Minutes Meeting 8

Members:

Joseph

Michael

Troy

This week we each showed our animation paths with the use of the camera and made suggestions where we can each make changes. Joe changed some of the camera movements, speeding up the animation slightly in each animation file knocking off a few seconds. Troy started adding appropriate materials to the walls such as wall plaster. Michael added a daylight effect to the animation to make it seem like daytime in the animation and then showed the rest of the group how to do. Using the same parameters we applied the daylight effect to each animation file. We also compared our animation camera co-ordinates, where one person starts their animation to where one person finishes. This is to match up the animation as close as possible in all of the separate animation files.

We then started working on all of the little bits that need tweaking and adding to our animation. Michael created a new save file and starting adding all of the things that is missing from the animation, including the door signs for the toilets. Troy took the picture frame and added a few of the pictures taken from the website. These will then be placed around the guildhall in the various rooms.

For next week Joe is going to have the entire camera movements completed for his part of the animation, along with the textures, pictures and any other objects placed in the guildhall. Also Joe is going to add one or two bipeds around his part of the animation for example one in the library, one in the kitchen and attempt to place a few lights around the guildhall lighting up the animation.

Troy is going to attempt to add a character mesh to the biped to create a person moving around the guildhall. Troy is also going to finish off any changes to the camera, add the rest of the materials and objects and create a small fire animation to put into the fireplace.

Michael is working on the finer details of the guildhall such as the road and lamps found on the outside of the guildhall. Also Michael is going to finish all of the camera movements around the outside.

Week 5 Summary

This week I have done some editing and animating for the group work first by editing the library and the kitchen making them bigger and also deleting a few things in the library freeing up some space. I then moved on to the camera movements, first mapping out a path each of the group members can take. My path is from the door leading into the library then up through the guildhall to the kitchen. I also did the camera path for the kitchen back into the guildhall which is where the animation will end. This can be edited when we know where the final objects are going to be placed as at the moment the beams, whiteboard and projector are missing. I will also create one or two bipeds and place them around the animation, for example one in the library, one walking around the guildhall. It will give the illusion of life around the guildhall even if they are not realistic models.

Minutes Meeting 7

Members:

Joseph

Michael

Troy

This week we discussed how we are going to split up the animation process between the group members. A plan has been drawn up to show the start and cut-off points for each member of the group. This shows where they are responsible for the camera movements. Michael will be animating from the start of the animation where the camera is rotating around the guildhall to the point of the door leading into the shop. From here Troy will take over and move from the shop to both parts of the museum, leading through the glazed walkway up to the entrance of the library. From this point Joe will take over the camera, moving around the library, then up the stairs into the guildhall, then into the kitchen for a look round. The final part of the animation will involve moving back to the guildhall and looking towards the whiteboard where a projector will be playing. Curtains will then appear either side of the camera to close off the animation. The plans for the animation can be seen below:

Joe also had to resize the objects in the kitchen and the library as they were far too small once placed inside the guildhall. Michael has also been preparing the outside of the guildhall showing the church, road and pub that was created by Troy last week.

For next week we are all going to have the basic frames of the animation complete so that we can sew each of the separate animations together more closely. This will involve the entire camera movements each of us have been assigned. Using the animation images as a guide we are going to create the animation in separate files. These files can then be imported into another file with all of our animations. Michael will be starting the animation from frame 1 – 500, circling the guildhall as it changes from old to new, then into the entrance in front of the shop door. From here Troy will take over from frames 500 – 1000, moving through the shop, and glazed walkway to the door of the library. Next Joe will take over from frames 1000 – 1500, moving round the library then back out and up the stairs, through the guildhall to the kitchen then back to door before the guildhall. The last part of the animation will involve a little camera movement to the centre of the guildhall facing the whiteboard with the projector playing. This part is undecided at the moment in case changes need to be made. Also by having the cut off points at the door hopefully the animation will be easier to put together into one large file, or easier to render as separate files.

Below is a list of objects that have not yet been placed into the guildhall:

·         Pictures

·         Canon

·         Lift button

·         Toilet pics

·         Projector

·         Whiteboard

·         Glazed door

·         Guildhall beams

Week 4 Summary

This week I modelled a few more objects including a door to be used on the inside of the guildhall and a glazed door for the glazed walkway. After completing the layout to the library I realized that I missed off the fireplace, so I went back and modelled it. I also created a few logs by using cylinders and a tree texture. Once completed I then placed it in the library with all of the other objects. Some materials have also been added to the comfy chairs inside the library to look more like leather and a material has been added to the fireplace to look like marble. The table in the kitchen has been moved to fill the gap in the corner between the sink and the fridge.

