Monday, 27 April 2015

HA7 - Task 6 Constraints

Task 6 – Constraints

Polygon Count & File Size
There are often some constraints which you can come across when working within a 3D environment. These include polygon count, file size and rendering time. There are two different ways in which you can measure an objects file size. These are the vertex count and the polygon count. Game characters can vary in size and are made up of a number of polygons. There can often be quite large numbers of polygons.

Most modern game engines and graphic hardware are built to render triangles. This is why most game artists use triangles when building games as oppose to polygons. Polygons within a modelling application usually differ in count than the triangle count. The triangle count is usually higher. Polygons with 4 sides usually work well during game making.

Rendering Time
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a 2d or 3d model. This process is done through computer programs. the scene file will contain certain objects which make up the scene. These include: lighting, texture, shading and viewpoint. These objects are information which forms a description of a virtual scene.



Real-time rendering
This is an interactive area of computer graphics. It enables the user to interact with a virtual environment by quickly creating synthetic images. Real time rendering is most commonly used in video games. The rate in which images are displayed is measured in frames per second.

Non real time rendering
Non real time rendering is much slower than real time. Rendering times can vary from a few days to a few seconds depending on the frame. Animations for non-interactive media which include fature films and video have a much slower rendering time. 

HA7 - Task 5 3D Development Software

Task 5 - 3D Development Software

3D Studio Max



Autodesk 3ds max was formerly known as 3D Studio Max. It is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making animations, models, games and images. Developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It it mainly used for modelling and is a flexible plugin which can be used on Microsoft Windows platform. It is used by video games developers and for movie effects. It is licensed by Trialware and it's stable release was 12th April 2015. 

Maya



The original authors of Autodesk Maya shortened to Maya were Alias systems corporation. The software was dveeloped by Autodesk Inc and released in February 1998. Maya is a 3d computer graphics software which runs on Windows, OS X and Linux. It is used to create interactive 3d applications including video games, animation films, TV series and visual effects. 

LightWave



Lightwave 3d is a 3d computer graphics software developed by Newtek. It is used for rendering 3d images both animated and static. It includes a fast rendering engine. It was released in November 2014 and is licensed by Trailware. Lightwave has been used in: Tv, films, adverts, music videos, motion graphics and architect visualisations. Its operating systems are Windows and OS X. 

Cinema 4D



Cinema 4D is a 3D modelling animation and rendering application. It was developed by MAXON Computer GmbH in Germany. It was released in September 2014 and its operating systems are OS X and Windows. Cinema 4D is licensed by Proprietary. Its main uses are polygonal modelling, animating, texturing, lighting and rendering like most 3D model applications. 

Blender



Blender is a free 3d computer graphics software. Blender is used for creating 3d printed models, animated films and visual effects. It's features include: UV unwrapping, 3d modelling, texturing, animating and much more. Aside from just having modelling features, Blender also has an integrated game engine. 

SketchUp



SketchUp is a 3d modelling computer program. It is used for a broad variety of drawing applications including: architectural, interior design, film and video game design. It is available both free and to buy with different versions (SketchUp Make and SketchUp Pro). SketchUp is owned by Trimble Navigation. They were formerly an independent company however they have been owned by Google since 2006.

ZBrush 



Zbrush is a digital sculpting tool which combines 3d modelling and 2.5d modelling. It also includes texturing and painting. Zbrush is usually used for creating high resolution models and uses technology which stores colour, lighting, material and depth information for the objects on the screen. This particular program is able to reach up to 40+ million polygons. It is mainly used in movies, games and animations. 


Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodesk_3ds_Max
  

HA7 - Task 4 Mesh Construction

Task 4 - Mesh Construction


Polygonal Modelling

Polygonal modelling is making up the surfaces of a model using polygons. This process is used in 3D computer graphics. For real time computer graphics scanline rendering is the best method of choice. There are some other methods including sub division surfaces, NURBS surfaces and equation based methods.


Primitive Modelling 

Geometric primitives are used in computer graphics usually using the simplest shapes the computer can handle. Modern 2D computer graphics systems may operate with primitives which are lines, circles, curves boxes and polygons. In 3D applications basic shapes are considered primitives such as cubes, boxes, spheres, cylinders and pyramids.



