Final Project 07: Texturing and Lighting

Due December 7 by midnight:

For this project, you will add textures to the entire scene and finish it off with a 3-point light set-up.

For the fish texture, be sure to unwrap the UVs, and paint them in a program of your choice (preferably Photoshop or Gimp). For the rest of the scene(bridge, lantern, etc...), use a combination of lamberts, blinns, or phongs to create the desired look of each object. Adjust the specularity and diffuse of each texture.

Lighting can be accomplished with a series of spot lights, directional lights, and or point lights. My only requirement is that there be at minimum a key, fill, and back light. Which light you choose to be your key is completely up to you.

Render out a 150 frames from the camera that we created in the previous project and make those into a movie that can be posted onto Vimeo or Youtube. Post a link to your movie along with the .ma file into your Dropbox folder inside an assignment_07 folder (That was really wordy, read it a couple times and you'll get it).

Thanks you guys,

This has been a great semester. If you see me next semester and need help with Maya, just let me know.

:)

Light quality in final render	30%
Texture quality in final render	20%
Proper UV layout on fish	20%
Project Completeness	15%
Timeliness of Hand-in	15%

Tutorials!!!

 
Lighting:

For lighting, make sure you create a ground plane, otherwise we will not be able to see shadows being cast. These videos are to help give you a jump-start on lighting so you do not have to wait until after the Thanks Giving brake.

batch render

3-Point Lighting

renderSettings_andFinalGather

rayTrace_settings

(quick and basic)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlfcIIFD0WU

(three part series)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUS1CMhQmAM&feature=related

Texturing:

Unwrap_the_UVs

Large_list_of_texturing_tutorials_from_Kate

A library of new textures available in Maya 2012
substance_procedural_textures

Animation:

On all of these animation tutorials, do not try to do everything they do, just take the applicable information and apply it to your work.

(monotonous but super basic tutorial)
http://www.ehow.com/video_4445138_using-uv-mapping-maya.html?cp=1&wa_vrid=094a7b7d-a46b-4351-894a-ac95737d25ca&pid=1&wa_vlsrc=continuous 

(This guy is grumpy and sassy, but actually a pretty good tutorial on the graph editor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poB-nfnM_wA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6jYOjfw9cQ


Blendshapes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmNmdRKtcSs

Rigging:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLhCIlsdd6o

Paint Weights:(This is what you have to do after you rig your model)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TACB6bX8SN0

Extrude: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKwE_tzV7l8

Revolve:
http://vimeo.com/6916681

(this is one of the weirdest tutorials I have seen in a long time, but pretty informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDp-HAwbDXM

Sculpting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHbFZzfVXbY

Soft Select:
(way in depth...possibly a little too much)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl1utGRX9aw

Assignment 06: Animate the Fish :)

Project Due Date: April 3rd

For this exercise, develop an underwater scene containing all of the objects that we have created thus far. Import two copies of your fish. Animate the first fish moving from left to right. The fish should swim a short distance and nibble at one of the objects in the fish bowl around frame 60 and then back away slightly. The camera should track this fish. The other fish should swim into the scene from the right at about frame 30, in-between the first fish and the camera, and exit on the left side of the frame around frame 140. Animate the motion for both fish including the tails, fins and gills. Use the blend-shapes already developed for the eyelids. The fish movements should be key-framed.

Pay attention to the following:

1. the length of the animation should be 150 frames
2. the resolution should be set at 1280 x 720
3. the frames per second should be 24

You may need to adjust the lighting
Put the Maya file with the animation into the vist284 Dropbox, directory lesson 06. For the file headers, indicate the exercise and you name in the following format: "exercise9-JohnSmith.ma" or JohnSmith-animation.

The grades will be determined according to the following:

Composition of the scene during the animiation	30%
Smothness of the animation	20%
Camera tracking	20%
Project Completeness	15%
Timliness of Handin	15%

Assignment 05: Rig the Fish :)

Project Due Date: March 27

For this exercise, rig the fish model created in assignment 4. The rig should be complete, but you do not need to create controls or worry about FK or IK solutions unless you want to try.  The entire skeleton should be one connected system of joints. The mesh should be completely skinned/parented and controllable.

Pay attention to the deformation and 'folding' of the mesh that looks unrealistic. Weight painting is usually used to remove these problems. Add edge loops if needed to smooth the mesh and then go back to reskin your model again.

I have added some sweet tutorials to help with each of the topics covered in the assignment.

