Model Maddness

Hello again everyone! It’s been a little while! I was unable to post last week due to an overwhelming amount of homework. I managed to get most of it done thankfully, but something I learned while working on RIT’s Augmented Reality Golf Project last year was that when you get crunched for time you have to make decisions about what to get done and what to put aside. That being said, I am fully prepared to make up for it this week, right now as I will be sharing my thoughts on two 3D modeling processes. The first of which is the method I generally prefer and use, and the second is a new 3D modeling method I recently tried out in my Poly and Sub D modeling class.

My teacher for Poly and Sub D recently shared his modeling method with the class and I thought I should try it out for myself. Being different from what I am used to doing and the first time I tried it I made a lot of mistakes. But in these situations I find that making mistakes is great because you learn so much more. And boy did I learn a lot! So since I owe everyone two observations and not just one I thought, why not go over both so that I can compare and contrast and share my thoughts on what I learned.

So without further ado, I give you BOX MODELING!

Box Modeling is a very well known and basic modeling method that as the name suggests begins with a box!

From that box, you then add in edge loops as needed so that you can make out the basic shape of your model in the front and side orthographic views. You then move and adjust the vertices and edges to shape out your desired object from that starting box.

So for example in you were modeling a head, you would add in horizontal edge loops where you want the forehead to curve, at the brow, at the top and bottom of the eyes and nose, and where the mouth will be placed. You would then add vertical edge loops to the front of the face in the center of the face, where the center of the eyes will be. As well as vertical edge loops on the side of the face where the edge of the eyes, cheek, and brow are, where the jaw is, where the ear attaches, and where the base of the skull attaches to the neck. You would then shape out the profile of the face (excluding the nose) by moving the vertices in the side orthographic view. Once you have the profile you would adjust the interior vertices to get an edge flow that mimics the basic curves of the face. Once the Side view is complete you would then repeat the process in the front view, and switch back and forth, adding more edges loops as needed, until you no longer have a box but a face!

I like box modeling because it comes very naturally to me and allows me to plan my model out from start to finish. I am able to visualize where edge loops should go and how they flow as I work.

The new method I tried is quite different from box modeling, and is a very interesting form of patch modeling. It starts with blocking out your entire model with primitives, details and all. They can overlap and intersect and what ever else you need them to do to give you the ship you want.  You then combine all those shapes into one model, put it on a layer and make it live. Then you use the create polygon tool to literally draw out the different sections of your model, planning the number of vertices so that all the sections can be merged together in the end. With the split polygon tool you would go through and draw out the edge flow in each polygon section you create and snap the different vertices to the model you blocked out and made live. Slowly you build your model section by section and attach them together, similar to fitting together a puzzle.  The purpose for modeling this way is so that you can easily model the details into a the geometry as you go without having to add in edge loops later and adjust topology so that you have enough geometry.

I think this an excellent method for modeling very detailed pieces of geometry, however I found it was much more difficult for me to visualize the edge flow of my model with out having the entire shape of it. It was harder for me to plan my model since I could only see the pieces I had done and was still building the actual shape. Another difficulty is knowing how many vertices to use when you are starting because that will determine the number of vertices available in the rest of the model. I think the biggest thing I learned from trying this is that different methods have different advantages, and that it’s better to use a combination of methods rather than sticking to one the entire way through.  And while the new method is successful in many ways I found it to be really boring.  I didn’t feel like I was solving problems or being creative because I was following my blocked model the whole time, just snapping vertices to it, it was rather monotonous and I found myself trying to find excuses to work on other homework instead of my model because it wasn’t really fun. But that is definitely a personal opinion of it and not so much a technical one, so who knows, other people might find it a very exciting way to model.

 How do you like to model? Feel free to share your own thoughts and modeling methods in the comments!

Ode To The Character

It’s time for a character analysis! What fun!

About a month or two ago, a friend of mine shared the following music video on their facebook wall;

Knowing how she has a habbit of finding unusual videos and music I decided to watch and see what it was.  What I found was an unusually unattractive, pudgy, and overly sexual 3D animated character dancing around in a music video filled with bright colors and catchy music.  Yet as weirded out as I was by the character, I was instantly draw to her and ended up watching the music video some four to five times in a row. 

What I like most about the character, aside from how unexplainably adorable she is, is the fact that her appearance tells you so much about her. I think that character that are done really well are ones that can tell a whole story simply by being there.

So what do I mean by all this? Well let me break it down for you:

 

Her eyes are by far my favorite part. They say so much about who she is, her emotional state, and her desire. The dripping of her make-up from the over application of it or perhaps even from tears gives her an appearance of desperation. The lines on her eyes, although most-likely due to her stylization add to her frustrated appearance. 

 

The plump pear-like shape of her body shows that she’s most likely not the most attractive girl but her dress tells of how desperately she is striving to reach standards of beauty.  She’s dressed up to go out, to look hot,  and to have fun.

He wide, round, face and stubby arms and legs give her a cute and loveable appearance. Although her body shape is slightly disturbing it is done in a more inviting nature, reminiscent of the pillsburry dough-boy. Her colors are soft, warm, and inviting.  The viewer is drawn to her because she is unique, and different.

 Overall she is an almost instantly loveable character, or she was at least for me. I’d like to encourage anyone who agrees or disagrees to leave a comment telling me why. As always I am open to suggestions and the sharing the opinions so if you have something to say leave a comment and let me know!

Until next time!

Drawing the Human Face

Since we are asked to observe processes, I thought I should share one that I myself am very familliar with, that is, how I draw a human face. I made a quick illustration which I hope is straight foreword enough, but just in case I also wrote out the directions for each step.

Drawing the Human Face:

1.     Draw a Circle

2.     Divide the circle into 5 eyes along the top and side, then add two more eyes to the bottom of the side. Draw a straight line across from the bottom of the two eyes you just added. Draw an oval attaching the circle to this line. At which point you should have an upside down egg shape.

3.     Draw a box around your egg and draw two diagonal lines attaching each corner of the box to it’s opposing end. You should now have an X across the box, the point at which the two lines meet is the center of your egg. Draw a straight line down the box through the intersection of this X and one across as well.

4.     Draw two eyes across the horizontal line, both of which should be one eye apart at the middle

5.     Draw a slight U shape at the bottom of your original circle that is the same width as the space between the two eyes.  This is the nose.

6.     About half way between the nose and the bottom of the chin draw a line for the mouth.

7.     On the sides of the egg draw two C shaped ears, the top of which should be at the same point as the eyes and the bottom should be at the base of the nose

8.     Go back over the egg shape and refine the head.  Where the circle overlaps the chin is where the cheek bones should be. From there the chin should slope inward slightly and then round back out about the jaw. Finally it should angle in slightly at the chin.

9.     Go back to the eyes and refine their shape. They should not be perfectly round but more almond shaped. The pupil should be partially covered by the upper eye lide, and just barely touching along the bottom lid.

10. Draw in the nostrils of the nose, generally the tip of the nose overlaps the and then folds back around the nostril. A light line can be used to gesture the ridge the of nose.

11. Refine the lips. Generally the top lip is thinner than the bottom lip.

12. Add  in the hair, remember to leave room for the forehead and consider how hair does not directly match the shape of the skull and should be bigger.

Extras:

Aging:  To make the face more aged add in lines where the skin folds naturally, such as from the nostrils to the corner of the mouth, or along bags under the eyes.  The lines that show the shape of the face should droop downward.

Parting the Hair: When drawing the hair consider how the way it is parted can influence the direction and overall flow of the air.

Do Not Cross

My roommate has recently become obsessed with the latest Sherlocke Holmes TV show and has made it a requirement that everyone in our house watch the show.  Although I had heard a lot about it from various friends and postings on the internet, I knew very little past that it was suppedly really “good” and set in modern times. I don’t know very much about Sherlocke Holmes aside from his name and that he is a detective.  I never saw that movie that came out a year or two ago and I’ve never actually read any of the books.  So when my room mate sat everyone down to watch, I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have anything to compare the characters to, or the setting, or anything like that.  And while I believe they did in fact do an excellent job, I don’t think I can really make any comments on it not knowing the background of the characters.

