Skip to main content

Picking Boom

T

he very first model I began to create at the start of the project, back in Autumn 2018, was the bow mast of the F/V Scully. This was created using very little detailed reference; mostly from photographs (much like the rest of my work in the project).

Since then, I have come a long way in my modelling skills and decided to take on creating one of the last large pieces of gear attached to the bow mast. The picking boom. This acts like a giant winch that hoists up crab pots onto the deck. After the coiling block has brought up a pot from the sea floor to the surface, the picking boom then transfers it onboard onto the pot launcher.


Jason Bartlett ©

Above is the complete picking boom attached to the bow mast. I quite enjoyed working out the location of the mounting points to join the two like that onboard the fishing vessels seen on the television show Deadliest Catch.



Jason Bartlett ©

To create all the rigging, I used bezier curves and extruded highlighted cylinder faces along them. While creating all the rope, I made sure to keep an eye on the poly count (as it can build up substantially) and always check the subdivisions axis before extruding.



Jason Bartlett ©


Some creative licence is required where I cannot find exact references. Such as the small pulleys above and the hydraulic winches below.


Jason Bartlett ©

As usual, it took some research to find out the type of hydraulic winches that are used on the boats. This time around I was successful! I managed to find out the name of manufacturer that supplied the winches onboard several of the boats seen on Deadliest Catch and then found the pdf manuals online with detailed blueprints!



Jason Bartlett ©

The picking hook is both a really useful piece of gear and a highly dangerous one!


Thanks for reading :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crab Pot

For the next step of the modelling process of the crab pot, I was challenged with another huge hurdle ( to say the least). This stage was where all the painstaking problems crawled in again.  The rope. I thought making some bendy cords would be simple enough, but believe me, it was anything but. There aren't many tutorials, covering the whole modelling process to the end 'game ready' product, for rope. So, like previous obstacles I faced in the modelling stage, I used multiple methods and trial and error to find the best path.  Actually, creating a tube following a manually placed path, was the easiest part for me. I had picked this step up while at University. However, I had to manually place and move each Bezier path to form the guide lines, for yards of rope, in a natural and realistic way. Hundreds of them. I spent more hours than I would have liked, setting up the paths to guide the rope along. I kept asking myself that there must be an easier way to tie...
Post a Comment
Read more

Render Tests

An important element in the conceptual stage is to not look at a problem from one perspective. It's always best to get multiple views to achieve a greater outcome. To reach an end goal is one thing. The journey to that end goal is something else entirely. One of my favourite quotes by Carl Friedrich Gauss states "It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment". I totally agree with this and it applies to game development. Creating something big or small brings its challenges and the act to reach the finish line is where the magic happens. I hope to experiment in several styles, as would any other artist working early on in game development; focusing on diversity and demonstrating imagination. Jason Bartlett © I created the above image, of a  bow mast, using the toon shader in the render settings of Arnold for Maya. I really enjoyed creating the style, was simple to se...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Project

Hello! Sometime while at University, studying Computer Games Arts, I had a vision for a video game. This idea, from 2015, would turn out to become a passion project where I mused, jotted and doodled on the sidelines of studying.  It wasn't for a further three years until I decided to actually put pen to paper (or pen to tablet in my case) and bring my idea to life.  As the quote goes, "A dream is just a dream until you decide to make it real" or "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them". So in Autumn 2018, I did just that. Pursued my dreams. Now I wouldn't attempt to make a whole game all by myself. That would be silly and take literally years!  I lulled over the notion of asking fellow  graduates and  freelance artists  to aid in bringing my vision to life. This would be great but several factors including money and time played on my mind...alot. Then a marvell...
Post a Comment
Read more