architectural walkthroughs

3D can be used to create architectural walkthroughs. Architectural walkthroughs are made using 3D modelling software such as Autocad and their purpose is to provide architects and their clients with a realistic view of a building/structure from several view and angles before it is actually built in real life.
Architectural walkthroughs can include the interior of buildings and can include furniture and interior decoration to give an insight into the potential of the building. It is common for the 3D model of the building/structure to include a 3D environment this will help to communicate how the building will look in the area it is going to be built as well as adding realism to the walkthrough. Sometimes animated 3D models of people and cars are used to show how the building will be used by people.

This example clearly illustrates how 3D is used in architectural walkthroughs to demonstrate how a building and its surrounding area would look from several angles and viewpoints and also how people would use the building. The example shows specific viewpoints of the 3D building model from the exterior and the interior. It also shows how 3D models such as landscape,trees,people and cars, have been used to add a sense of reality to the walkthrough.

Plug-ins

Plug – ins are pieces of software that extend the function of other pieces of software so it can do more than it did before. Plug-ins have specific purposes which can be anything from enhancing graphics to encryption to translating a language. In 3D you can get plug-ins for 3D modelling software such as Carrara which allow you to do things that you could not before you had the plug-in, For example there are plug-ins for Carrara that give you more shaders to choose from or let you add fur to your 3D models or even increase the quality of your rendering. Plug-ins give 3D artists more options and allowing them to be more creative.

This example shows how a plug-in increases the functionality of 3D software. It illustrates the new effects that can be achieved on a 3D model in Carrara with a Plug-in. The particular plug-in shown in use in this example was called “anything grows” and adds fur to Carrara. The Plug-in “anything grows” that was used to add hair to this 3D model of a bee has extended the functions of Carrara, because before the plug-in was installed it was not possible to add fur to 3D models in Carrara.

Concept art - graphics tablet recommended

here is some of the concept art I did for stop-motion in photoshop, I did not use a graphics tablet. Id swriously recommend using a graphics tablet.

Freelance work - taking advantage of design students

Ill admit the feeling you get the first time someone asks you to do some ACTUAL PAID WORK for them is pretty amazing,The outcome-not so amazing. I think its disgraceful that "clients" think they can abuse the fact that your a student and literally take you for a ride. I had one women ask me to do her 9 year olds homework for her (the nerve) for nothing, she was really rude about it to. I managed to get my teacher to get me out of it (luckily).

The first actual "paid work" I got (and I use the term paid work loosly) was a pencil drawing of someones pets, I told one of my tutors about this and they told me about this women who wanted a greetings card made for somebodys birthday based on a very private joke.

basically this womens sister was going out fora meal with her husband and her mother and the mother liked to give some money towards the meal,anyway a freak gust of wind blew the tenner out of her hand and into a feild with some goats in, anyway the husband (chris) dived bombed over this fence and apparently grabbed the tenner just before the goats did, and everyone in the restaurant were clapping in the window.

This was the first image I drew, the perspective was a little (ok a lot) out on the restaurant, so it had to be changed.
I dont mind showing people my mistakes, because human beings make mistakes, its whether or not we choose to learn from them and I did, my illustration was all the better for it too.
here is my corrected version in colours (mistakes learned from)

I did not have a graphics tablet at the time or a usb mouse so I had to tediously colour it in (i mean render it)using my laptop, I used colour on low opacity in photoshop to get the effect I wanted.
I reserached everything in the image including goats ect all in all it was about 5 hours of my time.
As you can see I have rectified the "mistakes" the perspective is better on the restaurant (though looking back at it now it is not perfect).

Graphic Design - More than just pretty pictures

We had a project over the summer that was to design an anti theft poster for Donnington Park.Now i'll be the first to admit that Graphc design isnt my thing, I thought I could just look at examples of others work that looked cool and apply the same layout and colour scheme to my design and bravo, my tutors would love it.

OH. HOW WRONG I WAS.

It turns out that good graphic design is way more than just pretty pictures, as a result my two poster designs suffered some harsh criticism, it was a real eye opener for me to have my work slated like this. I was out of ideas the only thing I could think of doing was to take the criticism on board and learn from it. I did just that.

Failed Graphic Design 1

The problem with this design was there was too much going on, the design took emphasis from the meaning of the poster. The image I had used was not very clear either.

Failed graphic design 2

I really liked the whole target idea and I was determined to hang on to it, I just had to find away to communicate the anti theft message without just making a pretty picture like I had done with my previous designs.I really like the yellow and black colour scheme though.

After much thought I experimented with making the target out of the items that where particularly at risk from being stolen at donnington park such as cars and bikes and also theft of personal items of those attending the download festival such as mobile phones and laptops.

This was a practice design, my tutor really liked it and he suggested that I make a collage and play about with it in photoshop.

I took a photograph of the collage and messed about with conrast in photoshop, when the police saw this design they liked it but they suggested that I included everything that could be nicked in the poster.
my tutor told me that I needed to take my own pictures also so I took advantage of the kids in class "love of technology" and swiped there ipads phones and pods so that I could snap a few sneeky pictures.

There where some errors with this pic so I decided to rectify this by positioning the pictures inside the target so that I could make sure there were not any bits cut off.

The final design, more than just a pretty picture.

Object animation

Object animation

Object animation refers to the use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items. Object animation is the earliest form of stop-motion animation, and involves photographing an object and moving it a tiny bit, and then photographing it again. Although this is very time-consuming, it’s also one of the easiest forms of stop-motion, although it quickly becomes complex when you’re dealing with multiple objects and trying create unique events for each different object.

