Month: April 2018

Intended Outcome:

• Create a realistic looking fire, ready to apply fire simulation.

Problems I encountered and how I overcame them:

• Creating the rocks came quite easy to me, as in my first media project ‘Changing creature in different environments’ I had experimented heavily with the sculpt tool in order to simulate natural materials. The main task for me in this portion of my model was not the creation process itself, but making the stones look similar but not identical. I was originally hoping to use my first rock as a base for the rest of them, but the resemblance was hard to change, so I decided to start each rock from a different mesh.

• Out of curiosity, I searched youtube for advice in creating rocks and stones and found the below tutorial uploaded by youtube member ‘Stym’, who used a rather complex method to create their game assets. After trying this method, I decided against it, as I found altering my rocks from an iscosphere gave me a more efficient and realistic outcome.

• After completing enough rocks to surround where the fire would be, I began modelling the centre. I chose to firstly add a large log to fit as the main fuel source, before building thinner sticks to surround it. To fill empty space and add detail, I also created a pile of soot by sculpting a circle so that it elevated unevenly, and consumed the log slightly.

• Crating the sticks that surround the centre was simple but tedious. I modelled the sticks by extruding and moving points of a cube so that it resembled the behaviour of a branch, before applying a subdivision modifier and sharpening the edges with a loop cut. I then propped them at the centre of the soot.

• To complete this model, I bevelled any edges that were too harsh, added a subdivision surface modifier, and I ensured that the normals of the mesh were correct and had an auto smooth angle of 30 degrees. I also removed any unnecessary faces/vertices and grouped parts of the model that would be textured identically.

Where to go from here:

• Create a tent to bring the scene together.

Timelapse:

Final Model:

Intended Outcome:

• Create a realistic looking saucepan

Problems I encountered and how I overcame them:

•  Similarly to the crockery I modelled, there were many styles and types of saucepans available to gain inspiration from, but with my scene resembling a camping scenario, I wanted to keep it simple, so stuck to a basic stainless steel piece, similar to the cooking equipment campers tend to use.

• To create the saucepan, I used the same tools as I used for the bowls and plates I created, following a reference image I found on google images. I also subdivided edges and added vertices to create the desired location and shape of the handle on this project, initially extruding it out of the base of the saucepan before choosing to separate it and UV-unwrap it separately. Although I decided to separate the two meshes (done post timelapse), creating the handle from the base of the saucepan allowed me to gain a perfect fit, ensuring my model had a seamless connection.

• I originally planned to use just two bolts stacked vertically to hold the handle and the base together, however, I chose to change this to three horizontal bolts as my handle was based on an inspiration image that made the handle seem too small to support the weight of the base otherwise.

• To complete this model, I bevelled any edges that were too harsh, added a subdivision surface modifier, and I ensured that the normals of the mesh had an auto smooth angle of 30 degrees. I also removed any unnecessary faces/vertices and grouped parts of the model that would be textured identically.

Where to go from here:

•  Create a centrepiece for the scene.

Timelapse:

Final Model:

Intended Outcome:

• Use the cloth simulation in a different context.
• Create the sense of presence.

Problems I encountered and how I overcame them:

• This model did not take up much time to create and allowed me to add a sense of presence to the scene. By creating this small detail, I believe it made the scene feel more realistic by insinuating someone has pitched camp and unpacked items they would otherwise keep hidden in order to use them.

• To create the two main components of this model, I used cylinder meshes and the Boolean modifier, altering the thickness of the cylinder to create the model I wanted.

• Again, I had not used the cloth simulator in a situation like this, so I did a lot of experimentation with the physics simulation available to ensure that, if animated, it looked realistic. When unused, kitchen roll tends to try and unravel itself, so adding a piece of mesh that can resemble this behaviour would help to create the realism. To ensure it hung naturally, I tested different presets and altered values to gain a reasonable response, and tested the effect with a wind forcefield.

• To complete this model, I bevelled any edges that were too harsh, added a subdivision surface modifier, and I ensured that the normals of the mesh had an auto smooth angle of 30 degrees. I also removed any unnecessary faces/vertices and grouped parts of the model that would be textured identically.

