Final Model Of Ship

This post is going to be commenting on my ship model as my model is finally finished and ready to start animating on. I am really pleased with how my model has turned out and think I have done a really good job in trying to replica a US Ship from Pearl Harbour in 1964.

It has been a brilliant journey I think, sometimes frustrating, however overall rewarding as I never thought I would have been able to create a model that I am really proud of and happy to show to my other fellow students when it comes to presentation day.

Firstly I needed to look at other ships back in 1964 and what they looked like back in that day. I had to look at the images in detail such as, what shape was the body, where were the weapons placed, was there a navigation room, was their any railings on the ship etc.

So I started with a simple box and started by moving the vertices in order to create the curve on the box for the ships body. Next was to create more polygons on the box by using the 'ring' and 'connect' tool as I needed more polygons so that I wouldn't have to keep creating separate objects and keep totalling up the render times.

There on I used the 'extrude' and 'bevel' tools to create more objects, such as the weapons, engine, navigation room, tower etc. However creating them from the one box object, which I found a lot easier as I didn't have to line up separate objects each time which would have cost me more time. So I created the objects that I needed, then for example the weapons I wanted to have a slight curve to the box so I had to change the vertices on these objects to and other objects that I felt needed changing.

Once I had created all my objects the next part of the model was to use the UVW Unwrap modifier so that I could add textures how I wanted. This is because if I wanted to add a material to the ship, the texture would have applied to near enough the whole of the ship as it is made from mostly one object. The Unwrap I found quite difficult as I had never use this method before, but once I got my head around the idea I was able to unwrap the model and add the textures where I wanted them.

This is a screenshot of the model before the I had finished the Unwrap of the model, as you can see it was quite confusing.

This screenshot shows the UVW Unwrap, this is a finished unwrap with all the sides of the model put in the right place.

This screenshot shows the materials that I have used for my model.

After I had added my textures I thought there was still something missing, so I decided to create some water, which is explained in another post and I am really proud of how the water has turned out, it was a basic plane with the modifier noise added to it to give the water its ripple effect. I did add other effects such as reflection in the water and added a bump map to the texture of the water, and couldn't have made a better water I don't think. This was also all new to me and had never created water before. I did try using the reactor but found that I didn't have as much control as I wanted so I decided to take a different approach. I also try to add a sort of sunset theme to the water and added some omni lights which I think have created a nice scene for my model.

This screenshot shows my final render of the water that I have created, if you look closely I have added a slight reflection and a faint shadow to the water using the lights I have used.

Lastly I will comment on the flag I created this is also in another post but will briefly mention here. Once I had completed my water I still felt that something was missing and realised that I did not have a flag on my ship, so I went about creating one. I had never done this before and again was something new to learn so I needed some help in going about creating a flag (YouTube Tutorial). Upon creating the flag for the ship I am really proud of how it has turned out and has completed my model and am really pleased with how the whole entire model has turned out. 

This is the final screenshot of the completed model, you should be able to see more closely the reflection, the shadow across the water and the flag blowing in the wind.

This is a very short video of what the final model looks like with everything applied, the video is short because it took a while to even render 1 second.

Finally to conclude this model, I am really proud of what I have achieved with this model and what I have got out of the module so far, I hope this model amazes other people as much as it has amazed me how realistic it has become and what I have achieved. 

Watch The Flag

This post is going to be commenting on a new technique I have learnt, which is to make a flag blow in the wind and use the wind element in the space wraps section to give the flag a more realistic feel.

Firstly I had to create the basics of the flag which involved creating a plane and a cylinder. These were the only two objects that I needed for this model. Next I needed to add a modifier called cloth to the plane, once I had done this I needed to  group one side of the vertices to the cylinder. Which was done by clicking 'make group', then clicking on node and clicking the cylinder, this would make the plane stayed attached to the cylinder (and not blow off the screen).

Next job was to add a material to the plane, which was a simple American flag as I was creating an American flag for my ship. Then I decided to create a colour for my flag pole which was a simple black colour with some gloss added.

Next I needed to change the object properties which was done by going to the plane's cloth modifier and clicking 'object properties', then clicking on plane, selecting cloth and choosing silk from the drop-down menu under cloth properties.

This screenshot shows the option that need to be selected in order to create a realistic looking flag.

Next part is to create the wind so that the flag can blow about as if it was outside. This was done by choosing the space warps section in 3Ds Max and placed on the side that I want the flag to blow from. Then I changed the properties of the wind (strength, turbulence etc). Then I needed to choose the plane again and click cloth forces, then add the wind to the forces in simulation. Once I had completed all these steps it was the moment of truth and I needed to simulate the flag blowing, which basically created my short animation for me.

This is the flag that I have created in action.

Finally to add this was something completely new to me and felt this was part of my new learning technique, its something that I needed to create for my model, however I wanted to try something new and see if I could create something that I never thought I would be able to do, and found creating a flag quite easy.

References

CyberAsero, 2009. 3D Max Phlippine Flag Tutorial. [video online] Available at:<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3eeTgAPoNQ> [Accessed 14 November 2012].

[image online] Available at:<http://www.jfilmfestival.org/partners.html> [Accessed 21 November 2012].

Reference's For Ships

This post is going to comment on the ships that I have used for reference for my model that I have created for the group project.

California's Ships USS California (BB-44). [image online] Available at: <http://www.militarymuseum.org/usscalif.html> [Accessed 25 September 2012].

Chapman, K., Levy D, 2012. Kiwi ships kept out of Pearl Harbour. [image online] Available at: <http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/7208058/Kiwi-ships-kept-out-of-Pearl-Harbour> [Accessed 30 September 2012].

Smith, G, n.d. Royal, Dominion & Allied Navies in World War 2. [image online] Available at: <http://www.naval-history.net/WW2RN12-194112.htm> [Accessed 20 September 2012].

Takanami Class Destroyers, Japan. [image online] Available at: <http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/takanami-class-destroyers/takanami-class-destroyers3.html> [Accessed 2 October].

Warships IFR, n.d. Historic Warships Commentary. [image online] Available at: <http://www.warshipsifr.com/LegacySite/historicWarshipsComment.html> [Accessed 19 September 2012].

Watson, K, 2007. Ships and Harbours Photos. [image online] Available at: <http://www.shipsandharbours.com/picture/number955.asp> [Accessed 27 September 2012].

2010. Naval Ship "USS Pearl Harbour" arrives at the port of Trincomalee on a goodwill visit. [image online] Available at: <http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20100714_02> {Accessed 20 September 2012].

2010. US Navy Ship in Sri Lanka. [image online] Available at: <http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=724704> [Accessed 30 September 2012].

Reference's For Textures

This post is showing the references for the images I have used for my textures for my models and animation.

AaronDesign, n.d. Scratched Steel Texture. [image online] Available at: <http://aarondesign.deviantart.com/art/Scratched-Steel-Texture-137545405> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

Adam, 2012. Texture 291. [image online] Available at:<http://flyerheroes.com/25-high-quality-free-textures/> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

ArnolDex, 2012. Sherman Skin Request. [image online] Available at:<http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/116543-m4a3e8-sherman-skin-request/> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

David Ella Ella, 2010. Create Batman Logo In Photoshop. [image online] Available at:<http://designreviver.com/tutorials/create-batman-logo-in-photoshop/> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

God Bless America. [image online] Available at:<http://www.ra2.biz/yellowribbon/banner.html> [Accessed 21 November 2012].

Marcel, 2010. Making Metal. [image online] Available at:<http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=319680> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

Rick Wyatt, 2012. United States of America. [image online] Avaliable at:<http://flagspot.net/flags/us.html> [Accessed 21 November 2012].

Rusty Brown Metal Surface. [image online] Available at:<https://www.123rf.com/photo_2775176_rusty-brown-metal-surface.html> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

Spectrum Glass Company, n.d. [image online] Available at:<http://www.spectrumglass.com/stained-glass/products/product-detail.asp?i=251> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

2010. Grunge Metal. [image online] Available at:<http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mLMBm9i/Grunge+Metal> [Accessed 05 November 2012].

[image online] Available at:<http://www.jfilmfestival.org/partners.html> [Accessed 21 November 2012].

Watch The Water

This post is commenting on how I created my own water and how I am using it in the group project.

Firstly this is something completely new to me and had to do research in order to find out how to create the water and this is part of my new learning technique and now that I have finished my water I can say I am very pleased with how it has turned out.

Right onto the water, now one way you can make water is using a reactor but I found that using this method gave me limited control of what I could change within the water, so I decided to use a plane instead and apply noise to the plane, this would give it its ripple affect and movement in order to do this I changed the scale and the z value to what I wanted to make the water realistic. Once this is done you need to animate the noise so you can see what you are changing which is done by checking a small box underneath the strength of the noise.

From here you can make your own changes to your water, but I decided to add a material next which would give the water more detail and its colour for the animation. Now this is totally down to each individual person and what they want their water to look like, but I went for changes such as, I choose a material and attached the 'Raytrace' map to it, then attached another map called bump, this would give the water more ripple. From there I choose a colour for my water and after fiddling round with the material more I think I have achieved realistic water that I can use in the group project.

