Evaluation

After completing my project I am pleased with the final result. The textures look professional and there is little texture stretching in my scene which is a good surprise since I though that I would have problems texturing the tunnel walls. Also, the models don’t reduce the frame rate too much and the lights and fog give it a great atmosphere and suit the scary theme that I was going for.

However, next time I would like to have had more time to make the textures look even more professional and also improve the lighting to make it more realistic. Also, I would have liked to add more objects into my scene like bins or more details like that. Finally, I completed my project on time and I feel that I made good use of the time that I had and my end product is of the standard that I wanted and meets the assignment brief

Production - Texturing

On Monday I completed adding my brick texture to the walls of my subway. I would have moved on to rendering out the final images of my room  but the room that I was using was unavailable at the time, so instead I begun improving my textures in Photoshop and making them more detailed or dirty. I think that the texture that was added to the wall looked realistic and suited the theme of my environment; however the colour of the bricks was too similar to my wood textures and looked strange when next to a bench.  To fix this I may edit the texture in Photoshop at a later date and make it have less saturation to bring the colour down.

Production - Texturing and Rendering

Today I am going to finish off my project by adding the brick texture to the walls of my train station. This will roughly take 1 hour and a half because of complications in trying to get the texture to fit around the tunnel without stretching.  After that I will check that everything is completed and meets the requirements of the task. After that I will start rendering and then work on creating a conclusion on my blog and finishing or improving small parts of my work.

Production - modelling and texturing summary

At the end of the day I had completed my bench and barrel, complete with textures and fire. However, I could not add them to my scene because of problems with the different versions of 3Ds Max. This also means that I could not add the new textures to my scene and so instead I worked on improving them in Photoshop and creating some extra models to go into my scene (like wall lights). To solve this I am going to use the original version of 3Ds Max that I was working on to open my work tomorrow, and finish it off then.

Production - Models and texturing

Today i will begin modelling my bench and barrel and then apply textures to the walls of my train station. It will roughly take me 1 and a half hours to create the models for my bench and another 1 and a half for my barrel as well, so i will be done by around 1'oclock. I think this is achievable because the models do not have to be really detailed since the environment project does not focus on the modelling skills.

Next I have to apply textures to the bench, wall and barrel. This probably will not be completed today and will have to be continued due to problems with textures stretching or having to edit them in Photoshop. I think it’s achievable because there are not that many textures left to do and the objects that I have to apply them to are simple.

Production – Textures and Objects

Today I have started to put textures onto my object that I had made last week. First I gathered textures from town using my camera. I looked for things like wood, concrete and metal textures that would suit my environment theme which is dark and grimy. Then, after getting the textures I edited them a little in Photoshop (to crop images or make them darker) and then tried applying them to an object in my scene using UVW maps.

However, they were stretched most of the time and you could see where the image ends and the next one began clearly so I had to go back into Photoshop and make the image smaller and then copy it to fill the space.  I also used the clone tool to make sure all the edges were the same and blended well together.  Then I applied the texture and resized it so that you could no longer see the edges. Finally, I cleaned up some of the extra polygons by deleting the polygons and then using the ‘cap holes’ modifier to fill the hole.

Next week I will finish creating the more complicated models in my scene and then try adding textures to them. Also I may try playing around with lighting to see what would look best in my scene.

Production – Room and Object Shape

I have begun production of my environment project and have started with the main shape of the room. To do this I created a cylinder and sliced it into a half. Then I used the shell modifier on the cylinder to create the inside of my room. After that, I used inset on the sides and extruded out wards to create the tunnels of the subway and used shell a second time. Finally to create the stair-case I extruded a polygon on the side of the cylinder and then moved the edges to make a corridor. Then I made a box and extruded each of the polygons at a different height to create a staircase.

I then moved on to creating the Train tracks by using the cut tool to make some polygons in the middle of the room and then extruded the polygons to create a dip where the tunnel is. To make the rails I made a box with lots of polygons on the side and then moved the edges to make a curve. Then, to make the wooden planks, I just created a box and then copied it all the way down the tracks. The final object I made was the pillars which were easily done making a box, using the slice plane to add polygons, and then moving the edges to make the curves at the base.

Next week I will try to improve some of the objects that I have made and try to apply textures that I have gained to the objects. I think the objects I have made today are up to the standard that was expected in my environment work and they don’t have as many polygons as I would have thought, however, the room walls have too many polygons for a game and will have to be cleaned up at a later date.

Sketchbook - Research and Sketches - Objects and Textures

Continuing my research, I have found more pictures of objects from the internet that were most suited to my environment. For example old, run down looking objects that I can use for reference when making my own. I then drew a sketch of the object I have chosen and then moved on to finding examples of textures to use.

