3D Computer Modelling & Animation in Commercial Context

3D In commercial Context

In this first Blog I will be talking about the applications of 3D modelling and animation and how they are applied in a commercial context, in other words it means how the 3D fits into advertisements and there's so many examples especially when the technology gets better and outcomes become more futuristic.

So lets get a little it into the history of 3D, the first ever display of animation was in FutureWorld in the years 1976, that little piece contained a animated moving face and hand, this piece also features in a short film called A Computer Animated Hand which was published in the 1972 which was created by a student named Edwin Catmull as well as his friend Fred Parke. Down below you will see a video of the animation:

From this clip not only can you see a hand moving closing and opening but also a face and moving eyes, bare in mind this was made in 1976 when technology was not as advanced as now but still looks good. To look at the full history of Animation and Modelling click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics#History

So lets get into the question of how 3D is applied in commercial context, well we see 3D animations and modelling everywhere one of the examples is an iPhone commercial, yes we have all seen the iPhones commercials but when you see the phone in a white background shining as it turned around, you will notice that its too perfect to be real and this is where 3D modelling comes in, the phone is 3D modelled which means its perfect all around here's an example of an Digital Arts A-Level student who created an Apple iPhone advert using Autodesk 3DS Max

It looks pretty good, almost as good as the real Apple advert right? Well here's another way 3D comes into commercial context. Computer Games, firstly let me just show you a few images of 3D modelling used in video games: 

As you can see from the image this is from a game called Gears Of War and they use 3D Modelling to create characters such as these, but GOW is not the only gaming company to use 3D modelling, take Call of Duty for example they have plenty of models to create, another example is GTA they have to create individual buildings and trees so they look all different to each other, a program called 3DS Max which i mentioned before allows the creators to create amazing models.

One more thing  I should mention is Real-Time Rendering which basically means that images or outcomes are created in real time of an action of the viewer or player. Movies and TV shows are rendered before they are broadcast to the live audience, this is because a person cannot change an outcome of a film or TV show!

So that was modelling in Computer Games but what about the animation in Video Games, well it is as important as the modelling side, because without animation a game would simply not be fun and would not sell which many companies wouldn't want that to happen! So in order to animate the company focuses on one of the characters lets take CoD as an example, one of the soldiers can be used as our model, now what the creators do is make various actions such as walking forwards and walking backward, moving side to side, all these will have the effect of your body as well as the clothes and everything around you. Once all the animations are done they copy them to the rest of the characters and modify them slightly to make them look apart from each other. 

Motion capture is also used in the 3D animation in games, a person wears a costume and sensors on their body, the cameras then capture the sensors of the body movement. Imagine a person jumping up and then down, the cameras then record the points on the suit and convert them into an animation, once that's done the game makers can put the characters models that they have created before and they can see how they move with the animation, here i will post 2 videos, the 1st one is explaining more in depth of how 3D animation is used in games and the 2nd one is simply showing how motion capture is used in 3D animation in the Video Games: 

Polygons in 3D

Now lets talk about Polygons in 3D as they are really important when designing or building anything 3D, some polygons are Edges, Faces, Vertex, and lastly Boarder these can be found on every 3DS Max software and its usually seen on the Modify Panel when you convert an object into a Editable Poly.

Border - This is a linear section of an object so an edge of a hole for example a bottle, the bottle will have a boarder on the body and on the lid, another example can be if you create a cylinder and then delete one of the ends then it will make a hole from there you can edit the boarders!

Vertex - Vertex is corners of the objects or points as some people call it. You can edit an object vertex so for example if you have a sphere but want to edit the middle you don't have to select each of the faces instead select the points and do what ever you want with them, this will only effect the selected points not the rest of the object.

Faces - Faces are sides of an object so if you have a Cube and select the Face tool you would be able to select 6 Faces, each face can then be editable to your liking without effecting the rest of the faces. 

Edges - Edges are the lines of a face or of the object, lets use a Cube for this example, as i said before a Cube will have 6 faces then each face will 4 edges. All together a Cube will have 12 edges, edges consist of 2 vertices's the forms a side of a polygon.

