3D Evaluation What do you need in your evaluation?

1.

Opening statement a. Discuss what your final product is, utilising screen shots to aid your descriptions. Make sure that you are specific to the three units Modelling, Animation and Environments

NB Much of this may already be on your blog. If it is then do not recreate it. Modelling: In Autodesk Maya I created a rubber duck, a bathtub, a rug, towel rail, sink, towel, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste. These were all created with the high use of the extrude and edge loop tool. With the manipulation of hundreds of vertices and the shading of many many faces it results in these final products. (screenshots will be uploaded on separate blog posts) Animation: The animation was reflecting a handheld camera exploring a corridor and a bathroom. It first takes a look through an open door to a bedroom, then as the door slowly opens it reveals the bathroom. With a quick sweep around the tap turns and the water comes out to the delight of the duck sitting on the corner. Environments: The environment is friendly and welcoming with a morning light shining through

the window and a multi coloured rug to lighten the mood. The walls are light coloured and fresh with the personal family photograph hanging calmly on the wall.
b.

What steps did you take to create the 3D work?

NB Much of this may already be on your blog. If it is then do not recreate it. Modelling: The majority of steps taken towards making the models are majoritively on my blog (1nt3r4ctiv3media4ellicia.tumblr.com). Rubber Duck - The duck was made with four separate polygons for the wings, body and head. They were merged and extruded together using the soft touch tool to apply manipulation that is softened and not with jagged edges. When texturing the duck I made sure the colours were a matte colour and researched other rubber ducks to get the correct colours. The main objective was a slightly odd/scary looking duck reflecting the ones you would buy from shops. Rug - I followed a detailed tutorial for the rug (http://www.pixelophy.com/?p=1110) this involved using a ramp shader which I then subsituted for using the UV map and colouring it in photoshop. It then had a 3D cloth texture to give it the depth and I am really pleased with it. Towel Rail - The towel rail was the simplest of them all. All that was need was a cylinder polygon and the button which is 3 I believe. I then moved the vertices on one side, duplicated and mirrored so that it was symmetrical, the material that was applied was the same as the taps.

Sink - The sink was also quickly done towards the end of my creations as originally I had used a sink sourced from TurboSquid but then I thought it didnt match the overall feel of my bathroom and looked out of place. Using the previous skills I had previously acquired I made a sink in no time. The surrounding wooden support was the most difficult by having to add subdivision using the interactive split tool and then deleting the faces so that the sink would fit nicely in between the wood. Towel - Has been really challenging, nCloth looks great if you get it right and can look horrendous if done wrong. But the most time consuming factor is changing the attributes to create the effect you want preferably not with the towel colliding with itself. Soap - The soap was primarily a squashed sphere with a bump map and the branding of my name, I also added bubbles to make it look recently used and more realistic, the bubbles were done following a short and easy tutorial allowing me to learn a different skill. Toothbrush - Out of all my objects the toothbrush I constructed has the highest polygon count, why? Because each bristle is an individual cylinder with a slight transparency to add the translucent effect that the bristles usually have. Toothpaste - The toothpaste in my opinion is my favourite object of them all I love the imperfections that were added using the soft touch then extruding the vertices, which are nicely in the most used areas of the tube. The UV mapping brands my overall products and my animation with a subtle signature of mine Ellicia which is also shown on the soap.

Animation: nCloth towel: Was my first animation I made, however was not intended for the viewer to ever see the movement of the towel just the aftermath of the slung down on the rail look I was trying to portray. This was done by setting the timeline settings in the minus so that the animation would take place before the movie would start in the final render. Fluid: The water coming out of the bath was done in a separate document to avoid unnecessary lengths of render time. To make the fluid was done by following a long winded tutorial and it came to my discover how many attributes and properties that can be changed. But now my water looks realistic and has the correct consistency. Camera: The camera movement is my main point of focus in the animation it takes the viewer around the room varying the pace. I did this by first setting out a CV curve and then attaching a locator to it, I then parent and child a camera with the locator so that the camera would follow the path where I have set. I then had to control the vertex of the path to make the camera go up and down and around the room. Next I had to keyframe the camera movements to be focusing on the objects I wanted around the room, this was tricky as the camera was reliant on a steady and smooth path I had drawn. With the camera movements I zoomed in I zoomed out, up down and all around with the slight jutter giving the effect of a handheld camera. Door: In the animation the door opens inviting the viewer into the bathroom (my

creation). This was done by putting a locator in the door frame knowing that it would be invisible in render then parent and child it with the door, this avoids having a big gap when the door opens and acts as a hinge. Tap turning: The animation was just keyframed to rotate from one place to another, I experimented with different speeds and keyframed the water to start in time of the tap slowing down. Environment: The environment was the most difficult to create the atmosphere and I feel that I paid it the least amount of attention. Lighting in particular was done with an area light and a small spotlight on the portrait in the corridor. The floor was a trial and error created marble floor which only suits the bathroom and clearly not the corridor - my mistake. The hallway walls were an old fashioned yellow stripe to conform to the style of the bathroom. The walls in the bathroom are a pale colour to space out the room nicely and make it bright and friendly.

Problems Encountered Discuss the problems that you encountered whilst trying to create your 3D Models, Animation and environment.
2. a.

