CGI ANH Stormtrooper and ESB Darth Vader

[AdamFX]

Nice work.

 

[superrune]

I've been experimenting a bit with the Stormtrooper 3D model. I figured that since the underlying topology in 3D is symmetric, I could write a piece of software that mathematically aligned the two halves against each other - producing a perfectly symmetric version of the helmet. It's not the helmet I'm going to move forward with, but I thought it would be an interesting thing to see.

Here you go, a perfectly symmetric Stormtrooper!

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Looks amazing.

 

[superrune]

I've done some good progress on Vader, and have a cleaned up the face and dome. This is basically done completely from scratch using the raw scan data as an underlying template. I've been trying as best I can to stay close to the Don Post helmet, while fixing the flaring and removing the helmet mounts. Could any of you take a look at this and see if it still flares out? I've looked at stills from the film and at my EFX Vader, and I think it's pretty good now - but I do get blind at these things.

I've made him a grey plastic to make it easier to see the details. Going over each centimeter I've really learnt to appreciate the shapes the sculptor put into this. He feels like the Lamborghini of helmets; a great interplay between curves and convex/concave forms

 

[superrune]

After checking some of the great photos on the "How was Vader's helmet modified..." thread, I noticed that a lot of the details were plain wrong and probably too soft. So I've spent a couple days going over the model to make it more accurate. I hope it looks better now. This model will go into a sculpting software (zBrush) where I will add a layer of more organic looking details.

 

[superrune]

I'm pretty happy with the sculpt now. I've looked at stills from Empire and photos of the promo suit that was for auction a while back, and tried to model the imperfections and details I could find. There are still some proportions that are off, but I think I need to pause a bit to actually see them. Next up is paint!

 

[superrune]

I've painted the mask now, and done a couple renders with lights to see how it matches up with the original. There are some definite issues with proportions, but its hard for me to see what they are. When I match up, nothing quite lines up. Seems like the eyes should be more narrow, mouth wider, dome not as tall etc etc. Wish I had an accurate helmet to do measurements from!

Here are some of the renders, hope you like them

A studio look:

My 3D helmet put on a frame from the movie:

And a fake clay version, just for fun

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Since you scanned a Don Post, you really should check with RotJ reference. But what I can see right off the bat is that you need to straighten out the curvature on the right side of the neck - left in the picture - to be more soft curved like the left side. It should not stick out so much down at the bottom. The top edge of the chin vent should probably also be straightened out a bit, as it shouldn't curve at all.

Also bear in mind that screen shots from the movie has warping due to the camera lens, distance and zoom.

 

[superrune]

Thanks! I'm moving away from the Don Post mask, since I'm not interested in making an imitation of that version

I have managed to do a pretty accurate matchmove of one of the ESB shots, and will use that to correct the proportions of the mask. This is something I did with the Stormtrooper helmet as well. Having a moving shot makes this quite easy thankfully. If I track two closeups of Vader as well, this thing should (in theory) be pretty accurate!

(The curved top and bottom of the image frame is a result of the undistort process)

 

[lethyry]

those renders look killer, especially the " studio look" are these just 3d renders you're making or are you planning on 3d printing them as well?