I'm working on one huge ass measurement icon and I tried some 3D along with it. Pipe in the background looks fine to me, but I just don't get something right with the pipe in front. I'd appreciate quick and constructive help.

Okay, I'm probably being annoying because you probably know about constructing ellipses already. If so, just ignore my post. :P

(Yaay, lazy ellipses tool and bad hand-writing. Oh, and the rotate tool.)
First thing, your ellipses will always be contructed making a "t." This'll help when you're making ellipses that aren't being looked at straight-on. That way you don't skew the ellipse. The "t" will always be relatively symmetrical. The right bar will be the same length as the left; the top half, same as the bottom. The top/bottom can be different measures from the right/left though. That's what gives you different ellipses.
Next, the further you get from an ellipse, for example, further under it or to the side of it, the more skewed it becomes. But the "t" never "rotates" to match up with... say the pipe. The "t" won't rotate to follow the lines in it. Umm... like

So when you skew your ellipse when you turn the pipe, the "t" will always remain upright.
Okay, the more below/above your eye level an ellipse is, (think the lip of a cup) the more you'll see of the ellipse. At eye level, it's just a line that will grow more and more. until, finally, it'll be a full circle. More than likely when that happens, however, it'll be out of your cone of vision (so you wouldn't see it anyways unless it's super duper far away).
When ellipses aren't moving up or down, but to the side, like your pipe, they'll skew as well. Picture the tip of a cone spreading out... like this :P

(Uh.. he's looking down a bit. That's why the center line isn't really... that centered. And I'm really tired. :P)
Anyways, there's that line in the middle. Assuming he was looking straight across, an ellipse (like on the pipe) seen right on that dot/line/whatever will just be a straight line or a full ellipse (depending on how you have it set up-- so basically a circle versus a rectangle) (it's like making a 90 degree turn on your dot. Just depends on how the pipe is turned to you. You can pretty much ignore this part though. I'm pretty tired, so prolly not making any sense). The further from that line you get, left or right, the more skewed it gets. Either thinner or thicker. So!
After all my rambling. (Honestly tl;dr, I don't think it even makes sense. Did I say that already?)

It'd be skinnier, but not skewed, "t"-wise. Also, I forgot to mention, the ellipse that makes up the back of the pipe should mimic the shape of the front ellipse, more or less. (it's not the same exact shape, especially if your perspective is like that, but it's going to be as skinny as or skinner than the front.) Drawing your ellipses all the way, then erasing the "hidden" part helps figure that stuff out... Um...

Also, is your pipe perfectly round like the circle-y end? I feel like the dark right below the light in the middle feels almost like it's an indent or something.

If I'm making a gazillion mistakes, point it out, and I'll realize tomorrow. :P

over the last few weeks, .... great crit here...

I dont think the angle is wrong here, theres just something with how I shade/light it. Sorry for late reply, I was busy fighting polar bears. Here's my current progress:




Edited by Smilecythe - 17 August 2011 at 1:41pm

Oh, ffs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GpQMxcHOEU

Why argue about something that is so easy to find out?