This is the water that I have created for the ship I have modelled, I have also inserted some lights to give a sort of sunset feel to the image. 

Box's Are Falling

This post will be about using the reactor tool within 3Ds Max and to start with making a simple box fall to the floor, without animating it using set key or auto key animation techniques.

I have never used this technique before and this is all new to me, but it has shown me you can animate models easier without having to do it all manually and that makes it more time consuming, however using the reactor with the software it does it all for you, (in a matter of speaking).

As mentioned this post is going showing a simple box falling to the floor, however in the next post I will attempt to create another animation with a demonstration of bowling.

Anyway on with this small animation, first you need to create a floor, which I have used a box but a slim one. Then created another box that will be raised and dropped from a height. Once these are in place you need to introduce the reactor, which is done by selecting animation, reactor, create object, then 'Rigid Body Collection'.

This is how to access the rigid body collection.

Then you need to click on the rigid body collection and click the modifier tab and then add the box and the floor to the collection by using pick or add. Once this is done we have to create the animation which is done by clicking the utilities tab near the modifier tab and choosing reactor. The expand the tab that says preview and animation, then click preview in window this will show you the animation in a preview window and show you what it looks like before you want your final version. You can also edit other properties in the utilities tab such as mass of the box making it fall faster.

This is just showing where to look in order to change other properties of models in the reactor.

Once you have followed these steps you should hopefully have a box that falls onto a floor.

New Technique

This post is simply going to be commenting on the new technique that I have decided to do throughout this module.

From previous blog posts I have managed to create some smoke and some fire, however I have decided I want to try and create other elements within 3Ds Max. For example creating water for my ship, and try incorporate the wind element if I can.

At first these seem like difficult ideas however I think with a bit of practice and research I think I can create something realistic with those different elements.

The smoke that I have created is going to be used for the engine of the ship, the fire is going to be used when the ships/planes get attacked. The water will be used for the ships and the wind element will be incorporated also but not sure if what way.

So watch this space....

UVW Unwrap On Model

 This post is going to be commenting on the 'Unwrap UVW' tool that I am using to add textures to my model. I could just add textures onto the model, however the body makes up most of the ship and adding the texture to the body would make the ship look near enough all the same which is not what I want.

So firstly we need to add the 'Unwrap UVW' tool to the model which is under the modifier tab. From there you need to select faces, this is so that when you select the shapes in the UVW editor you select the faces of the model which is more precis rather than select multiple sections of the ship.

Once you have completed these steps we need to edit the model, which is done by clicking edit under the parameters of the UVW editor. Then a new window will open, which to start with some of the settings need to be changed otherwise it looks very confusing. First of all you need to select 'flatten mapping' from the 'mapping tab', this will show all the parts of the model so that you know exactly what part of the model you are adjusting. Also depending on personal preference you can take the chequered background off by clicking the small 3D cube along the top of the window.

This is an image of my model once I had changed the settings to the ones mentioned above.

When you have gotten this fair some of the objects of the model might need to be welded together, you can tell which parts need welding because when you click on a face of an object the line that the object is meant to be joined by changes blue, which is a big give away. To do this you need to select the object and place it next to the object that are being welded together and choose tools, then weld selected, this joins the two object together and will allow you to have more room within the square at the end.

This image shows how selecting one of the faces of the model, and how the line that the object is meant to be connected to turns blue.

In order to save some valuable time if you have two objects that are the same, for example the sides of the ship should be indentical, and instead of adding two seperate textures and saving valuable space you can copy and paste the two objects onto of each other. This will turn the object into one object but the objects are on top of each other, so that when you add the texture it is identical and you don't have to worry about matching the textures up prefectly.

Once you are happy with your modifications to the model then you need to place all the objects that will need textures adding into the small square. If they don't all fit all you need to do is scale down the objects, but don't worry this wont affect the texture but it does help to have the objects near enough the same size.

This is my finalised model within the square ready to add textures too. If you don't need some of your faces of your model textured then you can leave them outside the box, for example the bottom of the ship which no one is going to see during the animation.

Once you have finished adding the finishing touches and have fitted your model within the square you need to save it as an image ready to import into Adobe Photoshop. When you first import the image into Photoshop it will be a blank canvous.

This is the blank canvous that you will first see when you import your UVW Map into Photoshop, however all you need to do to fix this is add a new layer and fill it black.

 

Once you have done this you need to add another new layer on which you will be adding the textures too, which once you have done this you need to save this as another image, but jpeg would be preferred as it is a better format and better quality. After you have done this you can then find the file within the material editor and add the new textures to your model.

