Here it is! The final video of my virtual set. Had to make some small adjustments to early versions, like with my animation, as autodesk was running out of memory and rendering times were crazy.
I tried to make secondary objects simpler in a hope to reduce rendering times, but it didn't really make much difference.
Simply put this was an absolute 'mere to render!
Enjoy!
The Virtual Set - Completion
At last my virtual set is complete. The rooms have been filled, and it is all ready for the walk through.
The board game
Just so you all know i haven't forgotten about this project! Here is the final version of my board game. It is an American football based game where the players chose different types of plays, throw challenge flags, be penalized and be the first to collect the items available.
I would have liked to make the play calling a little more advanced, but im not sure how i could have done this and still made the game appealing to people who may not necessarily know the rules of football in and out.
I would have liked to make the play calling a little more advanced, but im not sure how i could have done this and still made the game appealing to people who may not necessarily know the rules of football in and out.
The Virtual Set - A few items
Now my set is pretty much complete, i have been working on creating small non essential items to place around the environment to help 'bring it to life'.
Still got issues....
One idea to cut the rendering time is to take away most of the textures. If i keep the animation very simple, ie mainly white, not too many shadows etc.. i should hopefully be able to cut rendering times.
Here's is the intro idea done in this style. It could work, but we shall see..
Here's is the intro idea done in this style. It could work, but we shall see..
Little Problems
Right ive been playing about with different pieces for my board game animation, but have come up against some problems. Not huge problems, but ones that mean i am having to change the way in which i work. Firstly the characters i originally wanted to use are far too complicated. Autodesk seems to be running out of memory and rendering times when it does work are far too long.
Back to the drawing board ive gone, and i have made similar sort of pieces but this time they are alot more simple and should make rendering more simple.
Rendering is still an issue(this frame taking around 30secs), maybe its the pen and ink material??? i shall have a play around with it and try and figure out a way to reduce the time it takes to render.
Back to the drawing board ive gone, and i have made similar sort of pieces but this time they are alot more simple and should make rendering more simple.
Rendering is still an issue(this frame taking around 30secs), maybe its the pen and ink material??? i shall have a play around with it and try and figure out a way to reduce the time it takes to render.
The animated board game
I knew the dice i made a while ago might come in handy. I have had a play around and made a small video of a dice roll. This might be a nice little intro into my board game animation.
The Virtual Set - The rooms
Since most of the outer part of my set has been built. I made a rough room plan, to help when it came to erecting the rooms in 3ds max. I made this plan and then imported it into max on a plane as a guide.
From here i made all the rooms and corridors and am now ready to start creating items to place in and around the set.
From here i made all the rooms and corridors and am now ready to start creating items to place in and around the set.
The Virtual Set - Intro Draft
Having completed part of my set, i am playing around with different camera movements, to see what works, what looks good etc..
Here is a rough movement i want for the intro to my walkthrough.
Here is a rough movement i want for the intro to my walkthrough.
The Virtual Set - getting there...
I seem to be getting into the building of my set, and as my first wall is completed the rest of the outside of the building shouldn't take to long to complete. I have been thinking about different entrances into the set, and have built to tunnels, one entering and one exiting the building.
This is where the player would start at finish.
These images are of the entrance tunnel
This is where the player would start at finish.
These images are of the entrance tunnel
The Virtual Set - Taking shape
The set has now got a wall! Its taken a long time to build but its slowly getting there.
its a marathon not a sprint!
its a marathon not a sprint!
The Virtual Set - the start
I am sticking with the sci fi genre, and also with the in outer space theme, but i have decided not to use to the lava idea, im not really convinced about how it looks and how i would work it in. My aim now is to create an 'old, disused space centre' on a rocky, deserted planted.
I have completed more concept drawings, and have started to create my final environment on 3ds max.
It isn't much, but this is where i am so far
I have completed more concept drawings, and have started to create my final environment on 3ds max.
It isn't much, but this is where i am so far
Pen and ink material
I have started to have a play with the pen and ink feature in 3ds max. I had a little play with this last summer, but after finding the video below i have been thinking about how i could make my animation a little different by altering the way it looks.
It could work...but then again it could go tits up and go horrible wrong. Only time will tell i guess.