For my textures I looked for ones that looked grimy and dirty to use for objects like the train and barrel. I chose ones that had dirt on them, but not a lot so that graffiti can be added to them without it looking too cluttered. Finally, I practised making my chosen objects on 3DS Max and applying textures on them to see how they would look in the final room and see if I was happy with them.

Sketchbook - Research and Sketches - Objects

For the next part in my development, I gathered research on and picture for each of my objects used in my room and stuck them in my sketchbook. I then annotated them, saying what I liked about each picture and how I could use them in my own work. After annotating, I drew a sketch of what the object will look like when made in 3D.

Sketchbook - Perspective drawing

On Friday I was told the project would last 6 weeks so I chose the idea I wanted for my environment (which was the train station) and visualised how it would look. Taking into account the amount of time I was given for the project, I thought about what objects would be in the room and what textures I would use.

Using only a few objects would be the best idea, since I have a limited time space and the project is more focused on how you use lighting, fog and other techniques in a scene to create an atmosphere to your scene, so a lot of object would not be necessary. Also, making the room not too big would be helpful since I wont have to render too many pictures and don’t have to stretch textures across a huge wall.

After I had thought about the general shape of my room and what was to go in it, I set about putting it on paper in the form of a perspective drawing from one position in my room, as if I was going to render the final work out. I also drew a top down view of my room so that I know exactly where all the objects are going to be when it comes to producing the work. Plus the measurements can be accurately done for things like the pillars and train - tracks and the room can be made easily symmetrical.

Next time, to improve my work, I would try to fit in more objects in the drawing and also add more detail to the existing ones.

Proposal

The assignment brief tells me to create a 3D environment that will demonstrate my skills in 3DS Max. To demonstrate my skills I will have to use effects and techniques that I have learned in 3DS Max such as fog, lighting and fire effects. I will also have to demonstrate that I know how to render out my final 3D model properly, making it look the best that it can.

To answer the brief I will create a spooky, horror type environment like a subway. This is because I can use lighting more effectively and also justifies the use of fog, since it creates atmosphere and can also mimic the effect of dust. Also, I can add fire into the scene by adding Flaming Debris or barrels used by homeless people to add more affects and light up my scene in more interesting ways. My target market for this project would be teenagers, since they are usually more interested in the horror genre and they are more accepting of the dark theme. Also they may be interested in looking at 3D models online because they are interested in how games are made and like the look of 3D work as apposed to traditional artwork.

I aim to demonstrate my skills in using lighting to create atmosphere and also lighting up dark areas using omni lights. I have already had practise in using lighting and can use the target and omni lights to light up a scene in a realistic way. I wish to be able to create a dark environment but also keep it light enough so that there is no part of it that is impossible to see. For this I will have to learn how to change the settings on omni and target lights so that it light up a dark area while still looking realistic. I am also going to show that I can use effects in 3Ds Max such as fire and fog appropriately and effectively. I want to be able to create fog so that it makes the scene look old and abandoned and also make fire so that I can light up the scene in a different way. For this I will have to learn how to adjust the density of the fog and how low it is, and also learns how to adjust the settings of fire so that it doesn’t increase the rendering times too much.

To complete this project I will need Photoshop .This will be available to me at home as well as in college but are not on the computers that we can use in the library so I can’t work at break times in college. The program will help me create completely new textures for me to use in my 3D environment so is a very important tool in my work. I will also need 3DS Max which I also have at home and in college. This is needed to create the actual models in my 3D environment and render them out so it is the most important tool I need in this project since it brings everything together. I will also need the internet to help me in my project. This is readily available almost anywhere so wont be a problem to use. I will use this to gather research for my project including pictures of existing subways and also find inspiration for textures and objects that could be used in the environment.

There are legal restrictions for my work that I have to follow such as not using copyrighted textures, which can be found online, in my own work. I can avoid doing this by creating most of my textures from scratch. There are also ethical issues such as adding blood into my scene, as it may offend a smaller age group and also offend other people if there has been a recent tragedy in the news. To keep myself organised I am going to create an action plan describing what I am going to do each week. To evaluate my work I am going to use my blog post to look back on what I have done I gain feedback from other people on the internet. I will use the blog to help me do better next time and learn from mistakes.

The main targets of my work that will help me know if my work is a success are: the lighting looks realistic and allows you to see the whole of the scene, including the dark areas; the environment will look old and run-down and the scene has a lot of grimy looking textures that are made by me.

Introduction

I am working in Manchester College in Openshaw and I am currently a student in games development (Extended Diploma). This blog will be used to record all of my planning, research, preparation and production when creating my 3D environment. I will post what I have done and reflect upon what I have made and try to improve my work as I go along. After 7 weeks, I will have fully rendered out pictures of my environment as proof that I have completed my project.