I followed the tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbzBq7vMm8M
I started by creating a hedra, and set the parameters to give me the football-like shape. I extruded all of the edges to give it shape, and used the tessellate tool so I could use spherify to make it rounded.
Finally, I used a meshsmooth modifier to create the football.
To make the plate, I took a cone and deleted the top. I created the inside of the plate and used cap to close the gap.
To make the bowl, I created a cylinder and modified the shape to make the bowl. I then cloned the bowl, scaled it to make it smaller, and used the boolean tool to remove it from the inside.
I finished it using a meshsmooth modifier, and a semi-transparent texture.
I followed the tutorial at http://www.gabrieleprotti.com/PAGES/tutorial/scarpa/makingoftheshoe.htm
I started out with a cube, and used extrude and bevel to create the basic shape. I then moved the vertices until it formed the shape of the shoe.
I began working on the inside of the trainer by selecting the inside polygons and bevelling/extruding down and inwards.
Once I reached the end of the shoe, I removed the top part of the shoe where the tongue would be shown. I created new polygons to fill in the gaps.
I selected the final polygon and cut it in half. From this, I extruded/bevelled along the top inside of the shoe. This continued until it reached the top, where I enlarged it to form the end of the tongue.
I selected various areas and defined their material IDs, so it would be simple to add a texture.
I added a turbosmooth modifier, and used an FFD (Box) to alter the shape to make it look more like a trainer.
To remove the FFD (Box) from the scene, I took a snapshot of the mesh, and deleted the original.
I started out by using a spline to draw the shape of the cake’s base. I converted this into an editable poly, and extruded upwards to form the body of the cake. I left edges in the middle to show where the filling would be.
For the cream detail on the edge, I took a sphere, converted it into an editable poly and collapsed the top to form the outer ring. I cloned this, scaled and rotated to form the inner ring. I added a sphere in the middle to finish it off, and used the boolean tool to join it all together.
To create a bite in the cake, I created an imprint using cylinders, scaled and bent to create teeth marks, and proboolean to put it together. Once it was finished, I cloned it and used boolean to subtract it from the cake.
Next, I used UVW Unwrap to create the texture for the cake.
And the finished model.
I followed the tutorial at http://www.puffle.co.uk/software/3DSMaxTyreTutorial.pdf
I started out using a Quad patch, end using the edit patch modifier to alter the position of the vertices. I created the grooves first, by selecting the rows/columns and altering the transform position.
Next I lowered the middle sections to give the tyre tread shape.
After this, I selected the inner patches and extruded them to make it 3D. I then lowered each side and added a quad patch to start forming the sides of the tyre.
I used the FFD (box) modifier to make it curve slightly, and pulled out a vertex to create a lip on the inner rim. I mirrored and cloned this to the other side to create the first tyre segment and used the boolean tool to join all of the pieces together.
After this, I cloned the piece till I had 10, and used boolean to attach them all together.
I used a bend modifier to create the full tyre shape.
I needed to create a centre for the tyre, so I used a cylinder and set it at the edge of the inner rim. I cloned this and the tyre was complete.
After creating my model, I needed to find out what was the best method of animating it.
Bone structure
After trying various tutorials and techniques, I decided that this method didn’t give me the type of movement and control that I required for my animation. The movement needs to be more liquid than rigid.
Reactor soft body
After deciding that my blob would be closer to jelly than solid, I searched for jelly tutorials and found one that used reactor and soft body.
While this showed promise at first, as soon as I turned the settings up to what I needed, the animation went haywire and flew off the screen. It obviously wasn't designed for the geometry of the model I am using.
Deformable FFD (Box)
This spacewarp proved to be the best out of the three, allowing me to have simple controls by having only a few box segments, and more advanced by increasing the segments. It allowed me to control all aspects and gave the right flexibility of movement.
Firstly, to create the basic shape I used a large sphere, converted it to an editable poly, and removed the top. I then flattened it using the scaling tool. I cloned this sphere, scaled the new one down and placed it on top. I removed the bottom from this, and welded it to the piece beneath. I repeated this process for the topmost section.
