Week 8

Its meeting time already, the weeks are going by so quickly!

This week it was time to reflect on how well we are doing, how far we have individually got and what we are planning to have completed for week 9.

Here are some screenshots of the Minutes of the meeting we had this week and all the points raised in it.

Researching & Creating Train Tracks

This week it was my task to start creating a train track for the group project.

First of all I researched some pictures of train tracks so that I had a reference for how to make the train track look a bit more realistic.Once I had some good pictures that I could use as references I started creating the tracks, firstly I created a long box, once it was a length that I was happy with I started to "chamfer" both edges of the top of the box. I did this to create a curve at the top of the box.Once I had created the first chamfered edge I selected the new chamfered edges and moved them once more to create a bigger curve around the edge of the box. This created a curve that looked like the top of a train rail.
Now that I had a suitable curve at the top of the train rail I had to make it a full solid shape so that it looks more like a train rail. To do this I cloned the box I had edited and flipped it upside down so that it was curved at both the top and the bottom of it.
Now that the rail was completed it was time to start creating the main body of the rail to do this I created a new box and made it the same length as the top rail so that it would fit together properly.

The next step was to start extruding sections of the box out so that it looked like it looks like a steel block, I select the edge tool and then selected parts of the box and extruded some out and some inward.
The image below shows one side extruded and one not.
The next step was to repeat the same to the side that hadnt been extruded to make a whole object that was the same each side and this created the bottom of the rail.
This is the image of the whole rail put together.
The next step is to create the wooden blocks and the supports that join them to the rail.
I started by creating the supports that join the wood to the rail, to create this I created a shape using the line tool with the options selected as smooth and smooth.

I created the shape I wanted to then created a circle that was small enough to create the effect of bent metal. After I had the two shapes created I selected the "Compound Objects" drop down on the "Geometry" option and then selected "Loft" and then clicked on the line I had created and selected under creation method "Get Shape" and selected the circle I had created and this made the shape below.
I then cloned the object I had created and placed it next to it and edited both there angles with the select and rotate tool, once I had them in a suitable position I created a box that they would merge into making it look like they were attached to it.
Now that this was created I had to create the wooden blocks that support the rails and joinings.
To do this I created a simple box and placed it under the created supports and it looked like this.
The next step was to put them all together by placing the rails onto the wooden blocks and supports and then moved them with the select and move tool so that it was in a suitable place and looked realistic.
Once I had moved it into a place I was happy with I decided to clone the blocks of wood and supports so that I had multiple blocks of wood under the rails so it looked like a train track.
Here are a few images of what it looks like with the multiple blocks underneath.
Once I was happy with the layout of the tracks I decided to place the model of the wheels and undercarriage onto it to see how well the wheels would fit onto the rails. They seemed to fit quite well and I was very happy with the results.

Week 7 Continued

Its meeting time again, this week we had another group meeting to discuss what we are doing, how far we have got and what we plan to have done for next week.
Once again I used my phone to record the meeting so that I could listen back and make notes for the minutes of the meeting.

We raised a few issues in the meeting and spoke about what we each have completed individual and our plans for whats next with the modelling. The meeting helped us decide who would be the narrator of the animation and steve muller has been given the duty of this role as he has the most expressive voice and sounded right for the job!
He will be reading the script that I wrote for the scene and hopefully will work very well with the animation once it has been completed.

Here are the screenshots of the group meeting minutes click on them to view full size to read it.

Week 7

This week it has been my task to begin creating a script for narration of the animation and also researching sound files for steam trains.

So far I have an almost completed script that needs to be read to the group to confirm or reject the ideas I have come up with and also to play some clips of sound effects I have found for the train movement.

The main concept I have come up with for the script is to talk to our created character about what he has found on the floor and then describe the train as it comes together, the main audience I am aiming to entertain is everyone, this is going to be difficult to do but if the script and sound recording works well it is possible to appeal to all viewers.

The areas in which I have looked for sounds are:

- YouTube
- Sound FX websites
- Train stations

Hopefully after the group meeting this week we can determin what sound clips will be useful for the animation and also whether the script is suitable for the animation.

Week 6

This week it was my turn to do the minutes for our group meeting, I had to design a template for the meetings and then record the meeting on my phone so that I could make notes from it and add it to the minutes.

We raised a few issues in the meeting and spoke about our individual responsibilities and about the project as a whole. The meeting was very useful and gave all of us as individuals plenty to be starting to get completed ready for next weeks lecture.

Here are the screenshots of the group meeting minutes click on them to view full size to read it.

Week 5

This week was the first week we have had to really focus on the group work as we have been bogged down with the completion of the first part the head model, but now we have chance to focus on the project we had a group meeting to discuss what our ideas were and then it was time for me to get out my pencil and rubber and start sketching the ideas onto paper ready to put into the presentation.

The 2 images are in the presentation layout below, they are for the storyboard of animation so that the group knows how to put the model together when it comes to animating and also how to build the model in parts so that it is easier to put together for animation.

I had to create the presentation including the visit to the museum, the group ideas, plans for model, allocation of responibilities and a final thought of the project.

The screenshots show the information I added to each slide and they are all part of the presentation I did in the lecture.

Museum Of Power Visit

In the 3rd week when we had assigned our groups for the group project we decided to visit the Museum of Power to see what was there was in the museum and to decide on a steam powered object or other object to advertise for the museum.
We have been told that we have to create and animate the object using 3DsMax and as a group have to decide what the object will be but we have to think logically as we have to show its workings, what it was used for and also when it would have been used.

The museum was alot bigger than I expected and had alot of interesting steam models and also alot of cool objects there, as a group we spent a couple of hours looking around and taking alot of pictures so we could decide on something to model.
I really liked the idea of making a working model of either a Train or the Molly Brown ship as they have alot of history and alot of detail to model and would be quite an enjoyable experience trying to model them.

This week we are having a group discussion on our ideas for the project and decide as a group what we are going to model.

My blog next week will be a description of what we are going to do for the project with our ideas and then I am going to prepare a presentation for our lecture on what we are going to do in a powerpoint presentation hopefully with some sketches of ideas.