Modelling The Dustbin

Next I was assigned the task of creating another prop from our piece. Basically near the beginning of the scene the monster picks up a dustbin and throws it at the Parkour character. So I needed to create a dustbin. Nat was originally going to create the bin but she had her hands full with other pieces of work so I offered to take over. I used the images that Nat took as reference for creating the bin. She took these photo's of a dustbin from the area when we went filming. Below are the reference images that I used.

I then began modelling, I am very happy with how the final model turned out. It was very important that I got the model to look realistic as it needs to match the footage as best as possible. I found modelling the handles quite challenging at fist and I could only faintly remember a few techniques so I used a two part tutorial to help refresh my mind and help me to create the handles of the bin. Below are two links to the two part tutorial. 

Tutorial That Helped To Model The Bin Handles Part 1

Tutorial That Helped To Model The Bin Handles Part 2

So after spending a lot of time on creating the model it was finally done. Below are images of the finished model of the dustbin.

Front View

Side View Left

Side View Right

Back View

Bottom View

Top View

Perspective View

The next step was to UV map the dustbin model so that I could texture it. It was key that I got the UV map good enough in order to apply the texture well enough to make the bin look as realistic as possible. Below is an image of the UV layout before I UV mapped the bin. 

I then used automatic mapping to UV map the bin, below is an image of what the UV layout looked like after automatic mapping it. 

As you can see this looked a lot better however there were still hundreds of pieces and some were extremely miniscule. All these pieces needed to be sewn together to create shells that clearly resembled parts of the bin. This is so I could clearly see what part of the bin I was texturing. After a very long process of going through all of the pieces and sewing them to their correct partners, I had finally finished UV Mapping. Below is an image of the finished UV Layout of the bin. I'm very happy with how the UV layout turned out especially as I put so much time and effort into it. I think that everything is laid out very well and you can clearly see what part of the bin each shell represents. 

So the next step was to texture the bin. I did this by taking a UV snapshot of the UV layout of the bin (as seen in the image above) and opened it in photoshop I then applied the textures. Originally I was going to take the textures from the pictures of the actual bin that I used for reference, however I found this was not the best way as it caused the bin to loose its realism. So I then got my textures from images from google. Below are the images of the textures.  

Above is an image of the dark metal texture that I used for the body of the bin.

Above is an image of the dark silver metal that I used for the wheel holders.

Above is an image of the black rubber texture that I used for the wheels of the bin.

Above is an image I used for the texture of metal inside of the bin's wheels.

I decided that these textures made the bin look a lot better. I compared my textured model to the images that I took of the real bin and decided the bin looked too dark. So I went back into photoshop and tweaked the textures. Below are the images of the edited textures that I used. 

Above is an image of the dark metal texture that I used of the model bin. It differs from the original image because its cut closer to the lighter bit in the centre.

Above is an image of the light metal texture used for the inside of the bin's wheels. I edited it by applying a darker silver over the top just to give it some life. 

Above is an image of the darker silver metal texture that I used for the wheel holders of the bin. I edited this by painted some patches of dark silver over the top. This made the wheel holders look more realistic. 

Below is an image of the finished UV snapshot with the textures. 

I had now finally finished the bin, below are images of the finished bin. 

Front View

Side View Left

Side View Right

Back View

Bottom View

Top View

Top Perspective View

Perspective View

Overall I am very happy with how the dustbin turned out. I think that my hard work paid off. If I were to do it again I would add more detail to the texture. Such as the logo's and writing that is on the actual bin form the reference images. I tried to do this when texturing this bin but I could not quite get it right as the UV layout needed editing again. This meant i needed a lot more time, if I were to put these extra additions onto the texture. Unfortunately I didn't have  the time to solve this problem as Will needed the bin so he could animate. So I had to leave the bin as it was in order to remain on track and move on to the next stage of the project.

UV Mapping The Monster

So we all took different roles for the whole creation process of the monster. Our roles were as followed Matt modelled the robotic arm, Perri sculpted the monster, James rigged the monster, Nat textured the monster and Will was animating the monster. My job role was to UV map the monster. So myself and James had to wait for Matt and Perri to finish the modelling and sculpting of the monster and its robotic arm, this was so I could begin UV mapping and James could begin rigging. Then Nat had to wait for me to finishing UV mapping so she could texture the monster. Which meant that Will had to wait for Nat to finish texturing and James to finish rigging so he could then finally start animating. So as you could see it was vital that we kept to our mini deadlines that Nat set us because if we didn't then we would end up holding each other up, which would then have an effect on the time we assigned ourselves to finish the project.

The UV mapping of the monster was the most complex UV layout I had ever done. However I thoroughly enjoyed it and I learnt a lot about UV mapping. It took a long time because there were so many little pieces that needed to be sewn to their correct shells. It took a lot longer than I originally expected and I needed a few more days to complete it. Which then had an effect on some of the others and their roles. I used automatic mapping to UV map the monster below is an image of what the UV layout looked like after I did this.

As you can see from the image above I had my work cut out, there were hundreds of little pieces that needed to be sewn to the correct shells so that it was clear to Nat exactly what she was texturing and that the texture would fit the model perfectly. After working around the clock for a fair few days I finally finished and was left with the completed UV layout shown in the image below. 

I am extremely happy with this UV layout despite it being so time consuming I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt a lot. I think that this UV layout is good enough for Nat to start texturing as you can see what each shell is. If I were to do this again and had more time then I would take more time with the head. The shell of the head is in the bottom right hand corner of the image above and as you can see its not very clear. So I would spend more time editing the UV's making it look more like the head of the monster. 

Filming

We had our location ready, our actor sorted and our camera and equipment booked out. So we set out and got our filming done. We doubled up on shots just to be safe and got all the shots we needed. Nat then put the shots together which gave as an overall video. Below is a link to the video, the video is also posted on the group blog.   

Parkour Footage

We still have to film the ending for our piece which means we need to film a shot in Jared's office at uni and film some footage using green screen. However now we have the bulk of our footage filmed we need to finish the monster and prepare everything so that we can get onto compositing.  

The Street Light

Meanwhile I was assigned the task of modelling a prop for our piece. The idea is that during the chase sequence the monster's going to pick up a street light and throw it at our Parkour character. So I volunteered to make the street light required. Firstly I looked at some of the images my group had taken from kilburn park that included the street lights in the area. I did this because I wanted my street light to look exactly like the others in the sequence so that it fitted into the scene realistically. I used the image below as reference for my street light.

I began modelling. I enjoyed modelling the street light as i thoroughly enjoy modelling, it helped me to further my knowledge. Below is an image of the finished model of the street light I am fairly happy as it looks fairly realistic which is what was required. 

Front View 

Side View Left

Side View Right

Back View

Perspective View

The next step was for me to UV map my street light so that I could texture it. It was crucial that i got the UV map good enough so that I could texture it well and its vital the texture is good so that it looks as realistic as possible. Below is an image of the UV layout before I UV mapped the street light, as you can see its not clear what is what.  

Below is an image of the UV layout after I UV mapped the street light. I used a bundle of UV techniques in order to create this UV layout. I used cylindrical, planar and spherical mapping. I am very happy with this UV layout as I think it is clear what each part is and this will allow me to get the texturing right.

After UV mapping it was now time to texture. I took a UV snapshot of the UV layout shown in the image above and opened it up in photoshop, this is where I applied the textures. However before I did this i needed to find some textures to apply. I decided that it would be a good idea to take some close up pictures of street lights in the area where the street light I modelled was going to be placed. So I waited until we went filming and I saw the spot where my street light was going to be and took some close up images of a street light near by. I found that these street lights differed from the street lights in the reference image slightly. They didn't differ too much in shape so the model was fine however these street lights were black but as I was using them for the texture it did not matter. Below are the images I took that I used for the textures of my street light. 

I then applied some of these textures to the UV snapshot in photoshop. I played around until I got it looking just right. Unfortunately I didn't get the number 13 sticker onto my street light texture but that doesn't matter too much. Below is an image of the UV snapshot with the textures applied. 

I then assigned a blinn material to my street light model and loaded this textured UV snapshot. This then gave me my textured street light. Below are some images of my finished street light. 

Front View

Side View Left

Side View Right

Back View

Bottom View

Bottom View of Lightbulb

Perspective View

Overall I am very happy with the street light it progressed my knowledge of modelling, UV mapping and texturing. I think that this street light looks realistic enough to work well within our piece. 

Location Hunting Round 2

Unfortunately I was unable to make it this day, but the rest of the group went to Wembley Park and Kilburn council estate to check out potential locations for the setting of our project. The group first went to Wembley Park to try and hunt down a Parkour hotspot found via some internet research. They were unable to find it but did find some potential places within the area. They then went to Kilburn council estate and found that it was extremely well suited for the type of area we were looking for. It provided lots of potential for our chase sequence and provided lots of obstacles for our Parkour character. The group showed me some of the pictures they took of the area and told me how it was what we were looking for and so it was decided we finally had our location for our sequence. Now its time to film!

Mood Boards

So the next task was to create digital mood boards for the texture of the monster and the location. Nat assigned us this task so that we could put our ideas forward as to how we wanted the monster to look texture wise and to show our ideas of the sort of environment we were looking for in terms of setting, lighting and colour.

The idea of the monster was based on a monster from a film called the Black Lagoon. The idea was then developed and the idea was now the monster from the Black Lagoon but he had a robotic arm.  Below is an image of the monster from the Black Lagoon.  

I looked at images and clips of the monster from the Black Lagoon and other swamp monsters and got an idea of how our monster was going to look. Below is my mood board for the textures of the monster.

The mood board above shows a selection of images that I thought would look good as the texture for the monster and its robotic arm. I choose lots of different images of scales and shells as our monster was going to have this hard scaled/ shelled skin. I also tried to find a variety of colours as I wanted to explore different options rather than just stick with the stereotypical monster green. For the images of the metal texture for the robotic arm I looked into different types of metal how some had raised groves, others had a smoother feel and some looking very beaten with holes and chunks missing. I stuck to a traditional silver metal for most of my images. However I did choose one blue metal texture, this attracted my eye because I thought it would work well with the monster's colour scheme, I also liked how it had a damaged look and thought that this would add to the intimidating image of the monster.       

I then selected some images which resembled my idea of the type of scene our piece should be set in and created a digital mood board. Below is the mood board for my ideas of the type of location for our piece. 

I choose these images because they relate to Parkour and give an idea of the sorts of obstacles where our Parkour character could showcase his skills. Parkour also has a very urban theme as it mostly takes place in urban areas. So when it came to selecting images I choose images of areas that gave off an urban theme. That way the main character and the environment match. I also used these images to explore lighting and look at the different effects lighting can have. I took into consideration day and night and how the lighting changed. I did this so that I covered both areas which allowed me to make the conclusion that I preferred our piece to be set in the day. I chose the image in the centre because I think it used the camera well to give a feel of loneliness and venerability in an urban area. Therefore showing my how powerful the camera can be. Overall these mood boards were very helpful as they allowed me to develop my ideas.  

Location Hunting

On friday myself, Nat, James and Perri ventured out to London. We explored Waterloo, Southbank and London Bridge. While Matt and Will explored Shoreditch. The aim was to find a location in one of these areas that would be a suitable location for our project. So things that we needed to ensure the location provided were plenty of obstacles. This is so we can showcase our characters Parkour skills. Parkour gives off a very urban theme. Matt and Will were exploring this more in Shoreditch. While looking out for these sort of locations we also needed to consider space and make sure that there was enough space to bring our 3D monster into the scene. Location hunting will provide to be a vital stage of pre-production as it will help us to visualise how the project is going to look and will help to give us a more realistic storyboard and animatic.

Unfortunately to my stupidity I forgot my camera when we went looking at locations, however I have managed to find some images of some of the places we looked at. Yet there is a positive to finding images rather than taking my own and that is that some of  the images i found were taken at night. This is a positive because we visited the area in the day so the nighttime images show a different view. Below are the images of some of the places that I thought would be ideal for our project and provided obstacles that were vital for showcasing our characters Parkour skills.

I found this trip very beneficial as it gave me a clear indication of the sort of area that our piece should be filmed in. Key attributes the area needed were obstacles that would showcase our characters Parkour skills and a theme that makes our project stand out, such as an urban theme that matches the theme of Parkour.

 However there are a few major drawbacks, the first drawback would be that with these area's being in central London they are heavily populated pretty much all the time. Therefore it would be difficult to film as there would always be people getting in the way, and would provide a problem for our project. The reason I say that is because if you have a huge monster chasing a man through a heavily populated street I'm pretty sure the other people in the street are going to react and run away themselves, so it would be pretty challenging trying to get every passer by to act for us. The other problem which I thought this area had was that despite having some obstacles for our Parkour character there were not enough obstacles located near each other. Basically there were some stairs that would be perfect to showcase some Parkour skills and would work well in our chase sequence yet once you have over come them then there was just a flat straight path for a fair while before you came to the next obstacle. Therefore this area is better suited for just a normal chase sequence rather than the chase sequence we have in mind. 

The images above show some of the problems I am talking about. Overall I think it is safe to say that we have ruled out this area for our project, now we need to find some more areas to go and look at and hopefully find a location thats better suited to our project.