Vocab #4

Got another vocab assignment that I have to do, and once again I have to come up with a way to say the definition in my own words and I need pictures to go with it. This time however, I have a larger list of words that I have to work with.

Displacement Mapping: A mapping technique used in computer graphics that uses a texture height map.

Bump Mapping: A mapping technique used in computer graphics that is often used to create bumps or wrinkles on the surface of an object.

Rendering: The use of color and shading to outline an object and make it seem three-dimensional.

Alpha Channel: A mask that decides how colored pixels merge with surrounding colored pixels.

NURBS vs Polygons: NURBS are models used in computer graphics to represent curves and surfaces. Polygons are figures with at least three sides, edges, and vertices . In computer graphics, NURBS have more faces while polygons only have enough faces to create the shape.

Tiling: A way of arranging identical shapes so that they competely cover an area without overlapping.

Skinning: The covering of an object with a "skin".

Aperture: A gap or hole that allows for the passage of light.

Shutter Speed: The amount of time that a shutter is open when taking a picture.

Focal Legnth: The space between a lense and it's focus.

Dolly: The movement of  a camera on a mobile platform.

Pan: The movement of a camera on a vertical or horizontal plane usually used to follow a subject.

Robot Postponed, Video Game Project Started

Sorry that I haven't done any work the last week. I was on Spring Break last week. Anyways, I won't be working on the robot project until sometime next week due to the fact that my teacher assigned a project where you have to make a concept for a video game and present the idea. I'll be working with one of my classmates, Kade, during this time. Check out his website: http://3dgraphicssorensen.blogspot.com

Robot Sketch So Far

First off, I apologize for not posting anything on Wednesday. I was working on my robot sketch and lost track of time. I've scanned the sketch so far, but its incomplete. I'm almost done with it though, I just need to finish the hands, body and the legs, which may have to be drawn on another sheet of paper.

Update 9/18/15: This is the Maya robot project I mentioned in my earlier post today. It still has some work that needs to be done, but I am close to finishing it up. I'll bring scans of the finished work once that comes around. I'll probably begin working with what I have currently on Tuesday.

Robot Concept Ideas

After a lot of thinking, I started a thinking map full of ideas for my robot project in my 3D class. Since I spent more time working on it, I think I am going to use the GrimSevMk-I and SolIbis bot pair, but I might decide to do something else based on how complicated this gets. Here is a screenshot of the concept map at the moment.

I apologize for not posting much last week, I had to do a ton of testing. :(

100% Complete Temple

It took a lot longer than it probably should have, but I finally completed the temple that I was working on. Getting the decoration on the roof of the temple took the longest because I was trying to use a torus (which didn't work at all) instead of using a partial sphere and scaling to the proper size.

Beveling

This class I worked with beveling (or rounding edges) in Maya. The process of beveling is a little weird but basically you select the edges of a shape (or the shape as a whole) and use Edit Mesh>Bevel in order to bevel a shape. You can control how many segments a shape is beveled into, and you can also control the offset of the beveling. In the top row I edited the number of segments beveled and in the bottom row I edited the offset of the beveling. The first image shows the number of edges in each bevel while the second image shows how smooth the edges are after beveling.

Deformers

Today my teacher asked that the class messed with the deformers in Maya so that we knew how they work. There are six of them, and I have to use all six and make screenshots of them being used. I will also have to make two screenshots of multiple deformers being stacked (used at the same time). I will also make a screenshot of the original shape so that you can tell what's happening.

Original Shape:

Bend Deformer: Bends the shape from the center.

Flare Deformer: Moves one end of the shape and either makes it wider or more narrow.

Sine Deformer: Makes waves (can't think of a better work XD) using the shape. The frequency (amplitude) changes based on the wavelength.

Squash Deformer: Squishes or extends the shape. The point where this occurs is based on the Max Expand Position.

Twist Deformer: Twists the original shape. The angle of the twist is determined by the start angle. The number of twists is determined by the end angle.

Wave Deformer: Creates a wave pattern using the shape. Amplitude and wavelength determine what the wave looks like. Offset determines the pattern of the wave.

Squash+Twist:

Sine+Wave+Flare: