There are a couple major pieces to show in this update, the first being the Dog's Head Saloon. From a design standpoint, I wanted a saloon/casino type building with a billiards table, as well as a roulette table. I was influenced on this by the movie Tombstone, which depicts the Oriental Saloon immediately next door to a billiards hall, the former being a larger and more ornate structure, primarily where the characters went for card playing, and the latter being a smaller, narrower building with billiards and other games.
I decided to utilize the original model created for one of the generic storefronts that was originally designed to be "Saloon 2," before it was modified to represent several different types of buildings throughout the town. I widened the building a bit to allow for some upstairs bedrooms and a balcony that could overlook the action down below, and added the shell of the interior.
Whereas the main saloon has a short, straight bar, I gave the Dog's Head a longer, curved bar, with stools lined up around it, rather than basing the floorplan off various tables arranged restaurant-fashion. In addition to the bar, I modeled Victorian-era billiards table and roulette table to provide the games for this environment, and added a table and chairs dragged over from the existing saloon to round out the furnishings. For decorations, I began hanging picture frames on the walls, and the centerpiece the saloon takes its name from, the dog's head.
Whereas the main saloon has a short, straight bar, I gave the Dog's Head a longer, curved bar, with stools lined up around it, rather than basing the floorplan off various tables arranged restaurant-fashion. In addition to the bar, I modeled Victorian-era billiards table and roulette table to provide the games for this environment, and added a table and chairs dragged over from the existing saloon to round out the furnishings. For decorations, I began hanging picture frames on the walls, and the centerpiece the saloon takes its name from, the dog's head.
Many period photos I've come across, as well as several representations of Old West saloons in the movies, represent animal head trophies on the wall behind or near the bar. Prominently, the Oriental Saloon in Tombstone city had a half-body cougar mounted on the wall behind the bar. Modeling an animal, though, was beyond the scope of what's primarily been an architecture-based project, so I decided to make use of the only animal model I've worked on to date, which happens to have been a cartoon version of my own dog. I cut the head off the model, mounted it to a plaque, and hung it above the bar, the Dog's Head Saloon had its name.
The last remaining, true "landmark" structure remaining for the project was the schoolhouse. 90% or more of the structures in the town so far had been traditional woodframe or adobe structures typical of Old West mining towns, with tall facades of varying design, and flat roofs. One exception had been the courthouse, based on the neoclassical design of the Cochise County, Arizona, courthouse from 1882. To bookend that style, I created the modest one-room schoolhouse in a red brick neo-classical design reminiscent of the courthouse. The schoolhouse also borrows elements from the nearby church, notably the tall bell tower above the front door.
Finally, a couple shots of the overall town in its current state. The final leg of the project involves building a handful of new interiors, as well as small "detail" world items to flesh out the environment and help bring it more to life. Some of that work, notably the Dog's Head Saloon, has begun. An interior will definitely be done for the livery stable, as well as one for the town jail. Wonder Prof Jim, and Sensei Mikkel would also like to see some texture work done on a centerpiece item in the project, so that is on the slate as well.
Since posting images inline with a Blogger post seems, at least to me, to be slightly more difficult than pulling one's own toenails out with needle nosed pliers, I'll upload a rar file again with each of the described renders. Printscreen wasn't working this time around for taking viewport shots, so these are ambient occlusion renders showing the objects without their wireframes.
I'll be back this week with more.
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