3D Modelling unit 40 learning Aim A for btec media
- 1. Unit 40 learning Aim A
- 2. 3D coordinate systems There are 3 axis needed to work in 3D Shapes which are X, Y and Z. This is like a 2D system because it has an X and y axis but there's a 3rd axis which covers the depth of a shape and that is the Z axis. This is because if something is 2d is a flat object which makes it hard to move around, if its 3d then it has more depth, more detail on each side of the object, easy to navigate and improved the games experience by making it more real life and detailed. There are 2 ways on navigating through a 3d system: World A world is a huge platform where your shape is centred the world cannot be resized but can be moved so you can see different camera angles of an object, any new shapes you make will always come from the 0 point which is the centre of the world you have been given. Local When the object you selected becomes the origin of XYZ and you can move the object where you want in the world and only inside the world, you also can be able to resize the shapes in a 3D program.
- 3. Z up an Y up Z up and Y up refers to different 3D programs foundations coming from different sectors of industry. Z-UP refers to the Z axis being "upwards" and stems back to architectural drawings first using the X and Y Axis to create a floor plan for a building and then using the Z axis to work upward. 3DS Max uses this a so does Google Maps as they use more of a "world" view in their systems. Y-Up is similar tool that comes from animation working from left to right as a character would walk on screen or from an Observers point of view. The Z axis was used for depth rather than verticality and so the Y axis was the Upward axis. Maya Uses this along with other Open GL applications.
- 4. Perspective vs orthographic Perspective=This is a viewpoint that replicates a real- world eyesight perspective, which means if the user is far away from an object it will get smaller and smaller until you can't see it, like real life objects. Some examples of this viewpoint used in games are 2d side scrollers like Mario 3 or the first Sonic the Sonic Hedgehog game Orthographic=give a mechanical way of working and used for architectural models or specific games genres, this means you can move your camera angle and see each side of the shape and how would it look like in each side. I would choose orthographic because it looks real as it a 3D perspective of a games like Fortnite as it shows the whole world in a 3d view but perspective in a 2d game is only one camera angle like super Mario 3 as it is a 2d game that only lets you go left and right.
- 5. Geometric structure of models Individual points in three-dimensional space are called vertices. You can make a line or an edge by connecting vertices. A polygon is formed by joining edges to form a self-contained area. Polygons can then be joined together to form a larger shape, known as a mesh. Some current forms are utilised in games, such as the poly primitive in the Maya programme, which allows you to create various 3D shapes and extrude each one. This differs from spline modelling in that you must create a line from the line tool from the object you choose and extrude it to create a long shape that can be used to make a rope or chain. It is important for a game developer to use because it allows them to create long objects such as swords or steel chains. Each of the polygons within a shape is a face. All these elements can be manipulated during the modelling process. For example, if someone wants to make a 3rd person shooter, they will need to make the objects a high polycount so its detailed, which increases the rendering and processing time and makes it hard for any low powered device to run this game. But if something has a low count it will be easy to render and process because there is less polys to deal with. Vertices Edge Faces
- 6. Structures of different polygons A polygon's structure is made up of one of three things: triangles, quads, or Ngons. Quads are commonly chosen for polygons since they are easier to texture, and it is recommended practise to remap any triangles or Ngons into quads. Quads are better because it is easier to manipulate and add textures to it as it only has 4 vertices to manipulate, it is also smoother when making models, but Ngons has more edges which makes it hard to make the object smoother, as there is more vertices in an object.
