Evaluation

I have always thoroughly enjoyed using 3d programs, I find them interesting and I find them a lot easier to get my ideas across modelling free hand in comparison to free hand drawing with pen and paper which I do have issues with, drawing is not my strong point. At first using 3dS Max, I found it a bit strange, because I first started learning 3d on Maya. But after a few weeks of practice and also getting practice from learning how to over come obstacles through modelling, texturing lighting and camera work I found that to a degree I am reasonably competent at modelling, in the respect that I modelled everything free hand, only using the images as visual reference, I didn't at any point use any templates on planes. Although that method of modelling with templates projected on planes I wish to learn aswell, as it will come in handy for modelling vehicles or any object which requires a completely symmetrical shape.

Through this assignment, I have found my strengths in using 3DS MAX which is superb, but what I value more is I have also taken note of my weaknesses. I don't personally think my weaknesses are through using the program, but they lie in using other programs around it. For example with the slug texturing, if I had a better understanding of how to shape the textures according to the mesh which I unwrapped in MAX, i wouldn't have any overlaps or mistakes and the textures would fit smoothly to the final model, so from this assignment, as well as practicing more on MAX I really need to practice more on photoshop to ensure these mistakes do not happen again in the second semester's assignment and in turn, I will create better textures to compliment my future models.
Another weakness I have found in myself and is truly a bane of my life! Is time keeping! I must, must, must ensure that my timekeeping is improved to create a better quality of work over a evenly spread work flow timeline for the second semester. I believe that if I managed my time better for this assignment I would have been capable of creating a higher level of realism and quality on my stamps, so from these errors I will learn to ensure I create a higher quality of work which I am capable of doing for the second semester and my goal for the second semester's work is to practice heavily on using 3DS MAX and photoshop (look into how to animate in MAX, I understand how to animate in MAYA and looking at MAX it is reasonably similar, so this will be advantageous) take on board my weaknesses, make them no longer my weaknesses and exceed whatever grade I will get for this assignment.

I think I have said it in previous posts and perhaps this one aswell, but I have really enjoyed this assignment, more than I think I would when I first got the brief and it has been one hell of a learning curve from start to finish and I do not think I will forget any of the techniques I have used for this assignment, I will take them on board for the creation of my personal projects also.


This is a bit of an after thought and I should have really put it earlier on in my blog, I found this link really useful for beoming more efficient in using the hot keys. I think originally, I searched for it because I couln't understand for a while, why I couldn't move around in my perspective view and I found out that reason why was comewhere down the line I hit CTRL+C (create camera)

http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials

Final Stamp: The Beginning!

Here is my final stamp! I was happy with how it came out, seen as I made it in about 3 hours in total, I was expecting it to look a lot worse!! Well what a journey through 3d these past weeks have been. Next and final post, evaluation.

Texturing and final touches

Once I was happy with the amount of models I had on set, i then created two planes. I browsed the internet and found the textures I was looking for, i think in search I typed either veiny or blood textures (to be like an inside of a female creature of course!) I followed the same methods as I have done by assigning materials to the planes, I think for the planes I used box mapping. For texturing the sperm I didn't use cylindrical mapping (I can't quite remember, but I think I used box also, it seemed to look better) and made a texture in photoshop and stuck it straight on the sperm. I did try as an experiment the unwrapping method, but it came out looking worse than sticking the material straight on and doing it that way. I originally had two planes , but I found that it looked better with just the one in the end. For some reason aswell, MAX was playing up with the lighting, so unfortunately I couldn't play around with the lighting as much as I wanted to. Originally I wanted to try and look at how to illuminate slightly the egg, to make it look a bit more like you see in the scientific photographs, but i had to make do with what I could be allowed to do because MAX was being stubborn!! I textured the sphere using photoshop to create the texture. I found a gravelly sort of texture on the internet for the sperm and the egg and used a layer on top again with a fill and opacity of my choice.

Next stage in the final stamp!

With the sperm model created, I then created the egg. I just made a sphere and placed it where I wanted it. I then set a camera up for where i wanted the render to be from.

The next stage was cloning the sperm model so I could make several, looking like they are all going for the egg. For some reason in this stage MAX just did not want to work like it has for my past projects!! It wouldn't let me use the move tool on certain axis's at certain times, so to overcome this, I had to be a little bit crafty! You see, in this render not all the sperm are the same size, I had to clone a sperm, then move it on whichever axis it would allow then use the scale and rotate tools to give the illusion of distance, so the ones which look nearer to the camera are huge sperms, while the others are minute in comparison. Below is the low poly render.

Every Sperm is sacred!

Ok, so I made the sperm out of a cylinder, with both caps emoved, i then used the extrude method, with hoding down the shift key. I then shaped the sperm as how I wanted it then I started adding in more vertiexes to the tail using the ring, followed by connect tools. I then smoothed it out.

Final Stamp Idea: The beginning

Ok, time is running pretty short and I have one more stamp to do. So I have changed from my original idea of doing some form of mammal (still didn't really decide on what!) to doing something more significant to all areas of life.

Why choose this?

Well for one reason being, that it would be a quick fire stamp to do in the small amount of time I have left and for the second reason, I think the simplicity of the final image and what it stands for will visually make a great stamp. Simple and effective!

Cecil's been stamped!!!!

Here he is as a stamp! Right final one on it's way :)