Apr 10, 2010

Deinonychus has left the building...

The quest for feathers continues! (Well okay, the quest to improve feathers! I've had 3D feathers for a long time now...)


So I thought I'd proceed to the head, as I've never put feathers on there before.

Like always with 3D surface replicators (the tool I make 3D feathers, fur, and forests with) the first render was hilarious. That would be the Elvis Raptor above. If the model had been my Therizinosaur I'd say Logan from the X-Men, but Peter beat me to that already.

Comparing to the feathers I already had added to the body, here is what the sideburns looked like. Just that sideburns! Though if I ever wanted to make Dinosaur caricatures of people I now know how.

By altering the size of the face feathers a bit, and make them replicate thinner across the surface (as in fewer of them being copied) I got something a little more functional.

The face feathers still stick out a bit when compared to the whole, but at least they don't look like a hair do anymore.

A problem I'm encountering with feathers, just like shading, is that due to the much larger size and surface area of the body, things look different on it than on the small body parts...
After several years of this problem (through shading) I still have no clue how to solve this problem.

Of course having bad feather orientation doesn't help. As you can see on the arm and leg feathers when I first added them...
This is one thing about Carrara that drives me nuts. The surface replicator is ALMOST the perfect tool... Except it doesn't do anything the way it should!!!
Despite their orientation pointing towards the sky on my Dinosaur, the original feather object from which they were "replicated" is pointing diagonally towards the front of the scene and twisted 35 degrees differently?!? The correlation between your replicates and their master just doesn't make any sense at all. I could possibly work out the math on it, but that gets complicated when dealing with round angled objects...
I want to know why? (Granted I'm 2 editions behind on Carrara, and this was a prototype feature in my version... Hopefully the new edition [3 away from current program] coming out this year has better control on the replicators!)
I was able to correct the problem a bit after playing... Still the result isn't as good as I'd like.

However flipping the model to the other side I discovered that there is now also an issue with orientation on the other side. Meaning I'm going to have to feather this thing one side at a time!
GRRRRRRRR
What choice do I have though, in face of feathered theropods...
An electric shaver I say!

3 comments:

Albertonykus said...

Deinonychus will have feathers now? Great! (But visibly challenging...)

By the way, is it possible for you to create pennaceous feathers right now? (I assume so, since your troodonts have pennaceous feathers on the legs.) In which case, could there be proper wing remiges and tail retrices?

Dinorider d'Andoandor said...

feathered dinosaurs must have looked really bizarre!
love them anyway!

really cool criatures!

Albertonykus said...

Some modern feathered dinosaurs already look rather bizarre! XD