C4D Model Making - a place to start

This session focused on working with sub-object modelling, opposed to parametric objects e.g. Cubes, polygons and pre-made assets in C4D. The end goal for the end of this session was a 3D developed character with individual limbs that would be able to be 3D printed.

The way that 3D printing works, every step it prints it moves down and it builds itself through layers. If you print multiple objects placed together in 3D it will not be able to tell the difference between each object. You have to alter one shape using its sub-parts to create a fluid 3D object.

"If you poured water in it, would it leak? If so, it isn't a good 3D model."

We explored in more depth extra tools and abilities that can be used within C4D and developed a simple polygon character. The most used tools for this kind of creation include Extrude: used to extend a polygon into a new section and Inner extrusion: this creates smaller subsections to build from within a section. Most other tools are ones I had used previously on other projects.

 

  

Once I had built my polygon character, I put it into a subdivided surface as a way to round off any of the edges to make it a lot smoother and consistent. After tweaking the shape, in and out of the subdivided view I got to use group surfaces to colour my creature.

Using group surfaces makes larger more complex objects easier to colour and alter, so if I am unsure on a visual look, this method would be a smarter way of working as it easily lets me colour selected areas quickly.

  

3D Model Cell Shaded Test from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

here is another I attempted at a later date:

with this model I added a twist and bend modifier to give the implication of movement.

alien from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

The method of colouring I used is called Cell Shading, it uses solid colours for shading an enviroment, creating harsh strong shade lines, popular with more cartoonish aesthetic. This style is particularly popular with video games as a easier and more stylistic method of give 3D depth. Popular examples of media that uses cel shading include Video game; Legend of Zelda Wind Waker,  Video Game; Jet Set Radio and Video Game; Catherine.

 http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/101511920130809_175759_1_big.jpg

 http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110529020944/catherinethegame/images/thumb/c/ce/EricaCap3.png/830px-EricaCap3.png

http://pixelperfectgaming.com/wp-content/gallery/jet_set_radio_hd_screenshots/jet_set_radio_screenshot_01.jpg

This task helped me a lot in my personal projects I have been working on independently. The extra practice to master these basic modelling skill and adapt my knowledge from this session and tutorials online is really beneficial. I plan to work on more 3D modelling projects after being inspired by the Motion North event I visited recently.

coffee shop model 360 from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

Motion North - Inspiring Motion Go Trip

As part of the motion go club we decided to go to the Motion North, a collective of animation, vfx, motion and film designers event. The night we went, the focus was on three different animation and motion lead companies and what they had been working on over the past year.

Each company had a show reel of work and sneak peeks of other projects they are working on and I wanted to talk a little about what I found particularly interesting about each of them.

Ani-made
https://animade.tv/studio

Ani-made is a London based company.  They showcased a lot of interactive project they worked on such as 'Ready Stead Bang' a minimal monotone cowboy game comprised of fast paced mini games. A lot of their animations are quirky and show the backgrounds of their staff in traditional 2D cel animation and character design.I loved their diversity in their styles and media.

The Complete Animade Lernz from Animade on Vimeo.

Mainframe North
https://www.mainframe.co.uk

Mainframe is an animation company based in Manchester and London focusing on motion graphics and animation. They showed us some of the more fun projects they have been working on including this video below:

For Approval from Mainframe (North) on Vimeo.

The unexpected nature of this video is what makes it so interesting to watch and its creativity created a big following on social media. The use of 3D with soft pastel colours and clever sound effects made this video a visual treat.

They talked about a project called 'MASH' a developed dynamics modes system for the 3D software Maya that creates more realistic and impressive physics effects to objects in fake 3D enviroments. As someone relatively familiar with how difficult it can be to fake physics in similar software, I found it very impressive.

Boutique Studio
http://btq.fi/work/

Helsinki based studio, this team showed a great understanding of how to present 'serious' content in a fun and silly way. Describing themselves as an illustration team disguised as a design agency their success allowed their market to become worldwide.

Ruutu TV Channel Idents from Boutique on Vimeo.

The project I liked the most was one where they had to create a brand for a Tv Channel/vod called Ruutu. They had control over full branding for the channel and integrated 3D with audio algorithms to create unique patterns in a variety of styles keeping an open and consistent style through the colour scheme.

Conclusion

After listening to these talks I felt inspired to be more playful with my own work, a recent fear of mine was that I wasn't being too 'serious' with my project ideas, so it was incredibly refreshing to hear these creative companies doing what they want to do and then getting work from doing it.

