F-16 Falcon

[jkbon]

Glad to see the site is back !

I've found some time to work on my F-16 :) , here is the update.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6597/f16043zu.jpg
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1916/f16055lu.jpg

[zarroun]

Can't remember what it looked like before, but you have a nice model going on there.

[Airborne]

Looks good. What version of the F-16 are you modelling?

May already have it, but www.f-16.net is a great place for resources for this bird.

[Meshfan]

Cool. Hope to see her in color!

[jkbon]

Looks good. What version of the F-16 are you modelling?


Belgian F-16A, they have made a lot of paint schemes and I will try to make some of them :p

[Airborne]

Ah ok, here's something on that aircraft: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_users_article2.html

One thing, the canopy looks a little too "bubbly" towards the front. May just be the angle of the render, but take a look at this image: http://www.f-16.net/gallery_item17381.html . The front of the canopy slopes down more than is suggested in your mesh.

[jkbon]

I have checked the canopy, and it is ok, maybe the view angle.

I have started to add some colors, there is only the diffuse for now, so it's far to be the final version, but if you have comments ...

http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/4979/f16060ij.jpg

[deltacharlie]

sweet! looking good, especially with the start of texturing!

~DC

[hinoon]

Nice plane. Clean mesh. I'm not a jet fan but it looks great so far.

[Skyraider3D]

Good going! You got the colours pretty much nailed. Don't forget to enable Area Filtering so the roundels on the wings won't blur out.

[krazycolin]

good beginning on the colors for sure.... your ejection seat warning should probably be a bit higher and a bit towards the front though....

[Skyraider3D]

nope... ;)
http://www.zap16.com/beau05/beau05%20F-16a%20FA-133%20Belgian%20Air%20Force.jpg

[jkbon]

Hi,

I'm still alive :lol: but I don't have a lot of free time :(
I found 2-3 hours to update my textures, here are two renders with the diffuse only.

[franken_johan]

Looking forward to your next few hours of sparetime :lol:

Take a look at this (http://members.lycos.nl/frankenjohan/leeuwarden/IMG_3166.jpg) pic for some typical Belgium weathering (highres available)

[krazycolin]

Uh ronnie... if you look you will see that the triangle is higher and to the rear... i'm not talking bout the rescue stuff... jeez

[jkbon]

Hello,

here are some new renders, i've started to make the specular maps.

*franken_johan : thanks for the pic !
I will not use it for the moment because my goal is to make color scheme F-16 (like tiger meet ...)
The texture I've made is just to have a reference to make the others, but no doubt I will use it one day ... and add weathering

[franken_johan]

Haleluja! Some update! Very much interested in a canopy close-up...

[kiwi123]

Looking good !

[kevjon]

Really great job on your F16. I like the look of it a lot. Texturing is coming along nicely.

[bzhyoyo]

Yup, me like :)

[jkbon]

Very much interested in a canopy close-up...

Well, the cockpit is not extraordinary, it's a lowpoly textured one.
Just enough for what I want to do.

[jkbon]

Let's go for a first "in flight" render.

:cool: Here is the :

31 SQN "40th Anniversary" F-16 "Tiger" Falcon from Kleine Brogel, Belgium (1991)

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/6261/kb1991tl8.jpg

I hope you can give me some advices to make this render better.

[Sky_Eagle]

looks good to me :)
i am a belgian so its good to see a Belgian paintjob :lol:
tigers rule :cool:
you're belgian to ?

[Spinner]

I guess you've chosen that view angle 'cause it shows the paint job most?
Its not a good look for the aircraft's lines though. Maybe a few more degrees above or below the wing line would be better?

[primer]

Nice render, but you forgot some things that are custom for Belgian F-16's, teh passive RWR system on the chin of the inlet and in the drag chute housing.

here is a pic of them: http://www.f-16.net/gallery_item45617.html

[krazycolin]

nice pic so far.... couple of things to make your render more realistic....

firts there should be way more contrast... check out the black areas on the BG and do the same on the plane.. then do the same for the white areas.

make sure the shadows are much darker.

you should have some light inside the burner can. not lots.. but some.

your light direction is fine though not bright enough (contrast contrast contrast)

i like the angle.... looks cool

good luck...

[primer]

you should have some light inside the burner can. not lots.. but some.

I took pretty realistic to me, if a F-16 isn't in AB there is no fire to be seen.

[jkbon]

Thanks for the advice krazycolin, I wiil do it.