I have also written up a document regarding some of the tools and modifiers that have been used amongst the group members with examples of where they were used. For example the connect tool has been used in the bookcase, computer chair, etc.

I also created a quick banister pole that Michael will edit and copy to put inside the guildhall.

Modelling and Animating Techniques

Modelling Techniques

Throughout the modelling process amongst the group members we have used a variety of modelling techniques to create not only the objects but also the guildhall. The connect tool has been incredibly useful for creating objects as it allows you to separate a polygon up into multiple polygons. You can also choose the parameters in which you break them up and how many you want to add. This has been particularly useful when creating objects as you can use the connect tool to create a border around the object before editing the main face. For example the bookcase was creating by using the connect tool by first creating the outer edge, then separating up a number of other polygons for the actual shelves. Using this tool ensured that all of the shelves were the same size and same width apart.

The cut tool has also been of some use as well as it allows you to cut from vertices to vertices or line to line. Though not as accurate as the connect tool it has still been of some use mainly on the guildhall itself.

The inset tool has also been a great asset as it can do the same as the connect tool by creating a border around an object. It has also been useful for patterns, such as the pattern on the inside doors.

Apart from using a variety of tools we have also been using a variety of modifiers such as the bend modifier. The bend modifier has been applied to the glazed door and inside door handle. It is simply a cylinder with the bend modifier. It has also been applied to the grate in front of the fireplace, again simply a cylinder with the bend modifier.

The symmetry modifier has also come in handy, particularly for the doors as whatever you do on one side is mirrored on the other. This has helped a lot as we didn’t have to make changes to both sides of the door.

We have also used the unwrap uvw modifier on the actual guildhall to help with material layouts. Materials for the chimney and the steps leading into the guildhall didn’t place well but with the unwrap uvw modifier it unwrapped the structure of the shape so that we could add the map.

We have used a variety of materials either created by us in 3DS max such as the tile mapping for the roof of the guildhall or found by us on the internet to help illustrate the guildhall more. Finding our own wood texture for the different objects for example the bookcase in the library, gives a much more realistic view than the pre-set wood texture provided in 3DS Max.

Animating Techniques

 During our group meeting we discussed a number of animation techniques that we can use in our animation.

The obvious one to start with would be the camera movement, as it slowly moves around the guildhall then into each of the main rooms that have been created.

Another technique that we can use is the lighting and shadows to make the room look more real. As the camera moves around the shadows will change giving the illusion that they are real objects.

We can also use the slice tool that allows us to almost melt from the old version of the guildhall to the new without having to cut between them. These will make the animation flow much more smoothly.

The slice tool could also be used to cut the guildhall so that it can be lifted up and moved as the camera enters the building. This will also make animation much easier as the camera will be very small and fiddly within the guildhall.

When we reach the animating part for the main guildhall room we could make some use of the projector. We could create a small slideshow of pictures of the guildhall. This animating technique could be done through the material editor so that the pictures move from one to another.

We are also toying with the idea to use the reactor tool to create curtains for example. These curtains could be placed on the windows, but we could also use them to finish the animation, so that the curtains close in front of the camera and the animation ends.

Minutes Meeting 6

Members:

Joseph

Michael

Troy

This week we discussed animating techniques that we can use in our animation, which Joe will write up in a document along with modelling techniques we have used already. Joe will also create the inside door and the glazed walkway door for the guildhall and the fireplace for the library. Michael is putting the finishing touches to the old version of the guildhall, including various mappings and colours and also creating the stairs to the entrance to the guildhall. Troy is getting on with a couple more objects including a projector that will be placed inside the guildhall. Troy is also going to create a couple of basic buildings such as the pub and the church which will be greyed out when playing in the animation. These buildings don’t need any great detail, just enough so people know what they are as the main focus is on the guildhall. Michael is then going to put the finishing touches to the new version of the guildhall which includes creating the glazed walkway, the stairs leading to the entrance of the guildhall and the beams inside the main guildhall.

Once these are complete Michael can then place the doors inside the guildhall followed by the rooms which Joe and Troy created. Once this has been done then the animation stage can begin.

Our task for next week is to get everything mentioned above completed so that next week we can start the animation process.

If we also find time we will also look into possible sound effects or background tracks. Due to small problems, models taking more time to complete and more models being found we did not discuss sounds as much as we’d hoped as was the original plan.

