| | | Rusty Robbins | | Final Scene | | | Malicious Code | |
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| | Inspiration
I was feeling a bit daunted by one of my classes—Java—and that some code that I sent to a friend could not be opened because Norton Antivirus thought that it was “malicious code”. I was a bit frustrated with computers at the time and just had to vent. So, my final project turned out to be about a malicious computer, bringing the entire lab into lockdown and setting off every alarm in the building. Only the quick thinking of the hapless lab tech can prevent him from becoming just another “byte” on the computer’s “menu” (I’ve opened up a whole new genre of puns!). But will our hero be able to shut down the power with his FM antenna pointer in time? You have to wait until CSCI 240, the sequel!
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| | | Objects | Computer tech | Rusty Robbins | | | Antenna | Rusty Robbins | | | Malicious computer | Rusty Robbins | | | Alert display unit with beacon | Rusty Robbins | | | Power shutdown console | Rusty Robbins | | | Junction boxes and cables | Rusty Robbins | | | Room | Rusty Robbins | | | | | | Images | Alert.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | Shutdown.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | Stripes.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | Stripes_bump.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | Alert_bump.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | light_gel.tif | Rusty Robbins | | | conc_cracks.jpg | www.muyang.com - Modified by Rusty Robbins | | | conc_smooth.jpg | www.muyang.com - Modified by Rusty Robbins | | | conc_smoothBW.jpg | www.muyang.com - Modified by Rusty Robbins | | | conc_stains.jpg | www.muyang.com - Modified by Rusty Robbins | | | conc_stainsBW.jpg | www.muyang.com - Modified by Rusty Robbins | | | | | | Textures | Beacon | Rusty Robbins | | | Light Gel | Rusty Robbins | | | Malicious Computer Face | Rusty Robbins | | | Alert Display and Facing | Rusty Robbins | | | Metallic Brushed Facing (on consoles) | Rusty Robbins | | | Faded Moldy Walls | Rusty Robbins |
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| | Problems and Solutions
There were several new things I tried in this assignment: Character modeling with wrinkled fabric, open mouths with teeth, realistic lighting with shadow mapping, and simulating a rotating beacon. These were all challenging and forced me to make crucial decisions to make sure the project was completed on time.
Character modeling with wrinkled fabric: at first, I built my computer tech character in a neutral standing position (arms out) in an attempt to use weight maps. I even set up a bones rig, complete with finger bones and weight maps for each individual bone. When it came time to set up the character in layout, though, I had to consider the use of control nulls, constraining the bone rotations, and problems with the maps (the points weren’t deforming in the right places). With these factors still to be learned, I decided to just go ahead and model the character the way it would appear in layout, already deformed. In doing so, I cleared up more time to simulate the wrinkles in the character’s clothes.
Open mouths and teeth: The challenging part of this exercise was the extending of the model’s face geometry and creating the mouth, throat and tongue. To solve this, I used smooth shift to create new geometry from the computers lips and push it back into the face. Several shifts were necessary to continue with the tongue. A separate layer was used for the teeth.
Shadow Mapping: I had several spotlights in my scene with shadow mapping enabled. I like soft shadows because they seem more realistic. Many of the shadows were coming out pixilated and low-quality. To solve this, I had to increase the shadow map size (1000 was about right) from the light properties panel. Now the shadows are nice and smooth.
Simulating the rotating beacon: Building the beacon was easy; surfacing it was hard. I wanted to re-create a beacon that was rich in detail, reflections and refraction. I built a parabolic “reflector” inside the beacon, a light bulb, and two outer shell shapes to provide two reflecting surface on the inside and outside of the shell. The amount of reflection was so great (the reflector and both shell surfaces had reflection) that the render bogged down my machine. VIPER was no help, either; the shell had gradient transparencies applied. My guesses had to be better at what to change. At first, the beacon was too bright and the details lost. My time was at a premium…but I wanted that beacon! Finally, I turned the luminosity gradient way down and added a lens flare with streaks and “fade behind object” enabled. I think the results are good. Oh, I also added spotlights in the shell to cast beams, but they didn’t look realistic. A couple of gels made in Photoshop added more realism. I also used motion blur in layout by setting a keyframe in frame 1 and rotating the lights. You have to turn on antialiasing and motion blur, but you get a nice blurred spot on the wall that appears to be moving!
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| | Time Frame
Conception: 1 week
Modeling: Technician, 6 hrs
Computer and face, 4 hrs
Room and consoles: 4 hrs
Image creation: 3 hrs
Surfacing: 5 hrs
Layout: 4 hrs
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