RFX Design: DESIGN • ENERGY • MOTION: April 2011

4/24/11

Hard Surface Modeling: F-22 Polygonal Refinement

This part of the modeling stage always gets a bit tedious, but it is all worth it in the end. After the conversion to polygons, I began smoothing out the topology so that it was a bit more even. In addition, Maya has an option where you can preview a smoother mesh without actually subdividing the model. Because this mesh uses the same formula to interpolate as a NURBS surface, you can get some nice, smooth results:

What needs to be done now is adding little detail lines where the sharp edges need to be. Since the smoothing algorithm sort of averages everything out, creating more detail is needed where you need definition.

Chiaroscuro: Drawing from a Photo – Part 2

Here is the final and finished project along with the reference photo. I need some more practice in getting the proportions of the human face down.

As an interesting side note, if you have never heard of the artist Chuck Close, his art was very similar to this. The main exception is that the heads he would depict would be on a canvas as large as 15 feet tall:

4/17/11

Hard Surface Modeling: F-22 Polygonal Conversion

This week I converted over the NURBS surfaces into polygons in order to do some final detailing. This part will be where I can smooth some things out and not mess up the continuity. There are some problem areas that I need to sort out, but I think I am off to a decent start.

Chiaroscuro: Drawing from a Photo – Part 1

I've done assignments like this before and then tend to come out okay. First you take a photograph and divide it up into a grid system. Then you use the grid lines as visual references to put all the landmarks together. This is part one of a two part assignment.

I seem to be having a problem with my perception of faces, because I do a crappy job at getting the proportions right.

4/10/11

Hard Surface Modeling: F-22 Refinement

More progress was made on the surfaces of the F-22 this week. I've also been dividing the main body into the various control surfaces of the aircraft, so it should be much easier to put back together when I convert into polygons. This next week I need to adjust a few more things, but I should be close to converting the entire mesh into polygons for the final touchups.

Chiaroscuro: The Human Face

I'm not going to lie; human faces are one of my least favorite things to draw from observation. I always get proportions and angles wrong, partially due to the way I am looking/measuring/holding the paper. Anyway, that was the assignment this week. I could use some practice on that.

4/4/11

Hard Surface Modeling: F-22 Bottom Surfaces

This week I worked mainly on my 3D model, finishing up the bottom surfaces. There are some interesting challenges that I have to overcome in terms of how they all meet together. Next up will be to divide the surfaces up into the various control surfaces of the plane.

What is this all about?

I was only nine years old when my brother brought the game Myst into our house. I remember vividly delving into it's surreal world and being mesmerized by the groundbreaking visuals that it held. It was at that moment that a seed of fascination had been planted inside me which continued to grow and grow and grow.

It has been many years since that day when I was introduced to the world of 3D computer animation, but I have had an increasingly strong desire to learn more and more about it. I remember the first computer animation I created as a teenager using Strata Studio Pro: a simple car driving around a corner and into a garage with the door closing behind it. The modeling was crude, there were no textures, the animation itself did not look realistic at all, the resulting movie took up a significant portion of our hard drive space, and the rendering time tied up the family computer for over a day. Despite all those things, I realized that there was something in my future involving this new developing medium.

My interest in 3D computer animation grew exponentially over the years and I have never been able to get enough of it. I am continually fascinated by the challenging visuals that are continually being achieved in the entertainment industry. I'm the type of person who will buy the special edition of the movie just so I can see all of the "Making Of" featurettes. I think I enjoy them more than the movie sometimes. Although I had this strong interest in 3D computer animation, I chose to do my undergraduate work in industrial design. I have no regrets about my decision to pursue that path, however, because I learned a great deal about proper proportions, composition, form, color theory, and how people's perception of things can be influenced by visual cues. I recognize that many of these principles translate very easily into visual entertainment.

I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 and was hired by Pride Mobility Products in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While there I was responsible for designing various mobility products such as powered wheelchairs, scooters, and other accessories. Oddly enough, however, I found my duties in the design team being focused more towards tasks that were closely related to what a technical director or render wrangler would do. I was often chosen to do the renderings for the products we designed because I understood how to program shaders and how to create HDR studio lighting setups. In addition, during our regular meetings, I found myself doodling little cartoon characters that I had dreamed up or dreaming up ways of how our products could transform into robots, etc. Eventually the itch returned and I realized that my ultimate goals and professional desired wouldn't be fully satisfied in my current career path.

In the spring of 2009 I decided that I wanted to pursue 3D computer modeling and animation as a profession and applied for the MFA program at Academy of Art University. I recently moved to Provo, Utah, and am currently taking classes online while I pursue some other personal goals. I am eager to collaborate on projects and am excited to get involved with the other graduate students. Feel free to check out my web site www.rfxdesign.com and give me any critiques on my work. I'm always looking for a chance to improve my knowledge and skills.