Hi, and thank you for the warm welcome to your site. I have always wanted to do a WIP report, so I have decided to give it a shot now. Its a good way to get feedback and critique as well as a push for me to see a project through and not give up halfway through like I tend to do sometimes. If I commit myself here with a thread like this, then I know I will push it through till the end.
l was actually intending to build a Fokker DR1. I did all the research, got all the reference files and even set up the Image Planes in 3DS Max and was ready to go. However, at the last minute I decided to push the Fokker to the back of the line (my line is only two planes long at the moment) and go for my second choice which is the Spad XIII. Reason for this is that the Fokker has been done so often and every Tom, Dick and Harry has modeled one, so I decided to go for something not so common. I'll definitely join the Toms, Dicks and Harrys club soon, but first up is my Spad.
I chose the Spad XIII because the form appeals to me and I love the look of it from all sides. It is a fast and robust fighter and has a decent history to it. It has many little detailed parts at the front which I love modeling, and at the same time it looks like it won't be such a complicated plane to model. The only part of this plane which I don't really like so much is the exhaust pipe running down the fuselage ending just below and past the cockpit. If I had designed this plane I would have done that part differently. I am sure pilots had to be very careful whilst getting out of the cockpit that they didn't burn their legs or hands.
My goal will be to model the plane in Autodesk 3DS MAX, then I'll add some smaller details and realistic damage in 3D-Coat, I'll create the UV's in 3D-Coat. I'll create textures in Photoshop and then back to 3D-Coat to paint and texture the whole thing. The murals I will then add in 3DS MAX and then post-process in Photoshop and create some concept artwork for the background and do the final compositing in Photoshop. Possibly I will finish off by creating a small animation in Adobe After Effects, but I will decide that at the end.
I'll document all the steps I take in this thread and invite whoever is interested to give me any constructive critiques, help and feedback that you can. I would truly appreciate that.
I have found some reference photos in the internet that I will use for my image planes, they were designed by Serge Desmet, and I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing them for this project. Thank you Serge.
I have already cut and scaled the reference photos in Photoshop and exported them to 3DS MAX where I created three image planes for the top, side and front views. I hope I succeed in uploading the screenshot here so you can see it. So now all is set to begin modeling.