Final Thoughts and Evaluation.

This week I began to render the targa sequence that I animated and lit in Maya. I was pleased with the result. I had problems using the various lights to really get the most out of the model as well as matching the light source in the live action footage. I imported  the targa sequence into after effects and layered it over the live action footage. I had some problems when importing and rendering the sequence within after effects. When doing a playblast of the scene I noticed that the targa sequence  was stilted. It was almost as if targa files where missing from the sequence. After trying desperately to try and resolve the issue I re rendered the scene in maya but increased the frame padding. Re importing the sequence worked. By increasing the frame padding within the sequence this eradicated any discrepancies and problems.

As their were no problems with the sequence I was able to edit the sequence within after effects. I noticed that the ships appeared to dark within the scene. In order to rectify this I adjusted the colour balance of the ship layers. I also adjusted the opacity of the layer to make it look as if there was some atmosphere between the camera and the ships. Matching the ships to the surrounding light and colours was tricky, however, adjusting the relevant dials produced quick changes in colour value which improved the scene.

Now for the difficult part. In order to give the ship some weight and presence it needed some sort of distortion or dust. I acquired a smoke filter that I could apply directly to the image which would imply that the ship has huge engines which propel it through the air. In order for the particles to work i would need to mask off the areas within the smoke layer which I didn't want the viewer to see. Masking was tedious and laborious, however with a little patience I was able to create a dust layer which coincided with the ship's movements. I also added some blur layer on the furthest ship to add a little perspective to imply distance which i think really improved the scene and its dimensions.

In order to improve the scene I needed sound. The ships needed some sort of drowning sound or the distinct engine combustion from modern planes. This would give the ships real presence within the live action footage.

I was very happy with the compositing which I managed to achieve considering I had little knowledge in after effects. There were some areas which I felt could have been improved upon such as the dust layer as well as the animation. However, I was overwhelmed with the amount of work I put into lighting the scene which really improved the ships and their positioning. I was not keen on compositing but I feel I have learnt  some key elements within modeling and texturing which are skills I hope to improve upon and use in the industry in which I wish to pursue.

The whole project was a huge learning curve and I gained a huge amount of knowledge in amalgamating live action footage with cg objects. There are room for improvements, but I feel I have learnt a lot in the way in which the industry pipe line unfolds. I will take the knowledge I have gained while working on this project and apply it to new projects in the future and expand my knowledge in the areas which I feel could be improved upon.

Storyboard

Here is a quick storyboard that shows where the light is coming from in the scene. I t also shows the animation that takes place within the scene as the cargo ship hovers above the ground. I intend to add particle effects and smoke layers to replicate dust being kicked up by the huge engines of the ship. In order for the scene to work effectively I will need to light the ships correctly so they look like they are really there.

I should have produced a storyboard much earlier in the project but I was preoccupied with the other environment project. This is due to project miss management and bad organization, however I am confident that the project will succeed.

In future projects I will ensure that I produce a storyboard early on that will help me plan the editing process.

Project Schedule

I was only notified that we were being assessed on a project schedule 2 weeks before the submission. This was down to tutor miss communication and miss management and therefore if the project schedule is lacking in detail I am not at fault. Despite the tutor's blunder, I have created a schedule to the best of my ability whilst juggling with other projects at the same time. Although I had no written schedule at the beginning of the project, I was always aware of the timeframe in which I had incorporate all the procedures necessary for the projects completion. I admit that modeling the craft took considerably longer than expected. However, this was not down to project miss management but the search for perfection. I wanted the craft to be realistic and as detailed as possible as my modeling skills are far from what I would like it to be. Having said this I learnt a lot while modeling and texturing the object. Yes, I took quite a long period in which to do this, but I believe this was time well spent in polishing skills which I hope to use for the future. 

Aside from the slight project miss management I believe I have coped reasonably well in the time frame available to me where I have produced some very good work.  

Final Renders

Once I had finished the textures and decals I projected these onto the ship using planar mapping and transparent planes. I was thrilled when the desired effect had been achieved. I didn't think that the texture map would work. Hours of practicing paid off as I managed to fit the textures onto the model effectively. In some ares the texturing could be improved however, when the vehicle is lit this will help define the whole ship.

I tried to bump map the ship by using an existing texture. However, the result was undesirable and the ship appeared as though it had ripples all over the hull. I need to spend more time using the bump mapping tools to get the desired effect. But for now I am very happy with the result as it has fulfilled the groups expectations and my own. With the textures and decals now on the ship the whole model has now a realistic resonance about it. It not only feels realistic but also appears used and worn from the harsh conditions it works in.

Here are a few renders of the final build.

 

Decals

I was pleased with the final outcome of the texture map I had created in Photoshop. I thought that the worn appearance of the metal befitted the story as well as the environment and its other components. The burn marks looked aesthetic and suggested the amount of energy needed to propel the ship through the air. The sheer scale of the object required engines that burned fuel constantly. The burn marks also suggest that fuel is not being burned efficiently but huge amounts of energy are being produced. The metal is rusty and worn with the constant battering of sand storms and the hostile atmospheric conditions. The group seemed to be very impressed with the texture, however more decals were needed to cover the ship. This would emphasize its commercial use. The Mining companies logo needed to be fitted onto the side of the ship. This would give the ship some identity and it would also suggest that the ship was owned by a very powerful organization.

I created some small decals which I would insert over the image using planes. I would then turn down their transparency. By doing this I could preserve the existing texture while at the same time ensure that the decal was the only image visible on the plane.

Textures

I was very happy with the model I had produced, however, in order for the object to work in our environment the ship would need some sort of texture. I looked online for various textures which included metal plating from buildings, rusty doors, ship plating and many many more. I eventually settled on what appeared to be metal plating from a battle ship or an aircraft carrier. I felt the blue, grey tones as well as the rectangular plating would gel well with the model. The texture itself would give the ship a used quality to it, which would suggest it had been used for a very long period of time. 

Before I customized the texture I began to familiarize myself with the texturing tools and interfaces in order for the material to be placed correctly on the object. I noticed that when I applied the material straight onto the object it appeared warped and distorted. This was because I had not aligned the UV's correctly in accordance with the texture plane. I needed to create a UV planar and match it with the surface I wanted the material to be applied. This took a few attempts to get right, but once I knew how the planar interface worked I could match the texture map with my model. The result was rudimentary but gave more than adequate results.

In order for the texture map to work I needed to add more detail and increase its size to mach the model. I had difficulties in applying the textures as many of them were distorted. However, once I was familiar with the tools I managed to fit the texture to the model. 

Now I was confident I could texture effectively I set about tweaking the existing texture I had by adjusting its size and shape as well as its hue and saturation. I did all this in Photoshop. I had to manipulate the texture and multiply several layers to mach the existing texture. I was careful to maintain a constancy regarding the plating but added burn marks and imperfections where the metal had been worn.

Occlusion

Once I had finished the modeling of the ship I then set about rendering the object with an occlusion to see how light would react with the surfaces. These renders would also help me identify any areas which I felt needed work adding to.

Finer details

Once i had finished the main bulk of the ship I proceeded to model the finer details of the model which would cover up the flat edges and surfaces which I was not happy with, but were fundamental to the ship's foundations. I built many cylinders and spheres to create the details under the fuselage which would create the drop tanks and radar equipment which would make the ship more aesthetic. By adding these finer details it would make the ship appear more chaotic, I was trying to replicate the haphazard technology that is reminiscent of present day aircraft. If you look under the fuselage of modern aircraft there are all sorts of cylindrical objects and equipment, this is what I was trying to achieve. By adding a vast amount of pylons and radar equipment I was hoping to achieve the same effect as the Sullaco in Aliens. These cylindrical elements were easy to build and could be duplicated many times as well as distorted to create some very cool details.

I was extremely happy with the final result as the model resembled some of my earlier drawings. The ship maintained a consistency with the other models in the environment. At this stage I was imagining how these huge behemoths would travel through the sky's looming high above the planets surface. The overall object is very domineering, because of its huge size and resembles an airborne oil tanker. This is the effect I wanted to achieve from the very beginning and was very pleased with the result.

