Assignments » Ideas and Planning

Well it has been a while since I got my assignments and managed to hand some in from the last semester. Now we have received more since then so I’ve practically started collating ideas and planning my objectives for the final outcome.

Time Based Media 1-2 minute video on a theme of my choice
Well I scrapped the initial idea I had… Instead I chose to do a short film based on a silent story about people who work very hard for a long period of time (their whole life) just to be on stage/entertain or gain fame for a mere moment in life. It features a ballerina who is shown dancing very hard in a studio for her final performance on stage. However, when the stage curtains unveil, the last scene shown is of her in a trinket box.

Problems include:

• Finding a ballerina to dance for me.
• Search for a wooden trinket box with a ballerina that still functions.
• Seeking some royalty free music that fits with the context.
• Booking a camera for the day that the cast is free.
• Locating shooting locations and ask for permission.

I hope this will all go well and I will be able to film it! Though I do have a back-up plan B if all goes wrong… *fingers crossed*

3D Max Model Entity 2 To design, model and animate a 3D object render
This time I’m not only asked to model a realistic object, I have to animate it this time. Therefore I decided to model an organic object of a rose (because they’re pretty and all girls love them). However it will be the one of the levitating rose from Beauty and the Beast, so I’ll have it moving inside the glass cover and its petals slowly falling off. This should be a challenge to me because trying to achieve an organic material will be hard. I’m assuming many bump maps and studying tutorials would be needed.
I know the polygon count will be very high…

Illustration Drawing many different vehicles and weapons for a post-apocolyptic game
Amazingly enough, my friend hired me to draw and model itmes in 3D max for his new game application he is currently making. It is a clicking game which just randomises your outcome of car races. There will be various other implements but he’s keeping it simple for the time being and slowly implementing it as we progress through time. So far I’ve managed to sketch out a backdrop design for the game which he likes. Just need to photoshop it and turn the opacity down. More updates on this later ^_________^

Human Computer Interaction Design and create a user interface for an aeroplane hire company
We were put into groups for this assignment. It is about an aircraft company which allows people to hire their many aircrafts to fly or to learn to fly. We only need to create the interface design and not the database which makes the assignment somewhat simpler to handle. Although making the database shouldn’t be a problem. We might even end up creating one in Access and making the interface design on there too.

Flash Application Create a flash based application to be distributed on CD-Rom
I’m working with Ollie for this project and we’ve planned to design and make a childrens application which features allsorts of educational games. These games will teach them Maths, build upon their creativity and develop their reading skills (phonics). Colourful vector images and voice over clips shall be used to stimulate their learning progress. We shall try to implement a high-score board and a user profile feature where children are able to sign into their accounts and track their progress report.
We are working on the colours for the application and the characters to use which would help motivate the children and also act as a form of help. We’re basically working on the different games and the interface. Like if all the games will be available at the beginning for the child to play and they pick their choice? Or should they be a storyline where the child has to advance along the stages to reach the story’s end? I’m unsure, we’re still at the drawing board and experiementing in Flash AS 3.0.
Hell we still don’t have a good catchy name!! We’ve just dumped our surnames together as the company nme though xD So unique eh?

3D » Final Entity: Fire Extinguisher

The final outcome of the Fire Extinguisher entity I made for my 3D project. It has more shiny materials and I’ve included some close-ups.

3D Max » Boat and Bottle Models

For our assessment we had to follow some tutorials and learn how to use 3D Studio Max (this was before I created my Fire Extinguisher) and model a glass bottle and a wooden boat. The bottle took forever to make because of its geometries. Alex helped me with the glass and label materials because I couldn’t get the label working or the correct orientation. I prefer to watch people doing it then do it for myself. I learn better that way.

Wooden Boat: Learning lofting and to use materials

This boat was created by lofting different splines. Took me about 3 attempts to get this final result because the UVW map of the wood material wasn’t facing the correct direction and wasn’t wrapping around the boat. Even Andrew, my tutor didn’t understand the problem. It was Andy who had the same problem as me who helped. Apparently the yellow map box had to be scaled differently so the material would wrap around. Instead of stretching it to fit the model, I had to stretch it vertically. Weird eh? Took me a while to find the button to make the hole for passenger seat compartment transparent. It was a black square before so users weren’t able to see the inside of the boat.
In the end I added a plane with a water image to make it seem like it was floating in the sea. However the lighting isn’t correct and therefore it doesn’t look realistic. I did try to have it washed ashore but it looked odd too. So I kept the file like this.

