The animation has started and is coming together quite nicely,
So far I have imported all the models and I was told from other peers that there might be a problem with the textures but everything was fine for me.
I created the terrain for the animation where the crossbow and catapult will do battle, this was done by creating a simple cylinder and increasing the scale of the model so that it stretched out to cover a wide area. I choose to do the terrain this way because the world is round and hence what thee cylinder will do, I could have used a plane but the world is not flat and that it was you would have seen on the horizon.
The terrain texture reference is as follows,
Sand Terrain Texture - n.d. Sand Texture, [electronic image] Available at: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=sand+texture&hl=en&sa=X&gbv=2&biw=1184&bih=666&tbs=isz:l&tbm=isch&tbnid=018t48LRViNrTM:&imgrefurl=http://www.imageafter.com/image.php%3Fimage%3Db1dirt005.jpg%26size%3Dfull%26download%3Dno&docid=ZWFZYoad6VJSzM&imgurl=http://www.imageafter.com/dbase/textures/grounds/b1dirt005.jpg&w=1600&h=1200&ei=3UeRT-SCLeKV0QXsr9nVAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=882&vpy=252&dur=2571&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=63&ty=101&sig=117830732039765713861&page=1&tbnh=118&tbnw=155&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0,i:131 [Accessed 12 April 2012].
I have placed all the models in place for the animation so that I can just add the cameras and not need to move any of the models from their original position.
I also had to enlarge the models because the terrain was so large the models needed to compensate also otherwise they would have been tiny specs and would not have looked very good.
I just now need to add some more camera's and the text that is going to flying across the animation
Now lets keep going.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
The Walking Model
For this tutorial I looked at a real-world preset action which is making a model walk!!!
For this I needed the simple character model that I had previously created and a preset model with 3D's Max called a Biped.
Firstly I needed to have the character open and I needed to bind the Biped model to the character model. This meant I had to line up the Biped model to the character model I created, for example I needed to add extra neck links and spine links. This was to make the character model move and seem more lifelike. I could have just used the preset Biped model but that is boring.
To begin the first step was very tricky, however it started to slowly come together but I had to basically 'snap' parts of the character model onto the Biped model, this was for the character model to have an exo-skeleton so that it could complete the next process.
Once That process was complete I was able to add footsteps and make my model really come to life by making it walk! This was done by using the 'Create Multiple Footsteps' action and all I needed to do from there was to choose how many footsteps I wanted and they were placed for me. I could have added extra actions such as how far part each step was but this was just practice.
From there on it was a case of pressing play and watching the character that I had created come to life and walk
Have I created a MONSTER???
For this I needed the simple character model that I had previously created and a preset model with 3D's Max called a Biped.
Firstly I needed to have the character open and I needed to bind the Biped model to the character model. This meant I had to line up the Biped model to the character model I created, for example I needed to add extra neck links and spine links. This was to make the character model move and seem more lifelike. I could have just used the preset Biped model but that is boring.
To begin the first step was very tricky, however it started to slowly come together but I had to basically 'snap' parts of the character model onto the Biped model, this was for the character model to have an exo-skeleton so that it could complete the next process.
Once That process was complete I was able to add footsteps and make my model really come to life by making it walk! This was done by using the 'Create Multiple Footsteps' action and all I needed to do from there was to choose how many footsteps I wanted and they were placed for me. I could have added extra actions such as how far part each step was but this was just practice.
From there on it was a case of pressing play and watching the character that I had created come to life and walk
Have I created a MONSTER???
This is the screenshot of the character I have created. As you can see I have added footsteps however some parts of the character are not quite 'snapped' correctly on the Biped and was a problem I could not fix and finish
Storyboard
The storyboard is to show off the models that I have created and detail what is going to happen in the animation that I am going to be creating.
The idea that I have decided to work on is Leonardo Da Vinci's weapons and the power that those weapons would have had in the 15th Century, with hopefully a little twist.
Furthermore I have decided to use paper that is similar to tracing paper to show the model's, camera's and lights on different bits of the paper, but when they are joined on top of one another, they should show a detailed storyboard of where everything will be placed in the animation.
Right onto the details of the animation.
The first scene will be the camera panning out to reveal the crossbow that is ready to fire at its target.
Then there will be the words CHAMPION go across the screen (hopefully bringing a bit of humor to the animation).
Next will be the camera panning out to revel the catapult that is ready to fire also, with the words CONTENDER coming across the animation.
After will be a bird's eye view of the battlefield (maybe with the words FIGHT across the screen)
Next the catapult will take the first shot and will destroy part of the tower, making the camera follow the shot and shaking on impact hitting the tower.
