3D Modeling and Animation Class

3D Modeling and Animation Class

Walden School of Liberal Arts

Fall, 2011

3D Modeling and Animation Class Overview:

The purpose of this class is for you to learn 3D modeling and animation skills, including how to work in virtual 3D space, create and modify primitive objects, create textures and backgrounds, set lighting and atmospheric controls, construct custom objects and characters, animate objects and scenes, and use bones and morph targets to rig characters for complex animation.

Learning these skills takes time and practice, but it’s also a lot of fun. You will need patience, because creating complex models is a slow process, but by the end of the class you will have developed skills that can help you earn money and find jobs. How much you learn depends on your being in class every day and your commitment to practice and improve. I will demonstrate each new technique as we go, so you will need to pay attention and listen carefully.

Grading:

Your grade will be based on 10 points per day. If a project takes one day to complete, it is worth 10 points. Your grade will depend on completing all of the components of a project correctly and on the artistic composition of the scene, including textures and lighting. You will also have one group project that will be completed at the end of the semester.

Moon Origin Animation Project:

We have been selected by the Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE) out of Boulder, CO to create scientifically accurate animations of how the moon formed and evolved. These animations will be shown on their website. They are a part of NASA’s Lunar Science Institute, and we will work with the astrobiology class to develop storyboards and to construct and animate the scenes. This is a rare opportunity to work directly with scientists to build a professional quality product. To get a good grade on this project, you will have to work well with your group and get the tasks assigned to you (such as modeling, texturing, scene composition, environmental effects, etc.) done on time to high standards of quality.

Schedule for the class:

1.) Tues., Aug. 30: Introduction to 3D Modeling

Using Cartesian coordinates and the Bryce interface. Primitive objects, textures, and scene

composition.

Project 1: Snowman

2.) Thur., Sept. 1: Boolean Commands, Material Lab, and Replication

Building a grouped object using Boolean operations. Modifying preset textures. Duplicating

objects. Replicating around a common center.

Project 2: Medieval Weapons

3.) Tues., Sept. 6: Hierarchical Objects and Metaballs

Parent-child linking, using metaballs, more Boolean commands.

Project 3: The Robot

4.) Thur., Sept. 8: Terrain Modeling and Plants

Creating custom landscapes in Photoshop, importing images as terrains, editing terrains, creating and modifying trees, close and distant landscaping.

Project 4: Alien Planet

5.) Tues., Sept. 13: Atmospheric Effects and Options

Cloud objects and materials, volumetric textures, sun and lighting controls, additive moons,

rainbows, etc.

Project 4: Alien Planet, continued

6.) Thur., Sept. 15: Symmetrical Lattices and Complex Groups

Creating objects using Photoshop and symmetrical lattices, building complex hierarchical

groups, making realistic stone textures. Text in Bryce.

Project 5: The Ionic Column

7.) Tues., Sept. 20: Decorative Objects, Importing Objects, and Billboard Objects

Creating custom objects for decorations, finding and importing free 3D resources, using 2D

images with alpha channels as billboard objects.

Project 5, cont.: The Temple with Statue

8.) Tues., Sept. 27: Merging Scenes and Lighting Effects

Merging the temple, landscape, and robot scenes together. Adding extra lights. Rules of

composition.

Project 5, complete: The temple scene with landscaping

9.) Thur., Sept. 29: Using DazStudio

Basics of DazStudio 4.Assembling and posing a figure. Morphing the shape. Importing into

Bryce.

Project 6: Medieval Warrior, Magician, or Alchemist

10.) Tues., Oct. 4:Using 3D in Science and Business Applications

Converting numbers into images and images into terrains. Setting up axes and titles.

Choosing textures.

Project 7: 3D Chart

Bryce Test 1

11.) Thur., Oct. 6: Multi-replication, Randomization, and Key Frame Animation

Creating master objects and multi-replication. Using randomization to explode the group.

Setting start and end frames. Rendering the animation.

Project 8: Metaball Explosion

12.) Tues., Oct. 11: Animation Basics

Camera animation, rotation, translation, shape morphing, texture animation, moving Booleans, sky animation, rendering.

Project 9: Obstacle Course

13.) Tues., Oct. 18: Animation Basics, cont.

Project 9, cont.

14.) Thur., Oct. 20: Terrain Animation

Changing terrain shapes over time – erosion, landform changes, texture changes.

Project 10: Changing Terrains

First Term Ends

15.) Tues., Oct. 25: Animation Paths

Key frame timing, scalloped paths, acceleration and deceleration

Project 11: The Bouncing Ball

16.) Thur., Oct. 27: Figure Animation Principles

Squash and stretch, anticipation, follow-through, center of gravity, kinematics, walk

sequences.

Project 12: Robot Animation

17.) Tues., Nov. 1:Quicktime VR and Space Scenes

Creating the planets. Bump heights and atmospheres. Planetary rings. Space backgrounds

and nebulas. Lighting. Rendering QTVR. Setting up standard animations.

Project 13: The Solar System A and B

Bryce Test 2

18.) Thur., Nov. 3:Introduction to Carrara

Carrara studio work area. Primitive objects. Spline objects – extrusion, envelope, symmetry,

and pen tool.

Project 14: Kitchen shapes - the bat, plate, goblet, and liquid.

19.) Tues., Nov. 8: Extrusion Objects

Changing extrusion shapes, multiple cross sections, modifying envelope, deforming objects.

Setting up in Bryce. Volumetric lighting effect.

Project 14: Kitchen shapes – vase, knife, table, fork, flower.

20.) Thur., Nov. 10: Polygonal Objects

Working in polygon editor. Subdivision. Extruding polygons. Smoothing and fixing faces.

Project 15: The Hand

21.) Tues., Nov. 15:Metaballs, Text, and Other Carrara Objects

Carrarametaballs. Positive and negative metaball shapes. Text objects with bevels. Other

modelers – terrain, plant, fur, etc. Shaders and the shader editor. Lighting.

Project 16: Sculpture Garden

22.) Thur., Nov. 17:Animation in Carrara: Bones

Creating skeleton in Carrara. Skinning the bones. Creating tolerances. Fixing problems.

Setting up animations and keyframes. Rendering animation.

Project 17: Hand Animation and Poses

23.) Tues., Nov. 29: Animation in Carrara: Morph Targets

Making a head object through subdividing a simple sphere. Using quadrangles. Adding

mouth parts and eyes. Selecting morph areas.Setting morph targets. Animating keyframes for expressions and phonemes. Importing speech. Lip synching.

Project 18: Setting up the Talking Head

24.) Thur., Dec. 1: Morph Targets, cont.

Project 18, cont.: Creating the Talking Head keyframes

25.) Tues., Dec. 6: Exporting to Other Packages

Getting the head into DazStudio and into Bryce. Posing the head and exporting poses.

Project 18: Final Talking Head

Project 16, final: Sculpture Garden

Carrara Test

26.) Thur., Dec. 8: Complex Animations

Planning the Moon Origin and Evolution project. Creating objects. Setting up the Earth – outer sphere, mantle, core, splash, chunks, impactor, atmosphere, blasted Earth, final Moon. Textures and timing. Titles.

Final Project: Moon Origin Animation

27.) Tues., Dec. 13:Setting Up Animations

Animating the pieces in slow motion: Collision, deformation, splashing the chunks, changing

textures and fading with transparency, forming debris ring. Animated titles. Chunks

combining to form Moon, with impacting craters and molten magma ocean. Animated masks.

Final Project, cont.: Moon Origin Animation

28.) Thur., Dec. 15: Putting it All Together

Rendering the animations. Layering it all into Final Cut Pro. Using animation masks for luma

keys. Adding titles. Adding narration. Exporting to Quicktime. Compression for Web.

Final Project: Moon Origin Animation, completed