Metal Sonic Update

Okay, now I know why it was taking my University classmates several hours to render just a few seconds of their animations, whilst it only took me about a 10th of the time.

Before I explain why, here is a few comparison images of my model with some Official Concept art:



As it can be seen, I have managed to create a successful model true to the concept images. The only major areas that need improving on are the dimensions of the hands and feet. The reference image that I was working from when creating the model cut off just below the body, making it difficult for me to model the hands and feet accurately. Despite this though, I still believe that they still look in proportion to the rest of the body.

Now onto Mental Ray...

I finally applied Mental Ray to my model and it made an enormous difference:


The model on the left is before Mental Ray was applied, and the ones on the right are after it was applied, and are shown in different lighting.

It instantly gave the model an element of realism, making it much more appealing to the eye. However, at the expense of the realistic lighting, it now takes 10 times longer to render each frame. In fact, it took 3 and a half hours to render 6 seconds of Metal Sonic's eyes flickering on and off whilst the model remained still. Not only this, but my laptop is seriously struggling to run with Mental Ray applied.

Unfortunately due to these reasons, I am unable to complete the short animation that I had planned. As I am no longer a student, I don't have access to the computers at the University, so all I have to render my model is my laptop. It just sadly cant be done. So I have decided to move on from this project. Maybe one day I will animate the model without Mental Ray applied.