DollsArtCats

So I actually made something in Hexagon that looks..ok. I now have the instructions, too, courtesy of my friend Andy (thank you thank you) so I will spend less time trying things that don't work and maybe actually get more finished and useful items. This one ended up being 900kb more or less when it was done and zipped (including the maps for painting it) so I am pretty happy with it. I actually got my taxes done in spite of still coughing and generally dragging around, but I have my fingers crossed all will be well for the doll show in Naperville next weekend! It's always a good time :D

So here is another render of the Dreamland Models plasma machine, and it's a bit nicer than the last one--it's in a different warehouse, (this one by Stonemason ), and it's a bit darker-- and because of fewer windows, also renders faster. But it still wasn't quite what I wanted, so I hauled out Hexagon ( a 3d modelling program) and tried some things. I need to learn more about Hexagon anyway, so it was a good reason to sit and experiment. And I did learn a lot today--I learned how to use the line tool to make cables, which is something I have wanted to be able to make for literally years, because it is the way you also make things like plant stems, and vines. And seaweed. So here is my crude Plasma Machine, but I am going to paint up the new texture maps I made for it and try those out tomorrow--this is with mostly just color applied to the model, not real painted textures: I think this one looks a little more heavy-duty and menacing--the gorgeous wall and floor ...

Spiritdoll always makes lovely tall girls, and now they have come out with a sort of "Corpse Bride" Physalia. Her full set is so pretty-- Check out her "skull head" photos! Here's her measurements and what is included: You probably need to go to the home page to see "Meow", I suspect it is a little cat figure. Meanwhile I am still wresting with Hexagon--I managed to make a petit four,which at the moment looks a lot like a washing machine because I have not figured out how to really reinforce the box corners enough to do the rough texture of the cake with displacement--the computer wants to pull the corners out and break the box. Making the texture with polygons would mean having ten thousand polygons in a mere petit four instead of the human you would want to go with it. Other programs like Z brush seem to be able to make this more organic geometry and then optimize it, but I have Hexagon, which was free.  Le Petit Four: Still a way ...

It's a floating Valentines Box! Happy Valentine's Day! You can see that I am much better at painting than at making 3d objects--the box is a little crude still, but it has no holes or extra polygons. I just need to place the hearts on the sides where they belong instead of shifted sideways, and look to see that the lace on the side isn't overlapping the floor of the box. The design is partly based on a Victorian valentine design, but then I figured out how to take a flat plane and wrinkle it a bit and map it with a lace pattern, rendered it and added the render to the painted design. And since I still have the model, I just stuck it under the box (The bottom part is a mess ;)  I got the hat made but it still has sort of strange mapping issues that I haven't solved yet-- I think I forgot to save the map and the model at the same time :p I am going to make some model chocolates and then get back to mapping the hat.