- 7. Polygon modelling Modelling can be approached in different ways: Polygonal modelling- You begin with a 3D shape known as a primitive since it is its most basic form; examples include cubes, spheres, and cones. You may then scale, rotate, and translate the 3D object to add additional detail and complexity. The difference between polygonal modelling and NURBS is that in polygonal modelling you can choose a shape and able to resize it but in NURBS you can be able to curve the shape and bend it to however you want. Here is an example of poly modelling shapes:
- 8. Spline/curve Like the Line Tool in Editing software, you draw points to make a curve. You may then bend and form more complicated things with this line. These are frequently utilized in complicating designs such as vehicles, furniture etc. However, they are great at obtaining specific details on an object you are making. To modify the form of a spline, you utilize the red dots (vertex's) as Pivot Points and change each vertex to where you desire. Other vector-based apps, such as Adobe Illustrator, use them as well. Vectors are mathematical equations on how a line is formed this is used to make an object clean and straight, even if you scale the object, it won't look blurry as there is no pixels in each of the lines you have made. I have made an example on how to use a spline/curve, I used a software called maya to make a rope, first I have made 4 flat circles from the poly modelling section then I drew a swirly line by using the line tool, after that I wanted to change the angle of the line by changing the pivot point and extruded the 4 circles so it would fill the line I made, then I increased the offset level by 150 and twisted it by 1000 to make it look like a rope.
- 9. UV coordinates The UV coordinates correspond to the material you use to create your item. U and V are the axes for your material, just as XYZ is for the 3D world, because they are always 2D, not 3D, and the X and Y axes are already in use. This means there are some mapping methods for you to use on the internet, for example like: Planar, box, cylinder, spherical, unwrapped and pelt. These types of materials can be accessed through a website called free pdr, which is where you can get free non copyrighted materials and download it so you can use it for your projects. If someone wants to make a dice, then they must use the UV editor tool to layout the faces and put it in the right order and size so when you put the texture it will cover every side of the cube you have selected.
- 10. Materials used in 3D models In 3D programmes like Maya, a material refers to the substance that the item is formed of and how it b ehaves in your world. For example, like: Lambert, Blinn, Water, Rubber, Metal etc. A Material is usually distinct from a texture since it contains lighting information for your 3D programme; for example, a Metal material would be bright and have highlights, whereas fabric should not. To duplicate a picture of the 3D environment such as grass or brickwork, a texture is usually loaded into your 3D application on top of the object you made. I have used this example to show on how to add texture to a specific object, I have used a brown coloured floor to make it look like a floor and not an empty object, this is done by going to hypervisor and finding my texture and then applying that texture in one object which is the floor.
- 11. Collision Hulls In 3D modelling collision means 2 objects hitting each other to make a collision. e.g. In a fighting game when the opponent punches the character here is huge collisions between the face and the hand. A collision with a convex surface Hull is a layer that may be placed on the outside of any object to make collisions much easier. To keep the procedure easy, the hull on the exterior of the item is convex, but this typically means it doesn't get into all the face in the object. Positive Negative Collisions hulls makes the game experience real. Can take a player out of specific content of a game Change a dynamic of a game If an environment doesn't have a collision hull, it can be impossible to complete Can be tedious to add collision hulls in each object.
- 12. Examples of collision hulls This is my example of a collision hull. I demonstrated a collision between objects by using a bowl and a cup and inside the cup are water particles, I tilt the cup then the water fell to the bowl and made a collision.
- 13. Level Of Detail This relates to the degree of complexity in 3D models, which is related to the number of poly counts. Less processing power is needed if the object is far away from the user. This is beneficial since it will take less time to create a low poly model and less time to render because the game will render every second, this also means it will take less processing speed to make the low poly model, this eliminates latency and provides a better gaming experience for the user. This will also impose constraints on the developer, since they will be required to create a game with a specified poly count depending on the type of device on which it will be released.
- 14. Vertex colour information RGB colour can be assigned to vertices within a polygon, this is sometimes called the CPV which stands for colour Per Vertex data. Using this will reduce time of the developer because using an alpha map (also known as RGB colour), you can turn a flat tree texture into one with colour variation and depth. This is an advantage because it will take less time to render as there won't be no texture in the object and takes less processing power to generate an object. However, the disadvantages of this is that it looks bad and plain because without textures it wouldn't look real and might stop the gaming experience for the user.