Nice render, but you forgot some things that are custom for Belgian F-16's, teh passive RWR system on the chin of the inlet and in the drag chute housing.

You're rigth there is a passive RWR system on the belgian F16, but not when "this F-16" with "this color scheme" flew (1991) ;)

[primer]

you're rigth there is a passive RWR system on the belgian F16, but not when "this F-16" with "this color scheme" flew (1991) ;)
just checked it out and found that you are correct. Always like the tiger paint on the Belgian F-16's better than the tiger paint on our F-16's (Dutch Airforce)

You tiger F-16: http://www.f-16.net/modules/pnGallery2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=83321&g2_serialNumber=2

our Tiger F-16: http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/7604/dscn2311jb6.jpg

But hey, we still have the best tail on a F-16 ever: http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2972/dsc00945aj5.jpg

[krazycolin]

I took pretty realistic to me, if a F-16 isn't in AB there is no fire to be seen.

In fact there is always fire. that's how a jet engine works! All engines that BURN fuel work the same way!!!!... they BURN.... FUEL.... which means... FIRE.... Which means... hey PRESTO!!! light.

now don't take this the wrong way... it's been a bad day...

[primer]

In fact there is always fire. that's how a jet engine works! All engines that BURN fuel work the same way!!!!... they BURN.... FUEL.... which means... FIRE.... Which means... hey PRESTO!!! light.

now don't take this the wrong way... it's been a bad day...

Dude, im a F-16 crewchief, i know how a jet engine works, i just said that without AB you won't see any fire comming out the nozzle, the fan drive turbine and the compressor drive turbine are in front of the flames in the combustion chamber. The only time when you will see fire comming out of the nozzle when the engine is not in AB is when there is something terribly wrong and you should shut down the engine and radio for a crash tender.

[krazycolin]

i never said FLAME coming out of the nozzle.. did i? nope.... i said LIGHT... a little bit of light... jeezzzzz....

[jkbon]

Well I've changed a little bit the view angle, and worked on the contrast, it's better like this, but not perfect :confused: It still seems to be "out of the picture".

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/8346/kb19912gy7.jpg

[jkbon]

What is the best way to make the hot air coming from the engine ?
Photoshop or is it possible to do it with max ?

PS: i didn't add a little light in the nozzle for the moment, I will search for a reference before

[cobra6]

photoshop: smudge tool, and blur, maybe a little motionblur, but do that on the background layer first.

I think the airplane need a little gaussian blur, 0,1 % or so. Then it would fit in better. because the photo is not totally sharp also.

Or try making the aircraft layer a little bit more green and or blue. just a tipsy.

Cobra 6

[franken_johan]

...It still seems to be "out of the picture"...
Don't forget that it's also a few thousand feet 'above of the picture'.
I like this one much more than the first one!

[kevjon]

One of the best techniques I've found for helping to integrate the render with the backdrop is to go around all the edges of your aircaft with the blur tool to blend the jagged edges of the render into the backdrop pixels. You need to zoom in quite a bit in PS, maybe 400 to 800%.

The render looks really good but plane needs some sort of subtle weathering to make it more realistic.

[krazycolin]

here ya go... there is some light though i will admit freely that there isn't nearly as much as i thought there would be... and therefore... i apologize.

[Spinner]

jkbon,
I like that angle much better.
Maybe the highlight on the fuse (which I like) conflicts with the shadow on the tail side? I'd get rid of that shadow. Thats the element that seperates the aircraft IMO.
Atmospheric particles are softening the background but we're close to the aircraft so wouldnt see softening there.
I think you're very close to getting the image right.

[krazycolin]

it's almost there.... a little more bounce light on the tail, some light inside the burner can, a touch of grain and some blur around the edges.... and you are done...

good stuff

[giant551]

really nice work there, i think slightly softening the background picture would help a little its very sharp compared to the aircraft at the moment it would help the intergration a lot. Fantastic stuff keep going your nearly there !!!!!:D

[jkbon]

Ok, guys,

I have smoothed the edges,
lighted the tail and the nozzle,
changed a little bit the background picture (unsharped),
and I think the result is not bad at all, and can be seen in the 3D gallery.

I thank everybody for your help. :cool:

PS : I'm already working on other painting ...

[jkbon]

Well here is a preview of the next one :
We stay with the 31 sqn, but we are in 1998 now, with a plane made for the Tigermeet, and another one to celebrate the 20 years of the F-16 in Kleine Brogel.

