Digital Modeling



Game Scene: Week 5

December 16, 2019




Going into this week, myself and my group found a huge problem: our tri count. Something I greatly overlooked. Even though everything I modeled was as minimal as can be while also keeping some details, I did not take into account the many duplicates of each piece there will be. Sitting at about 19,000 tris, I had to find a way to reduce my count to the required amount of 5,000. My group facing the same problem, we met up and helped each other in solving it. I essentially had to recreate all of my modular pieces into their simplest forms, and UV unwrap a second time. Though it was strenuous, I now had a building with the correct number of tris. 


Moving into texturing, it took no time at all to gather what I needed. As a group, we compiled textures we found into Google Drive for the sake of consistency. I ran into little trouble in the texture creation process, but it did take a considerable amount of time: about 4 hours. After the fact, there was some back and forth between Photoshop and Maya to fix a few errors in how the textures came out.


Texture References

textures.aspx


Final Render



With my building now pieced together and fully textured, it was ready to be exported for our group project file in Maya and Unity. We did run into a minor hiccup in the exporting and importing process. Somehow all of our buildings were too large when imported into a new Maya project, even though the measurements were adjusted to meters accordingly. We worked around the issue just fine, but it was a problem we never figured out the cause for.


Game Screenshot



My group had no issues importing to Unity. However, this was not the case for me. As can be seen in the game screenshot, my building (in the middle) has its textures cut off in some areas. A problem I found too late and simply had no time to fix. Also, we did not meet our goal in trying to capture a similar setting to our game reference Bioshock Infinite, but we applied enough to convey a park-like or suburban feel. 

All in all, we as a group put in much effort and time into completing our part. We were in constant communication during the final stretch, and helping each other along the way. The biggest change we would make moving forward is having a better grasp on modeling while under a constraint. We became so used to modeling detailed interiors and objects, but not large scale structures. If we were to do this over again, I guarantee we could make something twice as good and in half the time.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Game Scene: Week 4

December 8, 2019


Progress



This week I managed to complete the rest of my modular models for my building: the window, segment parts, and wall parts. They have not had their UVs unwrapped yet, but these models are not terribly complex. I realize some objects such as the fire escape and chimney tops will be too high for the player to see textures, so I will rely on Maya materials for these. I also notice that the chimney tops, and possibly the fire escape, to be disproportionate. They are similar in size to my reference, so it is possible the original exaggerated the size to be more visible to the player. I may or may not keep this concept in mind when going forward.

I have a lot of work to do this week: UV unwrap everything, apply textures, and compile mine and my group's work together and start delving into Unity. We have arranged times to meet, and have set rough goals for ourselves until then. As for creating further objects for the game scene, like park benches and fences, it is uncertain where we will be for that. For now, I will focus my attention on completing my apartment complex.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Game Scene: Week 3

December 1, 2019


Progress



Not a whole lot was accomplished this week, unfortunately. I did get around to modeling the chimney tops, but not the modular model for windows. I did start measuring and modeling a bit for the fire escape. I began with the railing - I made this by using a NURBS circle and extruding along a curve. Conceptually, the fire escape looks to be pretty easy, so I'm not worried. 

I plan to finish all modular models as well as other components of my building by next week. I will also have to work on my textures. I asked my group about how we will approach texturing, and we have agreed to simply pull everything from the internet. I considered painting some of my own textures, but for the sake of time and consistency I will opt out of that idea.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Game Scene: Week 2

November 15, 2019


Progress



So far I have created a few modular models: the pillar support and stairs leading to a doorway. Everything has been properly proportionate in size, and has also been UV unwrapped. With just these two models I have essentially finished the lower segment for my apartment building. Objects have been modeled carefully to avoid unnecessary edges and vertices. There has been no issues in the making process, only in time management.

I plan to have more modular models done by next week, like the windows and chimney tops. I am considering painting some of my own textures as my reference for it seems simple enough. But, that remains to be seen.

My group members seem well on their way. It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. I am uncertain about how to approach plants and other foliage that appear in my reference. So far, we have focused on getting each other's buildings done first, and so I will stick to just that for now.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Game Scene: Week 1

November 10, 2019


References





For my group's scene, it was decided we would take inspiration from the game Bioshock Infinite. We liked the concept of floating platforms, and will use the same idea when creating our scene. Each of us will model our own building, along with various objects of our choosing. We are leaning toward creating a park setting to help fill the scene, but this is not final. What we hope to convey is a scene that can fit into the game's world seamlessly.