Glass Bottle: Modelling with splines and lathe

This next image is the Glass Bottle and Glass (which looks like plastic) tumbler I created. The tumbler was the first thing I ever created in 3D Studio Max. That was simple as it was just extruding a few polygons.
The Glass was such a huge task and some people in my class are still trying to create it. The hardest part of that particular tutorial was the bottle cap, because we had to weld vertices and delete different lines and if you get it wrong then you’re having to start again. It had so many people frustrated. Gaz did it so many times he has practically memorised the tutorial and can do it from scratch.
The bend modifier on the cap doesn’t show well, possibly because I require something to reflect it. There is a slight scratch on the bottle neck where the bottle of the glass shows through. I am not sure why this happens though.
I think this model looks realistic and it has taught me many techniques in 3D Max. The only problem I think is to make the cap a realistic metal material.

3D Max » Fire Extinguisher

I was set to create a 3D model of an existing object in the real world within 3D Studio Max. I chose to model a fire extinguisher because I thought this would be fairly easy and simple to make. To begin I researched on the components of a Fire Extinguisher and found that it consists of:

• Cylinder – Holds extinguishing agent and expelling gases
• Handle – Used to carry and hold extinguisher
• Trigger – When pressed, releases extinguishing agent through hose and nozzle
• Nozzle or Horn – Agent expelled through these items
• Pressure Gauge – Shows pressure of the extinguishing agent being stored in the cylinder.  The indicator should be in the green area.  CO₂ extinguishers do not have a pressure gauge.

I have modelled all these components except the Pressure Gauge, because I’ve seen many images of Fire Extinguishers without this component. Therefore I chose to save time and not create this section. However if I do have enough time and feel like creating this cylindrical glass piece, I shall. (It could give me more marks…)

I have used a variety of methods to model this object including Spline Modeling, Lofting and Scaling. Plus many modifiers to create smoothness of the materials and object. A problem that arose was creating the tube because I was trying out methods such as spline modeling and bending a cylinder shape. These weren’t valid methods because they wouldn’t create a smooth bend of the tube I wanted, so another method was necessary. Searching websites online I finally found a solution, a simple one too, all I had to do was draw a line in the shape of the tube I wanted and then alter the thickness of it. However I had to render the scene to see it in action which annoyed me because I thought I was doing it incorrectly.
Another was the label which looked stuck on to the cylinder. The material used for the main body was a bright Red colour. However once the label was placed above the two Red colours didn’t merge; therefore making the label seem separate from the whole product. To solve this issue I remade the mask, used to cover the rounded edge on the top of the label, in Photoshop to also mask over the Red coloured sections on the label. This then allows the main cylinder of the Fire Extinguisher to show through and not clash with that of the label image. It also makes the label seem like it is stuck onto the cylinder and is part of it.
The cylinder had to be stretched as well since it looked inproportional to the whole model. This was done by manoeuvring the vertices on the Y-axis.
A total of 6 materials was created for this model: Floor, Wall, Cylinder, Handle/Trigger, Hose, Tube.
To make the metal looking materials I made the specular level rather high and glossiness a low number to create a shine effect and the illusion of a metal component. These values and Diffuse colours were tweeked every now and then to create the perfect shade.

Here is the final result:

3D Max Model of a Fire Extinguisher

The only problem I have now is the handle/trigger of the Fire Extinguisher because it doesn’t seem 3D, but a matte component compared to the rest of the scene. I believe this is due to the handle/trigger having flat sides rather than a smooth and curved edge. I will have to play with this model further to try out different methods and possibly make some curved edges for the trigger. Hopefully it’ll then cause somewhat a shine effect like that of the hose. Another solution is to change the colour of the trigger/handle to a Red because I’ve seen many Fire Extinguishers with a Red handle.