Still Life

Hello. Wanted to give you guys an update about the work that I will be doing this term.  My final project this term is to create a "still life" in 3D space.  A still life is usually a painting of inanimate objects, often purposely arranged to create a nice composition. I'm sure you've all seen them before. A lot of them are of fruits, flower vases, and whine glasses/bottles.  Our project is to do something like this in 3D and it will employ all the skills we will be learning this term, including modeling, surfacing, texturing and rendering (lighting).

The assignment was for us to select 4 objects and a light source (like a lamp).  The four objects that we had to choose were to represent us as a person - who we are, what we like, etc.  As I don't have much of my stuff here with me I seemed to be very limited in choosing something that would be interesting.  Most of the things that represent me, like my hobbies, have really boring shapes - dvd/blu ray cases, comic books, books, Magic cards (all simple rectangles).

However, I found that the coolest things that I brought with me were things that people have given me as going away presents.  So the items that I chose were: (click the name of item to see a picture of it)

Superman toy given to me by my brother
Flash doll by my sister.
Cannon Powershot by Monique
Canadian Mitten by Marissa

I found that these items were by far the most interesting in terms of shape and texture but also mean a good deal to me as they were all gifts by those close to me. So I was happy with my selection. For a light source I chose my desk lamp. Sadly, I was told by one of my instructors that the mitten I chose will be very difficult to pull off since the texture is complicated (fuzzy things are hard to do apparently).  I don't know if I will learn all the techniques required to do it well, so I was advised to pick a backup (I chose my laptop).  So since I don't want to give up on my mitten, I will basically be working on 6  items instead of 5.

The first step was bring them into class and take reference photos of each of my objects. From every angle, and if possible with a ruler next to it so that I can know the dimensions (the photo I linked of the Flash has a ruler behind him).  Next was to measure and write down all the dimensions of the specific object (for the toys I had to write down how tall it was, how wide, the length of the arms, the legs, the head, etc).  This is hugely important so that our items are accurate when constructed in 3D space.  And finally we took orthographic pictures of our objects. These are flat 2D representations of our objects from the top, side, front, and back which are super helpful when building a model in 3D. especially because length of specific parts are not misrepresented due to perspective. (The picture of the camera Monique gave me is the front orthographic view of that item).

The next step is to model proxies of the items.  A proxy is a 3D model that is very simple and is usually used to show basic shapes and is a starting point for a modeler. Also, in a production pipeline a modeler will build a proxy to send forward to the animation department so that they have something to start animating with. Then when the modeler is done (or builds the newest version of the character) it can replace the proxy in the scene. Helps workflow be efficient. Proxies could also be used to show directors a feeling for the character without actually doing much work and wasting time. If it doesn't work at the proxy level it won't work later on.

So my proxy models of my items are due sometime this week.  I have already completed 3 of the 6 items I will be doing so I wanted to share them with you.  The first picture is of my proxy of the camera. (Click on the picture for a more hi-res version)

As you can see, the basic shape has been laid out with small details.  Also, you can see one of the orthographic reference photos I took in the back ground which helped me get the dimensions just right.  I also changed the default gray color (that you saw on my bike) to this cool blue color. Makes things more interesting when modeling. The camera's lenses I changed to different shades of gray so you can see them.

Next is my flash proxy.

Again you can see the orthographic pictures that I use as a guide.  As you can see this is what I mean by basic shape. You can see what the character will look like but by no means is it a polished product.  This time I changed the color to red, so that it is more interesting for you guys see.  Also, the computer can smooth the geo for you so that you can see what it may look like with a higher poly count (polygon count). Essentially what it is doing is subdividing the faces that makes up this object a bunch of times to make a smoother surface. Here is my flash proxy smoothed.

You might also notice that the limbs and head are not connected to the body. I left it unconnected because I don't know if it will be easier for me to connect them now and then add detail or add detail then connect them. I don't know which method will mess with my line flow the least. (Line flow refers to how the lines in my wireframe are arranged and are crucial for texturing and animating. Here is an example of a wireframe. See the lines?)

And finally my Superman proxy.

I made the color blue for the body and the cape I made red so that it looked a lot cooler. I will probably be working with all my future models in this blue color because I like it and is much more easy on the eyes that the default gray. And here is my proxy smoothed.

I will probably be finishing up the proxies for my other three items sometime this week so I'll post them for you guys to see.  Then at the end of the term I'll post my final outcome so that you guys can see how far I take it. I think it would be cool to compare them.  Sorry for the length of this entry. I get carried away in my explanations sometimes. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.  Let me know what you guys think. Enjoy.