Rookies Weekly Drills 046 - GamingController

Today I re-worked the glove material mesh to have better topology to get it into a presentable state. 

I also created a UV layout for the model to make it easy to texture the relevant parts, also applied a first pass of texturing it in Substance Painter.

I now have the rest of the week to finalise tweaks to the model, texturing and presentation to try and showcase all of the details.

Started work on the mesh for the sensor and cable to connect the sensor and controller together. This is certainly turning into a beast of many pieces to UV and texture but it is slowly coming together.

Next up is a tricky part of which I am not 100% sure what the best way to approach.... the glove material and piece in-between that glues and connects it to the glove.

Once I have that done, there is a Velcro strap left to model.  I do feel I should perhaps start UVing sooner rather than later as this model will take some time to get to a presentable standard for the Weekly Drills review.

Looking to get started on the material this evening, for now a cup of coffee and a cake break is required :D

Had a play around creating a basic mesh for the material glove so I could understand shape and form a little better. Hopefully tomorrow can get into UVs and start testing some materials and textures.

Based on my previous comments yesterday I started to research into more techniques around edge flow when holding edges. I must of attempted the controller piece 4 times to experiment with edge flow and practice to try and get better at it.  The process view showcases what I ended up with.

Found getting those oval indents for the program buttons a little tricky to achieve cleanly.  I additionally assigned some basic block out materials within Maya, I am really looking forward to UVing and texturing this as there is plenty of opportunity to add the dirt and grime from the 80's!

I also found listening to 80s synthwave playlists on YouTube helped a lot getting this far today :D

Pieces left to do:

Front Sensor
Connecting wires
Glove material
Velcro Strap

Safe to say I this is an ambitious project for my current ability but love the challenge, attacking it piece by piece is the only way.

Started with a super basic block out and tweaked to try and get decent scale for the glove based on average hand measurements for young adults.

I then built up and started on the plastic top piece of the glove, I currently really struggle with edge flow and is something I am really trying to get better at.

Any resources or helpful practice exercises that you know of would be great (perhaps post in the comments or I am on the Rookies Discord as trashart).  Ideally there would be a puzzle book with thousands of topology scenarios to fix from experienced modellers that would allow inexperienced modellers like myself to build muscle memory.  Certainly still some nasties in the model just now with pesky artefacts I would like to try and sort out.

As mentioned in my previous weeks challenge I tend to try and get a first version in one state or another to allow me to iterate gradually. Next job after a few more tweaks to the first version of the plastic glove mesh is to flesh out the controller.

Within the process image viewer I showcase the updated block out shapes that helps guide when starting on detailing and creating a proper mesh for each piece.

Being an avid gamer and born in the era of Nintendo, this challenge immediately sparked one of the most interesting gaming controllers ever to come to market in 1989. The "Power Glove" has a ton of history and let's be honest what a game changer in 1989 to where we have come now with VR experiences in entertainment and virtual production.

Just watching and learning more about the surrounding history will no doubt surprise and put a smile on your face.

Starting to gather reference imagery and hopefully can do it justice as I work on it this week.

10 points if you can name the film for the quote "I love the Power Glove... it's so bad."