Point Cloud 

A point cloud is something used by many people who deal with 3D modelling, it allows them to see set of data points in the coordinate system usually on the bottom of the software if you're using 3Ds Max. These point are called as X, Y and Z they can help you move models around the scene to a very specific measurement. Here is an example of X,Y and Z:

The point cloud also allows you to see every single point in a model here is an example: 

Current 3D Software 

There is loads of programs that are used in 3D Modelling and Animation industry especially in Commercial Context. In this part I will be talking about the 3 most popular 3D software that are used by High End professionals such as DreamWorks, Disney and JCDDecaux UK. Each of these companies need a good and reliable software to work on so I'm going to evaluate 3 of the software's and pick one that I think deserves to be acknowledged! 

3DS Max

This Software is used by many people, commercial companies such as JCDDecaux UK and other companies such as Apple will be using 3D to create 3D models that stand out and take the attention from costumers. So why is 3DS Max good to use, well there is Tons and Tons of tools to use and so many possibilities, when I started using 3DS Max I had no clue on how to use it but after few weeks on modelling on the Software I got used to it and now i can do loads of cool stuff by my self. 

But this software also needs some good computers to process all its models so a computer will have to have a good CPU to make sure its all processed well, also it needs a big RAM so that the data can be stored. In rendering you will need a good computer to render each frame, if you're doing a model which is a High Quality you will only need about a minute to render. If you're doing animations or walk through using the cameras in 3DS Max then you will need more time and can usually take from 1 day to 30 days, its better to have a render farm which basically means many computers that are on ALL the time and rendering the animation sequence.

Maya

Maya is also another popular software's that man companies and even people such as freelancers use to create their 3D models and create amazing animations. But Maya is not only used for 3D animations, it is in fact also used in Video Games many games are created by the help of Maya, some companies such as Namco, Epic, Core and most popular EA and Bungie use the software to create outstanding games. One in particular Bungie uses Animations for the game Halo 2 Here is a short video.

As you can see from the video they are simple graphics and as you may know Halo 2 is a bit old so the technology has changed through the years. You can see the textures and those sharp curved edges that made the game amazing, the character has its own Armour and looks amazing, the game also uses some basic shapes that make the game environment playable. Here is another video where Maya is used in Video Games.

Okay so the requirements that Maya needs to work firstly is an Operating System. Now Maya will not work on Windows XP because it is very OLD! The best Operating Systems it will work on is Windows 10, 8.1 and Windows 7. It will also work on Apple Mac OS 10.9.5 and newer, also on Red Hat and CentOS 6.5 Linux OS. CPU has to be at least 64 bit to make sure you get the best out of the software, at least 4GB of RAM but it is recommended that 8GB is installed and also at least 4GB of free disk space! Companies such as EA and Bungie will definitely have those requirements checked and probable have bigger processors and more Memory.

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is another one of my favourites, even though I have not yet used it but from what i have seen its on the top of the list. So who uses Cinema 4D well, people who make movies of course, it is used to make CGI but its also used to help architectures, used in gaming and in Advertising this program is an easier version of Maya and 3DS Max which is less complicated and easier interface one film company that used it is Warner Bros in the film "Pirates of the Caribbean" They used the Cinema 4D Technology to make the faces if characters such as one of the pirates as the picture shows.

One more awesome feature of Cinema 4D is body paint! It doesn't mean the body pain you get in shops, it basically a texture that is very rich and authentic textures which look like the real textures. In a film called "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" Body Paint is used in that film to make the scenery and environment and also characters look very realistic. In the picture you can see the person holding a burger and it almost looks as good as the real one.

Here is a video of different ways that Cinema 4D Maxon has been used in advertising. 

Technical Requirements 

In this section i will explain the technical requirements needed for a 3D computer in the commercial context.

Firstly everything revolves around the hardware in a computer, it is important that the computer is compatible with all the rendering you will be doing depending on how detailed the project is. If its a small video of an product it might take a day to render but for movies like Up and Big Hero 6, it might take a few months. So here is a list of requirements a computer needs to render good quality images.

