Texturing & Environment Design

Create an office building with 6+ floors, in Maya using a simple Cube.

Poly count: 6 faces / 12 triangles (can be rectangular) Texture: 1024x1024 diffuse, specular, and bump map JPGs

The easiest way to do this is to first find a photo of a building that was taken straight-on, so the windows are lined up horizontally & vertically. Use the Transform->Perspective tool in Photoshop to ensure your floors are perfectly lined up.

Example tutorial, start with an image like the one below:

Click Keep Reading to see the tutorial:

Congrats on making it to the end of the term everyone! I’ve been impressed with the quality of work you’ve delivered this semester, and I love seeing people taking the initiative to explore new boundaries. 

January was a rough start but everyone banded together and helped each other out, spending time in the lab is crucial to success! Remember the reason why we’re here is not only to broaden our skills and improve the quality of our art, but to bounce creative energy off of one another . Being with so many others with the same love of animation, games, and popular culture is a rare gift. Make friends, have fun, and trust one another! 

Please consider rating me on Rate My Professor, it’s my first year as a professor so I’d appreciate feedback! If there’s something you wish we’d covered, I might be able to add it to future classes.

No class next week, have a great summer everyone! 

Preproduction: Find Reference by Feb 28 (Tuesday)

Find 10+ images from movies, video games, and real photographs to use as inspiration for your room; interesting objects, textures, lighting, etc.

Stage 1: Model a 3D Room

Create a Sci-fi room in Maya that uses a variety of mental ray lights

You can use Maya textures and/or UV unwrap as needed

It should have an entrance & exit (can be a hallway, door, ladder, teleporter, open vent, manhole, etc)

Create a camera at the entrance, at eye-level, facing the general direction of the exit; as if we just walked into the room.

Professional level examples: https://www.artstation.com/search?q=scifi%20room&sorting=recent

Stage 2: Model Objects

Use the same large, medium, small approach when modeling objects.

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/primary_secondary_and_tertiary_shapes/primary_secondary_and_tertiary_shapes.htm

Think Big, Medium, Small

Equipment inside the room tells us what room it is. Notice the objects in this room from Dead Space give us clues to it’s function.

Large Shapes - The shapes formed by the walls, ceiling, and floor should tell us what kinds of stuff goes into the room. The walkways should be thought out as if people worked there and were given enough space to do their jobs. Think of real world locations and how wide the doors are.

cozy living space - hallways wide enough for 1

warehouse - paths wide enough for forklifts

cafeteria - walkways wide enough for people to pass

hospital - halls wide enough for two surgical tables to pass

Centerpiece(s) - model a large object with a recognizable silhouette  that tells us what the room is used for, for example:

medbay: surgical tables

server room: computers

power station: generator/reactor

tram station: train

Supporting Symbols & Objects - 2-3 smaller 3D models that reinforce the visual clues given by the centerpiece, and often use color and common signs or symbols like red cross, radiation warning, Hazardous Biological Waste, electricity, poison, flamable, XRays, etc.

Stage 3: Add Lighting

Once the room is modeled and populated with objects, create 3 lighting schemes.

Normal/Operational lighting

Warning/Hazard lighting

Danger/Emergency lighting

Here are some concepts & screenshots of Med-Bays, notice the:

large shapes (curved, inviting shapes on walls, doors, lights)

centerpieces (beds or surgical tables)

supporting objects with symbols (lockers, medical equipment)