Update:








Testing the animation of the clock rings:



The main focus of the animation - the time machine, is getting closer to how I want it to look. I have the main machine all blocked out and the most important components built. I've began some texturing and shading to get the palette and materials close to the style and feel of the environment and period. As I progress I keep realising more details I want to add and components to make it seem believable and to add the quirky 'tinkering' design of the machine. With more texturing I'm hoping to make it seem more organic, especially the chair which still needs to be sculpted. I'm hoping to have the machine close to ready in the next couple of days so I can get working on the environment and the piles of props to fill it!


The materials I've been working with so far, are texture maps plugged into Mental Ray's MIA_X shaders and some fiddling on the reflection curves and values. Depending on render time, this is a shader I'll try and incorporate into other areas of my scene, as I like the range of controls and values it has.

Although my machine is constructed mainly of metal that could shine, I want to give it a bit of grit and dirt. The environment and owner of the machine needs to be reflected in the design, so I assume it was built in a smoky room out of tarnished metal. I'm going to try and push the rusty edges and soot a little more as I refine the textures.