What is Rigging?Rigging is the preparation of a model for animation. It involves linking things into a hierarchy to make movement easier. This hierarchy is set in a way that movement of the parent will affect the child. My thoughts on itI give it a hard time a lot, but my experiences so far in the year hasn't been bad. The problems I encountered occurred when I tried to rig a biped. I think it could be easier, not needing to go through the skinning processes. I just wish I had more time, because I could find out what my problem is, and fix it. But, because of time, I have to skip it and move on to my project. Would I suggest it?It depends. For animating complex models, yes. It makes your model easier to move around and animate. But, for anything else? No, no, no, no, NO!! Save yourself the time from this waste of hours. While trying to figure out your problem, you will more likely than not create a whole new problem, meaning you have to be almost perfect throughout the WHOLE process.
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What is the Curve Editor?The Curve Editor is a feature in 3D Studio Max that allows you to view your animation in lines. Different lines represent the different Cartesian coordinate (X,Y, and Z) values. There are also different lines for different transformations (rotate, position, scale). How can it be helpful?The Curve Editor shows the values of your animation using the keyframes. So if you have a ball move up and down at frame 50 and 100 respectively, you can see the curve created in the Position Z option on the left roll out. Here, you can change the movement of the ball. You can change how high it goes, how fast it moves, or get rid of the animation all together. To change how fast it moves, you can select a peak/dip and change the tangent. There are many types of curves, but to make the ball look like it bounces, you can set the tangent to "Fast." What is the Dope Sheet?The Dope Sheet is a feature in 3D Studio Max that lays out every keyframe for every position, rotation, and scale for every frame. How can it be helpful?When trying to move certain keyframes to different places, you can use the Dope Sheet to see every keyframe and move each one. When trying to figure out a problem with your animation, you can go to the Dope Sheet and find any inconsistencies in your keyframes and fix them. This could solve some problems when it comes to weird animation things like non-smooth transitions, jumping to weird positions, etc. How have I used these features?In animations, I have used these to fix problems with inconsistent camera movements. I also used the curve editor to change the way the camera moves. I used the curve editor to make a super bouncy basketball in the below animation. The most difficult partAlthough I have not done anything in rigging, my past experiences makes it the CLEAR winner for the most difficult part of the quarter. I don't want to do it again, but I will have to. The software crashes once every 7 minutes, and the computer can't take the pressure of being rigged into oblivion. From what I have done this quarter, though, animation edges out lighting and cameras. Its easy to put in a camera or a light in the scene, but you have to go through each frame to animate something. My animationI used the dope sheet and the curve editor to make the ball bounce and spin. (I apologize in advanced for the bad quality and the invisibility of the basketball. I will update the video when I fix the issue). Overcoming the problemsThe only way to get over the problems I was having was to get to the end and see if they sorted themselves out. With animating, you finish the animation outline for your animation, and go through and fix the impurities frame-by-frame. With lighting, you have to render your scene in the renderer you want with the quality you want to see any problems, and then fix them in the scene to get rid of the problem. With cameras, you have to find the view you want, which can be a problem (an easy to fix one, though) in and of itself. With rigging, there are MANY things that could cause the problem you are experiencing. Anything from a faulty vertex to a faulty bone could crash your software. You have to use an algorithm (A.K.A. test every solution possible) to find your problem. In Summary
What are Lights?Lights in 3D Studio Max illuminate the scene. It provides better light than the default lighting. They are accessible under the "Create" panel, under the "Lights" tab. My first thoughts about LightsThey are overly complicated. There are settings that should be defaulted to on, in my opinion, but aren't. There are settings that completely throw off your light. There are even settings that don't seem to do anything. I believe that Autodesk should do more to make these less complicated than they are. What are Cameras?Cameras are artificial views made by the modeler to move the view of the audience around a scene during an animation. It can also be used to get a specific view for a picture. They are accessible in the "Create" Panel, under the "Cameras" tab. My first thoughts about CamerasI like cameras due to their accessibility. Instead of having to go through all of the panels to make a physical camera, you can just press Ctrl+C to make a physical camera of what you are viewing right now. They also give you a chance to give your audience whatever view you want. How are we using Lights and Cameras?In class, we are learning the types of lights and cameras available for us to use. We are also learning how each work with each other to create a more realistic scene. Below is a work that I made using a physical camera and a few lights. Do I like Lights and Cameras?Most lights, I am completely fine with. But, the Sun Positioner/Skylight are some that I disagree with, as they should be settings, not objects, in my opinion. But, I love cameras due to their flexibility.
First ImpressionsThe game clearly have a liking for new players. if you have never played, now is a good time to start. Yes, there are many very good players, but matchmaking puts you in lobbies with those of your skill. I have been playing the game for over a year. I started when Fortnite Mobile came out on iPhone in March 2018. It was fun because I was paired with other mobile players, who have a huge disadvantage against players on PC or Console. The game has taken some turns, for better and for worse. I liked the game the most from early May 2018-mid July 2018 (Season 4). It had very many fun features, like Hop Rocks, the Double Pump, and the Jetpack. My thoughts nowBack in early January, they added a mode called "Pop-up Cup", which allowed players to compete for points. Features of this cup were different of those from the regular game modes. For instance, there was a feature called "Siphon," which granted you 50 total health/shield per kill you were credited for. It also dropped 50 of each material: wood, brick, and metal. Also, materials earned from farming were boosted by 40%. After being asked to add it into the regular game modes, Epic Games (the creators of Fortnite) added it. Everyone was happy with it. The game was so much fun to play. Although it did cause problems in Squads and Duos, it was so much fun in Solos. A few weeks back, they took it out, as they believed it added too much competition to the game. I disagree with this, as there was still the same amount of competition in this mode as there was in the competitive mode. Epic has been known to listen to their community and make decisions based off of what the community asked for. Even though the community has been begging for the return of these glorious features, Epic has not listened, and everyone is mad. I do believe that this is a mistake on Epic Games' behalf, as there would be no Fortnite without the community. Out of 10?I would give it a solid 5. Season 4 was a 9. Season 5, with the removal of the double pump (carrying two pump shotguns and switching between them every time you shot to get past shotgun delay), began the decline of the game. It just feels like since Season 5, they have made a way of ruining every season of the game. Season 5, as I said earlier, was ruined by the removal of the double pump. Season 6 was ruined by this game mode that replaced the regular called Fortnitemares, which had zombies that would gang up and attack you if you came within 50 meters of their "crystal." Season 7 was ruined by a game mode like Fortnitemares called Ice Storm, but Ice Storm had less zombies attacking you at once. And finally, Season 8 was ruined by the removal of Siphon and the Pop-up Cup features. The reason it maintains a 5 is because the game is still fun. I give it a 5 because it has the potential to be much more fun.
What is "Lighting" in this context?Lighting refers to the use of tools in 3D Studio Max (called Lights) to add realistic lighting to a scene. It can only be seen in rendered mode. How have we used "Lighting" in class?We have gotten into lighting very fast in class. We finished the whole unit in a week, as time is tight in the 4th quarter. My experiences have been few and far between, but I did have a problem with the shadows. I couldn't get the shadows so show up. I then discovered the "Shadows" option in the Parameters (I feel like a dummy, thank you very much). We have also taken notes on the affects of things like Shaders and Materials on the lights. From my notes, I found that changing the "Specular" option has much more of an effect than changing the "Glossiness" and "Reflection" options. What have I done with them?The following scene was created using splines and simple primitives for the table and the lamp. I used an Omni Light to add light to the area, and I used a spot light to add the shadows. I used a directional light to give off the illumination of the lamp on the table. How do I feel about the way "Lighting" works?I feel pretty neutral on the subject of "Lighting." I do think that it is nice to have a way to illuminate your scene, but I don't think that it's perfect. There are weird things, like shadows not being set to "On" by default. Cleaning things like that up would make it a lot easier to do these things, but life isn't always going to go your way, is it? In Summary
What is UVW Mapping?UVW Mapping is a texturing technique used to wrap a 2D image on a 3D figure. It allows you to customize the view on the face, allowing you to move the face across the image you are using (referred to as a map) and change what you see on each face. Ups of UVW MappingSome advantages of UVW Mapping include:
Downs of UVW MappingSome cons of UVW Mapping include:
My Opinion of UVW MappingI will only use UVW Mapping if I have to. If I can get away with using the standard material editor, I will use that instead. UVW Mapping is just too tedious for me to use if I can get a similar result with the regular material editor.