I then played with the edges till the shape was smoother. This was the result:
I added the spheres on the inside to create the feel of depth, as well as highlighting the translucency. They also give the effect of being alien.
I then created his eye using a tutorial, it is a simple sphere with an altered hemisphere setting.
The scene will consist of the road, the pavement and the table. There will be a grate on the road, cake, plate and glass bowl on the table.
Possible background features could be a house, trees and clouds.
The football will enter late in the animation.
Various designs for the initial blob, number 5 was chosen for the final model.
After researching various possible types of characters and storylines, I’ve decided on what I will be creating.
First, the character I will create:
Type: Extra Terrestrial
Body Type: No bones, semi transparent, “blob”
Special abilities: Transform into any object
Likes: Sweet food, exploring, anything non-blob
Dislikes: People
I have picked this type because it should be fairly simple to model, but with texturing, should looks pretty good. Animation may be tricky, as I don’t know which method will work best, but it will be looked in to. Animating a personality may be tricky as well, as it will require features for expressions.
The story I have picked:
This “blob” is an alien that crashed to earth on a meteorite, and ended up in the sewer after falling through an open manhole. Upon climbing out, the blob looks around to check out his surroundings. Almost immediately, he gets flattened by a car’s tyres, but springs back to life, this time in the shape of a tyre. While flat, he notices a piece of cake that’s been left on a table.
He rolls to the edge of the road, and up onto the pavement, where he gets flattened again by someone walking past. He springs up again, but this time in the shape of a shoe. He hops over to the table and looks up, but a football knocks the table over.
After being narrowly missed by the table, the blob seems relieved, and becomes ecstatic when the cake lands right next to him. He moves towards it, but a glass bowl lands on top , blocking the way.
The blob appears sad, and shrinks down on his own this time. Only to slowely rise again, looking like the cake. “Happy birthday” music plays softly in the background as a candle rises from the blob-cake, the camera zooms out and the screen fades to black, with the music still going.
I picked this story because it’s the traditional character that you’ll feel sorry for, but can also laugh at his expense. It should hopefully convey different emotions in the viewer as the story progresses.
If there is enough time, I would like to put a scene with the meteorite landing into the manhole.
Edits
After reviewing different types of possible characters that I could do, the next step is to review different storylines and plots of animations, before I make my final decision on the character.
Feature films
Toy Story 1
This film is based on the premise that toys come to life when no humans are looking. In this first film, a new toy (Buzz) is introduced to a collective group. Buzz doesn’t realise that he is in fact, a toy, and begins a mission to get back to his home planet. The main character (Woody), gets jealous when their owner (Andy) decides to take Buzz instead of Woody to a party at Pizza Planet. Woody attempts to go instead, but ends up knocking Buzz out of the window, making the other toys believe he got rid of him on purpose.
Woody is taken, but Buzz survives and jumps onto the car, confronting Woody at a gas station. The two get left behind and the next part is them making their own way to pizza planet.
Once there, Buzz climbs inside a claw machine, thinking it is a spaceship that will take him back to his home planet. Woody attempts to rescue him, but they both are then captured by Sid, a child known for destroying toys, and a neighbour of Andy.
In the next part of the film, the pair meet the “mutant” toys that Sid has created, as well as his vicious dog. Buzz realises that he is a toy, and loses the will to go on, while Sid prepares to launch him with a firework, and Andy prepares to move house next door.
Woody convinces Buzz that life is worth living, and with the help of the other toys, escapes and after a series of events, gets back to Andy.
Over the hedge
In this film, animals can talk and are given human characteristics and personas. A bunch of animals wake up after hibernation, and find that they’re patch of forest is the only bit left, after the rest has been destroyed and replaced by rows of new houses.
Elsewhere, RJ is a raccoon that sneaks into a bear’s lair and attempts to steal all the food he has collected. The bear catches him, and the food ends up being destroyed by a passing truck. The bear threatens him, and RJ promises to get the food back.
RJ meets the animals, and uses them to raid houses on the estate to collect food for their hibernation, when in reality it was to give it to the bear. After gaining their trust, and his deadline coming up, RJ betrays the animals and runs off with the food. At this time, animal control had been called, and the animals are captured, being driven away in the van.
RJ gives the food to the bear, but at the last moment, uses the wagon of food to catch up to the animals. After convincing them he was on their side, they help fight off the bear who ends up being taken away by animal control. The exterminator is arrested for his unkind techniques, and RJ and the animals live together as a family. A caffeine-charged squirrel has enough energy to collect enough nuts for the winter.
Despicable me
This film is based on the events of a not so successful villain, as he gets outshone. As it begins, you find out someone has stolen the great pyramids in Egypt. This stunt is shown to be the greatest ever pulled, making all other villains seem insignificant. The main character (Gru), decides to pull the ultimate heist and steal the moon.
For this plan, he’d need to steal an experimental shrink ray device, and funding to build a rocket to reach the moon. When applying to the bank of Evil, he was rejected since he had yet to steal the device and was sent away. It was here he meets Vector, the nerdy villain who stole the pyramid (And now his rival).
Gru steals the device from a secret lab, only to have Vector then steal it from him. Gru gives chase, but Vector uses the device on him and escapes.
The next part of the film involves various attempts to get inside Vector’s fortress with no success. He’s just completed another failed attempt, when he sees some orphans selling cookies going towards the door (He had previously sent them away from his house). They manage to go straight in, so Gru devises a plan to exploit this.
Gru adopts the children, who are excited to be leaving the orphanage. They start out as a tool for his evil plans, but as he spends time with them, he begins to care for them. HIs assistant sees this, and arranges the children to be taken back to the orphanage for the sake of the plan.
Once the plan is complete, he rushes to make it to the children’s dance recital which is on the same day. He misses it, but discovers that Vector has stolen them, and will trade them for the Moon. Gru goes to rescue them, breaking into Vector’s fortress with relative ease. Vector escapes in a ship which Gru holds on to, but he cant hold on for long. He is saved by his assistant as he falls.
Gru risks his life to save the children, the moon returns to orbit and Vector is defeated.
Short animations
Kiwi!
This animation starts with a kiwi tying a rope to a tree, which he then slides down to another tree on a cliff face. He nails this tree to the side of the cliff, climbs up and removes the rope.
You see that many trees have been placed in this fashion. The kiwi puts on its hat and goggles, and jumps over the edge. As it falls, the orientation is changed, and it appears that it is flying over the trees. It brings out it’s tiny wings and starts flapping, not to gain height, but as if it could really fly. It closes it’s eyes and lets out a tear as it resigns itself to it’s fate. It falls into the clouds and disappears. A thud is heard shortly after.
Ice age – Scrat
This series of animations follows a pre-historic squirrel, as he tries desperately to get a nut. Every time he gets close, something bad (no matter how odd) occurs. From falling in a tar pit, to meeting his true love, to travelling through time and back.
The first thing to consider is what type of character to make. Firstly there is human (or animals made to behave like humans):
Characteristics
Modelling notes
As it is very important for people in the public spotlight to convey their body language, here is an example of a US president:
And an example of a cartoon version:
The next type of character is an animal that walks on four(or more) legs:
Characteristics
Modelling notes
Various examples of animals:
In cartoon form:
The next type is robotic that moves using tracks or wheels, and has human features.
Characteristics
Modelling notes
Real-life robot movement:
Animated equivalent:
The next type is flying/hovering robotic:
Characteristics
Modelling notes
Real-life version:
3D animated:
The next type is a terrestrial creature that doesn’t rely on bones:
Characteristics
Modelling notes
Real-life example:
Animated version:
The next type is an extra-terrestrial being that has no bones (That isn’t present in real-life)
Characteristics
Modelling notes
Real-life example:
3D animation:
