Final Stamps

S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths

My biggest strength is my determination to complete the assignment to a high standard and my determination to learn how to use 3Ds Max. Another of my strengths is that I persevere to solve any of the problems I come across, and make sure I understand why the problem occurred, rather than just finding a quick solution. These strengths should hopefully mean that I complete the assignment to a high standard that I am pleased with.

Weaknesses

My biggest weakness is the fact that prior to taking this module I have not ever used the modelling software (Autodesk 3Ds MAX) before. It looks like a very complicated piece of software to master and I feel my lack of experience will no doubt mean an increase in the time it will take me to complete my assignment. Another of my weaknesses is my lack of artistic skill. I do not have the greatest ability when it comes to art and this will play a huge part in the assignment. This could mean that my finished models are not of the best quality.

Opportunities

This assignment gives me a huge opportunity to gain to expertise in software that is completely new to me. It is also a very important part of computer games design and so any experience gained will massively help me in the future.

Threats

The biggest threat to my project is the deadline time. It will take a while to learn everything I need to know in order to complete the assignment. I do not want to rush into completing the assignment before I feel my skills are good enough to complete it to a high standard, however the longer I wait and the more I practice means less time to complete the task.

Emperor Penguin Development

Used the material editor to import the UVW map onto the model. The model lacked detail when rendered so I added a bump map to add some detail back onto the model. Changed the specular and gloss levels to give the impression that the penguin had just come out of the water. Created another material for the eyes with a high specular level to reflect the light for a realistic finish. Model was then finished!

Started to create the materials and textures for the penguin. Applied the unwrap UVW modifier. Then with faces selected I labelled each of the penguin's body parts. The Unwrap modifier allowed me to specify the shape of each part. This meant when it came to flattening the map the polygons would stay roughly grouped together making it much easier to texture. Although it took me some time to get the model unfolded correctly I eventually was able to render a UVW template to use for creating the textures. Finally I created the texture image in Macromedia FIREWORKS! CS4.

Made a few minor adjustments to the position of the head on the body. Then added the detail to the beak and created eye sockets by using the cut and slicing tools then moving the vertices inwards slightly so that the turbosmooth rendered with the correct shape.

Created a sphere for an eye and used the symmetry modifier once again to create the opposite eye. Then I modified the feet to make them look webbed and give the penguin some claws. The turbosmooth rendered the claws were very round to start with so I used the connect tool to add more edges to solve the problem.

Added on the penguins feet, again with the extrude tool. The body proportions were also altered once again to improve the models appearance.

Added the Turbosmooth modifier on and turned the iterations to two as the edges and vertices still looked jagged with one iteration. Rounded off the body more and changed the head and beak to be more like the correct proportions of the penguin's body. Then I added the flipper and tail by extruding polygons.

First I set up the symmetry on the object and then made the body rounder and larger to look more like the emperor penguin. I then extruded the polygon to create the beak and then used the cut tool to add more vertices to create a slight bend at the end of it.

Started with a simple box with a few cross sections and converted it to an editable poly, then manipulated the vertices into a rough outline of the penguin in the same way as the previous two models.

Gecko Development

Once the texturing was set up I imported the UVW map onto the object in the material editor by linking the image file with the diffuse colour. I then added the same file as the bump map to create the impression of Gecko skin and changed the specular and gloss settings to add some definition. Finally I created a texture for the eyes and applied it to the object to complete the model.

Now the model was finished I could start the texturing. I applied the unwrap UVW modifier to the model, then labelled each segment of the model and defined the shape of each part. Next the UVW template was flattened in order to create the UVW texture template. To create the textures I used Macromedia Fireworks CS4.

Completely reshaped the legs, as they did not look natural and added a slight curvature to the tail. Raised the neck and head to give it a more natural looking pose.

Focused on the facial features of the Gecko. Added in eye sockets by using the cut tool and manipulating the vertexes into position. Changed the nose shape slightly and added a mouth line in the same way as the eye sockets were created.

Improved the leg's shape as I was not happy it. Changed the feet as firstly the toes looked too small and the Turbosmooth rendered them as being very flat and webbed looking. To do this I deleted the feet and recreated the polygon with the create tool, then extruded the feet back out.

Added in a sphere for an eye and then used the symmetry tool again to mirror the eye to create another on the opposite side of the head. Then I created the back legs and feet using the same extrude method from before. Also changed the head shape slightly.

Started making the front legs and feet by using the extrude tool on the polygons. Was not happy with the shape of the Gecko so it was altered slightly.

Added on a Turbosmooth modifier to make it look neater and turned up iterations to 2. Changed the Gecko's shape slightly. Used the quick slice and cut tools to add more cross sections and vertices, so that the head had a more rounded shape.

Started with a simple rectangle with a few cross sections, similar to how i started my shark. Then manipulated the vertices into a rough outline of a Gecko. Set up the symmetry modifier so it would save me time as only one side would need to be created.

Great White Shark Development

Once the texture file was imported I changed the specular and gloss levels of the shark and added a slight bump map for definition. Finally I gave the shark a new set of teeth by modelling one tooth and then creating duplicate instances of it. I used symmetry to save time and put all of the teeth objects into their own group to make them easier to select and modify.

After finishing my other two models I felt I had learnt a lot since creating this model and so I decided to try and improve it. To do this I had to revert back to a back up copy of the shark to where I had just created the mouth as the other file permanently applied the Turbosmooth modifier making it virtually impossible to use UVW texturing. The first thing I done to improve the model was to make the body and tail rounder. Then I added the UVW unwrap modifier and rendered a texture template. I used the template below to create the texture file in Macromedia Fireworks CS4 for the shark then applied it in the material editor.

Had huge problems trying to open my 3DS max 2010 file in 3DS 9. Something to do with missing DLL files. Tried exporting the model and importing into 3DS max 9. This caused problems as it meant my modifiers were constantly applied and texture files could not be read. Therefore I had to wait until I had access to 3DS max 2010 again before making any changes.

Converted the shark with modifiers to it's own editable mesh so the texturing could be cleaned up and created the sharks teeth by extruding the polygons. Adjusted the mouth shape slightly. Changed the textures slightly to get rid of noticeable lines where the texture was being tiled.

Connected the paths to create a new polygon for the inside on the mouth. Used the cut tool again to add more vertices in order to be able to manipulate the mouth into the right position. Adjusted the shark's nose size slightly and added eyes. Worked on texturing the shark. Used Adobe Fireworks CS4 to create some bitmaps to import into the material editor.

Used the cut tool to create a mouth and then manipulated the sharks nose with soft selection on to make the mouth look more open.




Started devloping the front of the shark in 3DS max 10. Used the material editor to give the mesh some colours.

Developed the back of the shark. Created the sharks tail as well as it's fins. Added a Tubo smooth modifier to make it look less jagged.

Started the development of my shark model in 3ds Max 9. I found some images to use as a reference guide and one particularly good image that was a simplified clip art drawing of the shark from multiple angles. Using this image I manipulated a cube into the shape of the shark. First from top view, then side and front.

3D Stamp Ideas

With the theme of biodiversity in mind I have decided I will use 3DS Max to create models of the following animals that can be used on the 3D stamps. the stamps will be designed to show the animals in their natural environment. The reason I chose these animals is to illustrate the huge diversity of biodiversity.

Emperor Penguin




Gecko




Great White Shark

Stamp Research

Here are some stamps I found with the theme of Biodiversity in mind. They will help give me an idea how I can present the models I create in 3ds Max as stamps rather than just 3d models on their own. Most of these modern stamps seem to use a wide variety of colours as well as styles ranging from realism to impressionist.