Here is the characters shown earlier but textured with pen and ink. I quite like the way it looks, but the rendering times seem to be quite long. This one frame taking just under 40seconds.
It could work...but then again it could go tits up and go horrible wrong. Only time will tell i guess.
Here is the characters shown earlier but textured with pen and ink. I quite like the way it looks, but the rendering times seem to be quite long. This one frame taking just under 40seconds.
Youtube gems
Came across this video while on bored on youtube. Really like how the animation looks. I may experiment with different materials, features to try and achieve something similar to use with my design ideas.
Character Concepts
I have now started to work on ideas for the character's (pieces) for the board game. I have sketched several ideas out roughly, and have now moved onto 3ds max to try and create some decent looking characters. I tried to also use some of the methods learnt in previous seminars.
Here is an example of one of the better outcomes...
For these characters i have created a simple plastic type material. At the moment this is how the majority of my board game will be textured.
Here is an example of one of the better outcomes...
For these characters i have created a simple plastic type material. At the moment this is how the majority of my board game will be textured.
Animated Board Game
After initial research of board games, i have decide that i want my board game to be similar to mousetrap. I want to keep it similar by having little traps, and obstacles that the player will have to avoid - such as big crushing hammers, rolling balls (similar to the scene from Indiana Jones) etc.. However my board game would be a simple race to the finish, with the pieces following along a path, rather than a square as in mousetrap.
I am also thinking of trying 2 incorporate to different levels, where if one player avoids an obstacle, the other player chances of doing the same are reduced.
Not the best example...
I am also thinking of trying 2 incorporate to different levels, where if one player avoids an obstacle, the other player chances of doing the same are reduced.
Not the best example...
Concept Ideas
Was thinking about where and how i could place my board game set in its environment. This idea would place the building on a rock/planet, surrounded by a lava type liquid.
This a quick video, of the basic idea up and running. Not sure that i like it, so i will have another think about the overall scene and what would/wouldn't work.
Close up shot of the lava 'moving'.
This a quick video, of the basic idea up and running. Not sure that i like it, so i will have another think about the overall scene and what would/wouldn't work.
Close up shot of the lava 'moving'.
Concept Art
Using the concept drawings, i moved onto 3ds max and used them to create some basic rooms, using sourced textures, and very simple shapes. These helped give me an idea of whether the room would work/fit in etc..
I also have started to play around with the lighting, seeing how using lighting in different ways helps to create different atmospheres.
I also have started to play around with the lighting, seeing how using lighting in different ways helps to create different atmospheres.
Concept Drawings (i)
Using the genre specific research, i have quickly sketched out some concept ideas for rooms and buildings. I will continue to sketch out quick ideas as i research further, by doing this i will hopefully be able to create a better idea of how my virtual set will look like.
Themed Research
Since i have got my theme for my virtual set, a good place to start my next stage of research will be to look at films and games in the sci fi genre.
Looking at these films/games will hopefully give me more ideas and inspiration to create some concept drawings of items and architecture that fits in with the genre.
The main research points will be star wars, blade runner and also the game doom.
Looking at these films/games will hopefully give me more ideas and inspiration to create some concept drawings of items and architecture that fits in with the genre.
The main research points will be star wars, blade runner and also the game doom.
Virtual Set - The theme
After looking at board games, i worked on deciding a theme, and setting for the visualization brief, creating a virtual set.
This is an example of one of the brainstorms i have made, during the research so far. This brainstorm shows ideas and options for my virtual set theme.
This is an example of one of the brainstorms i have made, during the research so far. This brainstorm shows ideas and options for my virtual set theme.
Research Begins....
Becuase all of the projects, i have begin my research by looking into board games past and present.
I will look at all the elments, the gameplay, the rules and game play systems.
By looking at the different types of game, coming up with design ideas should be a little easier.
I will look at all the elments, the gameplay, the rules and game play systems.
By looking at the different types of game, coming up with design ideas should be a little easier.
The new briefs
Though id put up the three creative briefs we have been given this term, so when i upload my research/design work you know what I'm talking about.
Kick ass not so very board game (a)
Design,build and animate a model of a complex and entertaining board game.
Kick ass not so very board game (b)
Design and model a virtual set suitable for a board game. Use your creative and inventive skills to produce a space that is imaginative, fun, exciting and reveals possibilities for various types of movement.
