2. Displaying 3D Polygon Animations

To display 3D polygon animation you need a application (application programming interface) that actually display the 3D animation some of these are Direct3D and OpenGL. These programs create the shape that will then be displayed on the screen.The graphics pipeline is a stage that requires a three dimensional object to be shown on a two dimensional screen, to do this it gathered information on the vertices or the main control points of the 3D object and basically crops the 3D model so that it only displays what can actually be seen, for example, if we have a model of a shoe and we are looking at the shoe from a side on angle, the application programming interface will give only the information concerning the side visible of the shoe and will cut out the parts that should not be visible.there are a few different bits of information provided by the vertex which include its position on the x-y-z coordinates, the texture, reflectivity (or specular values) and the RGB (red, green, blue) values. The general primitives within a 3D model or 3D graphic are lines and triangles that create the shape and illusion of depth. however there are a few steps that the program does before simply creating and displaying the 3D model or graphic. These are; modelling, lighting, viewing, projection, clipping, viewport transformation, scan conversion, texturing & shading and then finally the display.



Each of these stages has very important jobs to create the image displayed.
First of all modelling. In the modelling stage the whole scene is generated using the vertices, edges and faces.
secondly the lighting stage. this is where the surfaces in the scene are lit accordingly to the position and location of the light sources in the scene.
Then there is the viewing stage. this is where the virtual camera is placed and based on the position of the camera the 3D environment is then transformed into a 3D co-ordinate system.After the viewing stage there is the projection stage. this is where the 3D illusion is created using perspective projection meaning that the more distant objects appear smaller.
the fifth stage is clipping. this is the stage where objects that are outside of view will not be generated, this isn't needed but helps improve overall performance of rendering.
Once the clipping process is done the next stage is viewport transformation. In this stage co-ordinates are given to the post-clip vertices, these co-ordinates will relate to the next stage which is called scan conversion. in the scan conversion stage rasterisation is used to determine the end pixel values.
once the scan conversion stage is done the individual pixels are given colours depending on their values givien from the rasterised vertices or from images created to be applied to the specific areas. this stage is the texturing and shading stage. then the final stage is the display where the final image of the scene with all the coloured pixels is shown on a 2D screen.

3. Geometric Theory

Geometric Theory

Within games development the process of geometric theory is a way to model objects or characters within a game. The way this is performed is through a design process using an initial mesh which gives the basic shape of an object to later be built upon with different textures.

When using polygons to create a mesh for a game, correct shapes must be determined both for correct design and for fluid movement should the shape be used for a moving character. In order to do this, different shaped polygons can be combined to create a new shape. For example the triangle polygon is widely used in combination with others to create more squared or kited shapes and can be used for more fluid movement. As a mesh is created polygons are steadily joined together by each vertice until a shape is complete with no vertices detatched from any other. This rule applies to both characters and objects within a game as not doing this would leave a split in the created item, leading it to not be whole. Once the 2D polygons have all been joined together into their desired shape with no vertices left detatched, the shape that is created becomes a 3D model composed entirely of 2D polygons. Below is an example of a full formed 3D character mesh made from 2D polygons. The character in the image is a monster from the PC video game Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

As you can see in the above image, the mesh of this character is made up nearly entirely of quad polygons. Though in order to round off the shape in the eye area, triangle polygons have been used in places to smooth out the shape and make it fit easier so that other polygons do not pierce each other or leave gaps in the mesh and push the body out of its desired design.

4. Mesh Construction

Mesh Construction

This is a technique that is used in 3D modelling where the model is created by modifying primitive shapes to create a rough draft of the final model, in most cases. A primary function of box modeling involves extruding and scaling the faces, which are the flat planes that make up a model.

This is an image that I found on google, and it is a good example of box modelling. It features a box, which then has the faces modified, and then modified even further to look like a foot. As you can see, it is made by modifying the faces of the model to turn something as simple as a box into something more.

Extrusion Modelling

 This is a common modelling method that is also sometimes referred to as inflation modeling. In this method of modeling, you could create a 2D shape which traces the outline of a photograph or a drawing. This would be done more commonly using the line tool, because of its simplicity and because it is so easy to work with and create things with it. You then use a second image of the subject from a different angle and extrudes the 2D shape into a 3D shape by following the shape’s outline again. This method is common for creating faces and heads in modeling, and artists will generally model half of the head and duplicate the vertices, invert their location relative to a plane and connect the two pieces to ensure that the model would then be symmetrical. This method is widely used by 3D artists because of it being so practical, quick and simple.

Spline Modelling

A spline is generally a special function that involves polynomials in the mathematics realm. The term spline may also be more familiar to people as it links to computer science. It is adapted from the shipbuilding term that describes the tools used by draftsmen and the ship builders to easily draw accurate shapes. This makes sense, as splines are the shapes that you could create on 3d software. Constructing a spline is simple, which makes it a popular choice of modeling when it comes to designing digital models, and their curve design helps to easily manipulate it. They can be used in one dimensional or multi-dimensional applications and can be used in various functions.