I want to implement more puns and colour into the things I create, or surprising twists and left the event with a strong urge to work harder with 3D software.

In my own time I played around with 3D software and created donuts with a physics effect to give the impression of them falling. While visually it is relatively simple, it was a great learning process for me and I left with a stronger knowledge of the software. I am also going to put in a video of one of my failed attempts below cause I found it personally amusing: donut gone wrong

donut Physics from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

3D planes Z-Space

Todays session was an adaptation on my previous work using z-space from year one.The only major difference was to give the impression my 3D objects were rolling onto the screen using a page turn effect. Here is an example of how this technique can be effective:

MGMT - All We Ever Wanted Was Everything from oneedo on Vimeo.

I wasn't particularly impressed with my design, feeling rushed to get the assets made and finished to a high standard, resulting in pixelated graphics. I decided I would remake this animation using different assets and style.

Each scene was created with different layers built up for the actual composition. This was done to allow me to give depth to the piece through layer building.The textures can be added to layers inside of Adobe After Effects however I personally found it easier to do any texture work ahead of time in Adobe Illustrator.

Here are my individual 'scene' boards I created ahead of time in order to get an idea for composition and layout when transferred to Adobe After Effect:

paper worlds from Sophie Wales on Vimeo.

This layout and style is simple and gives a fun feeling to an otherwise quite simple method, making quite simple shapes and imagery more motion.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared Product Photography

Lazy Oaf, a popular clothing brand has come out with a colaboration series of clothing with the Don't Hug Me I'm Scared cast. The product photography that came from this new series inspired me greatly. DHMIS is a popular youtube series with real, handmade puppets, effects and enviroments. Each episode has a childish cartoon-like moral theme to which soon becomes more corrupt or unsettling. They use a lot of fun textures and focus around primary colours.

The strong juxtoposition and primary colours make for unsettling imagery parrallel to the original source of inspiration. I found these images inspiring and the subtle jokes and references to the series make them visually fascinating.

Cyberpunks Influence On Design Essay

How Cyberpunk As a Subculture Has Influenced Design. 2017

C4D Packaging Mockups

As designers we often like to see what things will look like before manufacturing a project. The cost of a project often makes it impractical to create the product straight out. Having the ability to replicate the appearance of a product in 3D space is incredibly helpful and 3D mockups are used across multiple fields such as interior design and engineering.

The aim of this workshop was to create and brand a beer bottle and drink can and create professional virtual product shots.

The first thing we did was correctly set up the ruling system on 2 packaging profiles that were pre-made prior to the workshop. To ensure it transfers correctly into C4D you have to alter the ruling from the top left corner of the canvas to the central bottom of the object/lines. This allows you to import the profile from the center bottom of the product within C4D which is crutial for measurements. After I exported this in Illustrator 8, a format that is compatible with C4D.

 

Once in C4D got to File > Merge > Can shape. This brings up the same lines from Illustrator beforehand. There were two lines to represent the can side and the top of the can. We next added the Lathe nurb effect to each line. The lathe creates a 3D representation wrap around the lines its given, in this case creating a 3D can shape. Increainging the subdivision of these shapes creates smoother edges.

In terms of a backdrop we want it to be minimal and replicate the feeling of product shots taken with a shooting table or light box.  To do this we created a rolling backdrop that is seamless we did by creating a Floor then going into >tags>compositing > tick everything. This ensures whatever the floor material is will be consistent with the rest of the 3D space.

Next we had to create our material for our can. In order to do this we Create a new material > reflectance > reflectance ( legacy ). This gives a texture too shiny to use so we have to do more tweaking. I continued to use Layer Colour / Texture / Fresnel / Layer Fresnel / Dielectric / PET. Once the globals are halved, this gives a more matte and natural shine similar to that of aluminium can.

Next I needed to import my can graphics. In the same material Colour tab / Texture / add / (your packaging file). The material will usually be sat on the object incorrectly so you have to change the material projection to wrap around the cylindrical shape.

Using randomiser I duplicate the cans and order them to a more realistic composition for a finalised render.

As i wanted to create my own packaging I decided to make a parody based on the series 'Girls und panzer' character Katyusha drinking vodka. I decided to make a parody vodka can using the term "Cyka Blyat" a russian phrase often said and comedied in online first person shooter videogame culture. I used a strong black, red and white colour scheme to make emphasis on the parody theme of communist propaganda. The finish is intentionally matte to give a more cartoonish flat aesthetic and utilitarian style.