This week I have found that I can see how some of the concepts covered until this point can come together in the production process.
After the pre-production and modelling phases of the pipeline, UV mapping is necessary to allow an object to correctly position or map a texture to the 3D model that has been created (Auto Desk Inc, 2016).
While these concepts have been more firmly planted in my mind over the few weeks, in practice I am still constructing my treasure chest model which is almost ready for UV mapping. I have understood and I am now comfortable with most of the techniques I have used to model my asset to this point. I have repeatedly used inset, extrude and connect to model however the snap tool is a tool I find to be unpredictable and difficult to use.
While snapping primitives in the first test model we made in class I can see how it works in principle. However when the model was no longer just a simple primitive snapping to another primitive, for example edge to edge its harder to predict how the snap tool will affect the model. navigation is becoming a bit more comfortable in 3Ds max, however everything still seems very foreign.
The symmetrical method for modelling has continued in class and I find that I can grasp why it is used and also the benefits but I am continuing with the method shown in the tutorial videos still as I am finding it easier to grasp what I am modelling as a 3D object. I plan to do this for this treasure chest to first become familiar with how the specific tools and methods of creating forms in 3Ds work.
The snap tool continues to be a struggle for me. It is use with the grid and use with symmetrical modelling that I find hard and I will try to improve my practical understanding of the snap tool.
My model is at the stage that I have begun to create the lid of my treasure chest, again I repeat the process with the base and start with a basic box. As I understand it, it is important to create the lid with dimensions that almost exactly match the base. There is a small amount of leeway because of alterations that will be made to the lid as well as the fact the lid will sit on top of the chest and therefore can be slightly larger as it may be in real life. After creating the box I have added extrusions at the side which will become the metal straps on the top of my lid. I have intentionally made this quite large so it will become a prominent feature of the model.
The model is at a point that still requires changes to the base. The panels are not quite right and I would like to alter how they look. I have been trying to keep in mind suitability of style and will alter the treasure chest to have a cartoon feel, I aim to achieve this by exaggerating some of the treasure chests dimensions.
References
figure 1. Treasure chest model with lid. (Wyld,2016). Production Pipeline.
Inc, A. (2016). 3d Modelling & rendering software. Retrieved April 7, 2016, from http://www.autodesk.com.au/products/3ds-max/overview
LUMINOUS OAK 