Golden Gate Bridge Model

After many hours of work, here is the final version of my Golden Gate bridge model. I created this using the mental ray daylight system and made a whole environment around the bridge, including the river, in order to make it look as realistic as possible. I am extremely happy with how this model has turned out and this is by far my best work to date.

Using the mental ray system allowed me to apply lots of different materials to different areas of the environment - using a stream/river water material for the river, a metal material for the bridge structure and a rough concrete material for the road. The use of these different materials is another thing which helps my scene to look so realistic.

The grass texture was achieved differently. For this I created an image file in Adobe Photoshop and imported it into 3DS Max as a material, which I then applied using the UVW Map modifier - a similar technique to how I created the airship skin. The bumpy terrain was created by using a noise modifier, and rotating the planes a little. I then had to convert these planes to modifiable polys in order to create a deep recess for the river to run through.

The daylight system is set to around 16:00 on an April date I believe, in order to achieve an optimum lighting setting for my animation.

Now all of the models have been created it is time to start looking at the animation. I am very pleased with how I am progressing so far.