Loader Robot 1

July 19th 2008
Programs: MAX, wireBundler, Brazil 2.0, Photoshop
Probably one of the most complex hard surface models I've ever made. I sketched this guy while trapped for 2 hours on an airport runway. His basic function is to be a forklift, his antigravitational abilities allows him to get into areas a standard forklift would not be able to reach. The Class 1 Loaderbot (this model) is for lighter lifting, it's bulkier cousin the Class 2 (which I may build one day) is for heavier objects.

Modeled in subdivs, all the pipes were modeled using pretty standard methods, no automated script to help me out here (I did use wirebundler for the wires that attach the eyes to the main body). The texturing was done using photoshop and a number of shader tricks I've been developping, for example, a more automated way of adding knicks and scratches to the edges of objects, and then paint overrides to add manual detail where needed. Like laying down a foundation of paint before painting details, the shaders provide a base layer on which I layer lots of hand painting and photomanipulated specific details. Rendered using Brazil 2.0.