Where to go from here:

• Create more accessories appropriate for the scene.

Timelapse:

Final Model:

The errors present on this sketchfab are not present on the final model. Unfortunately, I cannot remove them, but feel this view still gives the overall effect of the model.

Intended Outcome:

• Create a realistic camping lantern.

Problems I encountered and how I overcame them:

• Because this model is extremely symmetrical, I added my reference image to the background of my interface while modelling to use as a stencil. The made the proportions easier to align, and modelling in a wireframe view and allowed me to create an extremely accurate replica. When creating this model, I made sure to separate each component in order to make texturing this model as efficient as possible.

• While this model was complex, it was achievable by extruding, indenting, and moving points of the mesh to match the reference image. This was particularly evident when creating the base, bulb, and top portion of this model.

• To create the side pieces of this lantern, I added a cylinder, rotated it slightly, and used the ‘spin’ option, altering the angle and the pivot point until it matched the image behind. I then duplicated this model for the other side.

• To add the tabs which the handle hooks on to, I altered the shape of a plane to match the reference image, moving and adding vertices where needed. I then extruded this shape, and added cylindrical boolean to create the hole, before merging this shape with the side pieces to make one mesh.

• There were certain parts of this model that were made out of wire, something I was not too confident in creating the effect of, so I was rather interested to see if and how I could create the effect. To do so, I began with a circle, created a face, indented slightly, and then removed the inner face. I then extruded the remaining mesh, before moving parts of it to match the image. The wire on this lantern is rather uneven, so I made sure not to use too much proportional editing, so that when a subdivision modifier was applied, it would create a wonky and bent effect.

• While the lantern in my reference image had only 3 holes in the top part of it, I decided to make 4 in order to simplify my modelling process, but also ensure each hoe was an equal distance from the other. To create this, I removed the bottom face of the top mesh to make the model hollow, before using the boolean tool to create the holes mentioned. I then created a face below this portion, and solidified the material around tho holes to resemble a thin sheet of metal.

• I used the same process as I did when creating the base parts of the lantern to create the nozzle.

• To the side of the lantern, there is a sheet of metal with wire leading to it. To create this sheet, I originally planned to alter a plane, but soon found it difficult to curve the piece. Because of this, I ended up using my design on the flat mesh to model the same shape but onto faces taken from a cylinder. Although complex, this proved effective, and once I added a solidifier modifier, it resembled the reference image perfectly.
• To create the handle and the wire to the side of the bulb, I used the same method as I did with the side parts of the lantern.

• To complete this model, I bevelled any edges that were too harsh, and I ensured that the normals of the mesh had an auto smooth angle of 30 degrees. I also removed any unnecessary faces/vertices and grouped parts of the model that would be textured identically.

Where to go from here:

• Add more detail to the scene.

Timelapse:

Final Model:

Intended Outcome:

• Create realistic eating utensils.

Problems I encountered and how I overcame them:

• Creating the crockery all had a similar process, but I went through a few different methods before deciding on my favourite. To create these pieces, I began with a circle, and indented and extruded appropriately. Because of the number of shapes and sizes bowls and plates can come in, my creative freedom was rather large, and I enjoyed creating different types of crockery. My initial shapes were rather flat on reflection, so I remodelled these assets multiple times until I gained a desired style.
• To create the cutlery, I followed an extremely useful tutorial uploaded by youtube user ‘3D Blender Tutorials by ianscott888’, who introduced my to new methods of creating new shapes in blender by inserting vertices and essentially drawing an outline. Previous to this discovery, I had only ever modelled around a shape that already slightly resembled the desired result I hoped for, however after watching these tutorials, I was able to widen my capability within the software, and while I followed the tutorial exactly to create the fork, I took what I learned and applied it to make a knife.

Part 1:

Part 2:

• To complete this model, I bevelled any edges that were too harsh, and I ensured that the normals of the mesh had an auto smooth angle of 30 degrees. I also removed any unnecessary faces/vertices and grouped all of the cans together, as they would all be textured identically.

Where to go from here:

• Incorporate what I learnt in the tutorials to new assets where appropriate to create realism.

Timelapse:

Final Model: