Here's my final pitch video. It shows what I hope to accomplish by the end of the year and the concepts and ideas powering it.
This next week will be a real crunch between making assets for two totally different classes, as well as constant rendering. My bedroom will top out at about 95 degrees due to all the computers running. I hope to finish the assets on my lab table and perhaps get a jump on those on the shelf.
Here's a quick piece of my thesis pitch video. Just a sneak peak into the one that will be released later this week.
I have also decided on a style to go forward with for my texturing. I really enjoy cartoons, always have and always will, and though I've never drawn one myself, I always saw myself making one in the future. My biggest issue with cartoons is the need to recreate each animated part each frame, to me that's really tedious and a total turn off. But with 3D, there's no need to redraw each frame, you can simply animate the object accordingly. So for my styling, I want to push forward with a very contour driven and simplistic texturing system, think Futurama or the Simpsons.
Most television shows use 3D models in some part of each episode, the styling is just done in such a way that it appears flat, even though the animation might be moving in a 3D environment. Though I just have test images right now, I do plan on creating my scene with highly detailed models that are textured and stylized in a very simplistic manner. The lighting and rendering will still be lifelike though, so even though I'm not quite sure how this will turn out in the end, I'm sure it will be very interesting.
So this week I really started making a dent in my work. I have begun blocking out my scene and arranging my models to fit the scene appropriately. As I do this, I realize what I need/don't to fill the scene accordingly and what models I should improve on.
At this point, some models are more detailed than others. Most of the small/detail models are complete or just need to be textured, but models used for blocking, such as the tables and room itself, are currently in a basic stage and are being used a placeholders for the time being.
After having a block in workflow and being really unable to get any work done in the past couple weeks, I finally was able to get past my "modeler's block" and push forward with my work. I'm looking forward on what's to come in the next couple days as I ride out this creative burst.
This week I really started making steps toward my work. I readjusted my workflow again so the work I get done in each new scene file is more complete by the time I have to reference it for my final scene. Basically the workflow goes like this:
model -> UV's laid out -> texturing ->test renders.
I am looking to incorporate Z-Brush into my workflow, especially for models with a truly organic feel. Currently, Z-Brush is being used for my character modeling, which I hope to incorporate into my final scene, which brings me to my next decision.
My final scene will NOT be several small scenes, but in fact one room that tells a story. I am looking to make the basement lab into a complete scene, with complete modeling, texturing, lighting and rendering. I may add some particles for dust and smoke, as well as some camera movements throughout. The lighting will be moody and dark with lights glowing where necessary. Models and textures will be stylized with some realistic features while the lighting and rendering will be hyper-realistic with the use of v-ray.
Current models will be available on the side bar and include only thesis based work. The "Current" tab (or homepage) will include all my 3D, encompassing all of my RIT and outside work.
I was sick this past week and barely made any progress on my actual work. I was able to recollect some past designs and add them to my folder tree as well as work on a few other models. Being bed-ridden made it hard to work on the computer for long stretches, so I focused most of my work on another project for another class (since it is due next week).
Currently, I am looking at really scoping in the focus of my thesis, maybe going from multiple scenes to a single one. We'll see...