Board Game 101
To devise, design and refine an original Game System to be used in a Board game.
Looks like it will be a busy term...but hopefully a fun one!
Kick ass not so very board game (a)
Design,build and animate a model of a complex and entertaining board game.
Kick ass not so very board game (b)
Design and model a virtual set suitable for a board game. Use your creative and inventive skills to produce a space that is imaginative, fun, exciting and reveals possibilities for various types of movement.
Board Game 101
To devise, design and refine an original Game System to be used in a Board game.
Looks like it will be a busy term...but hopefully a fun one!
Toy Train
Model of a toy train..and then the model placed in a 'real-world' environment.
Boris making cutbacks on the underground... :S
Boris making cutbacks on the underground... :S
Dice...???
Little bit random..but i found a tutorial online for modeling some dice using the 'edit poly' mode. Also learnt how to create multi/sub object materials.
Mechanical Arm
Another seminar job..Learnt how to create and animate a simple mechanical arm using hierarchies and the schematic view.
Can see this method being helpful in the near future...hopefully il get the time to have a play around with it.
Can see this method being helpful in the near future...hopefully il get the time to have a play around with it.
Bouncy Ball
In the first seminar with andy this year we learnt how to make a bouncing ball look more realistic with the use of the curve editor in 3ds max.
Added some simple textures,just to bring it to life a little.
Added some simple textures,just to bring it to life a little.
2nd Year
Right, welcome to the 2nd year! Its been a while since Ive posted but thought id update everyone and post up some of the work I've been doing so far this year.
Firstly thought id stick up a few images of bits i did over the summer, not much but helped me keep in touch with 3ds max.
Firstly thought id stick up a few images of bits i did over the summer, not much but helped me keep in touch with 3ds max.
NFL Quiz
Just thought id upload my NFL quiz in case anyone wanted a little play.
It can be found at:
http://bdanb.deviantart.com/art/NFL-Interactive-Quiz-86771539
It can be found at:
http://bdanb.deviantart.com/art/NFL-Interactive-Quiz-86771539
Final Box
Took a little while to upload, my apologies.
Overall i am happy with my box, i feel that unlike my last project it has more direct links to me. Because i found using flash very hard i had to keep the codes and actions relatively simple, however i believe the box is simple yet effective.
You can see the box here:
http://bdanb.deviantart.com/art/Interative-box-86768852
Overall i am happy with my box, i feel that unlike my last project it has more direct links to me. Because i found using flash very hard i had to keep the codes and actions relatively simple, however i believe the box is simple yet effective.
You can see the box here:
http://bdanb.deviantart.com/art/Interative-box-86768852
change is good...
The original background to my interactive box was a simple edited jpg...
...after user questionnaires, i created a 3d background to improve to overall look of my interactive box. I tried to keep the layout as close as possible to keep the authenticity of the map. Although a simple change i feel that it will appeal to the user a little more.
...after user questionnaires, i created a 3d background to improve to overall look of my interactive box. I tried to keep the layout as close as possible to keep the authenticity of the map. Although a simple change i feel that it will appeal to the user a little more.
Flash interactive research
With the outcome of my last identity project - the second self, i felt that my research for the interactive box needed to be more personal to me. To do this i thought about things directly linked to me, items and places that have an obvious connection; items such as family, friends, my home, hobbies etc...
Obviously all of these items could not be included within the flash so i tried to think a way around it, including as many obvious items as i could within the flash box. Items such as the background being an underground map, being from London this map obviously relates to me and i feel that by having a background like this the user could make good assumptions about me and my background without me telling them directly.
With the use of user questionnaires i was able to add and evolve elements to make the box more user friendly and also more aesthetically pleasing.
Obviously all of these items could not be included within the flash so i tried to think a way around it, including as many obvious items as i could within the flash box. Items such as the background being an underground map, being from London this map obviously relates to me and i feel that by having a background like this the user could make good assumptions about me and my background without me telling them directly.
With the use of user questionnaires i was able to add and evolve elements to make the box more user friendly and also more aesthetically pleasing.
The Interactive Box/showcase
"The aim of this project is to explore how interactive design can be used to reflect yourself and professional identity. You will be required to design and create an online box/showcase that contains 5 different interactive “objects” that collectively tells a story about who you are. The flash site must be published on an HTML page."
My initial ideas on this are a little sketchy, im not quite sure what to do for the best and what exactly is required, a few surgery session will be needed me thinks. My initial ideas include making a timeline interactive where as the timeline moves the animations and visual elements evolve and grow into more complicated exciting features. So as the timeline shows me growing as a person the interactivity and complexity of it grows too. I think that for this i will have to think about the best way to show the 'growing' of my box.
I will try and sketch some initial frames out first to help me imagine how it will play out.
will keep you posted!
My initial ideas on this are a little sketchy, im not quite sure what to do for the best and what exactly is required, a few surgery session will be needed me thinks. My initial ideas include making a timeline interactive where as the timeline moves the animations and visual elements evolve and grow into more complicated exciting features. So as the timeline shows me growing as a person the interactivity and complexity of it grows too. I think that for this i will have to think about the best way to show the 'growing' of my box.
I will try and sketch some initial frames out first to help me imagine how it will play out.
will keep you posted!
Flash websites..
We were asked to go on the internet and find some nice, fun, easy to use etc..websites that were built in flash, or included flash in some way.
http://www.walkmankomiks.pl
Although this website isn't in english i still think that the interactivity in it is great. It has good intro pages and also little animations when the pages are loading. this helps them to keep your attention throughout, even when you are having to wait for pages to load. There is also interactity when you click on the different options, with a little animation appearing when you hover the mouse over the option.
http://dev.rambofilm.com/site.html
You may not like the film, but you gotta love this website! With nice atmospheric adding animations and as the same as above nice animations when waiting for pages to laod. Not sure if its just my connection but the pages did seem to take a while to load.
It is nice to see that the creators have put a small sentence on how to use the website, if you visit you can see how users may become confused. One thing i really like is when you scroll along with the mouse, the faster you go - the faster the screen goes.
http://www.kungfupanda.com/
another film website. This one however tool less to load than the rambo site. Really great intro to the site. Again like the rambo site you scroll along, although with this one there are a lot more options to click on, all in various places around the site, which i think adds perspective to the site. Nice....
http://www.walkmankomiks.pl
Although this website isn't in english i still think that the interactivity in it is great. It has good intro pages and also little animations when the pages are loading. this helps them to keep your attention throughout, even when you are having to wait for pages to load. There is also interactity when you click on the different options, with a little animation appearing when you hover the mouse over the option.
http://dev.rambofilm.com/site.html
You may not like the film, but you gotta love this website! With nice atmospheric adding animations and as the same as above nice animations when waiting for pages to laod. Not sure if its just my connection but the pages did seem to take a while to load.
It is nice to see that the creators have put a small sentence on how to use the website, if you visit you can see how users may become confused. One thing i really like is when you scroll along with the mouse, the faster you go - the faster the screen goes.
http://www.kungfupanda.com/
another film website. This one however tool less to load than the rambo site. Really great intro to the site. Again like the rambo site you scroll along, although with this one there are a lot more options to click on, all in various places around the site, which i think adds perspective to the site. Nice....
Project 2...The quiz
Right, all focus is now on part 2 of the brief, creating an interactive flash movie./quiz.
The first task in this was to create a simple flash quiz with 3 questions, then a score at the end.
I found this task pretty hard to begin with, this was due to errors with the scripts. It seemed that whenever i had one frame done, another would screw up.
after a while of playing, adding and experiemting i finally cracked it. I found that it was alot easier when i knew what i was doing with the codes...funny that.
Because of this i was able to add a video entrance, with a button to skip it, and also an option to restart the quiz.
Project 1: The Second Self Evaluation
Research, design and produce a personal identity package
The idea of this part of the project was to create an avatar which represented me. An environment to stage the animation was also required.
To begin this project we began with seminars introducing us to 3ds max, although at the start I found the program very complicated and confusing I found that the more that I played around the better and more confident I became. I did however miss a couple of the seminars, although I was able to catch up by communication with friends and also the worksheets on the vlp. I feel I managed to keep up with the progress of the teaching however contact with a tutor while I was learning would have helped greatly and possibly made making my avatar a lot quicker.
To start this project I began to research what identity was, what it meant to people and how it was perceived by different people. I believe that this research helped me start this project with good basic ground knowledge of identity and alter ego’s.