CPU GPU and RAM, now you might need different quantities of each depending on what system you are using to produce 3D images. In my research i have found that not much of the stuff is needed as long as its enough to process what you need, a person posted that they were using 8GB of RAM and a GTX 550 for a long time and it still did well for it. - https://www.quora.com/When-buying-a-new-PC-for-3D-modeling-and-rendering-which-one-is-the-most-important-factor-CPU-GPU-or-RAM

A 3D computer also needs a lot of storage memory, you can use external storage where you can render your files on to, but sometimes the software you're using needs the storage too, for example when i was using 3Ds Max i found out it does backups or extra saves if anything goes wrong with the program. It is good to keep some storage free for that as if you loose anything then when it tries to save it wont be able to because there isn't any space and you would have to do it all over again.

A good processor is also recommended to process all the pictures you are trying to render, i5 and i7 Intel cores are good if you have i4 then you might want to consider buying a new computer, you can use other processors but make sure its compatible with the computer.

Castle Production

In today's Blog I will be showing you what i have produced from tutorial videos and references as well as used my own brain to create a medieval/modern castle. Here is a quick snap of the layout of the castle:

Here is the Aerial view of the castles outline, it is based around the shape of the mountain, so the walls are the outlines of the castle, you can also the different towers in different places and they all look different to each other. other thing is that there is a Dining Hall, Palace and a Barrack building inside the area, there will also be  a small house for the residents of the castle and also some market stalls to give it that old look.

Palace

So the first and probably the most important building is the Palace, where the king or queen would live. I have made the palace by creating some boxes and then extruding them to my desired height, to make the top i extruded some points on the top to make it look a bit more like medieval look, to make the windows you make a cylinder cut it in half and then extrude the bottom to what ever height you want.

I was very fortunate to have a built in process of the railings so all i had to do is to change some sizes to make sure it fits with the building. the stairs are also a pre-set building option and i had to change some properties to make them look low and wide! 

Some Building Processes Explained

The process of it was very simple and easy to do. (1) Firstly i started of with a Box then I converted it into a polygon which made it easier for me to edit the top. (2) I used Inset which meant i could bring the inside of the building just a tiny bit and then i used a tool called (3) Extrude which meant i could extend the box on the 2nd floor:

 

The next thing was to add some windows and pillars, the pillars are easy to do as all you do is create a small box then bevel each for the segments and then extrude and then bevel again on top!

The windows is another process that is easy to do any everyone can do it, you use the same principal of extruding but instead you do a cylinder then slice it in half and extrude the bottom faces to your desired size! Once you got the window simply use Boolean to cut it away from he building.

Dinner Hall

The next part was to make the Dinner Hall, and this is a simple process of making a large tall box and adding some large windows, making the roof quiet flat too so its not too pointy. I sued the tools Extrude, Bevel and Insets as well as Boolean, I have also make some doors and added some features to it like rivets and door handles, later on i will be adding some glass and textures!

This is a place where people would come to eat so for this building i will be adding some tables with benches, some food bowls and candles on the tables, I will also be decorating the inside with some candles, banners and maybe some food.

This is he interior of the Dining Hall. it is not finished yet but as you can see i made some benches with food bowls where people will come and eat. The harderst part of thsi build was probably making sure that the benches and tables are correct height for the charcaters I will have sitting down, so to make sure i had everyhting correct I got a charcater from the web and put it next to the table and altered the height to the character.

Gate House

The next building that i made was the gate house, this is the main entrance to the castle, I wanted to create something that allow the guards to be on top of the building but also somewhere in the middle, i researched some other gate houses and they all look similar to mine. I created this tower by making a rectangle in the middle then subtracting shapes from it until i was happy with it!

The next step was to make little popping out walls from the building and to do tat i used a tool called SWIFT LOOP , this allowed me to make extra lines where ever i wanted them to be. I was also able to make two simple towers, i added some lines before i converted it to a poly so that i can make windows. To make those type of windows you select the faces then you inset them and extrude them. To get them more round you could use a cylinder to cut out the shape or you could use a bevel tool which would make windows rounder!

The harders part of this was making the middle half circle hole, as you can see there are some extruded parts, I had to do them amnually as the Swift Loop didnt work correctly because i have already made a hole but using extrude and other tools made it easier.

Towers

My next and I think the best design i ever did is the tower that's stands on each side of the gate house. This follows the same principals of Extruding, Insetting and Beveling on every floor. I also use the tool Swift Loop which allowed me to make more detail onto the tower. Here is a picture of the 3 different towers i used: 

Barracks

The next building was to make a Barracks, I wanted to make many windows so that it allows some light inside but also so that the army could see whats happening around the castle! I wanted it to be simple yet something that fits in with the theme, so i also added strips of wood around the building so it matches the Dining Hall.

Later on i will add some stairs to the second floor, a door, a reception area for the guards some beds for them and also some armour and weapons to make it look appropriate. I will also add a chief commands office where there will be a desk and some other stuff. 

Walls

The second to last thing on the castle build is to make walls because a castle cannot be complete without walls and plus enemies would of entered the castle easily with no trouble. So to make a wall i simply made a rectangle that is a good with and looks realistic. I used tools such as Swift Loop, Extrude and Bevel. I used bevel to add a rounded edge on the top of the extruded parts. Here is the wall picture:

 

Extra Things

Fire

I wanted to create some more things into the castle to make it more interesting, so i added some lights such as fire bowls and sticks to light up the castle when its night time. This firstly followed a process of making something where the fire will be for example a bowl on stilts or a little fire holder. Later on i had to tweak the fire particle system to make it look like fire. 

The settings i used were very difficult to understand but its all about trial and error tweak some stuff about and you get the fire effect, it might not be perfect but its fire. To make the little fire holder i made some tubes then used the modifier called Bend which bends the tube to what ever you want! For the bowl i made a cylinder and used Taper modifier then made a copy and made it a bit smaller than original and subtracted it from the original which gave it a bowl effect.

As the Particle System was really hard to do i ran into some problems, some of which were that it didn't look like fire so I had to change some of the properties to make it look more like a real fire, even though it wasn't perfect it gave the feel of a fire.

Crate

I waned to add some features to the castle so i decided to make some creates, i made them by creating a box that has the same dimensions to each other, i extruded the sides so it makes it easier to put the wood planks, later i create some wood planks which go on the side of the crate at an angle,  this will create an illusion of an crate. After that i added some basic materials to make it look realistic.

Wheel

Another item that i made is a wheel, this will be used on its own as decoration such as the gate house and also on the Wheel Barrel which will be placed in areas of the castle! To make the wheel i created a cylinder and created another one smaller than the original then i subtracted it from the original creating a hole in the middle.

Next i created some tubes which will hold the hoop together, i created duplicates and rotated them 45 degrees tot he right, this will give me an even space between each rod! Later i created a smaller cylinder in the middle of the wheel and then used inset to make a smaller circle and then extruded it.

Wheel Barrel

To make a good looking wheel barrel all you have to use is boxes and the wheels already made from the previous instructions. Once that is ready connect a rod between 2 wheels then add a box on top at an angle, then remove a copy box a bit smaller than the original this will create an illusion like there is wood planks holding the box together then you make thinner box that is bigger than the original and put it in the middle, then subtract it to make a gap.

To make  a handle i created a small thin long rectangle and added a bigger and chunkier rectangle at the end to make it look like a handle. To make it even better i could add barrels so it look like a delivery Wheel Barrel or i could add hay to it. 

Barrel

Next i created a barrel that will go on the exterior of the castle or on the wheel barrel i already made, to make a quick barrel you create a cylinder and then choose the modifier option of Taper this modifier extends the faces of the cylinder from the middle creating a barrel like shape. Later i select faces to make an iron collar so it looks like the barrel is tight with metal.

Gantt-Chart