
@DamoRC I saw your request to post some pictures of what I have in the build-ruary thread, but I did not want to stray off topic there.

I figured since I have some free time, another day off :cool:, I would post some screen shots of what I had before I was buried in work.

F-16.jpg
Here is the F-16. I have finalized the shape and am probably 75% done with the foam fu. This is at the bottom of my priority list, but it will eventually be completed and get the full painted skin treatment.

F-35.jpg
Here is the F-35. I am done with the final shape, and have about 25% of the foam fu done. This might be the first one I finish as this is quickly becoming my favorite plane.

?.jpg
This was to be another fantasy contest entry that I was not going to officially enter, but wanted to do. Anyone know what this is?

I am itching to get back to this, and I hope I can once the robotics season is over. If not, it will probably have to wait until summer break.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Robotics Update:
Wow, we are asking a lot out of this build. I have been playing with pysical limits tonight, working on the disc ground pickup the kids named the "flopper".
DiscPickup1.jpg DiscPickup2.jpg DiscPickup3.jpg

At full extension loading a ball into the rocket
Extend.jpg

In docking position at full pack
Pack.jpg

I could not even hazard a guess as to how many hours I have into the CAD, but it is paying off with the build.
MotorMount.jpg Frame.jpg FrameWheels.jpg SwingArmDetails.jpg Feb9-19.jpg

Only about 10 days before we have to bag it up for competition, it's going to be close. If this thing works as advertised though, it should be pretty cool to see in action.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Here is a 3D printed case mod I did for my new rig...
PC-3.jpg PC-2.jpg
There was just a clear plexiglass plate on the side, but I wanted a little more air flow. That is an Advent symbol from the game XCOM. The "fantasy" jet above was also from XCOM. Here is a better pic of it...
xcomraven.jpg
I will finish one day as well, but that is a very low priority.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Here is that bad boy in action...(y)
One of my favorite games of all time right there.

I have a lot of the work done on it, hopefully I can finish it by next spring. I plan to spend my summer on theF-22, F-35 and YF-21.