Put the .ma file into the vist284 Dropbox directory assignment_05 folder.

The grades will be determined according to the following:

Appropriate number and size of bones	20%
Completeness of mesh control	20%
Lack of folding meshes, problems with deformation	20%
Project Completeness	20%
Timliness of Handin	20%

Assignment 04: Model a Fish

Use polygon or box modeling techniques to create a properly scaled fish. Its important to model accurate proportions more than detail. Use the mirror geometry tool to duplicate geometry around the central axis of the fish. Pay special attention to creating edge loops around the mouth and eyes. You will need several sets of edge loops in order to properly open and close the eyes and mouth. Occasionaly check the model as smoothed ('3' key).

The fish should be modeled with fins extended, mouth and eyes open so that rigging will be easier as a later exercise. You may model the fish in the images, but can select your own as well. Upload the the referenced images in the Dropbox assignment folder.

Do not be concerned with materials or texture.

Put the .ma file into your assignment_04 folder in Dropbox along with a screen shot("print screen" on you keyboard) of the final modeled fish. Make sure when you do the print screen that you have the fish selected in "object" mode and be sure that we can see the entire fish.

The grades will be determined according to the following:

Proportions and Modeling Detail	20%
Topology Construction	20%
Subdivision surface appearance	20%
Completeness/Meeting Program Requirements	20%
Timliness of Handin	20%

Maya Cheat Sheet

CLICK HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assignment 03: Bridge and Rock

DUE  SEPT 28, 2012

For this exercise, we will explore a few additional tools for creating models. The bridge contains several elements; the beams, decking, railings, etc. The revolve tool can be used effectively to model the beams, the decking and the curved railings. Duplicate a single railing post and scale it as necessary to model the remaining posts. Clone the posts to create the second set on the backside of the bridge.

Model large flat stones that would support the bridge at the ends. Use a flat plane below to model the bed of the stream. It doesn't have to look exactly like the first image, but the flat stones should extend on either side of the bridge. These flat stones should have a natural appearance with curved linear edges.

Additionally, model a large rock similar to the one in the third image. Starting with a sphere, use the sculpt tool and soft-select tools.  Place this rock near the base of the bridge on the left. Be sure to smooth each of your models with the number "3" key.

Do not indicate any colors or textures for the model.

Turn-in the .ma file to the vist284 Dropbox folder.

The grades will be determined according to the following:

Model Proportions and scale	30%
Modeling Detail and appearance	30%
Completeness/Meeting Program Requirements	20%
Timeliness of Hand in	0%

Assignment 02: Japanese Lantern and Arch

Using the modeling techniques we have discussed, model the objects depicted in the images. Modeling usually starts with the research necessary to understand the object being modeled. How are the objects put together? How were these objects constructed? Spend a little time to collect information about these objects, details and other information you think pertinent. Add edge-loops and resolution only where necessary to smooth the model. 

A good way to start modeling is to use an existing image in the background so you can "model" over it (View/ImagePlane/ImportImage). This is a common and useful technique if you need to accurately replicate an object.

The shrine entrance is composed of 10 separate primitives. All dimensions can be determined from the diameter of the columns which are slightly tapered at the top. Include the concrete bases as well. Be sure to group all of this geometry inside your outliner and rename the group.

Do not indicate any colors or textures for the model. 

Turn-in the .ma file to the dropbox "vist_284_Maya" folder and inside your folder/assignment_02.

The grades will be determined according to the following:

Model Proportions and scale	40%
Modeling Detail and appearance	20%
Completeness/Meeting Program Requirements	20%
Timliness of Hand-in	20%

useful links:

http://students.autodesk.com/

http://usa.autodesk.com/maya/

www.digitaltutors.com

http://www.lynda.com/

Assignment 1: Primitive Robot

Assignment: Design and create a robot inside of Maya using only primitive shapes.

Objective: Learn the basic interface of Maya and how to navigate inside the 3D viewport.

Hints: The key to this assignment will be the navigation tools and becoming comfortable with the 3D viewport. Start by creating a primitive shape for the head. Select the shape and use the translate tools('W' on keyboard) to move the shape on the x, y, or z axis. Position the head so there is enough room for the body. Continue creating the rest of the body and positioning it in accordance with the head. Use the 'spacebar' to access the orthographic viewports and fine-tune position of body parts. Take advantage of duplicating tools, 'ctrl-D', to quickly create body.