Rotation 3: 3D Worlds

1.1 Session 1: Introduction to Maya

This was my first time using Maya. This session felt very intense and rigorous in terms of retaining all the basic functions and having to apply them to manipulate 3D shapes from their simplest forms. Nonetheless, I feel I was able to keep up and confident that I can successfully apply some of the basic functions. I was particularly proud of the flowers I duplicated in which I intend to potentially apply this to my final poly environment. However, when it came to more complex forms such as creating a fish from a cube I was struggling to visualise the final structure of the fish. While the software is not intuitive, I feel with some more basic tests I will become acclimatised to the process and adapt to anticipating the core shape of a structure. Overall, I am looking forward to building an environment and expanding my knowledge and understanding of various Maya processes.

1.2 Session 2: Rendering on Maya

I found this lesson to be more intense and difficult. I struggled to keep up and absorb all controls efficiently with the pace of the class. Nonetheless, I was still able to experiment with textures and lighting as well as controlling the direction of the light. I was most intrigued with applying light as I intend to make lighting a highly potent part of my final poly world. My biggest takeaway from this lesson was also that while Maya can be taught second-hand the best way to learn the software is to immerse myself in it firsthand and take risks in playing around, discovering its possibilities and limitations. In regards to this, I am worried to get to the rendering portion of the project as I wasn’t able to retain all controls, however to alleviate this I intend to download Maya, watch tutorials and experiment with various functions until I become familiar and confident with the rendering portion of the process. In terms of the modelling portion, I feel relatively confident and feel I can make a poly world that meets my expectations.

1.3 Week 1: Work in Progress

For my low poly world I predominately derived inspiration from ‘Gravity Falls’ and Tim Burtons ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ in hopes of creating an eerie an ominous scene, mimicking the structural forms, lighting and colour palette eminent in both works. When sketching the possible outcome of the poly worlds, I considered creating an array of houses but found that this contradicted the alienated and fearful ambiance I was aiming to evoke, hence I settled on creating a linear isolated house on a floating island. I further derived inspiration from the concept of a mesocosms to accurately achieve this isolated atmosphere. In terms of exploring colour palettes, I wanted to heavily rely on dull cool tones to amplify the ominous mood and insinuate that the time of day is nightfall. I am mainly applying purple as my core colour as I feel this will compliment the orange glow of the moon as they are opposite each other on the colour wheel. Finally, when it came to the modelling process, I found the process to be highly enjoyable and my favourite part of the project thus far. I watched a tutorial on how to use the mesh tools to create the base of the island and from then on proceeded to play around with various functions. I heavily relied on the duplicate special function and extrude tool to add depth and dimension to my work, I tried to avoid boring repetition and attempted to vary the forms of different features/elements as much as possible. I did struggle at points to create the desired form from the basic shapes but the more I used the vertex mode function the more acclimatised and efficient I became with the software. As an extension, I would like to try reconfiguring cubes to add rocks and bare branches to amplify the feel that this is a house that should not be entered. To expand the project further, we were taught how to create the simulation of a cloth hence I may choose to apply this technique to add a ghost to my world and base a narrative around this.

Tutor Feedback:

• In terms of clearly communicating the narrative try adding tombstones, bare trees or a do not enter sign to insinuate that this is restricted territory or a haunted house.
• To avoid boring repetition and to increase the realism of the world, vary the height of the trees and tilt some as in actuality they wouldn’t all grow the same height and linear.
• As a suggestion a print of a moon like texture could be added to the moon, enhancing the overall visuals.

1.4 Week 2: Production Principles

In this session, we reviewed camera angles and composition. I was intrigued by how camera angles are overlooked yet play a pivotal role in regulating the storyline and dictating the emotions of the viewer. At points, I did find it challenging to recognise and categorise the type of composition and shots from the examples we reviewed but managed to decipher it to some degree. I applied these principles to decipher the composition of Arcanes Closing scene. Additionally, we reviewed how to recognised the climax and resolution of a scene I which I hope to apply this knowledge to effectively communicate the narrative of my poly world.

1.5 Week 2: Rendering and Final Presentation

I was initially nervous to start the rendering process as I wasn’t able to keep up as efficiently in class when reviewing the functions. Nonetheless, I relied on various youtube tutorials and resource documents on pallet to familiarise myself with the process at my own pace. Overall, this was one of my favourite processes from the entirety of the project as I felt my world was coming together and becoming real in a sense. I initially solely relied on directional light as my dominant source. I liked how it accented the shadows and defined my chosen colour palette but it didn’t instigate an eerie atmosphere which was a potent element to my world. Alternatively, I experimented with area light and atmosphere volume but this concealed the forms present. While I liked this ambiguity in a sense, the forms played a pivotal role in my narrative so they could be concealed. Hence, I applied atmosphere fog in a subdued manner alongside green and yellow area lights to induce a cryptic feel and ominous ambiance, whilst still defining the shape and dimensions of the structures. As an extension, I would have liked to experiment with purple area lights to build on the inspiration I derived from Tim Burtons Work colour palettes. Additionally, purple is commonly associated with celestial spaces hence I would have liked to see if my world would have appeared more mythical yet cryptic with subtle purple tones. Overall, I was enthralled by the final outcome. I feel the emission I applied to the moon and windows adds a subtle glow that compliments the area lights.

I struggled with choosing three shots that effectively encapsulates my narrative. I predominately relied on POV shots to insinuate the presence of a character without having to actually model it. With more time I would have liked to model a character as I feel this would add to communicating the storyline and provide more context to the environment. I would have also liked to add a skill with heart eyes to the tomb to communicate the fact that his late wife is buried in these grounds. Overall, I was very pleased with the final outcome of my world and I reached my desired outcome. When showing it to a peer from outside the course she was able to recognise the reference to Tim Burtons work which I was very pleased about.