Lofting

A loft is a sort of wireframe of a 3D object, and it is used as a technique in 3D modelling software. It is derivable from flat sections by doubling it along the path that is given. Lofting is a way of modelling an object based on splines. Usually you would model objects or start off modelling objects by modifying the primitives on the system, or create splines that are quickly converted to editable meshes, or whichever way you prefer. But when you loft a spline you’re creating a 3d object that won’t become an editable mesh. Lofting splines could inevitably produce more efficient collision models. In game design for example, you could be able to improve the performance of your models in-game, or get collision molded closer to your model without sacrificing any.

Lathing

A lathed object is a 3D model that has its vertex geometry produced by rotating the points of a spline or other point set around a fixed axis. A lathing can be partial and doesn’t neccessarily have to be a full 360 degrees, and the point that is set providing the source data could be thought of as a cross section through an object along a plane that would contain its axis of radial symmetry. It is similar to a real lathe because it would produce the same type of object; one that is symmetrical around an axis of rotation. Lathes on a 3D modelling program are also different to those in a real lathe by the fact that the model could have an axis of rotation through a hole. A good example of this is a torus.

This image is an example of what can be created using a lathe. It is a chesspiece, a pawn to be exact, that was created through a quick modelling procedure. I had imported an image of a pawn into 3ds max by going into views and viewport background to import an image, and then using the line in the shape panel and curving the lines that I created, I traced over half of the pawn image before turning it into a lathe and completing the shape.

Common Primitives

 Common primitives are basically the most simple polygonal models that 3D software can create, and make it easier for a user of the program to create a model by using this as some sort of base for their modelling a lot of the time if they aren’t creating a piece of work from scratch.  The Standard Primitives in 3ds max, the program that we are using in our lessons, are the Box, Cone, Sphere, GeoSphere, Cylinder, Tube, Torus, Pyramid, Teapot and Plane. The Extended Pimitives that can be created are the Hedra, Torus Knot, ChamferBox, ChemferCyl, OilTank, Capsule, Spindle, L-Ext, Gengon, C-Ext, RingWave, Hose and Prism.

5. 3D Development Software

3D Development Software

Today the “3D development and software” industry is huge as there are a range and collection of products in the market, these software’s are released all year round and  updated weekly. Rivals like Autodesk and side effects software are competing to have the best 3D development software.

File formats: 3ds, .mb, .lwo, .C4d, .dxf, .obj; plug-ins.

• 3Ds Max (Autodesk), is a comprehensive and multipurpose 3D application, it is exploited in many industries such as in film, television, video games and architecture. It can be extended and customized through its SDK or scripting using a Maxscript. It can also use third party rendering options such as Brazil R/S, finalRender and V-Ray.
• AC3D (Inivis) is a 3D modelling application that began in the 90’s on the Amiga platform. The application is used in a number of industries in the aerospace and aviation, it often relates in articles to price and compatibility, the company MathWorks is frequently recommending the product. AC3D does not feature its own renderer, but can generate output files for both RenderMan, POV-Ray and some others.
• Aladdin4D (DiscreetFX), was first created for the Amiga, and was originally developed by the Adspec Programming. The product is a multi-platform for Mac OS X, Amiga OS 4.1, MorphOS, Linux, AROS, and Windows. This means Aladin4D gains a wider market.
• Carrara (DAZ Productions) is a fully featured 3D toolset for modelling, texturing, scene rendering and animation.
• Cinema 4D (MAXON) is a light (Prime) to full featured (Studio) 3d package, however is dependant on version used. Although used in film usually for 2.5d work, Cinema’s largest user base is in the television motion graphics and design/visualisation arenas. Originally developed for the Amiga, it is also available for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.

6. Constraints

Constraints

A polygon, to put it simply, is any 2D shape and in terms of 3D modelling the Polygons would be the individual shapes that are pieced together to create a model, whether the creation in question in complex or simple, polygons will always be used. The ‘Polygon Count’, however, is the total number of polygons that the model, scene, or anything that has been created in the 3D application, contains. The polygon count is actually much more important than it may seem, due to several constraints that, if left unchecked, could cause problems for the computer processor as well as defeat the purpose of the creation in question.

During the creation of a model or scene, the computer processor would need to calculate the position of each vertex and polygon that makes up whatever has been created on the application. In short, as the polygon count increases, the model would require more processor power and thus cause disruption in the creation process depending on how much power the modellers computer has. The polygon count is much more important in models that would be used as assets in games and movies, where there is more emphasis in terms of the constraints.

Creating a 3D animated movie, or even a movie with 3D animation techniques utilised in the production, may not apply to these rules due to the sheer amount of quality visuals to create an effective product. This could mean that the polygon count could become something that shouldn’t even be a thing to worry about during production, as major animation studios would have the best technologies to create the best work they possibly can. However, the polygon count becomes much more important in video games. There is a critical constraint here due to the fact that there would be a size limit for the models and scenery, increasing the importance of game producers to pay closer attention to the polygon count and remove any unnecessary polygons.

04 - Polygonal and Modification Modelling

The pictures above are examples of Polygonal modelling, where I used extrusion and duplication to create complex shapes and structures. This can be used in many different ways in Blender.

After doing so, I flared my design with some more complex improvements such as indenting one of the blocks by using extrusion and scaling.




The picture on the bottom right is the rendered version of my design.

06 - Edge and Contour Modelling