So, this shot was about five times more work then the previous one, due to the fact that I needed to model the Nemesis AND Cybertron's surface-- and although that may seem easy to you, seeing as what you're looking at is the final shot, it wasn't easy. First of all, be glad that you didn't end up with this:
This was my first attempt at creating a barren, desolated Cybertronian landscape, which isn't as easy as you'd think. Again, it wasn't. I spent almost all day yesterday trying out new ideas for what an abandoned part of Cybertron would look like. For the most part, Cybertron has been seen in TV shows and movies only in the city-like areas, and not the unpopulated ones. This scene is set in an area of Cybertron that's near the crater at the top, but still near the Decepticon controlled cities. So I had to keep that in mind as well as the fact that the landscape is probably damaged because it's near the crater.
So, for my first attempt, I tried a mountain-like setting, which didn't really work. It looked too organic, and the lighting didn't match the outer space shot. So, during the day I reworked the landscape, trying out things like particle arrays to create technological pathways and things; but it just looked too much like a city. In the end, I once again relied on a displacement modifier for the ground with a mechanical-ish texture, and added some ruined columns and things around to show that the area was once a city.
I modified the sky texture too, adding stars and making it darker. Again, this is nearer to the dark side of the planet, so it's darker. I put in the hexagons because I figured that that's the way Cybertron's atmosphere looked from the ground. If it even has an atmosphere, I'm not sure, but in my series it does.
And I've basically talked this shot to death at this point, so I'll stop talking now.
I may have a post or two coming up in a couple of days, so keep checking the site if you want to stay informed, (or just catch up on all the posts I made a month later; that's always fun).
