An amp for the Strat...
 

Well, here's the first FPrime output of the stack I'm putting together for my Strat collection...

The actual amp fascia is just a simple placeholder image at the moment, and none of the surfacing is even part way there yet.

The Marshall logo is entirely modelled by hand and weighs in at around 1000 polys all by itself. The entire model so far is 115077 polys and rising...

Looks good, Mark - the modelling looks fine - should look superb once you've got this puppy properly textured.

Right. Here we go with the first test render with proper textures.

I still need to texture around the back of the amp, and also finish some modelling off around there then I can move onto the speaker cabs.


Also, if anyone has a high resolution scan of the Marshall signature that is signed on the right hand side of the front panel of these amps, or can take a high res photo, then that would be greatly appreciated.

Looks realy nice mark love the detail on the outside of the amp
I've got one like that at home and think it looks almost like yhe real thing

the only thing that boddering me are the buttons they normaly have the same metal look like the control panel and they have a stripe on them
but don't get me wrong it think it looks fantastic these are verry verry smal details

oh befor I forget mine is not signed so I'm verry sorry but no pic

Moenzi, thanks for the comments. I know that the knobs aren't finished yet. I've still got some texturing to do. but this was the state is was in last night (started at around 10am, finished at around 2am - worked solid pretty much all day).

I managed to eventually get the signature from the JCM 800 2230 reissue manual on Marshall's website. Just a little touchup in Photoshup, and it looks the biz.

I've currently now got it to the stage where the back panel is just about textured, and all the modelling is done there too. I need to model the valves and caps sitting on top of the amp, and also texture the mesh panel that sits in front of them - that and the feet should finish this off (I'm hoping to pretty much have this complete by the end of today).

Once that's done, I can work on the cabs...

There is one glaring problem that I think I've stumbled upon, and that is the front panel of this is worked after the JCM800 2230 Reissue amps. However, the reference shot that I've used for the rear panel is from an original JCM800 50W Lead, so the model is slightly inaccurate. Also, the shot I have of the rear panel is rather poor, so I've not managed to get all the detail in there, but it looks respectable enough for now...

witch texture did you use for outside of the amp?

The buffalo hide is purely procedural. I've posted it to the presets/cloth section (since it is actually a cloth covering).

However, I'm not currently seeing it in the preset list.


I'll PM David to see what's happened.

[EDIT] Right - well I can get to the preset through the latest 5 uploads list, so you'll be able to get it whilst it's in there...

Here's a direct link to the page as well: http://www.simplylightwave.com/downl...tid=2&typeid=1

Right, we now have some more renders...

I've pretty much got the Head complete now. I'll need to revisit the texturing on the back at some time assuming I can get a good reference image for this model Amp. The Cab is now pretty much done as well. I still need to add cab handles, cab divots (for the castors), and to dirty up the castor wheels. I also need to model the interior of the amp (valves, caps, transformer, etc), but again, this is dependent on getting some good reference pics.

One thing that is letting me down at the moment is the shadows in the renders. I'm getting some pretty awful artifacts with the shadow maps. I think this is down to the wierd intersections that some of the geometry has (such as the top of the amp chassis with the wooden front panel) - I've not tried ray-traced shadows yet, so an area light might sort out the problem)...

C&C welcome:

The full 1/2 stack:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...ndCabFront.png

Closeup of the power switch:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...owerSwitch.png

Shot of the rear panel:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/lightwave/RearEnd.png

just love it, just love it

Looking really nice, Mark. No real crits here. Have you made a transparent power switch there and lit it from the inside?

just really the cab speaker main area that dont look the right texture (material) aside that its damn neat

Great details.... I love it....
One thing I like the most on any work posted here are those closeups.

Thanks all for your comments...

@Fallenswordsman - The switch is a semi-transparent subpatch object with two surfaces. The outer surface being a relatively high transparency plain red with no bump and lots of spec to make it look like nice smooth plastic. The inner surface is similar but with lower spec and a nice arrayed bump texture to give it that frosted look. Then it's all set off by three (white) point lights that sit inside the switch.


@ Kevin - I know what you mean. I'm not entirely happy with this texture myself (it was something quick and dirty I threw on there. I need to revisit it soon. However, I'm finding it difficult to get just the right settings for that strange type of nylon/cotton hybrid fabric that gets used on the front of speaker cabs. I'll crack it eventually.


