Forums are getting kind of tired after all these years, but then you find one that revives the excitment  you used to get from visiting. Which is exactly what happens when I visit CGFEEDBACK.com

Combine Tobin's idea of doing a hardsurface model tour in ZB and MAYA with the mini challenge they are having at the CGfeedback forums and I can't resist feeling fired up and distracted...again...

So far I have orthos of the leg done. Only 2 weeks left to do the whole thing...this has the makings of an epic FAIL! ;p

Here's the ref I'd like to use>

The challenge they're having is focused on characters, so the gal is probably what I should be working on...but for hard surface and limited time...I think I have enough to do with the bot. Might add a real person to pose with the CG bot if I manage the first step.

I was gonna try to use shadowbox in ZB4 to block this out and hoping to get something amazing to happen..but alas, ZB4 still requires you to have some good model skills...! So, after a few tries and still not yet getting my head around the shadows required to form anything beyond a disc or some deranged, mangled mesh...I went back to Modo and blocked out with primitives. How cool! ;p

I think I maybe figured out how to use the bend tool in Modo pretty good. Check that track out. ..did one tread cloned it and then bent it into shape aroud the guide wheels...need to make a tut for this while I still remember how bend tool does it's stuff...to be honest, not ituitive to me, a big circle, a handle and a small center circle. In my usual style, I ignore the manual and start going at the controls till it does something that looks right.

So here is where I have the legs.

Need to work out the proportions of the parts in this leg. The ref looks more compact and cooler. Still, happy for my first FULL model  attempt in years. :)