Now the ship needed a realistic texture that would resemble metal plating, only then would the model be a true success. 

Tail Fins

I deleted the fins either side of the engines as they seemed to big to be supported by the engines themselves. In order for this to work I would need to model some supports or horizontal fins to support the fins. A this point I was not sure what form the supports would take and I had no idea how to model a convincing fin shape. After looking at the Mohawk as well as the lancaster bomber in my reference material I gained some valuable knowledge in terms of design and weight. I created one horizontal fin which would be situated under the hull of the ship. I was careful to model it in a way that would be aerodynamic. The front of the wing would be thicker than the back of the wing. This would give the airship some realism. I then proceeded to make the exterior wings which I duplicated many times. These would form the smaller fins and wings which would form the finer details of the craft. The ship itself was taking shape. I loved the silhouette which resembled something much like an angle fish. This is what I was aiming for and it was exciting to see one drawings becoming a reality. 

Upper Fin

I was very happy with the basic shape I had created so far. I now needed to extrude surfaces to increase the overall bulk of the ship. I also started work on the upper fin by moving vertices together which created a narrowing of the fin which made the object more aerodynamic. I started to model the after burners at the back of the craft. I was very excited with the front of the aircraft as I had modeled a recess in which the cockpit would sit. The polygons at the front of the ship created a shield which protected the cockpit from the harsh weather on the planet.

I was not happy with the way in which the lower fins had turned out. The wings looked as if they were hanging on by a thread and there was no way a huge object like that would be supported from the engines. I needed to rethink this.

The Basic Shape

I started modeling the basic shape in maya from a basic cube which I then subdivided to allow me to extrude the shape and move vertices to build up a pyramid. I used the reference that was available to me when constructing the model. I was always referring to present day aircraft as well as my silhouettes and final concepts. At this stage I wanted to construct the foundations of the aircraft and concentrated on making the upper fin of the aircraft. I only made one side of the fin as I knew I could mirror it which would save modeling time. I am glad I didn't get bogged down making the finer details at this stage as this would have severely distracted me from constructing the main bulk of the ship that was imperative to the ships success.

Concepts and early designs

Using the reference I had gathered of various aircraft I started to draw up simple silhouettes in photoshop to get an idea of the crafts basic shape. At this early stage I didn't want to get bogged down with detail and just started to scribble some shapes. I was careful to reference the material I had gathered as I wanted the ship to look it had been built by humans whilst still maintaining a futuristic look. Here are a few early designs I came up with using Photshop.

I was very pleased with the initial concepts that I had produced. This now gave me some good foundations to work from. I knew the shape I wanted and the details that needed working on. The upper half of the ship itself would be clad in some sort of metal plating. The lower half would be strewn with mechanical bits and pieces as well as various fins and wings. I was slightly concerned, at least at the beginning, how I was going to build the details on the underside of the craft. The concept was detailed, but the shape itself should be easy to build in maya.
I suppose the only thing I was worried about was finding textures for the ship that would bring out details on the upper surface of the ship. Modeling the ship looked daunting ,however, I was confident that I would produce something that looked like the concepts I had designed.

Air Vehicle

Here is a selection of different air vehicles including jets and bombers. The different roles the vehicles take on have a direct effect on the vehicles design. This was something to keep in mind when designing the vast airships. I was particularly interested in key elements within the jets as well as their function. Nearly all the air vehicles had air intakes which supply air to the engines which not only helps the combustion process but also funnels the air into a much smaller space which propels the aircraft through the air. When designing the aircraft it was crucial to understand this as well as the importance of aerodynamics and the way in which air moves over the surface of a wing generating lift. These could be applied to my aircraft which would ultimately give it an aesthetic look. However, it was also my job to break the laws of science and technology to generate an entirely new vehicle which looked and felt futuristic.

When working on the project I saw an opportunity to strengthen my modeling and conceptual skills especially when designing the craft that would appear in the final clip. I also wanted to make use of this project in other ways such as increasing my knowledge in fields like lighting and texturing that would be greatly beneficial for future projects.

Here are some images which I used as reference when constructing the airships. I also referenced some vehicles from films to help the design process.