This is my Spaceship Project submission
Modelling
To begin, I started with a simple cube in Maya. My first step was to get a longer shape so I stretched my cube so it was longer then it was wider. Once I got the starting shape, I started using the main tool to begin modelling, the extrude tool. This tool was the tool that allowed me to turn a cube into a spaceship. By extruding different faces of the cube and adding more verticies and edges, I allowed me to build and develop my spaceship. I created the main body and thrusters as differnet shapes so it was easier to build.
This was my first shape, it’s very basic but has the general outline. As you can see, the shape of a spaceship is there but there is no detail within the model.
I then used the offset tool while extruding which allowed me to add detail such as windows, thrusters and grill/vents on the side. The offset tool let me add depth into my model and this made the outcome of the ship better.
UV Unwrapping
The UV unwrapping was teh most difficult part of the whole thing as there was quite a few faces that I had to manually select and unfold myself. One part which made the process harder was where I used the offset tool, it made it more difficult to unwrap as there was more smaller faces. This took the most time but I found it easy. One problem I encountered was that I missed 2 faces when unwrapping the model so I had to texture that part again.
Texturing
This process was the best part because it allowed me to be able to apply whatever I wasnt to the model to give it it;s own cool and unique look. First I had to lock the layer that the UV was on so it wouldn’t change size. Then I had to use the magic want tool to select the area I want to add a texture and then It would make it easier to get id of any texture I didn’t want. This process took about as long as creating the model and as quite repetitive. I also had a lot of seperate faces so I had to keep checking back on Maya to match the faces up with the ones on photoshop.
Importing it to Maya
Once I had all of the textures done, I had to export the file into a PNG so that it could be applied in Maya. When on Maya, I had to create a new Blinn which then allowed me to select a file that I want to apply. While on the blinn, I could give the model different looks, for example, glossy or rough and it would apply it to the model. You could then see the model with the textures on it. This was the easiest part of the project.
Uploading to SketchFab
Once I was happy with how the model looked, I exported the file as a FBX and with “show Embeded” ticked so the file saves with the textures applied. I then created a Sketchfab account and uploaded my model. I tweaked the background on the website so it looks slightly more appealing.
Daniel Porter 