After the crossbow will retaliate and fire back however the arrow will miss the catapult.
Next the catapult will fire a second shot with this shot also hitting the tower causing more damage.
Finally the crossbow fires back again and this shot becomes a direct hit causing the catapult badly damaged and beaten.
Lets get Animating!!!!
The idea that I have decided to work on is Leonardo Da Vinci's weapons and the power that those weapons would have had in the 15th Century, with hopefully a little twist.
Furthermore I have decided to use paper that is similar to tracing paper to show the model's, camera's and lights on different bits of the paper, but when they are joined on top of one another, they should show a detailed storyboard of where everything will be placed in the animation.
Right onto the details of the animation.
The first scene will be the camera panning out to reveal the crossbow that is ready to fire at its target.
Then there will be the words CHAMPION go across the screen (hopefully bringing a bit of humor to the animation).
Next will be the camera panning out to revel the catapult that is ready to fire also, with the words CONTENDER coming across the animation.
After will be a bird's eye view of the battlefield (maybe with the words FIGHT across the screen)
Next the catapult will take the first shot and will destroy part of the tower, making the camera follow the shot and shaking on impact hitting the tower.
After the crossbow will retaliate and fire back however the arrow will miss the catapult.
Next the catapult will fire a second shot with this shot also hitting the tower causing more damage.
Finally the crossbow fires back again and this shot becomes a direct hit causing the catapult badly damaged and beaten.
Lets get Animating!!!!
This is the full storyboard, hopefully you can see the models on top then the camera behind then the light behind that
This is the models on their own
This is the camera's
This is the lights
Friday, 16 March 2012
Animation Idea
Right here we are half way through now and time to start animating the three models I have created.
I have decided to create an animation that will show each of the models that I have made, so I hope to have some close ups of the models and some effective scene's. I am going to design a storyboard which will be shown in the next blog post, with more specific details of how the animation is going to plan out, and where I am going to have lights and cameras. Furthermore the storyboard will also go into more detail about where the models are going to be in the animation etc.
To add to this I am going to have different lighting effects to show off the models at their best, otherwise if I don't add in lights the animation is going to look very dull and basic. Some of the lights that I am looking at of including are, Omni, Target Spot, Target Direct, Skylight (all standard lights). I hope that using these lights is going to make my animation more interesting to watch.
Furthermore there are different cameras that I can use, however there is only really two to select from which are, Target Camera and Free Camera. I believe they are self explanatary, so for the Target camera you select an area that you wish to target, and the free camera is where you are free to move the camera around.
Right first of all, the first scene is going to be of the tower, with a zooming out camera action onto the crossbow, which I hope to have a close up of going around Leonardo Da Vinci's crossbow invention.
Next I plan to move from the crossbow to Leonardo's invention of the catapult, using the same effect on the crossbow going around the catapult zooming in and out and looking at how the model was created.
From there I will then go into the main story of the animation which is going to be a battle between the catapult and the crossbow. I plan to have the catapult destorying parts of the tower model and the crossbow firing back and maybe some camera zoom ins of the crossbow's arrow and the catapults ball, being fired and hitting their target.
Throught out the animation I am going to have close ups of the battle, furthermore I hope to have some background music in the animation to go with the scenes in my animation.
So that is the basic layout of the animation that I am going to create, I understand it might so a little dull at the moment, but Once I have uploaded the storyboard the animation will become more clear and understanding.
I have decided to create an animation that will show each of the models that I have made, so I hope to have some close ups of the models and some effective scene's. I am going to design a storyboard which will be shown in the next blog post, with more specific details of how the animation is going to plan out, and where I am going to have lights and cameras. Furthermore the storyboard will also go into more detail about where the models are going to be in the animation etc.
To add to this I am going to have different lighting effects to show off the models at their best, otherwise if I don't add in lights the animation is going to look very dull and basic. Some of the lights that I am looking at of including are, Omni, Target Spot, Target Direct, Skylight (all standard lights). I hope that using these lights is going to make my animation more interesting to watch.
Furthermore there are different cameras that I can use, however there is only really two to select from which are, Target Camera and Free Camera. I believe they are self explanatary, so for the Target camera you select an area that you wish to target, and the free camera is where you are free to move the camera around.
Right first of all, the first scene is going to be of the tower, with a zooming out camera action onto the crossbow, which I hope to have a close up of going around Leonardo Da Vinci's crossbow invention.
Next I plan to move from the crossbow to Leonardo's invention of the catapult, using the same effect on the crossbow going around the catapult zooming in and out and looking at how the model was created.