If you have somme critics, this will be helpful for me.

Hey primer, these planes have the the Carrapace passive RWR system ;)


I'm still trying to make the "31 sqn" picture better,
but is it possible to make the "lightwrap" effect with photoshop ?
I found alot of tutorials for AfterFX, but none for Photoshop :confused:

[Skyraider3D]

Very nice! Don't squash the clouds though.

Lighwrap is easy. Just overlay a copy of your background photo and cut out the shape of the 3D planes from the alpha channel. Next apply generous blur. Then select the 3D planes again from the alpha, invert selection and clear the area. Now you only have your lightwrap left. Adjust opacity and perhaps layer type.

[krazycolin]

your new pic is WAY better... i think we've found a new header. After you unsquish the clouds, and add some highlight to your burner can. It's not shiny enough and seems to be the default colour. And then you are done and header ready!

great work!

[krazycolin]

BTW, a lot. it's not one word!!!

[franken_johan]

That formation looks very promissing.

I know its just a preview but don't forget to match nozzle position and turn the head of the tiger-viper towards the ship leader.

[jkbon]

Thanks Skyraider3D for the ... tutorial ;)

franken_johan : What do you mean by "to match nozzle position" ? it's exactly the same nozzle on both aircraft.
To turn the head of the pilot is a good point :salute:

[Nils]

Jkbon, I believe Johan meant the nozzle opening/gauge, they are not identical. The closest jet has a much more open nozzle

[jkbon]

OK, that's what I had understood, but I can ensure you that they are the same.
Maybe an illusion due to the stabilizer, in the lower plane :confused:

[digiartist]

Looking very nice jkbon, nice compostion and nice lighting. I agree with Skyraider and krazycolin, unsquash the clouds and this header material!:D

[Nils]

Sorry Jkbon, I see it now when I look closer at it (and you're right, the farthest tailplane fooled me too, thought it was upper part of the nozzle)
But what a great image you've created! Amazing.
BTW just out of curiousity, how fast and for how long can the F16 go vertical (and still climbing of course :) )?

[franken_johan]

Sorry Jkbon, I see it now when I look closer at it (and you're right, the farthest tailplane fooled me too, thought it was upper part of the nozzle)

Rest my case... But I would slightly change camera-angle to remove the elevator out of the picture. It's too confusing like this.

[primer]

Nice render man! it fooled a friend of mine, he wouldn't believe me it was a render.

*Two thumbs up!!*


A small request, could you make a render of the Dutch J-366 of 313th Tiger sqn? Pretty please?? (I'm asking because i actualy worked on this plane.)

[Spinner]

Nils,
She can really only do it naked or light AA load. When the high fidelity flight models for f4 were being done I had all the figures and could dig them out.
Once the wings get filled up with tanks etc its more of a struggle depending on which block you're talking about.
Its her thrust ratio that makes her such a great knife fighter. WVR fight one of the best. She loses out slightly to thrust vectered models now though. You've got to drop any AG load to get that performance of course.

[Nils]

Thanks Spinner :)

[franken_johan]

When the high fidelity flight models for f4 were being done I had all the figures and could dig them out...

You worked on this???

[Spinner]

yeah, but the guy who did the core work on the HFFM was a friend called rapter a very cluey guy from the US.

[jkbon]

Well,
I've turned the head of lower plane's pilote to the upper one,
I've changed the material of the nozzle,
I've made a new background,
And posted the result in the gallery.

[Skyraider3D]

Well,
I've turned the head of lower plane's pilote to the upper one,
I've changed the material of the nozzle,
I've made a new background,
And posted the result in the gallery.
Veni, vedi, vici ;)
Congrats on the header!

[Spinner]

Yep, worthy of a header, indeed.
Congrats.

[jkbon]

This is not the end of the story ...

I have modernized (IFF antena) and equipped (fuel tanks, missiles, ...) my plane. It's very dangerous now :D

Next picture will be a "classic scheme" (maybe with a colored tail ?), so I'm going to start the weathering on these textures.

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/5870/f1624kz1.jpg

[kevjon]

Looks cool and deadly.

[jkbon]

I think I've finished (depends on your C&C) the weathering of the upper side.
What do you think ? I wanted to do enough but not too much ...
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1343/f1625gv9.jpg

[Skyraider3D]

Looks great though the contrast on the previous picture is more accurate, I believe.

PS. You are aware the F-16 uses three grey tones, I hope? Difficult to tell from these renders.