- 15. Model constraints Each game you play from action and adventure, RPG or even a first-person shooter, all have models of characters and the objects around them, and each character or object can have a high polycount or a low polycount, if the object has a high polycount it can take a long time to render and process, this will depend on how much your processor and graphics card can handle, this can be a huge negative factor because a gaming developer need to consider how many polycount their game will contain, the higher the poly count, the greater the level of detail but rendering time increases, however the lower the poly count the less rendering time needed, if a game has a low poly count then It would look unfinished, not detailed and fake. This can also affect the gamers experience as they won't appreciate the game and stop playing. A developer also has to consider which console are they launching their game, if it’s a powerhouse console like the Xbox which can handle 20 million poly counts per second, this will make the game look detailed and real life.
- 16. Environmental meshes A 3D world is made up of different environments, and each environment must contain 3D meshes to make it look alive with different objects so it's real. A balance of quantity and quality must be found, since this must be as nice looking while still being done efficiently. Environmental meshes are used to construct 3D landscapes, whether for buildings or other structures. This must be done well since it is an important component of the world, but it will not receive all the attention, because you also must make the characters in your game and any other objects you may want in your game. This provides a characteristic to the location and may also define the atmosphere based on the visual style employed, resulting in a more immersive world.
- 17. This is a great example for a high polycount in a 3d environment, because it has more faces in one side of the wall and it is detailed, each brick has some scratch marks and some broken sides to make it look real, this makes it look interesting and engaging for a gamer, this can be for story-based games like uncharted or spiderman because it is detailed and realistic and something that a target audience would want. This is a good example of a low poly game because it has less faces and less objects meshed together, which dosent make the environment look real life, each of the rocks looks fake and less detailed, each of the trees don’t show leaves attached or falling on the groun and the water dosent look real as its all jaggedy and straight. However, this dosent mean is good or bad, this can be used for bright and animated games that is aimed for younger audience like kids that might prefer bight and simple colours. Some examples of games that companies implemented this are: superhot, morphite, clustertruck etc.
- 18. Modular meshes Modular meshes for 3D environments are used to produce quick environments with minimal tiling models and maximum flexibility by using copyright free meshes from the internet. To make this effective, make sure that the grid for the 3D package is the same as the grid for the engine for which you're going to construct the model. To save time while designing many models, modular meshes may be reused. Modular meshes, such as piping for walls, may be created into kits so that developers and designers can reuse them to speed up the process for any projects that they may use it in, this will reduce time effort on objects that don't need attention to detail. The advantages of this type of mesh is that it takes less time to make the game as you didn’t make some the environments like trees, walls or floor because it is not something important in your game, which helps you out for you to concentrate on the characters and any important objects, the disadvantage of this is that other people can use the same modular as you which makes your game less stand out to the gaming market.
- 19. This is a disadvantage because if you look up for a specific gun in poly pizza it only gives you 4 which means everyone will have the same design of ak47 which makes your game less attractive and more copied which means less people will buy the game
- 20. Rigid Bodies Rigid bodies is a mechanical system when programmed can act under your controls, this uses the elements of physics and gravity to make the gaming experience more realistic because it makes you as the gamer go inside the game and feel every steep your character is taking Rigid bodies can be affected by different physics such as Mass= How much weight does an object have, this depends if the object is heavy then is hard to carry, if the object is light then it's easy to carry Drag= This determines if the object has any air resistance when it moves, this depends on the weight and how fast it reaches its terminal velocity. Gravity= This decides whether an object will be pulled down by the weight of gravity or not. For example, like dropping a heavy dumbbell on the floor or even dropping needles on the floor it doesn't matter how heavy or light something the only thing that matters is that gravity is acting upon the object to make it fall. This is important because it can make an immersive gameplay for the user as is implemented in real life if something is off for the example the drag is too slow it can break the gaming experience for the user and can make less immersive.