CSCI 140 Final Gallery

3-D Computer Modeling 
CSCI 140 Fall 2002

Mauro, Brendan

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Project
Brendan MauroFinal Scene
Arboretum
 
Inspiration:  

For about 3 years now, I've had a working idea for a science-fiction mini series.  The main character in the story owns on a small cargo ship and makes a living as an interstellar trader/smuggler.  So for this project I decided to create something that I might use later if I ever were to turn the idea into a reality.

This is the arboretum of the above-mentioned cargo ship.  I chose to create this room because I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could make organic objects.  The main purpose of this room would be to supply oxygen for the ship's inhabitant, so I asked a friend who is a plant science major what sort of plants would be viable for a low gravity setting and would produce enough oxygen for living purposes.  She told me algae and lichens, because most plants need to have some gravity to know which direction to grow.  I decided to take some artistic license and add in some vines and a small tree, my justification being genetic engineering since this is the future and all.

The floating book was almost an afterthought.  Near the end of the project I had some empty space that was making the scene unbalanced so I got the idea of adding in a book from my desk scene.  The more I thought about it the more I liked it, because I figured the second purpose for this room would be a place for the inhabitant to relax.  There is a basic human attraction to green plants, and since he would be living most of his life in space he would need something to remind him of planetary life.  It also added to the atmosphere of the scene because beforehand there was no way to tell that this is a low-gravity environment.
 
 
Objects
Interior WallsBrendan
DoorsBrendan
WindowsBrendan
Light FixturesBrendan
Vine PlantersBrendan
Algae TanksBrendan
Small TreeBrendan
Haber Process GeneratorBrendan
Computer ConsoleBrendan
HammockBrendan
BooksBrendan - desk project
Objects
Interior WallsBrendan
DoorsBrendan
WindowsBrendan
Light FixturesBrendan
Vine PlantersBrendan
Algae TanksBrendan
Small TreeBrendan
Haber Process GeneratorBrendan
Computer ConsoleBrendan
HammockBrendan
Textures
WallsBrendan
Computer ScreenBrendan
Control PanelsBrendan
OthersAll other textures were created using procedurals.
Tutorials
Leaveshttp://www.animationartist.com/2000/Tutorials/LWTrees/lwtrees.html
Algaehttp://www.ethereal3d.com/Tutorials/HypervoxelMetaballs/HypervoxelMetaballs.html
 
Technical:  

My biggest problems were probably with the algae tanks.  Mostly it was just the process of learning to work with hypervoxels (I made the algae with hypervoxel sprites).  I had a tutorial that I followed exactly yet for some reason could not make the algae show up.  Finally I looked up hypervoxels in the Lightwave manual; it turned out that hypervoxels will not show up behind glass if you have a refractive setting unless you turn refraction raytracing on in the render settings.

The stars you see in the scene are actually not in the scene, they were added in post.  I was using a backdrop of stars originally, but they didn't show up when rendered.  I'm guessing something to do with transparency.

The only other problem worth mentioning would be the lighting.  I could not figure out why the lighting looked so grainy, until I realized that because the textures I was using were also grainy, it somehow filtered through when the scene rendered.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish the scene, hard to believe as it may be.  I might be satisfied if I had another week or so to finish, which I may eventually do if I get around to starting that mini series.  I am especially unhappy with the tree; I was rushed because it was the last object I did and if I had more time I would remodel the entire thing.  Oh well, for now I'll just say the genetic engineering made it look bad.