Evaluation

Overall I think I have learnt a lot from this module. When I first started using animation in 3D studio, I didn't have much understanding of a lot of the terms and tools of the software. I will admit I struggled a lot in grasping the basic tools. By completing many tutorials and just generally messing around in the software I began to understand it a lot more. This meant I could progress through the module and bring my ideas to life.

The bits I found hardest in creating the enviroments was the materials. I could never get them to look 'exactly' right. I did manage to get better at it, by using a variety of techniques like making the material mirrored instead of tiled, and changing the amount of tiles.

Once I understood the software, the things I found easiest was using the reactor tool and the auto key, as this was very similar to adobe flash. I also found it easy to create the enviroment in which the scene would take place. Obviously it took a lot of time, but I didn't struggle with it.

If I had to do the module again, but had more time and knowledge I would of concentrated more on making the materials a lot more textured and higher definition. This could be achieve by using more polys and choosing more appropriate materials. I could also have tried creating more objects from a editable poly, but time restrictions meant I couldn't grasp the idea of moulding an object myself.

All in all, I have definately come a long way since I started the project, and have also enjoyed using 3D studio. I think I might even choose to create animations in my own time just for fun, to see what results I can achieve.

Ident 3

Ident 3

For this ident I decided to use the same technique as the last. The enviroment was set in a desert, with minimal objects

to make the scene look as if its in the middle of nowhere. I used mainly reactor tools for this ident again, as I found

its effect very interesting.

Enviroment

To create the main enviroment, first I created a plane, edited it using the edit poly modifier and shaped it to have a few

higher and lower parts, giving it a realistic look. I also used a different material, which I changed the tiling properties

of to allow it to look realistic. I also added in a pool of water to look like an oasis next to a tree. This is where the

ball lands later in the scene.

Materials

The materials I used were a dry ground type material for the main part, and I water material which I created using various

techniques and adjusting the reflection map. For the background I imported a sky image which I blended with a dark blue

gradient which would show the lighter effect at the bottom and darker at the top, like a real sky image would be.

Reactor

I used the reactor to with rigid body collection to allow the gravity created by 3D studio max to make the eye fall to the

floor and into a pool. I adjusted the friction and elasticity to allow a more realistic bounce and roll. I also made the

bottom plane (water) have the phantom setting to it would not effect the balls movements. The 3D watch logo comes across the

screen at the end, which was done by using the auto key button.

Lighting

I used an omni light to act as a sun, and to show up the shadow of the tree and also the texture of the desert where each

of the higher and lower parts where. I also adjusted how strong the light was to give it the best look for the scene.

Ident 2

Ident 2

This ident was done slightly differently, using and demonstrating different skills which are part of the 3D studio Max software. These include different material editing, reactor effects and surface effects.

I began by creating the map. To do this I created a plane, then used the edit poly modifier to make it a bit more realistic by creating a textured layout with higher and lower sections of the plane. To make this look smooth I also used the soft selection tool. This enables me to move a small section of the plane, and a certain amount (user adjustable) of polys nearby the selected one, will move with it but only slightly, so the raised part of the map will have a smooth slope. I

then created the material for it by using a bitmap which comes with 3D studio max called 'GRYDIRT2' which looked like the right texture I was after. By changing the tiling and offset I got a good material to use as the main surface.

Creating the Water

To create a realistic looking water effect I first created a plane and then went into the material editor. From here I used the reflection and bump maps, and by adjusting the settings on them created the water. I also changed the specular level and glossiness to similar amounts as real water does. To make the water move in the animation I used the auto key. This was done by creating a key frame at the start of the animation, then moving to the end of the animation and adjusting the 'Phase' amount in the bump map to about 20 so the ripples in the water would change through the timeline. I then aligned the water up with the main surface and adjusted the height of the water to make it look as if the water was right up again the rocks.

Lighting and Background

To create the background this time I created a huge cylinder in which I placed a sky material which comes with 3D studio. This cylinder encased the whole of the scene so that it looked like the sky was curving round giving it a realistic view. I then adjusted the lighting on the scene to make the water look extra reflective and show up the ripples in the water. To do this I just created an omni light which I strategically placed to give the best effect and also look like a sun against the sky which I had created. I then tured on shadows and adjusted the effects of it to make it less bright and more effective.

Animation

The animation on this scene was done purely using reactor effects. To do this I made the eye, the rocks and the water all part of a rigid body collection. I then set the water to concave mesh and ticked 'Phantom' so the eye would go through it, and the rock part to concave mesh so it would bounce off it. The eye was then given a mass and set to 'bounding sphere' so when the reactor was used it would have realistic properties. Next I positioned the eye in a place where it would fall in an interesting manner, and used the auto key to follow it with a camera. Then, underneath the whole scene I placed a box with the 'Watch Logo' on, which also had its own light as the main scene blocks out the other light. The camera would then follow the eye underwater to reveal the logo.

Ident 1

Ident 1

I began by creating the basic layout of the map in which the scene would take place. I had a rough idea in my head which I later drew on a piece of paper and acted as a story board. The scene would consist of a town / city in which the main character the 'UKTC Watch Eye' would be moving around in. The basic shapes I used were made from boxes and cylinders which I moved into the correct places to look like buildings and windows. The road was also made from a thin box.

Objects

The objects I created were the buildings, streetlights and all other surroundings. The way I had created the streetlights was to use the tools in 3D studio max to align a cylinder with a sphere which I cut in half. This created a fairly realistic looking lamp which I then put a 'target spot' light in, to enhance the look and use.

For the buildings I used many boxes to created the various windows and doors on each building. This included the roof of each and the roads which were also made as boxes on top of the main plane.

Materials

Later I added in the materials in the scene. These included concrete for the road, wood for the fence, grass for the park ground, with a gravel textured path, and a reflective texture for the windows. I then made them look a bit more realistic by adjusting the tiling properties of each of the materials. Then I used the various options to adjust reflection of the windows from light, and also the opacity of the lamps in the streetlights.

Animation

The final section of the whole animation is actually animating it. This was done by using the auto key button and moving the eye to specific points on the map. This lets 3D studio fill in the gaps for me, making less work for me to try and animate myself. The same technique was used on the camera to allow it to move and follow the eye as it travelled across the map.