Let's Try Again

This post will be commenting on what I have changed with my model and will be referring back to the previous post. I will also be showing the changes via screenshots.

Firstly I am going to be showing the changes to the navigation room. I believe that this was the most important part of the ship to change, because I was not happy with my first attempt and needed to change it quickly to something that I was more happier with. So I decided to completely scrap the first attempt and try again, I didn't end up changing it too much but I did make some small adjustments which I think are noticeable and are much better than the original.

This is the redesigned navigation room, I decided to change the shape by making it smaller and not hang over the guns, I did want to make it more round but couldn't find an easy way of doing it and I was running out of time, focusing on one thing and not anything else.

Next I needed to add an engine room, as this was also quite an important part of the ship that was originally  included and needed to be as it is a fundamental part of the ship. In order to incorporate this into the model, I needed more room which meant I had to remove one of the weapons on the ship, which was simple enough, once I had removed the weapon I needed to model in the engine which was quite straight forward. I beveled out some of the polygons and put in some basic tube shapes.

This is the engine that I incorporated into my model. I am pleased with how it turned out, and also it will give me a chance to test out my new technique I am learning, and see if I can achieve realistic smoke.

My last adjustment to the model was to add a satellite tower, which tend to be on every ship that I looked at to get inspiration from for my model, so it had to be included. I don't think the design is very technical however I am pleased with how it has turned out especially for my first attempt. It was just a simple extrude on the polygons and then added a sphere and squashed it to make a satellite type shape.

And the end result is this, as I said it is not too technical however I think it fits nicely in with the model and is a key part of the ship that needed to be added.

Overall I think with the changes that I have made, they were needed to be put in the model, and am very pleased with how they have turned out even if they have not got much detail to them. However I am hoping that when I come to add the materials it will give the model the detail that it needs.

Back To The Drawing Board

This post will be commenting on the idea that I had originally for the ship that I am modelling and what has gone wrong and what needs to be rethought and redone.

While I was creating my ship I had different ideas on what I wanted to achieve when modelling it and was referring back to original images of ships back in those days and what to add as much detail as I could within the time-frame that I had. 

There was obviously compulsory elements that I needed to include such as:

• Weapons
• Navigation Room
• Engine
• Satellite Tower

These I feel needed to be included within the model, anything extra would be extra detail which I would also aim to include however there was a time-frame that needed to be stuck to and if I could fit the extra's in it was great, however if I couldn't I would at least try and fit some in.

Anyway back to the idea, when I had first started to create the ship, I started with the main body which I thought was perfect, then started to add the weapons onto the ship, however I might have got a little carried away with the weapons, as when I started to add the navigation room I realised I was running out of room on the body fast!

I needed to rethink about the model and also I was not happy with the first attempt at the navigation room, I felt it was not right and needed to be different (in shape, height etc). So I thought about what I needed to change so I scrapped the first idea and built it again, not changing much but changing enough that it eventually became perfect and I was happy with what I had created.

This was my first attempt at creating the navigation room, I think you will agree it is awful and nothing like the original ships from Pearl Harbour.

I will be creating another post after this one to show what I have changed and I think you will agree it looks so much better.

Storyboard

This post is going to be commenting on my storyboard. Even though we have created a storyboard as a group, we decided that we would each create our own storyboard's from what we had to do in the group.

I will be commenting on each of the scene's and will be place a screenshot of the storyboard at the bottom of the blog.

Firstly scene one is were the ships will be moving across the water and into their positions around Pearl Harbour, where they were on the day of the attack.

The second scene is going to have the ships taking damage from the Japanese fleet and being badly damaged for some of them, and there will be a few ships sunk within this scene too. This is where I will be able to try out my new technique by trying to achieve explosions, smoke and fire.

Next scene three will be showing the ships fighting back and using their fire power to take down the planes and try and stop them from destroying anymore ships, this could involve some of the planes flying into the ships and causing more damage. Again this will be where I can use my new technique and show off what I have learnt.

The fourth scene will expand on from scene three and show more planes being shot down by the ships and the planes flying into buildings around Pearl Harbour, which again caused more damage than what it was meant to.

Scene five will be showing the Japanese fleet fighting back once again and using torpedo's to destroy more of the ships, this is where I will also be testing out my new technique with explosions, fire and smoke. 

The last scene, scene six will be off more ships sinking and one of the ships raising an american flag while it is sinking.

Even though this is a short storyboard it is just of the scene's that I am contributing too each person in our team has been giving a section of the group storyboard to take part in, hence why each of them is not going to be as long as the group storyboard.

This is the storyboard that I have created for my part in the animation of this group project.