Box Modelling

This is a technique in 3D modelling where a primitive shape is used to make the basic shape of the final model. The shape is then used to sculpt out the final model.





Extrusion Modelling 

Extrusion Modelling is a method of adding geometry to a polygon primitive. This is one of the first things a modeler uses to begin shaping a mesh. Using extrusion the modeler handles the 3D mesh by either collapsing a face in upon itself in order to create a dent or by extruding the face outwards. 






Sketch Modelling 
Sketch based modelling is a way of creating 3D models for use in 3D computer graphic applications. Sketch based modelling is different from other types of modelling due to its interface. Instead of editing polygons in order to make a 3D shape. A 2D shape is drawn and is then converted into a 3D shape. 



3D Scanners

A 3D scanner is a device which analyses a real life environment or object and collects data about its shape and appearance. Using this data the scanner can then create a 3D model. 



Sources



HA7 - Task 3 Geometric Theory


Task 3 Geometric Theory

The Cartesian Coordinates system is a system which uses numerical coordinates which are measured in the same unit of length. Each point is specified uniquely in a plane. Each reference line is an axis and the point they meet in the origin. The creator of this system was the French philosopher and Mathematician Rene Descartes who used the name Cartesius in Latin.


2D Coordinate system

 

3D Coordinate system








Geometric Theory & Polygons

In mesh modelling the most basic polygon used is a triangle. In order to make more in depth polygons triangles can be put together. Alternatively you can use a single object but it must have more than 3 vertices. This would be referred to as an element. Each separate polygon which makes this element is called a face. A group of polygons connected by shared vertices is known as a mesh.






Basic geometric theory is that points join together to make edges, then edges join together to make a polygon. These polygons can then be joined together to form mesh. 


Sources



HA7 - Task 2 - Displaying 3D Polygon Animations

API


API stands for an application programming interface. This involves a set of tools for building software applications. An API includes a set of programming instructions for accessing a web based softare application. A software company will release its API to the public so that the other software developers can design products. 

Example API
For example, Amazon.com released its API so that Web site developers could more easily access Amazon's product information. Using the Amazon API, a third party Web site can post direct links to Amazon products with updated prices and an option to "buy now."



Graphics Pipeline

One of the key developments in computer graphics has been the evolution of the GPU from a fixed pipeline to a programmable pipeline. The means various stages of the pipeline can be programmed, using programs called shaders.



Stages of The Graphics Pipeline

3D Geometric Primitives

Geometric primitives are the simplest objects which the system can handle. These primitives are what the scene is initially made up of. 



Modelling and Transformation

This is when you transform something from the local coordinate system and change it to the 3D coordinate system. 


Camera Transformation

This is when you transform something from the 3d coordinate system and change it to the camera coordinate system. You must ensure that the camera is the origin. 



Lighting

Using lighting and reflectance is important to make your object seen. For example: a light coloured object in a dark environment will not be seen unless the lights are adjusted correctly. 


Projection Transformation

3D projection is taking three dimensional points and changing them to two dimensional. Perspective projection is when objects which are far away from the camera are made smaller. This is done by splitting the X and Y coordinates of each primitive by the Z coordinate. Where as orthographic projection stay at their original size no matter where they are in relation to the camera. 


Clipping

Any primitives which appear outside of the viewing frustrum will now not be visible.


Scan Conversion or Rasterization 

Rasterization is when the 2D image becomes converted into the raster format and the final pixel values are created. This means that any future edits will be determined on each separate pixels. 



Texturing, Fragment Shading

At this point in the pipeline each individual fragment is assigned a colour. These colours can be selected from a shading program or texturing. 



Sources
http://money.howstuffworks.com/business-communications/how-to-leverage-an-api-for-conferencing1.htm

Monday, 20 April 2015

HA8 Task 1 - Schedule

Task 1 – Schedule


Week 1 - 20/04/2015


Week 2 - 27/04/2015


Week 3 - 04/05/2015


Week 4 - 11/05/2015


Week 5 - 18/05/2015


Week 6 - 01/06/2015



Week 7 - 08/06/2015


Week 8 - 15/06/2015









HA8 Task 2 - Research

Task 2 - Research


Sidekick mood board 




sources