As a starting point the building I will be modeling is a sort of apartment complex. Should we go for the park idea, we might try to include environmental doodads such as bushes and trees. For now, I will focus on non-organic objects for modeling - this is my goal for the coming week. Below is a list of objects I plan to work on, and in no particular order of importance.


Object List
  • Apartment complex
  • Park bench
  • Light post
  • Trash can
  • Planter box
  • Fountain
  • Fence





___________________________________________________________________________________





Living Room: Week 5

 November 3, 2019


Final Render



Obviously, a lot was accomplished since where I was last week. I was able to complete texturing, create an object emitting light, and filling in the scene as best I could. I would have liked to add further objects to fill the scene had I not procrastinated so. I also ran into issues trying to render using ambient occlusion, and was unable to solve this problem. The process of texturing, to my surprise, was the most enjoyable part. Everything fell into place. There were no issues, aside from, again, the ambient occlusion render.

I would surmise I spent somewhere between 28 to 36 hours total. For the future I would definitely work on my time management. I will say, during the latter weeks I became more interested in the process.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Living Room: Week 4

 October 27, 2019
Progress



Desk UV



Locker UV












I got around to modeling the hallway, finally. Going about it was surprisingly seamless. I like how it turned out, even though the doorway frame is left as a placeholder. Main objects like the desk, locker, and couch have had their UVs organized. This process I found to be rather easy, once I got into the flow of things. 

As has been the constant issue for me is time management, and it shows. I am still in the stage of modeling, unwrapping UVs, and now organizing those UVs for texturing. I am still optimistic, however, as in the case of previous assignments this portion has always been the most time consuming. I do believe I will be able to find time for texturing and properly lighting my scene in the upcoming week, along with filling it up with more doodads.

The plan I have set is to finish modeling, unwrapping UVs, and getting UV snapshots ready for texturing for all objects currently made. Then, work on lighting my scene. I still have to make an object that acts as a light source as well. Once the necessary stages are finished, I will then go back and create more objects to fill the scene. I plan to create one new object, go through the same process of creating UVs and texturing, then move on to the next new object and repeat. As I reach the deadline, I will save the last stretch for non-textured objects to help fill the scene further.
___________________________________________________________________________________





Living Room: Week 3

 October 20, 2019


Progress



I managed to fulfill some of the tasks I planned to have done by this point: completed objects, some UV unwrapping, and smaller details like the poster. It is certainly not to the extend where I'd want to be, but I am having a better idea of the overall work ahead.

What has taken much of my time is further iterations of objects, and attempting to go about unwrapping them. This has clearly been the toughest part for me. For that, I have not once made a single UV snapshot and textured. Moving forward, I will focus on the objects at hand and begin texturing before continuing on with the finer details. There is still the matter of the hallway, which I still want to include. I will also have to add an object that emanates light, by which is part of the assignment. There is a lot of work ahead, but so far there has not been any serious setbacks.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Living Room: Week 2

October 15, 2019

Progress



Not a huge amount was achieved for this week due to multiple iterations of conceptualizing and modeling as well as procrastination. There was much trial and error, experimenting, and consideration to how objects will have to later be textured.  

Despite this, I believe I have found my footing and plan to get a whole lot done in the coming week. My strategy moving forward is to model and unwrap UVs for larger objects that help fill the scene, later model the finer details, then texture. There will still be further iterations needed. I have yet to get to the hallway, so I still do not know the level of difficulty that will be. Even the desk and ceiling doodads still have placeholder pieces. The goal is to have a complete model of the desk and pipes, a desk chair, bed or couch, hallway, and placeholders for things like posters and items.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Living Room: Week 1

 October 11, 2019


References






Blocked Out Scene



For this project I am taking inspiration from a setting out of the Fallout series. Given this context, the direction I am wanting to go is a sort of dark,  grimy living space. The first reference is a kind of bunker, while the second appears to be more of an actual living room. I want to combine the two and create a semi-dirty, but still passable living space while keeping the bunker theme.

The goal I have set for myself is to create a composition I am not used to: futuristic, post-apocalyptic, modern, or retro. Per usual, gathering textures in preparation for my scene has been the first challenge. The level of difficulty in trying to create some of the strange and unorthodox objects and shapes based on my references remains to be seen.

