behind bars

Last week, I learned how to render using mental ray with global illumination. So for our assignment, we need to model a room and render it using global illumination. I wanted to do a simple room with a bed and a side table and maybe a lamp, but then I thought everyone would probably do that, so I changed my mind and decided to make a prison cell instead. Actually, I was inspired by a prison cell model that I saw from the internet by Simon Blanc. I liked his work a lot that I wanted to make my own.

First, I searched for pictures of prison cells on the internet to get an idea on what a prison cell looks like. I wanted to make it simple so I decided to just have a bed, a toilet, and a sink inside my scene. I also don’t intend to do a realistic model because I want my scene to be a little cartoony. I started by modeling each item. After that, I went on to model the prison cell. I just used a cube and just shaped it rectangularly. I then stretched the sides to make the walls thicker. Then, I deleted some faces on my wall to make a window. I then used a couple of cylinders for the prison bars.

I can now import the items I modeled earlier into the prison cell. Now, it’s just all about setting up the scene and placing everything where I want it to be. I also placed an area light outside the window as my source light with a picture of a moon as my background.

With everything now in place, I converted all the polygons and then added colors to my scene. I just used dark colors and adjusted the light to make my scene darker so it will look gloomy and sad. Finally, I rendered it using mental ray with global illumination. After a few more adjustments, I now have this:

I just added a few more details like the pipe, the light bulb, and the poster. So there you have it, my own prison cell. Escape this one Michael Scofield!

eleanor

Last holy week, I decided to start my project for my 3D class. We are supposed to submit a 3D model of a car or an architectural scene, and of course, our first demo reel. So I started working on my car project. I chose to model one of my favorite cars, the 1967 Ford Mustang Eleanor.

We are using Maya 8 in school, so I also used the same software. First, I searched for the blueprint of the car and inserted it as image planes. Then, ones I finished setting up the blueprints, I started modeling the front of the car. I am just modeling the half of the car because I can just use the mirror tool later. I started by creating a poly plane in front of the car and then just stretched the edges to form the bumper and the hood. I tried my best to model the front perfectly so all the edges will be in place before I stretch them to form the rest of the car.

One’s I’m satisfied with the front, I just basically stretched all the edges and just followed the blueprint. I first made the side, then the top, and then just filled the space in between to form the window. After that, I stretched the edges further to form the back of the car. Finally, I added some details to my model such as the sharpness and the design of the side.

That is what I’ve done so far. I now have a rough base shape for my Mustang Eleanor. I also converted my model in subdiv then subdiv to polygons to see how it will look with soft edges.

So there you go. I’m pretty satisfied with my model so far but I still have a lot to do. I still have to model the lights, the windshield, the side mirrors, the wheels, and other details. Hopefully, I can finish it before we start our module on animating. I also tried an occlussion render on my model. I hope you like it. Peace out!

summer na!

Ang init! Pumapalo na sa 34C ang temperature sa labas. Isa lang ibig sabihin nito…summer na! Although di na tulad ng dati nung estudyante pa ko na dalawang buwang todo bakasyon (may trabaho na kasi, bad trip), ang summer ay summer pa din. Kaya tawagin na ang mga repapeepz at ilabas na ang mga swimming trunks at salbabida at maglagay na ng sun block, oras na para magbabad! Weeeee! Happy summer to everyone.

ooze gonna save us?

I just saw Monsters vs. Aliens last week. For me, it was a good animated movie. It has a bit of charicature style to it, which you can see from the looks of the human, and a cast of characters that you’ll definitely remember. Although you cannot compare it to a Pixar movie story-wise (it’s by Dreamworks), it is entertaining and very funny nonetheless.

It’s a simple story of friendship where a band of monsters are tasked to save the earth from aliens. The movie also shows that though monster look scary or hideous, they can also so be caring and good-hearted creatures. And its from these creatures that you’ll get the most fun out of the movie, especially B.O.B. (short for Benzoate-Ostylezene-Bicarbonate). He’s the blue ooze-like monsters with one eye. He had the funniest lines and scenes in the movie (maybe that’s because he doesn’t have a brain). One of my favorites is where he is playing with his eyeball and bouncing it on the wall and then catching it. The part where they all disguised as Gallaxhar (the alien invader) is also hilarious. The voice cast is also top-notch, which includes Reese Witherspoon (Ginormica), Seth Rogen (B.O.B.), Stephen Colbert (the president), Hugh Laurie (Dr. Cockroach), and Kiefer Sutherland (General W.R. Monger) just to name a few. Where else can you find Jack Bauer and House in one movie?

It is also being shown in IMAX, but I did’nt have enough budget so I just saw it in a regular theater, but its worth the admission ticket. If you want to see a good movie and to have a good laugh at the same time, try to check it out. Now, I just have to wait for Up, Ice Age 3, Planet 51, and 9, oh and Transformers and Wolverine and Terminator and G.I. Joe and …