@ Claudio - talking of closeups, here's the patch bay on the back of the speaker cab:

http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...PatchPanel.png

weee! great!

the only thing that puzzles me is the polycount... where are they hiding? could you post a wire please?

And I really don't want to put down your work here, since it's very accurate and rocks, apart from the Marshall Logo; that one does look a bit strange... post a wireframe and an image of your reference and I might be able to help since I think you have just chosen the wrong approach...

OK...

Here's the main reference shot:

http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...e/marshall.jpg

... the shot used to build the panel:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...panellarge.jpg

... and the shot used to get the Marshall logo:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/lightwave/Logo.jpg

finally, a wireframe of the whole thing ... Front:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/lightwave/WireAmp.jpg

... back:
http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...ireAmpBack.jpg

The object consists of 16437 polygons of which 1533 are plain old normal polys, and 14904 are subpatches. There are 19 surfaces, and the model is spread over 10 layers (although more are envisaged to allow for independant animation of controls, etc.)

Thanks for the info, Mark - those are some excellent close-ups you've got there. How long has it taken to model?

oh! 16.5k sounds fine, I thought you said something about 100k polys... still, lemme give this Marshall logo a shot... I'll post a screenshot here soon :)

ok, here's what my "M" looks like

and here's what I've done:

I traced the M with the pen tool, trying to foresee where I will need vertices (more in sharper corners etc.)

then I used the edge tools to cut it into quads, saving a copy of the original on a different layer.

then I beveled the 1-poly-M, deleted the huge top poly and pasted the bevel onto the layer with the cut M.

merged points, hit Tab to make it SubD and did run 2 bandsaws along the beveled wall to sharpen the top edge.

and here's the model file to dissect:

@ Fallenswordsman - The model has so far taken around 15-20 Hours solid work over the last couple of days - that's including all modelling and texturing (including painting the various maps). There's still more to be done, but its all the little bitty stuff now - Amp interior, refining the maps and surfacing, etc...


@ Philip - Yeah - I did say that there was over 115000 polys in there. Not sure what happened, must have had a brain fart or something (well, I had been modelling for a good 10 hours straight when I wrote that)... I must admit your 'M' does look superb. I kind of went in a similar vein, but suppose I didn't take enough care over the point layout when I used the pen tool. Also, I made the top polys by hand, so there is some artifacting going on there where the lines aren't too clean. It's another think I need to add to the rework list. Thanks though for posting your model. I'll rip it apart and see how it ticks :)

Well, I've remodelled the Marshall Logo, and whilst its still not perfect, I'm a hell of a lot happier with it now than the previous version...

http://www.medwards.dsl.pipex.com/li...shallLogo2.jpg


I pretty much modelled this along the lines of how Philip suggested (except I used manual point placement/polygon creation instead of the pen tool. Also, when extruding the subpatch I applied a little smooth scale to the rear polys to get that expanded look to the text.

Think this is all I'm going to get done tonight since I'm bushed...

yes, looks a lot better now. great work!

this is impresive

i got a general question that this has reminded me of:

when you create items like the back patch pannel, do you build it as part of the main case or as a seperate wireframe / layer?

The simple answer is "it depends"...

For the rear part of the Amp, I modelled all the individual items in their own layer(s), and then transferred them via copy/paste into the same layer as the amp chassis itself. However, things like the power selector may (or may not) be transferred back into their own layer at a later date (all the control switches on the front for instance are in their own layers so I can animate the amp being switched on).

The rear of the Cab, has the main rear panel being modelled as a simple bevelled box (whereas the outer shell of the cab is a subpatch object). The speaker patch bay was again, modelled in its own layer, and eventually transferred to the same layer as the main cab.

The simplest way to look at it is if the item might need modification or animation, then leave it in its own layer, if not, then bring it in with its related parts to ease headaches in layout.

Lol - at the rate Philip's going at the moment, you'll be finding a "How to make an M" tutorial up in the next couple of days. Excellent work, Mark - and nice remodelling of the logo.

rofl :D :D

Mark, correct me if I'm wrong, but since I signed as member here, I notice that you are almost always posting in every single thread, but not much posting your work....

I have to tell you,,,, keep going because your work worth a good look. Superb

Claudio, thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't post much work because I don't often produce much out of Lightwave. I'm a techie (developer) by trade - although not a Lightwave developer ... yet, which is why I tend to latch onto technique and the 'how' of doing stuff.

Hopefully, all being well, I'll find more time and inspiration to produce my own work from now on.