Something I will have to learn more about is lighting for indoor scenes. Up until now, I have been working exclusively with directional lighting. I also intend to create a hallway out of the doorway shown in my blocked out scene. I have yet to figure out how to efficiently do this, so that is just another hurdle.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Grocery Shelf

October 6, 2019






For this assignment I was to make a typical grocery setting with a shelf and an assortment of products: 6 boxed items, 3 glass items, 1 plastic item, and the shelf. This showed me how one could create one object, apply its texture, then reuse the same object and essentially the same UV for other textured objects.

For my scene I accomplished creating a sort of pantry-like shelf. The composition are all grocery products, chosen solely on whatever textures were available and of better quality. It turned out to be a wholesome scene with familiar products.

Challenges I faced would be the plastic item: the mustard bottle. I was unable to figure out how to place a proper label on it. I left that task for last, knowing it would be an obstacle. As I reached closer to the deadline, I never did have enough time for it, unfortunately. One thing I also learned was that the time spent manually creating a different jar shape between my jam and sauce jars was, in hindsight, wasteful. Managing time and how I spend it still remains an issue for me.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Dinner Prep

September 29, 2019






For dinner prep, I was assigned to follow tutorials covering how to apply multiple materials and textures to one object. As can be seen, labeled textures were placed upon objects with already existing materials: the glass for the jar and wine bottle. 

As per usual, I was tasked to create seamless textures. I feel I have accomplished this well. Since the composition was provided, the only obstacle I faced were technical. I learned about how lighting interacts with glass, and where to adjust in settings to have a convincingly realist scene.

What I got out of this assignment most of all was the routine on going about creating objects with textures. To make objects while keeping in mind that I will unwrap the UV's later, then going into Photoshop to create the textures, and finally applying those textures in Maya.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Table & Couch

September 22, 2019






Here I was assigned in creating multi-part objects and applying textures to them. The objects at hand, the table and couch, needed to convey realism through texture, shape, and lighting. 

Modeling both table and couch with a reference image made things easy for me. There could be improvements to the couch cushion's shapes, but who said it had to be a comfortable couch? UV mapping took a while to grasp, but I got the hang of it eventually. This is when I began to understand the purpose of UV shells sharing the same space. Textures for the table came out well. I played with specular to help convey a wooden finish. 

The glaring issue that I could not figure out in time to fix is the couch's texture. The fabric texture is blown up, and the couch legs are not showing the correct wood texture. After the fact, I know the problem. I believe I forgot to save the UV snapshot resolution from its default of 2048 x 2048.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Marker

September 20, 2019




This assignment was designed for me to follow along video tutorials, showing step-by-step how to create multiple shapes for a single object, UV mapping them, and applying texture to them.

The first step was to import our marker reference into Maya, work in orthographic view, and essentially trace around the reference image with cylinder shapes. Tools and techniques used included the edge tool, extrusion, deleting unnecessary faces, and revolving around an axis. Then, we began unwrapping each object's UV so they may be textured later. We used mostly base materials for color and shine to convey plasticity as shown, but the texture portion I failed to accomplish. This was supposed to be the text normally found on markers, across the body.

A few obstacles occurred, the big one being time management. However, another issue I had was related to me working in the top orthographic view, while the tutorial was in front view. Somewhere toward the latter videos I ran into problems. I cannot remember what, but ultimately I figured out that starting over in front view solved the issue. This deterred me quite a bit, but I ended up trying to complete the assignment as best I could given the unexpected regression.





___________________________________________________________________________________





Primitives Scene

September 9, 2019





For this assignment I was tasked in creating a scene in Maya using only basic shapes. I was challenged to only relying on the scale and rotate tools for shape manipulation. Extrusions were not allowed. Other aspects were to get us to think about camera shots, lighting, use of materials, and composition.

My focus from the start was to create any scene with a low angle shot. Purely a preference. For the contents itself, I took inspiration from one of the student examples that was shown in class: it was a lighthouse atop a cliff-edge along a coast. I particularly liked how their rocks and cliff looked, and have clearly implemented this in my scene. The ruins above were added to include my composition, as well as the broken ship below.

Going into this I had some familiarity to Maya, so difficulty was only a matter of concept and time management. The creation process went smoothly for the most part. Overall, I like how it turned out.

Comments

Post a Comment