However, while watching the show, something very new and different caught my eye that made me love the show for a very different reason. One of the very first scenes in the show involves a press conference dealing with recent suicides. And for a good portion of the scene things proceed as expected. Police talking to the press, urging them to not spread panic, nothing out of the ordinary, until the chief of police tells everyone he has things under control. Suddenly his phone chimes, and when he looks down the text “wrong” appear just above his phone.

At first I was surprised and even a little confused about why the word “wrong” was appearing on screen.  But then as he continued to try and reassure the reporters, the phones in the entire audience went off and one by one the word “wrong” appeared across their chest as they looked down at their phones. At which point I realized it was the text message everyone was getting. It was brilliant, or at least I think  it was. Through out the rest of the show whenever a text message was received it appeared in actually text on the screen instead of showing a shot of the phone with the message on it. 

The show overall had a very unique editing style that I felt was more akin to an independent film than something I’d watch on TV. And they proved this with more than just putting text on screen. There was another scene where Watson is chasing Sherlocke across a roof top when Sherklocke jumps a gap between one roof to the next. Waston follows behind him running but instead of jumping he comes to a sudden stop at which point a “do not cross” image lights up in the upper right hand corner.  It blinks as he begins to hesitate and walk back and then forward to check the distance. Finally Watson backs up for a running start and it switches to  “walk” as he makes his leap across.

In the end I really do think that I will remember the show more for it’s style than for the story or the characters. I think it serves as a good reminder that there is more to film than just the actors, and that the way a film is edited can play just as big a role.  

The clip I'm attaching below gives a really good sense of the stylization they use in the show, and how it really adds to the impact of what's going on.  Also at 0:17 you can see him sending a text on his phone how they show what the text says by putting it on screen, which is what I was talking about earlier.

Mama Mia!

As I mentioned before I am using this blog primarily to fulfill my assignments for Project Planning. One of the assignments I am required to fulfill each week is note taking.

I need to take both visual and textual notes on any movies, TV shows, games, or live performances that I happen to observe as well as notes on any processes I observe.

So without further a-do, I present the process of making a pizza! Hopefully this won’t make anyone too hungry, although just thinking about it is already making my mouth water.

First all the ingredients and necessary utensils are gathered: Pizza crust mix, water, oil, tomato sauce, pre-grated cheese, pre-sliced pepperoni, olive oil, a pizza pan, a mixing bowl, a pizza cutter, and finally a Wisk for mixing. The oven is then turned on to 450˙ to pre-heat. While the oven is preheating, the pizza pan is oiled with olive oil and the pizza crust mix and 2 cups of water are placed in the mixing bowl. The contents of the bowl are then mixes until soft dough is formed at which point the dough is kneaded by hand. Once the oven is pre-heated the dough is then rolled out to fit on the pan and placed in the oven. The crust is then cooked for 15 minutes and removed from the oven. A little olive oil is sprinkled on the crust and then tomato sauce is spread over it, leaving about 3/4 “ of uncovered crust on the edges. The cheese is then spread out over the tomato sauce, with more around the edges than in the middle because the cheese will melt and spread out on its own. Before placing what can now be called a, “pizza,” back in the oven, half of it is topped off with the sliced pepperoni. The pizza is then put back in the oven and cooked for another 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Once ready, the pizza needs to be removed from the oven and let to cool for about 5 minutes. After cooling it is sliced with the pizza cutter and ready to serve, yum!

I both watched and helped my roommates make this pizza for dinner last Sunday night. It was pretty exciting for me since I have never made a pizza from scratch before. I also don’t consider myself much of a cook so learning to make new things is always fun.

A Murder Mystery, A Real Life Account, and A Children's Novel

Hello again! It’s good to be back (not that I actually went anywhere).

So for those of you who don’t know, the main purpose of this blog is to post assignments for the Project Planning course I am taking. And one of our first assignments is to pick three works of literature for which we will eventually base our final project on.

Now what we are actually going to have to do with the pieces of literature that we choose is a little hush-hush for now. So I am choosing a little blindly here. Although, if we’re going to be asked to do what I suspect we will, then I know exactly which one I want to chose. 

Anyways, now that I’ve given a little back ground on the assignment, I should probably get started.  I decided to pick three very different books so that way when I find out what it is I am expected to do for the final project I’d have more options. Before I started to pick my books, I made a list of some key differences I wanted to make sure I ended up with between my final three. In the end what I want to do is make sure I have the most amount of options for the project.

Here were the criteria I came up with:

-At least 1 non-fiction or 1 fictional book

-Each book should have a different literary style

-The characters/subject in each book should be as different as possible from the others

-The theme for each book should be as different as possible from the others

-The intended audience for each book should be as different as possible from the others

The three works of literature I have chosen are:

"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

"Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners" by Alan Emmis

"The Tales of Olga Da Polga" by Michael Bond

"And Then There Were None" is a murder mystery about 10 strangers who are invited to a party on a private island. Upon arriving at the island they soon discover that none of them has actually met the host of the party they are attending. Shortly after which, each of them is accused of having committed murder and getting away with it. Together they listen in horror as their crimes are listed off one by one via a prerecorded message from their mysterious host. And not long after the guests are mysteriously murdered. With each murder the remaining guest’s hysteria and paranoia increases. 

The book is filled with a sense of suspense and mystery that only Agatha Christie could pull off, and the overwhelming sense of charged emotions is one the main reasons I chose this book.  I also chose it for it’s dynamic characters and because overwhelming number of characters. I feel like there will be a lot to play around with between characters, emotion, and the overall mystery and suspense of the story. All of which are things that could be easily stylized and so on.

"Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners" is the one non-fictional work that I chose. The book is an interesting as well as incredibly entertaining testimonial of writer, Alan Emmis, as he observes the work of a company of crime scene cleaners. Over the course of the book, Alan describes in gruesome detail the scenes left by the deceased and his own mortifying reactions. I chose this book for it’s graphic descriptions that allow the reader to easily visualize the story as they read.

"The Tales of Olga da Polga" is a story that is very close to my heart as I grew up listening to my mother read it to my siblings and I before we went to bed. It tells the story of an imaginative guinea pig, named what else but Olga da Polga, who is somewhat of a drama queen. Olga spends her time fantasizing and telling wild imaginative tales to all the other neighborhood animals. I have particular interest in using this book for the project because each of the stories Olga tells is of a different genre. So if I had to develop a project based around this book I would like to find some way to differentiate the real world that Olga lives in the imaginative worlds that her stories take place in. I would most likely want to do this by using different art styles or even different art mediums. I can already see putting together a storyboard and how I would illustrate the different stories and so on. My only hesitation is that being a children’s book it’s a little cliché 

wanting to illustrate it, but I think that being so familiar and connected with the story could help me stay focused and passionate about the project.

So my choices are a murder mystery full of suspense and thrills, a real life account of gore told in gruesome detail, and a lovable children’s novel. Each one offering a different set of possibilities, all I need to make my choice is to find out what I have to do with the stories.

Orderly Introductions

First post! How exciting!

I believe Introductions are in order.

My name is Madeleine Rabil, but most people call me, “Mad,” or “Maddie.” To be honest, everyone seems to call me something different, so all you really have to worry about is making sure I know you’re talking to me.

I am from, and officially live in, Maryland. But during the school year I live in Rochester, New York, and attend school at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). I am currently studying 3D graphics at RIT. Once I finish my studies at RIT, I hope to enter the video game industry as a 3D artist.

One of the biggest things anyone should know about me, aside from the fact that I am keenly interested in 3D and other digital graphics, is that my background is in traditional art. In fact, prior to college I had absolutely no knowledge or experience in the 3D digital arts. Because of this my portfolio, which can be found at mrabil.com, consists of both traditional 2D artwork and 3D renders.

And for the finishing touch, I’d like to share one last thing.

This is my most recent painting. Done for enjoyment.

It is acrylic on a 16”x20” canvas. Took roughly 8 hours to complete.

It’s more of an experimental piece for me, since I played around a lot with water and dripping effects. All of which are not something I generally use in my workflow, so it was a very new and refreshing experience for me as a painter.

And now that my introductions are over, I would like to invite all of you who are reading this to leave a comment and make some introductions of your own!

Questions and other comments are welcome of course so feel free to leave one of those instead.

Until next time!