Another helpful bit of research was the worksheets on character design on the vlp. Reading these helped when I began to sketch out character ideas.
When drawing I tried to vary my characters as much as possible to give me a wider spectrum to choose from when generating my final character. I am happy with my sketches as I feel they gave me a good starting base, however more sketches could have made designing the character even better. This however would have taken more time and left me with less for the actual animation.
I chose the robot, purely because I like mechanics and sci-fi type character design. To link it to me, its personality would be similar to mine, such as its fears, reactions etc…
Overall I am very happy with how my avatar looks, I added the chrome material and other reflective metal look to add reflectiveness to the character. I am especially pleased with the wheel of my character. This was meant to look like a motorbike wheel, a passion of mine, I believe I was able to create the look that I wanted to achieve.
I feel though that with a little more time I could have made more features on my robot (mobot – motorbikerobot). This however would have increased rendering time further, and 10 minuets per frame is a little to much!
The environment was created to be similar looking to that of a game, such as CO4, GTA etc… The background relates to me due to the fact it is a city, like where I am from (london). Also in the map there is a dark room, in which hides on of my fears – spiders – although not always scared of them, while at uni I have woken up on countless times to find one walking on my face or pillow – very disturbing at 4 in the morning!
I feel that with the lighting in place I was able to create the right atmospheric mood I wanted.
All in all I am very happy with how my avatar turned out, although I spend a near 15 hours building the character alone, I feel that it was worth it in the end. This also applies to the ridiculous rendering time. In future I would like to plan my time out better, and perhaps use more than one computer when rendering.
I feel that my character represents me, although not in a immediately obvious way, I think that I would have to expand and add things to my avatar / environment so as it reflects more of me.
I am very pleased with how I feel when working in Autodesk 3ds max, and also the results it is possible to achieve. Can’t wait till I can get back on it again!
The idea of this part of the project was to create an avatar which represented me. An environment to stage the animation was also required.
To begin this project we began with seminars introducing us to 3ds max, although at the start I found the program very complicated and confusing I found that the more that I played around the better and more confident I became. I did however miss a couple of the seminars, although I was able to catch up by communication with friends and also the worksheets on the vlp. I feel I managed to keep up with the progress of the teaching however contact with a tutor while I was learning would have helped greatly and possibly made making my avatar a lot quicker.
To start this project I began to research what identity was, what it meant to people and how it was perceived by different people. I believe that this research helped me start this project with good basic ground knowledge of identity and alter ego’s.
Another helpful bit of research was the worksheets on character design on the vlp. Reading these helped when I began to sketch out character ideas.
When drawing I tried to vary my characters as much as possible to give me a wider spectrum to choose from when generating my final character. I am happy with my sketches as I feel they gave me a good starting base, however more sketches could have made designing the character even better. This however would have taken more time and left me with less for the actual animation.
I chose the robot, purely because I like mechanics and sci-fi type character design. To link it to me, its personality would be similar to mine, such as its fears, reactions etc…
Overall I am very happy with how my avatar looks, I added the chrome material and other reflective metal look to add reflectiveness to the character. I am especially pleased with the wheel of my character. This was meant to look like a motorbike wheel, a passion of mine, I believe I was able to create the look that I wanted to achieve.
I feel though that with a little more time I could have made more features on my robot (mobot – motorbikerobot). This however would have increased rendering time further, and 10 minuets per frame is a little to much!
The environment was created to be similar looking to that of a game, such as CO4, GTA etc… The background relates to me due to the fact it is a city, like where I am from (london). Also in the map there is a dark room, in which hides on of my fears – spiders – although not always scared of them, while at uni I have woken up on countless times to find one walking on my face or pillow – very disturbing at 4 in the morning!
I feel that with the lighting in place I was able to create the right atmospheric mood I wanted.
All in all I am very happy with how my avatar turned out, although I spend a near 15 hours building the character alone, I feel that it was worth it in the end. This also applies to the ridiculous rendering time. In future I would like to plan my time out better, and perhaps use more than one computer when rendering.
I feel that my character represents me, although not in a immediately obvious way, I think that I would have to expand and add things to my avatar / environment so as it reflects more of me.
I am very pleased with how I feel when working in Autodesk 3ds max, and also the results it is possible to achieve. Can’t wait till I can get back on it again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
