When Oblivion came out in 2013 I was still relatively new to the 3D modelling scene, but I was intrigued by the complex and futuristic design of the autonomous drones, at the time I didn’t have my own license for a 3D modelling program so I waited until I got into school and immediately started working my own version of it, I used Solidworks 2013 and whilst the model was okay I was still a novice, both on how to make such a complex shape and also on how to even use Solidworks. Around May 2018 I re-watched the movie and again I was inspired to attempt to model the Drones, this time I used Solidworks 2018, and given my Five years more experience using Solidwork I was able to create a much better model, however, there was a problem, I was unable to turn my model into a finalized Rendered version due to me using a laptop at the time that was incapable of rendering high-quality models. And then in late 2018 I finally moved away from Solidworks to Fusion 360, which had the capability of Cloud rendering, this meant that I was able to render from my laptop! So again, I attempted to create a high detail model of the Oblivion Drone, at the time I was still transitioning from Solidwork and had just completed my Corridor Project, so I was still adjusting to the new interface and rendering techniques. Here I documented my process for Developing my design:
Here are the reference images I used for my model:
I started by creating a cylinder with a diameter of 70mm and a depth of 140mm, I then gave that cylinder a fillet of 70mm and that created a perfect cylinder.
I used several reference images, that showed the drone had two smaller thrusters on top of the drone, So I created a pair of cylinders on the top, I then used this to sculpt the final design.
From this point I created a new square body that I extruded to create a surface that I could build off of, I then merged both of the bodies together, this gave me a plane that I could work off to start work on the main booster, as shown in the reference Images.
From this point I cut excess from the square, I then extended the tubes.
I then filleted the edge, to follow closer to the reference images.
After I was happy with the basic shape of the back thruster’s I then extruded a rectangle from the origin of the drawing, I extruded this out 99.5mm, with an offset of 60mm this meant that it only extruded out enough for me to be able to draw on, I later covered this up with another extrusion, this time of the face plate.
Once I made a plane I was using the reference images able to design the outline of the face plate.
I then extruded the drawing backwards into the ball.
I then created a 0mm Offset and a 3mm inner offset, and then I extruded this out by 10mm, this gave me the basic outline that I was then able to carve into the more accurate final design.
As Per the reference images the face plate is not completely flat, instead one lip of the side is extended, I accomplished this by drawing on the origin ‘top’ plane a cut rectangle with a chamfered edge.
I then filleted the outer edge with a 1mm edge and drew a small hexagon, I later extruded this out by 1mm, this gave it a small outline, that I could later work with for the fine details.
This was then when I cut the arms out, this was done because it meant that I was able to separate the bodies and this meant that I was able to turn the visibility off, it also gave me a reference point for the scale for the rest of the body.
At this point I started work on the detail on the front face plate.
This is what I was left with. I added a 166 Decal using a custom font. That I designed using the reference images on Photoshop.
Once I was happy with the front design I moved my attention to the back of the drone – I first started by working on the top two thrusters, I added small fins and would later go on to create the inner ring as a light source, this would allow me to get the renders that I was looking for. Once I was happy with this I started work on the main booster, I just made a small indent that would mark the maximum size that I would need for the thruster, this again provided me with a scale ratio.
As per the reference images the back of the drone had a grill like shape, that I was able to make using a Linear Pattern that I then removed the bottom few, and then extrude cut them by 1.5mm
The reference images also show two smaller tubes sticking out the back of the drone, In some of the images I used they were shown to be more thrusters but in others they were access hatches and sensors, and so I decided on the latter of the options.
Once I was happy with the detail I started work on the Main thruster.
After a couple of hours of designing the rear thruster it was complete, I used a final circular pattern sketch to create a basic
Once I was happy with the designs on the main body I started work on the arms, these are going to contain the guns – shown in the film. Originally i was going to design one full arm I realised I actually only needed to design the top half of an arm, and then I could mirror it on the top plane, as I was going to mirror it across the body of the drone in the first place, to create both arms. I started with an extrusion of the top edge of the arms that were in the rough position that I wanted the guns to be at.
I added a fillet to the sides of the rectangle and then made a 1mm outline of the rectangle, that I then extrude cut – this was going to be the platform for my gun design.
I then created another offset this time with a 0.2mm tolerance of the inner diameter, this meant that the extrusion was separate from the rest of the body. I cut some small details out of the gun, as per the reference images and then I was able to start work on the fine detail.
After I gave body a texture I started carving a barrel
I gave the barrel small details such as a three tier inner diameter, I also put a small grove on the top of the barrel, to help improve athletics
The reference images showed the gun had some red sensors at the bottom of it, and some small cut outs – I assume for cooling, so I added these features, and gave them the appropriate textures.And After I was happy with my final model I then put it through the Fusion 360 rendering engine and I was left with this!
Louis Hitchcock 