OverviewPokémon Crystal is an RPG that came out for the GameBoy Color in 2001 in North America. The player is playing as a 10 year old boy or girl who has been asked by Professors Elm and Oak to go on a journey to complete the pokédex of 251 pokémon and to fight off the evil Team Rocket from reforming and taking over the world. Your goal is to defeat all 8 gyms, the Elite 4, and the Champion to become the Champion of Johto and Kanto. PlotYou start in your house. You are sent to get a pokémon from Professor Elm lab, as most 10-year-olds are. You can choose between the grass starter (Chikorita), the fire starter (Cyndaquil), or the water starter (Totodile). You then travel to Mr. Pokémon's house to deliver a parsel given to you by Professor Elm. At Mr. Pokémon's house, you receive an egg from Pokémon. You will also receive a pokédex from Professor Oak. He will ask you to catch every single pokémon possible to catch. Once you do this, you return to Professor Elm's lab to deliver the news to him about the egg. You then advance to the next route, where you are given pokéballs. After that, you can start challenging the gyms. But, an unknown person steals a pokémon from Elm's lab and comes to Violet City with you to fight you. Depending on what you picked, the stranger's pokémon will have a type that is super effective against your's (if you chose fire, he would have water; if you chose water, he would have grass; if you chose grass, he would have fire). Once you defeat him, you learn his name and can proceed to the Pokémon Center to heal your pokémon and head on to the first gym. The first gym is a flying-type gym, and the leader is named Faulkner. Every time you defeat a gym leader, you earn a gym badge. Along the way, you will battle Team Rocket, an evil organization that uses and exploits pokémon to their own advantages. They were disbanded a few years back, and are trying to reach out to their old leader, Giovanni, using the Goldenrod City Radio Tower. They will try to stop you getting to the Pokémon League, and try to annihilate everyone who gets in their way. Getting through all 8 gyms, you reach the Pokémon League and fight the Elite 4, a club of strong, high class trainers that love pokémon. After you beat the Elite 4, you will face Lance, the champion of Johto. Defeating the champion means you become the champion. My thoughts?I enjoyed it a lot. I enjoyed playing it, the storyline, the challenge of getting to the end, and the overall feel of the game (music, controls, etc.). I thought the game was very well thought out, along with its counterparts, Gold and Silver. Points of RNG when it comes to battle are pretty annoying though, but it wouldn't be a battle if there weren't a challenge to overcome, even if it was luck. I do love the RNG out of battle though. There are chances of encountering certain pokémon, or even encountering an alternately colored pokémon (a.k.a. a Shiny Pokémon). For example, the pokémon Rattata is normally purple, but it's shiny is green. The odds of this happening is a 1/8192 chance from random encounters. There is a special animation (called a sparkle) that occurs when one of these is found/used. Probably the best idea that Game Freak (creators of the Pokémon games) has ever had, in my opinion. Overall rating: 9.5/10.
What are Simulations?According to our lord and savior Robert Bourgeois, simulations are "the imitations of the a real world process or system." These can be used to represent anything, from machinery to environments to even everyday actions by us human creatures! But why do we use simulations?Simulations can and are already used in the legal system. This, usually, is to show the jury in a trial a depiction of what happened during a certain crime/incident (i.e. Murder, Car accident, Bank Heist, etc.). But, they can also be used in scientific experiments to show a hypothesis/depict the experiment. My simulation below shows a car running through cylinders and a brick wall, which is simultaneously being destroyed by a ball on a chain. ChallengesA major challenge I have run into with simulations is the computer. They take so much out of the computer that it causes lag, and sometimes even client crashes (something I have not experienced, but other classmates of mine have). Also, another problem is that the vertices can go nuts, creating a big messy blob. What do I like about simulations?When I came into the program two and a half years ago, I could not make anything realistic for the life of me. With the tools available to me for simulations, I can achieve that. With this new-found power I have, I can now use forces to create a very, very realistic simulation of trees and flags in the wind. I especially like the little mechanic that Autodesk added with the Cloth modifier where it'll cut the plane on sharp corners, because it's just so stupid (like me sometimes) but really funny (like me never) and sad (like me when I lose a game of Fortnite). In Summary
SourcesBourgeois, Robert. “Simulation Basics.” Schoology, Schoology, 2018, app.schoology.com/page/1928069756.
What are they?Surface Modeling is when you model directly on the shape, not using any settings to change it. Parametric Modeling is when you model using the shape's parameters to change any part of the shape, whether it be size, noise, distance extruded, etc. Design Tech describes it as "Parametric is a term used to describe a dimension's ability to change the shape of model geometry as soon as the dimension value is modified" Source: “Parametric Modelling.” Parametric Modelling, Process, Advantages and Parametric Modelling Tools., www.designtechsys.com/articles/parametric-modelling. Benefits of bothWith Surface Modeling, you usually get the look you desire, because you can directly control how the shape looks. What you might want is a Box with 4.65 height, but maybe typing it in will make it too short by a small amount, so that's when it is useful. With Parametric Modeling, you can get an exact copy of the shape each time you do it. If the shape and size of the shape are the same, you can use Parametric Modeling to get exact and easy to remember parameters (maybe to tell other modelers in a Game Design group). Which do I prefer?I prefer Surface Modeling, because it gives me the look I want to have much faster than Parametric Modeling. With Parametric Modeling, you type things into the parameters and keep changing it until you get the look you want of the shape. For this house I modeled, I used both Parametric Modeling and Surface Modeling. I changed the size of the house using the parameters, and used the bevel settings window to change the faces of the house. I also used the universal scale tool to change the size of the windows so I could fit them nicely on the house. In Summary
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AuthorI am Chance Gildart. I am a Junior in Digital Design and Animation II at DSA. Categories
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DisclaimerThe views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
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