Research

I have been researching into alot of 3D and games design, using 3D world and other resources on the net. Also researching into Architectural Visualization and found some interesting videos and articles including step by step guides and videos. I have also found a video on 2 young games developers who made a game and won alot of money. - http://video.unity3d.com/video/3711675/spiderling-studios-develop 

This is an article on 'Create a winning arch-viz image' i found this article very useful it takes a look into the process of how the artist made the image and how he he did his post production.  

http://www.3dworldmag.com/2011/02/28/creating-a-winning-arch-viz-image/   
Some of the Architectural Visualization i have looked at have also included their processes especially the studios that do arch-viz - http://www.lightbox3d.co.uk/  

Specialist pathway

My model is almost complete i have it mostly textured and also i have started to test render the model using different techniques with the lighting. I have added water to the the scene to put my model into context. I have found a complete list of  IOR(Index of refraction) values which will help when rendering. http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-513458.html 

I have also found a great texture site which is better than the one i have been using which was ( http://www.cgtextures.com/ ). The texture site i am now using ( http://www.animax.it/#node/24 ) most of the textures are free on the website and are actually really good.  

To help me with ambient occlusion and render passes i found a tutorial done by Sam Wirch, he has a blog and has done a few posts on how to do it in Maya, he also provides screenshots with his step by step guide.

http://www.samwirch.com/blog/ambient-occlusion-and-render-passes-maya-2011
http://www.samwirch.com/blog/simple-ambient-occlusion-render-maya-2012

The texture material i'm using is a mental ray material (mia_material) because it generally better than using Lambert and Blinn materials, plus you get a better reflection from mental ray materials.  

For the glass on my model i have had to remodel it so its separate easier to texture so i can get better rendering results on the glass, i have done most of it but the rest will be time consuming. I can also model the bars on the glass to make it a bit more clearer on the render.
Other techniques i will be using is caustics, since my model is surrounded by water i think its important to get this detail in. I have used caustics before on a different project and it does make a difference. Obviously i will be using global illumination and maybe ray tracing.  

Animation

 For the last few lessons our lecturer has been ill so i have carried on experimenting with 3D animation doing simple animations with primitive shapes practicing animation since i have only just started it. For the start i did an animation of ball bouncing up and down to refresh my memory on animation. I used a different shape from last time aswell as adding two balls in, and got them to bouce up and down but i tried to get the shapes to hit the floor at different times just to make it a bit more interesting so they are not uniformly going up and down. 

Then after i completed that animation i did an animation of a ball bouncing from wall to wall and made it a seamless animation. It was quite challenging at first because i haven't really done an animation apart from the bouncing shapes, the hardest part was trying to get the animation to look seamless because it would jump frames some times which was frustrating, but i had mild success in getting the animation seamless.          





I will look for tutorials across the web like youtube, 3D world ect to help with animations, especially for character animation which i will be doing soon. I think i am starting to get the hang of basic animation, obviously there is alot of room for improvement.

Investigation, Reflection and Expression

For this module i have been doing numerous tasks, so far i have the job application and a wiki entry, for the wiki entry i did it about Ambient Occlusion ( http://imda.wetpaint.com/page/Ambient+Occlusion ) i still need to add one more bit to it. The other tasks that in need to complete are

·         A formal letter of introduction.

·         An application for a job.          

·         Copies of emails and Tweets.

·         A questionnaire and questionnaire results..

·         An analysis of secondary sources.

·         An analysis of primary sources

·         A Powerpoint Presentation including images.    

For the emails and tweets are will set up a twitter account and find a page on twitter about 3D. Then ask questions about 3D in general and also about problems i get using Autodesk Maya, i think asking about 3D is relevant because it links back to my Specialist Pathway module.

The questionnaire i still need to plan out as i haven't thought it out yet, but i will try and link it to one of my modules.

An analysis of a primary source will be on a game that i have played probably a game that iv'e been playing recently (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim), iv'e thought about writing a review looking at current reviews and try and write one in the same style. I've already looked at current reviews on skyrim since all theses reviews were released this month:

http://www.oxm.co.uk/35877/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim-review/
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1212136p1.html
http://uk.gamespot.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-review-6344618 

All these reviews are from different websites but all reviewing the same game, they have their own opinions but written in the same style, some more humorous than others, but they are good for getting an idea on how to write a review.

And for the final one A Powerpoint presentation, i will do it on my 3D model that iv'e been doing in Specialist Pathway. Since there will be plenty to talk about like the development process, problems that i have had while making the model, techniques i have used on the model and also techniques I've looked at, tutorials i used to help me and what i would have wanted to do better. I will also have screen shots of the model in its development and renders of the model when finished and a fly-through animation of the model.

Specialist pathway 04/11/11

Today we are continuing with our models, mine is coming very close to being complete on the modeling side. After i have finished modeling and will begin texturing the model, then lighting and finally rendering it. For the texturing i'm using a mental ray material instead of the normal materials i use (Lambent and Blinn) because i'm trying to get the final render to look photo realistic and mental ray materials will be better for this.                     

The polygon count on the model count on the model at the moment is 21695 polys. The model is not 100% accurate since there are some details missing but if time allows at the end i will hopefully add them in. Also after I've textured the model i will need to add water to put the building into context. I may add a bridge in the background as well, either in Maya or Photoshop.

I found a blog on Facebook on 3D Architectural Visualization which will help me with my model and for research.  http://www.facebook.com/ronenbekerman?sk=wall&filter=12

I have been looking into the Architectural Visualisation industry and into 3D world and found some useful tips and information for research. http://www.3dworldmag.com/2011/09/02/11-ways-to-transform-arch-viz-renders/
http://www.cgarchitect.com/

02/11/2011 Animation

 Today's lesson we started 3D animation, using basic shapes and doing basic animations with the shapes, for example I animated a ball bouncing up and down and a ball jumping over a wall. I did a number of animations with basic shapes for experimentation, also getting used to the graph editor.  

I also looked into character animation and rigging, i looked at websites and videos since next week we will start character animation and rigging.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TJnpEaIhZE

I also found a youtube channel which goes through how to rig a model in good detail.
http://www.youtube.com/user/polygonSculptor       

And this website has a number of tutorials and tips on how to do 3D in general which will help me out in the future.
http://www.comet-cartoons.com/3dhelp.html