As we move up the hill, making it past the ruins we come to the ancient stairs of stone. The stairway is on screen for only a few moments, so its hard to get a sense of how the components fit together and the scale, amount of steps etc - so as always we start with the film as reference, some from the film and the behind the scenes:
These images are really helpful if you are creating your own. I also found these links incredibly helpful to further push the overall design:
http://universoasur.blogspot.com/2010/09/games-day-madrid-2010-parte-3.html
http://lotrscenerybuilder.org/
Starting with sketches to build familiarity with the piece, I worked on some of the features and rough scale from the footage of the people next to sections of the walls etc
So from here I needed a solid starting point, an anchor to get me started with size and scale. When we look at Frodo by the steps, they are roughly the same height as he is to the first platform (he is walking those steps no body double) so if we take the rough height and divide it by the amount of steps we can start to work out a general size for that section. I used my GW Aragorn model and some polystyrene to start roughing out sizes
From here I could use this as a prototype scale, I made a model in Maya to represent the shape and size, and then made one 10% larger as sometimes a slightly larger scale woks better with the models
This is the initial scale version
And here is the 10% larger 'heroic' version
I felt that the larger piece had more presence to it, it felt more majestic and striking but still worked well as a scale to fit in and around the models.
Now I had a scale for the steps, and the first piece up the next platform. I could create the walkways and add the other details around that, and so in Maya I built a basic model to work from
I then used this to make more detailed version over it
I imported the models into ZBrush and started detailing, matching cracks, dents and any details I could find to keep it as faithful as possible to the original
The model was produced to be multi part, but because it sits across several levels I need to create some keys for the model to fit together more like a kit. A key and keyhole is a way of creating points on two surfaces so they can be joined together.
Once all the parts are prepped I print them on the Elegoo Saturn, and dry fit them together for test fitting
I hope you enjoyed the breakdown, there is a video here which also goes into a lot of depth for this build:
Enjoy!
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As we move from the Shore and into the forest, statues of old are scattered throughout the woods. We need to re create all of the statues we see to roughly the right scale so we can start with the film reference.
These are the most common ones seen throughout:
Then we have the statue behind Lurtz when he shoots arrows into Boromir:
Finally, there is a statue seen only very briefly here:
The statues are used across locations; the Archways, Weathertop and Amon Hen:
Starting with a base mesh from MakeHuman, which is a fantastic free software for creating humans http://www.makehumancommunity.org/
I then posed the models and added simple geometry for the robes, very basic for now.
Once I had these done I could start to build up the shapes and start to define the robes. For the first statue below there was no real reference of the head wear so I created something which I thought would be in keeping
I created 4 different versions of these to offer some nice variation throughout
I printed the final versions on the Elegoo Saturn. I created different depths of detail for the first statue so I could see how well the surface detailed transferred from screen to reality and added a wash
Here is a more detailed breakdown and look at the process:
Enjoy!
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I primed my model with Corax White from Citadel
Start with 2 layers of Dawnstone Grey:
Next, add a wash of Nuln Oil:
Then drybrush starting with Administratum Grey, working up to White Scar:
Finish with some washes of Militarum Green and Skeleton Horde:
I hope you found this useful, the fantastic painter on Instagram @telakthor gave me the recipe!
If you order any of the paints or supplies please consider using my affiliate link for Element Games:
https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=10674
- it costs you nothing extra but gives me a little kick back to reinvest into the business, thank you for you support and happy gaming!
]]>We start at the shoreline, referencing images, modelling basic shapes, adding high res details and 3D printing.
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The stills and referencing/ sketching is the most important part of any project because spending the time on those details is what builds up the blueprint in your mind. The model you are making becomes more familiar to you - firstly in its overall construction and then later the finer details which give it character and story.
Film Reference Stills
I also this old GW metal model as a scale reference for all of the models, this will be stripped and repainted for the final board.
Once I have these in place including any notes, I will create the basic shapes of each piece inside Maya, just basic details at this point.
3D Models
Detailing (high res) Work
The Printed Models
These were all printed on the Elegoo Saturn resin printer
Here is a video with a full breakdown:
Enjoy!
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