During my time of learning how to use 3d modelling I have really surprised myself how much I could learn and gain in not a long space of time. During the first part of my learning experience I found learning how to use the tools and effects in 3d max really interesting. When doing my first 3 models I found this part challenging as I had never used this software before using so many tools and effects was difficult but after learning and looking more in depth I found the effects fun and easy to use. Once I had finished my 3 models I then begun my animation part, As I had done animation before using key frame editing was easier for me to do. For my animation I did keep it simple which is where I feel I could have done better. By adding in camera targets could have made my animation that bit more exciting and fun to watch whereas keeping it set on one area, this is something I have definitely learnt and will take on board when using 3d studio max again. I also found myself not using as many tools as I didn’t want to over crowd the animation and take away the key interesting points. Overall during this module I would say I have definitely learnt a lot and will be able to now go on and develop the skills I have used to use in the final year.

Animation final step

For my last steps of my animation i decided to keep my animation simple using auto key to animate. My animation is based around the failure of the Ariel screw launch this allowed me to use the auto key to change each position on each frame. During my animation you see the Ariel screw begin to spin slowly as it then begins to pick up its pace and eventually take off before it slowly comes back down to the platform again.

Animation Step 1

For my first part of my animation it will be focusing on the attempt of the aerial screw to leave the platform. I will firstly start by rotating my aerial screw slowly with 10 second intervals between steps, when i will then speed it up to 7 then 5 second intervals to get the spin of the Ariel screw to go faster. I will then begin to raise my Ariel screw at its attempt to lift off which i have so far got to. Below you can see my time line on how I’ve gained my movement.

Biped and Physique Modifier

For the biped & physique modifier i first off created my biped man which i then changed the bones,toes etc. I then positioned my biped man where i then created footsteps for him to follow.

Morpher

For this exercise i used the morpher in 3D Max. I firstly imported the head into 3D Max then cloned this 3 times, my first mistake i make was cloning the head using the instance option rather then copy which i noticed when editing my first head. After i copied 3 extra heads i then converted each in to and editable poly which then allowed me to edit each other the heads. i created 3 different expressions one being a mouth open another raised eyebrows and finally eyes closed. I then used to morpher tool adding all three expressions heads in the channels option. This allowed my first imported head to have all three expresions on one model. I also turnt on turbo smooth to give a more smoother effect of the model head.

I then brought in the animation side of things, i switched on auto key and then chagned to the expression numbers at different parts of the time line. Once i done that i was then able to if i needed to go in to the curve editor which would allow me to edit each expression.

My story board

For my animation i have decided to story board how i hope to make my sequence play out.

Dope sheet

For next part of this exercises i worked on the dope sheet side to animating. I copied over my sphere to give myself 3 different bouncy balls to create. this is where i then began to use my dope sheet by rearranging and changing the length of time allowed me to create my bouncing ball sequence

Path Constraint

For this exercises i simply created a sphere in 3d max a circle which surrounds my shape. I then added a camera on the my space which i then used path constraints to allow me to use the camera to follow the circle path round the sphere when played.

Last 6 weeks

Over the last 6 weeks i defiantly feel i have made a huge progress with 3D max, Considering i had never used this software before i was quite surprised what i was able to produce.

I mostly enjoyed learning how to used all the tools in 3d Max as i could use these an awful lot in my models.

At first i did struggle with some of the tasks but after trying and reading how to use the tools i found myself learning a huge amount which i found quite enjoyable.

Animation in 3D

For my animation in 3D Max i used the tool auto key. I firstly started by turning on autokey, at different stages i changed the position of my ball. Once changing each position i then turned off my auto key which then allowed me to play back my animation of my bouncing ball.

Final 3

My final 3 Models. For my main model i decided to design it on the Ariel screw, which i then done a further two models one being the Anometer and the second being my platform with steps for my Ariel screw. All 3 can be seen below.

Adding texture to my platform with steps

For my final model my platform with steps i decided to go on the Internet to find a dark and old type wood which would have been appropriate for this type of model, Below is the wood type texture in which i used.

Adding Texture to my Ariel Screw

For my last step in creating my Ariel screw i had to finally add my materials. After looking at 3d max materials and textures decide to find my own on the Internet i used the two materials seen below one being a soft white wood texture and the other a old Plain wood texture.

Platform with steps - Model 3

For my final model i decided to design a platform which the Ariel screw will be situated for people to get on to.  to create my base for the platform i used the boolean tool to create the space for the Ariel screw to sit. Below is my progress on the design of this model.

Part 2 Aerial Screw

Continuing on with my Aerial screw i then went on to using my next tool. For the top of my model i used the lofting tool to do this. I started of by drawing my helix which i then used a rectangle rather then a circle for my path to allow myself to get the flat look. First off i started off using a circle for my path, But when trying to edit i noticed i wasn't going to be able to get the effect i want. I then began to add my final touches this being the sting connecting the screw top to the base. I have yet to add the rest and add my final textures to this model.

Part 1 Aerial Screw

For my second model i decided to go with something more challenging as my first model was quite easy compared to this.

I decided to go with the Aerial screw from Da Vinci.  For my first steps i started by creating a normal cylinder which i then created another to place on top. Once both shapes were created i then used the Boolean tool to give the dent effect of the base. I then added my poles and middle section.