[primer]

Looks great though the contrast on the previous picture is more accurate, I believe.

PS. You are aware the F-16 uses three grey tones, I hope? Difficult to tell from these renders.
From this angle you can't see the lighter gray on the underside of the F-16.

[jkbon]

Yes I have different grey, you can see/guess the difference on the previous render, in the shadow, on the upper/side of the engine intake.

[jkbon]

Here is the bottom, I've tried to match some reference pics that I have ...

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7965/f16weathering032ze0.jpg

:confused: How is it ?

[cobra6]

pretty amazed actually ^_^ only that smear near the lower tailfins could use some more tone variation IMO :)

Cobra 6

[primer]

looks like you forgot some pannels (to connect external hydraulic power) on the underside and you forgot the EPU exhaust.

[jkbon]

Here is a first picture with a classic color scheme for my belgian F16 (a second and last one will follow).

How does this look ?

[Art 111]

AWESOME!!! Master work!!!

[denders]

That's nice! Really like that.

[krazycolin]

good stuff.

one minor crit... your light seems a bit bright... the BG is very grey... i'd drop the tone about 10%. shadow position and tone is perfect so don't touch that...

you're almost at header stage... (two Falcons on at the same time???)

[Skyraider3D]

Hmm not sure to be honest. The background looks underexposed, making your F-16 stand out quite a bit. The F-16 looks a bit too glossy too. Paint on Dutch and Belgian F-16s is very flat.
It's got a very nice mood to it though :)

[jkbon]

i'd drop the tone about 10%. shadow position and tone is perfect so don't touch that...

I'm a bit lost, I have to drop the tone of what ? the light or the background ?

you're almost at header stage... (two Falcons on at the same time???)

It's not finished, I'm not really happy with it, don't know what's wrong for now, but there is something :\

[jkbon]

Is it better like that ?

I've aqjust the brigthness and contrast on the background and lower the glossiness of the plane ...

[krazycolin]

the light make it greyer.... or boost the BG as Ronnie suggests....

[krazycolin]

boost the brightness on the BG a bit more....

[Skyraider3D]

Looking better already.
Try pressing ctrl-shift-B for AutoColor. You migth like the effect :) You can always fade somewhere in between of course.
If you're a bit stuck, try mirroring the image. Or flipping it upside down. It might bring out issues you couldn't see before cause you've been staring at it for ages :)

[krazycolin]

i actualy have a mirror beside me just for that... (although my wife thinks it's cause i love me soooo much...)

[krazycolin]

ya know... i've been thinking about this pic... i'd brighten the BG and the plane... overall... it's too dark.. unless that's the look you want.... but my feeling is that it's too.. overcast...

[jkbon]

Try pressing ctrl-shift-B for AutoColor.

:cool:
I tried it when I was tweaking the background before to use it, but strangly never though to do it after the render :\
Thanks, I will use it :p

it's too dark.. unless that's the look you want

I like this "end of the day" effect, but I will clear it up a bit.

[jkbon]

i'd brighten the BG and the plane... overall... it's too dark

And like that ? Or is it too much ?

[Galgot]

Very nice :eek: Very realistic
I like it a lot like that... light is very bright high and above the clouds like that.

[Skyraider3D]

That's quite nice. Add a bit of yellow to it perhaps to give a more late afternoon mood to it. Also, perhaps put one fairly weak light right below the plane to simulate bounced light from the clouds below.

[Galgot]

BTW... I know F-16 picts are easy to find, but some nice belgian ones here :
http://www.foxalpha.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10688
Maybe can help.

[jkbon]

Thanks Galgot, they are great !
Especially the "take off" serie.

[krazycolin]

nicd... i agree about the yellow but for whole image.. not just for the plane.... it's blooming a bit too muich for my taste.. you could drop it a bit. i wouldn't put another light it... i think it's fine the way it is under... IMO

[Meph]

Woohooo! Respect for the belgian coloyr scheme mate!

The render's looking very nice I think, it might be just a tad too bright, but just a teeny, tiny bit ;)

[jkbon]

I didn't had lot of time for 3D since september, and I don't expect more for the the next months :cry: , but I found time to make this one :)

Comments and critics are welcome.

[Skyraider3D]

Nice one mate!
The composition feels a bit uneasy somehow though. Perhaps moving the far F-16 a bit to the top-left would improve it.
Also you may need to increase the shadow bias setting on your lights a bit, as the bottom of the tailplane on the far F-16 is casting shadows on itself.