Week 3 Summary

This week I created a few objects to be placed within the kitchen, including a cupboard, stove and a fridge. I then moved onto the layout of the kitchen, placing the cupboard, fridge and sink onto the plane which was given to me by Michael. The plane is the size of the kitchen floor so that I know what sizes to use, this will prevent a lot of resizing once the room is placed in the guildhall. I also created the layout of the library using another plane as a guide. The library contains the bookcase, table, sofa, chair, computer and printer. The table, chair and computer have been duplicated and placed apart around the room. The sofa has also been duplicated and placed around a smaller version of the table. The bookcase has been duplicated several times and placed in rows and columns to allow plenty of space for books.

Group Summary: Troy

For the group work I have mainly been creating objects that will be used in the scene.
Objects that I have created are:

• Signs - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-signs.html
• Lift Buttons - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-lift-button.html
• Lift Doors - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-lift-doors.html
• Stool - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-stool.html
• Windows - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-window.html
• Door - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/10/object-creation-door.html
• Sink - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/11/object-creation-sink.html
• Cash Register - http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/11/object-creation-sink.html

Also I have provided a storyboard to be considered for the group animation (http://troyrijkaardgh.blogspot.com/2011/11/storyboard.html).

Currently the main objects for the house have been created. 

The current part of the animation for me to do is to help with creating the rooms themselves, I have chosen to create the "Shop", "Museum Room 1" and "Museum Room 2", since there is a basic floor plan available from Michael having made the house, the basic floor size is being used and the objects placed on them. Also new objects are being created as the room is being made to help "Fill out" the room.

Minutes Meeting 5

Members:

Joseph

Michael

Troy

This week we discussed how to split up the rooms amongst ourselves to place the objects we created within them. Joe is going to create a few objects that are to be placed within the kitchen such as a cupboard and a fridge, then create the layout of the room using all of the necessary objects that have been created. Also Joe is going to create the layout to the library as well using the necessary objects. Michael will provide Joe and Troy a copy of the floor for each of the rooms they will be modelling so we can stick to a common scale. Michael is also going to finish the guildhall, with appropriate doors and windows that have been created by Troy. Troy will model the layout of the museum and the shop, using the variety of models created between us all.

We also need to consider sounds that could be placed in the animation, either sound effects such as a door creaking open, or a musical theme. Some research into the sound area will need to be done, such as what effects we think we could use to tie in what the animation may look like.

For next week Joe and Troy will have the room layouts created with all of the appropriate objects and Michael will have the guildhall ready for the rooms to be placed in. between us we will also do a little research into possible sounds or music tracks that can be applied to our animation.

Week 2 Summary

This week I created some more objects as shown below and also added materials to these and existing objects created last week. As a group we decided to go for a more woody effect which we think should go well with the guildhall, bringing back an older, yet newer feel to the place. For the wood material I used a number of different wood textures found using Google images, to make the objects more realistic. As a group we also compared our storyboards thinking of ways best to animate the guildhall, each with different ideas. This gives us plenty of options when it comes to animating.

With the help of Michael I also managed to get the roof of the guildhall done, by using a plane to form a base to work from. For the material a bump tile map was used to make it look like roof tiles. When Michael has finished the guildhall he can add the roof to it.

Minutes Meeting 4

Members:

Joseph

Michael

Troy

This week we discussed all of the objects that have now been created from the list. Some changes were made to the list due to alternative ways of doing certain objects. For example the gravel and the roof tile can just be a map from 3DS max; we don’t actually have to model them.

Michael kept going with the main guildhall, while Joe and Troy broke up the remaining items:

Stove

Sink

Computer, chair and printer

Cash register

Troy got working on the sink, while Joe begins working on the computer, chair and printer.

We also discussed possible ways to animate, either using multiple files and connecting them together, or placing the rooms and objects inside the guildhall and using the slice tool to reveal the insides of the guildhall. As of yet the animation path is unclear but we did discuss a number of key aspects to it, such as how the camera will move and how it will move from room to room.

We compared our storyboards as shown below:

Joes designs

Troys designs

For next week we are going to finish modelling all of the objects, with appropriate materials, that we decided to put in the guildhall and the guildhall itself. This is so we can start the animation stage as quickly as possible.

Week 1 Summary

This week I have created a number of objects including a bookshelf, table and picture frame but haven’t yet assigned appropriate materials to them yet. I have also written up the minutes meeting detailing the tasks that still need doing and other aspects that need to be considered before diving deeper into the modelling and animating side of the project. This includes designs and storyboards, detailing how the animation will play out. A useful feature recently discovered is the slice tool which will allow us to merge the building and the separate rooms together much more easily. For example the camera could show the building as it is, then using the slice tool merge into what we think it will look like. We can also use the slice tool to cut open the house to reveal the insides of the house, showing all of the rooms and how they have changed.