Part 2 Anometer Adding Texture

For the last part of completing my model i decided to go for the plastic texture as when researching i found most Anemometers were made with a plastic texture.

Part 1 - Anemometer 3D Max

Here is my first model i have created out of my three i have chosen to go with this model because this one gained my interest. To create this i had to use a number of shapes for the base placing them on top of one another then aligning making sure they were put in place. I then created the main pole and three attached sticking from the sides. The next part was the three parts which go on the end of the poles. In order to make these look how they should i had to make the an editable poly which i then simply indented them to make them half semi circles. My 3D Max model is shown below.

I am now up to adding the material to the model. 

Daylight System

For this exercise i experimented with day light saving tool. I followed the tutorial which i then decided to use my own type of materials to create the effect i wanted. I used a mirror base to give the reflection of my shapes. This then gave me the final effect of my image below. I liked this exercise as it really does give off loads off effects. 

Lighting

For this technique i experimented with the lighting tool. The first lighting tool i used was the omni tool which i used to place on the top of my pumpkin. This then allowed me to gain the lighting effect through the middle of the pumpkin's face. i then used the target spot tool to gain the second lighting effect over the pumpkin, By playing with the density and target hot spot allowed me to gain my lighting effect shown below. I found this quite impressive that you can add this sort of effect to the model.

Leaf

For this exercise i had to firstly make sure all the white was away from the leaf in order for it to look realistic in 3D Max. Once this was completed i then created a plane in 3D max which i then added my leaf to my material section which then allowed me to edit the bump in the leaf. when editing the points at the end of the leaves helped make the leaf look more realistic 

After this i then added the shine when adding a shine to my leaf i noticed when you render this is gives you almost a sheet behind the leaf to resolve this issue i added my first leaf image to the specular colour in order to resolve this problem. I found this exercise easy enough but time consuming when deleting all the white around the edges. 

Materials

Here is my second piece of work using the materials tool. I used a building with coliseums which i used a marble texture to make it look more realistic. I found using the materials tool easy enough to use. 

Materials - Two Colours

For this exercise i begun to use the material side of 3D Max. First of all i started off by just drawing  To fill this box i used a wood texture to give the effect of a plank of wood.

For my two colour effect i used the tea pot shape  to enable me to use two colour effect one for the lid and another colour for the pot. Below is my models of the materials used.

3 Mood Boards

After doing my research in to Da Vinci's inventions i chose the 3 which i found stuck out to me the most and what i felt were quite creative.

The first was the 'Anemometer' this invention stuck out to me because i just genuinely liked the design of the invention once researching more in to it more and finding out what it is used for and how it was invented i found an interest for it. I found Da Vinci originally designed this to measure the speed and direction of the wind as he had such an interest in flying. I also learnt Da Vinci was not the first to create this device but made variations of the Anemometer. 

Below is my mood board for the Anemometer.

My Second mood board i decided to chose the Aerial Screw I also like this invention because it made me think of how i could use this in 3D Max due to the spiral in this and from my previous work with the Lofting tool. When researching i learnt Da Vinci never actually got the chance to build this invention. This device was designed to compress air which is similar to helicopters today. 

Below is my second mood board for the Aerial Screw.

For my final mood board i chose to base it on the Armoured Car i also liked this invention because of its shape and how i thought i could create myself in 3D Max. When researching this invention i learnt this invention was capable of moving in any direction and was equipped with a number of large weapons. 

Below is my final mood board for the Armoured car.

Array

For my array exercise i had to use the line tool to draw out my shape. Once completing this  i then turned in to an editable poly which i then extruded in order to create my shape 3D. In order to create more then one i then had to go in to my array settings which allowed me to get the repetitve sequence changing the numbers to get 9 gave me the result above. I found this tool simple enough to use and very effective. 

Boolean

For this piece I used the tool boolean in order to create a letter in printed in to the box. To started off with I created a large box which I used as my base I then created my letter. When trying out the boolean tool I noticed a few lines appear in the final step which is seen below on my green box. So after coming across this situation I then looked at using the pro boolean tool which allowed me to get rid of the faint lines and give a better result, this is my blue box one below. This difference between the two is slightly noticeable but would appear more when rendered. I found this tool a bit of a challenge because the letter first off would not imprint in to the box but after playing around i finally managed to get the tool working

Lofting

For my next piece in 3D max i looked at Lofting. 


Below you can see how i have played about with the scale points in order to make the spirals different sizes thought out. I was able to create this shape by playing with the width and height to create the thinness and thickness, After doing all this i ended up with this spiral below. 

Research Leonardo Da Vinci!

For my research i decided to look at all types of inventions which Leonardo discovered. whilst researching i found a number of inventions from flying machines, War machines ,Architect/Innovations & Water & Land Machines. When looking in to each of these categories i didn’t actually realise how many inventions would have been possible to find.

Whilst going through the inventions some which caught my eye was the 'Anemometer' 

I liked the look of this invention to possibly create because i liked the shapes on this invention. A couple of others i looked in to was hes 'flying machine'. 33 Barrelled Organ, Triple Barrel Canon, Giant Crossbow' and Robotic Knight. These stood out to me because i found them inventive and interesting to look at doing for my model.


Whilst researching in to Da Vinci i learnt a lot on how man inventions he had thought up which i found very imaginative and cleaver although not all were fully made such as the ariel screw he had all the methods and information for it to work.


Below is my mood board on Da Vinci.