More Vocab

• Displacement Mapping

 A way to create a bumpy surface using a texture. Alternative to Bump Mapping.

• Bump Mapping 

 A way to create a bumpy surface without actually rendering a model of the bumps. Uses a smooth object.

• Rendering 

 Creating an image from a model.

• Alpha Channel 

 Controls the transparency of an image.

• NURBS vs Polygon 

 NURBS - a model used to represent curves and surfaces. More flexible than polygons.
Polygons - Figure with at least 3 sides and angle, commonly used for models. Usually models are composed of many polygons.

• Tiling 

 Dividing an image by a grid into many tiles that are then used to make larger images. Tiles themselves tend to be small.

• Skinning 

 Process of associating bones of an animation skeleton with a portion of the model.

• Aperture 

 Opening through which light travels. Commonly used in cameras in conjunction with the shutter to control the amount of light reaching the interior.

• Shutter Speed 

 The length of time a camera's shutter is open.

• Focal Length 

 Distance between a lens/mirror and it's focus.

• Dolly 

 Equipment designed to create smooth camera movements.

• Pan 

 Horizontal movement of a camera.

• Roll Aspect Ratio 

 Proportional relation between width and height of a camera view.

Phaser (completed)

Today I finally finished the Phaser. It came out looking really good, but Mr. Cornell wanted me to change the background. So I have three images:

1. Phaser, black background, Galileo's Tomb HDRI:

The Phaser with a generic black background showcasing the HDRI reflections and 3 point lighting.

2. Phaser, Galileo's Tomb Background/HDRI:

Now I turned the HDRI background on, to really show that the object is reflecting the environment. Also helps to see the outline better.

3. Phaser, Photoshopped onto a background:

I Photoshopped the Phaser onto a background I made in the Computer Graphics w/ Digital Media class that I took in my freshman year. I moved the Phaser a bit to line up the highlight of the model with the light source in the image. It lined up almost, if not perfectly.


EDIT: and since I was bored, here's a .gif of the Phaser firing (there was originally a pause between shots, but I accidentally deleted that frame and I didn't save.)

HDRI Lighting

Today I had to use an HDRI image in a render. I used ST. Peter's Basilica. Here's the result:

Lighting

Today I had to make an irregular shape and render it with one point lighting. Here's what resulted:

My favorite part about this is the way it reflects itself. The object also reminds me of an alien mothership of some sort because of the "Tail" in the back and the irregular prongs in the front.

Vocab Terms 1

Analogous Colors: Colors next to each other on the color wheel.

Complementary Colors: Two opposite colors on the color wheel. When mixed, they produce black, white, or grey.

Primary Colors: The three colors (Red, Blue, and Yellow) from which all other colors are derived from.

Secondary Colors: Colors created by mixing two or more of the primary colors.

 Tertiary Colors: A color produced by mixing either a primary with a secondary color or two secondary colors.

Asymmetry: Non-symmetrical both sides of a given axis do not look like each other.

Symmetry: Both sides of a given axis look the same.

Animation Screenshots

I finished the animation project. I followed Mr. Cornell's instructions and took a screenshot of each animation:

Keyframe:

 The ball bounces over a wall.

Driven Key:

 The ball goes under an automatic door. Curves are marked for clarity.

Path Animation:

 The Aircraft takes off and follows the path.

IK Animation:

The mechanical arm picks up a crate and places it on a platform. Animated via an IK handle attached to a skeleton.

back to the phaser

I finished all the animation projects (I don't know how Mr. Cornell wants to grade them) so I continued work on the phaser. Here's its progress so far: