Tutorial 3 - Materials

To create your own material you can make a file in paint or paint shop pro with the dimensions of 3cm by 3 cm and save it as a bitmap.

To load a material click material editor and select an open slot. Then click on the small empty box next to the diffuse slot. Then select bitmap and load the image you want to use for the material.

Tutorial 2 - More Modelling Techniques

Lathing is a modelling technique when you can rotate an object 360 degrees around any direction of the objects pivot point. This can be used to create round objects like bowls and glasses. To use the Lathe, highlight the object you wish to change, you must first move the pivot point. This is done by using the object hierarchy. Once the pivot has been moved select modify, and then select lathe modifier.

Loft is a technique in which you can take a shape and make it follow another shapes path to make it 3D. An example of this would be drawing the shape of a hanger, then making it follow the outline of a hanger. This will therefore make a 2D object into 3D. To loft objects, two  shapes must be created. A primary shape(hanger) and a secondary shape (Small circle). Highlight the primary shape and go Create, compound objects and then select loft. Then select "Get shape" in the loft properties box and select the secondary shape.

Boolean is a technique in which you can either merge to objects together into one object, or minus one object from another. The more objects you have on a stage, the longer it will take to render, therefore merging two objects together will reduce the render time.

Arrays are used to create duplicates of objects, and place them in different positions in the x, y and z coordinates. An example situation when an array could be used to to make a set of stairs out of boxes. Each box is raised and sent back a little behind the previous box. To make a Array select a shape and then go to Tools, and Array. This will open a pop up box where you can specify how many copies you want to make and each copies new position. Although making array will be useful in a few circumstances, I do not see any use for arrays in my trailer.

Tutorial 1 - Introduction to low poly modelling and Spline modelling

In 3D Studio Max there are many simple shapes which can be created. This includes cubes, cones, cylinders etc. The following image is of a simple castle created by using those simple shape tools.

The castle is made up of three cuboids to create the walls and four cylinders used in the corners of the Castle. Another shape was used which is in the shape of a c, which is a cuboid missing a part in the middle. This shape was used for the door and ceiling. With a hole in the ceiling a set of stairs were added.

The second part of the tutorial was creating a snow man. It is important to always name the shapes, so that when working on bigger projects, the names will mean something instead of cone01, square23 etc. Also when adding a stage, we must use a circle instead of a square. If you use a circle there will be a horizon but if you use a square, you will see the corner of the shape. The snow man is made up of 2 large spheres for the body, 2 small spheres and a cone for the face. The hat is made up of 2 cones which have been grouped together. Just like the shapes groups can also be given names.

The more shapes you use the more memory will be taken up and the long it will take to render. It is important to keep the shape count to a minimum. A way in which we keep the shapes to a minimum would be to create a polly and keep adding and taking away to form a complex single shape. An example of this would be for the caste which was created first. Instead of using many shapes for the walls and ceiling, just one box can be manipulated into the shape of a castle. To access the menu to edit a polly you must select modify and then choose from a drop down list "edit polly".

The apples were made by using spheres which were then mishapped to give a more organic feel to them, because apples are not perfect spheres. A cone was then added as a stork. The bowl was also a sphere which was pulled into itself to make a bowl shape.

Reaction to the Brief

The assignment is to create a 30 second trailer for one of the James Bond films. The assignment is very open to interpretation being that any James Bond film can be selected and also any part of the film can be used in the trailer.

James Bond films are action thrillers so therefore the trailer will be mostly action driven. This could include car chases, shoot outs, explosions etc. Another famous part of James Bond franchise are the gadgets and cars so they could also be in the trailer.

I have seen evey James Bond film, however I am more familiular with the newer films then the older versions. Beacause of this the film I will choose will mostly likely be one of the Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig movies.