[LE] Newblet Modder Questions (3D modeling 'simple' objects)

[Tilgia]

So, I just finished a 3D modeling class, it was only 10 weeks and barely scratched the surface, but I can now make at least some stuff, I'm totes a pro at making a lovely spine vase, or bottle, or whatever.

I've wanted to make mods for Skyrim for ages, but I'm a scrub nub and I'm not really satisfied with something like a "custom" follower. I mean, maybe at some point if I was making a mod that simply demanded having one, or wouldn't suffer from having some really generic basic ones. No no. I want to make OBJECTS. So. That's what I want to do.

 

Specifically, I want to make pretty and colorful items. Potions are my favorite, though I might eventually try more complex objects, statuettes or something (I'm a huge fan of sexy collectibles. Maybe I'll make a house with a display area that has all the standard stuff and then more display areas for the stuff I make.... Or something. Idk. For now, all I want to do is simply make, and put in game a basic potion bottle. It doesn't have to be tied into the alchemy system, it can just look like a potion bottle. Though the next step would be making it an actual potion bottle. I've always hated the generic potion bottles for personally crafted potions. I'd love it if I could find a system where those could be a little more interesting.

 

So here's my question - How do I make my potion bottle Look like it has a potion in it? Yet still look like it has a bottle around the potion?

 

In my first, terrible attempt, I just converted my oh so lovely spline bottle into a vertex object, slapped a top to the "liquid" in it, dubbed the bottom a shading domain and slapped a basic lava shader on it. Which, oc just made the whole bottom half look like it was a lava thing, while the top looked like a lovely clear bottle... This was an experiment to see if that didn't come out mortifyingly bad. It did. Google doesn't know how to parse my question to be useful to me. I COULD totally just brute force my way through with boolean edits, etc, but I'd prefer a more professional, and elegant solution. I'm currently working with Carrara Pro 8.5 (got it on sale for a gloriously low price at the start of that class.) And yes, I know this thing looks stupidly generic and boring. Gotta start somewhere, and until I have a clue how to make my potion look partially full of some fluid, it just seems like an exercise in futility to come up with some cool looking shader for the concoction within.

Any tutorial or anything that isn't behind a pay wall would be glorious. Or what search to run on google cause so far I can't seem to ask the right question there.... T.T

(PS. I know there are some really nice potion bottle overhauls. I use them, and love them. But there can never be enough interesting and cool potion bottles >: D (heck, if I do this and manage to make cool bottles maybe I'll make some kinda mod that can connect to the existing mods and mix things up >: D xD idk. I love potions!))

 

To add some clarification - I suppose it doesn't really Matter if there's 'actually' anything in the bottle, it just needs to look that way x.x; After all, what is anything on a computer other than some sweet sweet illusion magic? xD

Edited December 31, 2016 by Tilgia

[Tilgia]

So I'm still not sure about this remotely, but I saw some clips on youtube using 3Ds Max, and since I have a student license for Autodesk, I figure I'll mess around with that and see if I can learn that instead.

So far 3Ds Max is Nothing like Carrara, well, not nothing, but different enough that I'm very, very grateful for the tutorials on youtube >.<;;;