Pioneers of object animation

One of the pioneers of object animation was Emile Cohl,he was not the first person to use stop-motion animation but the influence which he has had on the shape of stop-motion animation is invaluable, , One of the reasons object animation took off animation was down to the huge success of the film "The Haunted Hotel", released by Vitagraph and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. It premièred in Paris in April 1907 and immediately there was a demand for more films using its incredible object animation techniques. Before Cohl's work, object animation was used only as a novelty in "trick" films, such as those done by George Melies and J. Stuart Blackton where object animation was used for animating the letters in the title of the film. Cohl was greatly inspired by J Stuart blackton and it was said that Cohl studied his films frame by frame to discover how they were made. Cohl expanded the form so that an entire story could be told using animation,without him taking that extra step in creating entire films using stop motion animation we may not recognize the technique as the art form which it is today.

Early object animation

Emile Cohl impressed audiences with his object animation “the automatic moving company”in 1910, the target audience was adults because this early example was made to impress although i'm sure children of the time would have also appreciated it. The film begins with some unseen persons opening a letter and learning about a family that needs there furniture moved. Instead of seeing the movers, the belongings seem to move themselves and decorate the new apartment The automatic moving company is one of the most technically accomplished early stop-motion films known. The task of moving bureaus and dressers fractions of inches, photographing,moving again then photographing again at 24 shots per second of film must have been a very slow and painstaking process. Once the film is run, the objects appear to move on their own. It's a little crude, but very effective and amazing for the era.

still from the short film “the automatic moving company” by Emile Cohl

Modern object animation

a modern example of stop motion animation is the brick film Aimed at a universal audience. The brick film was recently made popular by the availability of cheap cameras and animation software and the growth of video sharing sites such as you tube The brick film uses animated Lego or other similar plastic construction toys. The Lego is brought to life by moving each piece/character slightly between frames. The advantages of using Lego for object animation is that your characters are ready made, stable and easy to move without worrying about them breaking or smudging (like clay). You also have the makings for the sets with the right scale. The characters stay in position thanks to the use of a plug board surface. The main role of the brick film is for entertainment purposes and is a popular medium for the amateur animator because the Lego is ready made and ready to use. Brick films are often used now to help the Lego group advertise each new series. These advertisements for toys are targeted at children.

Still from the first brick film by Lindsay fleay

I have included another modern example of object animation because I think it is relevant to the points I want to make about the appropriate use of the object animation technique.

still from the object animation “robot chicken” by Seth green

this animation “ robot chicken” combines object animation with other variations of stop motion animation and is targeted at pre-teen children, the reason I have included it as an example is because I think object animation works better when combined with other animation. With object animation you are limited to animating simple objects but when combined with another type of stop-motion more character Is added to the animation for example a toy car can easily be animated and would be classed as object animation but when a puppet is animated driving the car this gives the object animation more life to it that is why I object animation works so well with other animation techniques.

Comparing the early and modern examples of object animation

when I first watched the film the automatic moving company I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with the general atmosphere of the film. I always thought that one of the roles of animation was to give life to objects being animated and although the furniture moved around I thought it failed to do that. The early and current examples were both intended for entertainment purposes but I thought the automatic moving company lacked a certain magic that was recognisable in the modern object animations. I thought that the reason for this was probably down to the advances in technology and the quality that comes with it. There is probably about 100 years between the early and current animations and the poor quality of the early film contrasts noticeably with the polished technical aspects of the modern movies. There is also the fact that modern animation has colour. whereas the older animation did not have this option. Its surprising that a simple detail such as colour could change a viewers perspective and I think this would have added to the character of the early animation . I think that back in 1910 the film would have been appreciated more and was really advanced for its time but I think in the modern day very few people would appreciate the work that went into making it.
I think that object animation is very basic as far as stop-motion animation goes, so I think to make it into something spectacular it is best to mix it with other forms of animation such as puppet animation, for example a toy car can be animated but it has a greater effect when a stop-motion puppet appears to be driving the car. I also think that object animation is appropriate for magic sequences in films where objects need to move as if by magic.

Ethical issues for interactive media

We are learning about ethical issues in interactive media this week, during my research I found an example of this. A flash game that was really racist.
basically you have to click on the black man who is running back and forth along the street, when you do he opens his coat revealing bombs and he blows up, you get points depending on the number of civilians that you "blow up".

I dont know what was going through the mind of the person that made this game, I suppose they did it for a "laugh" who knows. I certainly didnt find it funny.
why dont you take a look for yourself?

The role of stop-motion animation

In its beginning stop-motion animation was typically used in the portrayal of stories that would appeal to all audiences, This was of course made popular in later years by such animators as George pal, Emile Cohl and Willis O’Brien. The early role of stop-motion animation was to make objects appear to move as if by magic. In recent years stop-motion animation has been adapted for other purposes such as advertising and commercial entertainment. Stop-motion animation allows the viewer to be submerged into another world all together and it is limited only by human imagination , boundless in its ability to recreate reality. The reason that stop- motion animation is so appealing is because it has a universal appeal meaning that it is appreciated by everyone, it is a medium where anything is possible.
Different types of stop- motion animation
Stop motion is an animation technique that makes a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved ever so slightly between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. There are several different types of stop motion animation these are object animation, puppet animation, claymation and pixilation.