Modelling: Rug: When making my rug the tutorial told me to use a ramp shader and although I was using the radial option the alignment of the colours on the rug was off centre making it look unrealistic and odd, so I had to export the UV map into Photoshop and colour it in there and then re-import it and although it took longer

than usual it allowed me to choose the exact colours and where in a more comfortable software, Photoshop. Towel: Im come to realise how unreliable nCloth can be one minute the animation can work perfectly the next just not even move. So that was a constant problem I encountered. Toothbrush: for this I wanted to add as much realism as possible, like the toothpaste it needed imperfections which is what I wanted to apply to the toothbrush too. I wanted to move the individual cylinders but they were already grouped and I was able to bend and manipulate them individually. Animation: Animation is a struggle, when setting the CV path that the camera would follow the problem I encountered was the jutter and range in pace around the room when the camera follows the curve. I overcome this by spreading out the vectors and changing the height (when needed) very subtly so rapid motions werent happening. Water: As water increases the render time massively it was difficult to be able to preview the water in Maya, I worked in a separate document first so that I could establish the basic attributes but when importing into my scene you could no longer work with it by scrubbing through the timeline. Environment: Getting lighting right was really hard it is all down to trial and error and if you have a lot in your environment already to render would take at least 5 minutes. The adaption of the photon intensity determines how bright the light is emitted and all the objects in the room all has an effect for example the reflectivity of objects and ceiling and wall colour.

Gain Feedback from others including the teacher (Art least 3 different people)
3.

TEACHER FEEDBACK:
- Spend more time and concentrate on lighting more - Rather than just focusing on camera movement I like the use of the dynamic objects are great e.g. water and towel - The use of the locator and a camera works well to give the idea you are walking through it. - The spacing is well thought about. - When adding depth to the house you added a modern bedroom which is used with an old fashioned corridor and bathroom does it match? - Add more depth to the doors to make them look more realistic, with a bump map.

Allow others to watch and make both positive and developmental comments. These must be recorded and attributed (i.e. Who said it?) i. Tom Holland ii. Amy Cotton
a. b.

Make sure that they comment on all elements Modelling, Animation and Environment

i. I really like the time put into making the toothbrush and toothpaste although you only briefly see it, it adds a personal touch to the overall piece. The camera animation makes it look like the movement through the room is a handheld camera with a slight wobble and the correct eye line of an average person I really like this effect. The family portrait and the colours of the walls adds to the friendly atmosphere and open environment that the whole scene portrays however it is quite dark. ii. Like the rubber duck, it adds authenticity to the bathroom. I really like the corridor leading up to the bathroom it adds setting and context for the environment.

Making some movement within your scene of an object you made would have been good to show off your work and ability of rigging.
c.

Write a paragraph about whether you agree or disagree with the feedback

I agree with the feedback given by my teacher as a lot of the constructive feedback were on my mind but couldnt be addressed due to time issues. Better time management would be a self improvement and the consideration of how long it would take to render. The quality is only in 720p so I will re-render in 1080p past the deadline so that I can keep a good quality copy for my portfolio.

Original Objective Discuss whether you achieved what you set out to do in your original proposal, if not why
4. a.

NB If you have changed your idea from the original this is the time to discuss why I am really pleased with the turnout of my animation. If I was asked what I could think I could achieve at the beginning of the year I wouldnt have half imagined the animation I made now. I aimed high by deciding to use water in my bathroom and choosing a few challenging objects to create (toothpaste and rubber duck). In my original designs I hadnt planned to make a corridor leading up to the room but I think it looks really effective and adds depth to the overall environment. It gives somewhere else for the camera to look and the opening door is inviting and another excuse for movement. I hadnt changed my idea and closely kept to my plan the whole way through the only thing I

changed was the time of day and the style of the house. Originally I wasnt planning on have windows but in the bathroom the main source of light now is from the long windows in the top right which shine a nice morning light through. In terms of style I had originally planned to have a modern bedroom but resulted in creating something that reflected the bathroom of my childhood with off white bath colours and an old fashioned toilet.

Conclusion What have you learnt whilst completing this project?

5. a.

Firstly and most importantly I have learnt the basics of Maya, I now am able to independently navigate my way around the software. Tools I have learnt to use are extrude, edge loop tools and textures along with shortcuts such as W for move, E for rotate and R for scale, also 3 is for rounding the object and P parent and child. Learning shortcuts have become very useful and quick and if I was to make it again it would take half the time. Ive learnt how to keyframe and I picked it up pretty quickly as the functions run similarly like AfterEffects but working in a 3D environment. Ive learnt about timings as well, with no previous experience of using Maya you have no idea how long things will take to create, texture and render and you can only rely on estimations which can effect your time management.
b.

What would you do differently if you were to start this project again?

If I was to do it differently I would create all my object in separate Maya documents, and create my environment (without objects) in another, there I can focus on lighting and environment textures with quick render speeds to see if

Ive got the environment and atmosphere correct before importing all my objects. When animating I will use frames sparingly and make sure when batch rendering I will make the frame timings accurate so I am not wasting time rendering unusable frames, which is what I did from frames -100 to 0. I will also, if possible, create a render farms so that all computers are taking part in rendering my final animation altogether reducing the times from 4 days to a much reduced amount.