From there I will then go into the main story of the animation which is going to be a battle between the catapult and the crossbow. I plan to have the catapult destorying parts of the tower model and the crossbow firing back and maybe some camera zoom ins of the crossbow's arrow and the catapults ball, being fired and hitting their target.
Throught out the animation I am going to have close ups of the battle, furthermore I hope to have some background music in the animation to go with the scenes in my animation.
So that is the basic layout of the animation that I am going to create, I understand it might so a little dull at the moment, but Once I have uploaded the storyboard the animation will become more clear and understanding.
Friday, 9 March 2012
Lights, Camera & Action!
This post is going to be commenting on the use of cameras in 3D's Max. To help me with this topic I used the introduction to camera's tutorial which was a big help and I also used the further animation techniques tutorial too. The example I am going to show you is using a target camera that has a 'path constraint' on the camera to follow a shape which in the example is a circle. Basically the camera is stuck on the circle (like a train to a track) and the camera must follow that track in a loop. From there just to practise with the camera I put in a preset teapot, just to see if the camera and the path constraint worked and hey it did.
This is just to show the camera with the path constraint attached
As you can see from the screenshot there is a circle with a camera on top this is the path constraint and basically the camera follows that circle round and round while focusing on the teapot.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Texture Reference for Tower
This post is just simply going to give the reference for the material I have used on my Tower model.
Tower Brick Material - 9th May 2010. 6 Seamless Tileable Brick Textures, [electronic image] Available at: http://wdc3d.com/2d-textures/6-seamless-tileable-brick-textures/ [Accessed 29th February 2012].
Tower Brick Material - 9th May 2010. 6 Seamless Tileable Brick Textures, [electronic image] Available at: http://wdc3d.com/2d-textures/6-seamless-tileable-brick-textures/ [Accessed 29th February 2012].
Tower Final Design
This post is going to be commenting on the final model design which is my interpretation of a castle with watch towers. I feel that this model is not as good as my other's however I have not done this model from another image or another idea, it is my own idea.
I did look at other towers and felt that they were a tad too complicated for my liking so I decided to go for an easier approach. I took a simple bow outline and made the box with quite a few edged faces. I then decided to convert the box to an 'editable poly' and chose the top face vertices and put the face in on itself. From there I decided to delete some faces around the edge to make holes (for people to look through for example). However once I did this there were gaps in the model so I used the 'create' tool to create more faces and complete the tower.
From there I decided that one tower was not enough so I copy the first tower I created and shrunk the scale of the image and attached it to the side of the first tower. I then put the same small tower the other side so it complete the set.
I then decided to create watch towers because the model still seemed a bit plain. So I created simple cylinders and made edged faces again, and like the box tower I choose the top face verticies and put them in on themselves, also I deleted the side faces like the box tower. Furthermore I used the 'create' tool again and filled in the gaps as before. I placed the watch tower on one of the small tower boxes and copied another watch tower over to the other box tower.
Once I was happy with the way my tower looked I decided to add in some material. I decided to keep the material the same for the whole model, as the tower would have been made out of the same material in the 15th centuary. The material I decided to use was just a simple brick work texture with an added 'bump' effect with UVW Mapping modifier used also.
I did look at other towers and felt that they were a tad too complicated for my liking so I decided to go for an easier approach. I took a simple bow outline and made the box with quite a few edged faces. I then decided to convert the box to an 'editable poly' and chose the top face vertices and put the face in on itself. From there I decided to delete some faces around the edge to make holes (for people to look through for example). However once I did this there were gaps in the model so I used the 'create' tool to create more faces and complete the tower.
From there I decided that one tower was not enough so I copy the first tower I created and shrunk the scale of the image and attached it to the side of the first tower. I then put the same small tower the other side so it complete the set.
I then decided to create watch towers because the model still seemed a bit plain. So I created simple cylinders and made edged faces again, and like the box tower I choose the top face verticies and put them in on themselves, also I deleted the side faces like the box tower. Furthermore I used the 'create' tool again and filled in the gaps as before. I placed the watch tower on one of the small tower boxes and copied another watch tower over to the other box tower.
Once I was happy with the way my tower looked I decided to add in some material. I decided to keep the material the same for the whole model, as the tower would have been made out of the same material in the 15th centuary. The material I decided to use was just a simple brick work texture with an added 'bump' effect with UVW Mapping modifier used also.
This screenshot is of the Tower model with Materials added, as you can see there are quite a few edged faces.
This screenshot is of the material I have used for the Tower model, you can see the bump effect I have used for the material also.
This screenshot is of the final render of my Tower model.
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