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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 2, 2009 2:16:05 GMT 1
I'm not being a dick, I feel crits are far better to progress an idea than saying its great all the time that's all   Do not worry about hurting my feelings, I'm a lot tougher than that. ;D I think I see what you mean, the little spigot sticking out of the lower leg is too close to the axle point to be effective, it would not give enough leverage and there is nothing to push the top part of the lower leg forward, I need some thing to turn the vertical force of the worm into a horizontal force. Also the lower leg needs a fixed point in relation to the upper leg but without using a pivot. I look forward to your input, just a suggestion can set my mind off in a different direction. Edit; Ok I've just read the relavant passage in the good book and it says I have modified my design a little, it still uses the sliding parts but it has a relatively fixed pivot as well, actually it's more like a seesaw's fulcrum, I needed something to stop the upper and lower parts of the leg being pulled together. |
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Post by Anim8tr on Feb 4, 2009 2:00:42 GMT 1
Looking very nice, LC! Your angled neck design really imparts a sinister, bio-mechanical essence to the model. And the body retooling for the basket placement looks ace. Your 'cut-out' design integrates it nicely. The tentacles look like a natural to me. Stylistically they tie-in with the serpentine look of the neck. As for the leg joints... Some really complex mechanics within those renders. As well as a touch of organics. Might I suggest your design coupled with a leg style that resembles the neck? Would give a nice symmetry to the model. Just my thoughts. Great work! It amazes me how fast you can render! |
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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 5, 2009 1:34:43 GMT 1
Looking very nice, LC! Might I suggest your design coupled with a leg style that resembles the neck? Would give a nice symmetry to the model. Just my thoughts. Great work! It amazes me how fast you can render! Not that fast, these two images took me a couple of days to render.  I may consider using the "Neck style joint" for the leg to body connection, thanks for the suggestion.  I have simplified the design and the motive power is now tucked away inside the upper part of the leg, I have had to use, what Wells would call a relatively fixed pivot, as I said before it acts like a fulcrum on an upside-down seesaw.   It wasn't until I had almost finished the animation that I realized the strange banana shaped end on the rod could have just had a diagonal slot and could have been shorter too and the connection to the rod would have worked better if it was joined at the mid-way point and not right at the end,  Well it too late now, I think you can get the idea. Your comments please. |
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Post by crystalegg on Feb 5, 2009 2:22:14 GMT 1
I incorrectly assumed some nasty wheels may have been the unseen motivating force for your cables.
The "worm" design is excellent. For someone who doesn't fancy organic design I was surprised, although you'll probably render that bit in metallic to go with the flexible neck design.
Just a question: I can see how the leg flexes towards the "worm", but what motivates it to straighten out? A large counter-worm, or smaller worms that pull the friction bearings together?
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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 5, 2009 2:54:30 GMT 1
Just a question: I can see how the leg flexes towards the "worm", but what motivates it to straighten out? A large counter-worm, or smaller worms that pull the friction bearings together? I wish I hadn't called it a worm it's my own fault ;D The "worm thing" is what Wells described as the polarizing discs in an elastic sheath, by running a positive current through them the discs are drawn closer together and by running a negative current through them they are pushed apart, so you only need to reverse the polarity to create a piston-like action. |
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Post by Scifishocks on Feb 5, 2009 3:00:57 GMT 1
I'm coming into this quite late (but I've enjoyed reading this, so far, and would like to put in my pennorth)... HG pointed towards a sort of muscular arrangement (on a human level, it must be stated) for the joints of the FMs. We know this. We must remember thought that HG's thoughts are not necessarily indicative of the current (in the Narrator's world) thinking, nor of any other. In short, you can't really rely on him. Therefore, all bets are off. I had to remember this when I was writing Aftermath. The Narrator knew only what was laid before him at the time of writing. He was not a scientist and he got what he could from the scientific ideas of the day and from the media. We know wheels are out from a Martian point of view...and they used some kind of synthetic muscular movement... but we know little else. Don't look to the text too much, it will drive you mad. Do we have any budding engineering students in the fold? I'm loving LC's take on the joints so far, btw. Please. Keep this convo up, it is fascinating! |
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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 5, 2009 3:12:28 GMT 1
Don't look to the text too much, it will drive you mad.  TOO LATE! ;D |
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Post by crystalegg on Feb 5, 2009 3:21:32 GMT 1
I understand the polarizing discs concept. What I wasn't clear about was how they would work to "push", as opposed to "pull" in your design. If they were freely suspened in the elastic sheath pulling would not be a problem, but for them to push forcefully without bowing outward instead of forward the discs would have to slide on an internal telescopic bearing rod. This isn't an important detail visually, but it is in a mechanical sense and would affect the way the model is animated.
(Bugger that, I've just seen your new design and everything I posted above doesn't apply. )
Visually speaking, however, I prefer your exposed design in the ways it tries to acknowledge the meager descriptions from the book.
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Post by fleeingfromtripods on Feb 5, 2009 8:06:20 GMT 1
It's not a total waste, as the underlying structure serves as a guide for the design of the flexible covering. How about a texture similar to the striated appearance of muscle tissue ? :-/I don't want to make it too organic. :)Oh yes I realize that, I only put the cables in to make the mechanism more understandable and I did say a couple of posts ago "(this is just the joint not the motive power, that will come later)" Perhaps your model could use a translucent sheath that still allows your hard work on the mechanism to be seen a bit. I like this idea. 'Poykes' is this more what you had in mind?  This one's not animated but I think you should be able to imagine its operation, when all the curved rods are stacked one atop another the leg will be straight. How is that going to bear any weight at all when in that configuarion? |
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Post by poyks on Feb 5, 2009 9:19:55 GMT 1
How is that going to bear any weight at all when in that configuarion? I think we've moved on a little since then. It's developing very nicely now, nice work LC!  |
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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 5, 2009 20:56:41 GMT 1
How is that going to bear any weight at all when in that configuration? That design was made knocking on a week ago and was just to demonstrate the bending of the knee joint without using a fixed pivot, I didn't want to clutter up the picture with inconsequential stuff that did not relate to what I was trying to get across at the time. You are correct it would not support any weight in that configuration unless you add a couple of struts either side of the leg as I have done on the designs I posted last night. Thanks Poyks. |
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Post by Commandingtripod on Feb 6, 2009 12:02:36 GMT 1
Very nice work I must say LC. I've been following this and I must admit that I like the way the leg joint moves at the moment. |
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Post by Anim8tr on Feb 6, 2009 14:07:50 GMT 1
I'd agree, the addition of the struts makes the knee look much stronger. Like how you've housed some of the mechanics within the leg as well. |
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Post by Lonesome Crow on Feb 7, 2009 3:12:05 GMT 1
OK I shall leave the leg joints for the time-being and go back to the tentacles. Relyt posted a design I like a lot so I've had a go at turning it into a 3D image' Here it is.  I've also done a tapering spiraled one.  Your comments please or suggestions for other designs. Edit Thanks Anim8tr & Commandingtripod. |
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Post by Bagnew on Feb 7, 2009 5:09:26 GMT 1
Oh, Wow, both of those are amazing.
I suggest, perhaps, if we/you end up making a handling machine, that the Spiraling design may be more suited to the Blood Pipette?
I think that they'll look better when they're longer, but they look great.
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Do not worry about hurting my feelings, I'm a lot tougher than that. ;D
Well it too late now, I think you can get the idea.
TOO LATE! 
