Week 2

Further Modelling Techniques

This week we learnt various modelling techniques that we could use to develop our animation, I’ve used a couple of these tools before but there were a couple that I was unfamiliar with including array and pro Boolean.

Array tool - Tombstone

The array tool is a very simple and effective tool to copy an object many times in any of the x,y,z axis. The diagrams below show how the array tool can be used.

I began by making a simple tombstone and highlighting the shape, I then clicked 'tools, 'array' and changed the 1D count to 10, this copies the tombstone 10 times. I then changed the distance between each tombstone by increasing either x,y,z axis depending on what direction you want the shape to follow.

The result of the array tool has copied the tombstone 10 times along the x axis, this tool will come in very effective when I come to copy my cannons twelve times, as they will then be equally distanced.

Final array Render

Loft Modifier - Hanger

The loft modifier is an unusual tool but I can be very effective depending on what you are modelling. Using the loft tool we made a coat hanger firstly by using the line tool from the splines selection to draw the outline of a hanger, I then made a small circle beside the hanger, this can be any shape depending on what shape u want the loft to follow on the line.

Highlight the circle and select loft from the modifier list and then click on the hanger

The loft tool then makes a circular shape which follows the line, and creates the hanger. I added a turbo smooth from the modifier list to make the shape more realistic.

Final Render of loft

Lathe modifier - Wine Glass

Although I have used this tool before I still found it tricky to grasp and I had to try several times before I made a wine glass. I did find a very useful YouTube video that explains the lathe modifier, click the link below if you are having trouble understanding it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyocsNA5InY

I firstly drew an outline of half a wine glass, using the same technique as I did when using the loft tool. I then adjusted the pivot point to the bottom of the glass.

The lathe tool from the modifier list the creates a 360 degree shape from the line forming a wine glass, the shape is sometimes deformed, this can be rectified by clicking on Max form the 'align' which is in the Lathe parameters.

Final Render of Lathe

Boolean and Pro Boolean Modifier - Cheese

I hadn't used this Boolean or Pro Boolean before, as it involves using compound objects which I am unfamiliar with but it is a very effective tool.

As a class we created a cheese bowl using the Boolean and pro Boolean tool, I firstly made a cheese shape by making a box and converting to editable poly mesh and selecting one edge and bringing it down to form a wedge.

Spheres are then added across the wedge which will form the holes after the pro Boolean tool is used.

Once at this stage I selected compound objects from the drop down menu and selected pro Boolean, I then pressed start picking, and clicked on the spheres to make them disappear leaving the edge of the spheres embedded in the wedge. The same technique can be used for Boolean but it only removes one shape at a time.

Once at this stage I changed the colour of the shape to yellow to look more like a piece of cheese. I then added a bowl using the lathe tool which I learnt in the previous tutorial.

I then aligned the wedge of cheese in the middle of the bowl and applied a Turbo smooth to the bowl to smooth out the edges.

Final render of Boolean and Pro Boolean 

I found this YouTube very useful to anyone who is finding this technique difficult, as I kept forgetting to click start picking to remove the shapes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBPn-hPXy4U