3D Creation Pipeline for Films and Games

  Week 7 What is Arnold Shader? Arnold is one of the most accurate and powerful renderers out there. Its most beloved feature is ray tracing, the method of graphics rendering that simulates the path, physical properties, and behaviour of light. This feature is a must for the demands of animations and movies with visual effects. It perfectly captures the realistic aspect of 3D characters and complex scenes in films, games and designs visualisation projects. What sets Arnold shaders apart from Maya basic shaders is that the shaders are PBR which are more complex and thus excel at achieving almost accurate photorealism. What is PBR? PBR or Physical Based Rendering represents the most scientifically accurate interaction of light and materials. A PBR material file has 6 channels, each containing a different texture. There is a channel for the base colour, 3 channels for roughness and 2 channels for metallic. This goes to say that PBR relies heavily on the properties of the material itse...

Week 5 We started with a brief exercise of creating a silhouette before we proceeded to Zbrush. This exercise was meant to help us understand the basic shapes that make a character.  Before assigning another exercise, our professor gave us a rundown of Zbrush and its hotkeys and interface. We were to sculpt lips by ourselves on any available human head models from the asset library in Zbrush. First, I started by collecting reference images and putting them together using PureRef, great software to keep your pictures organised. You can choose and select the picture you like and simply drag and drop them into it. Because the interface was still relatively new, I decided to refer to a tutorial and follow it. The tutorial helped break down the available brush tools and the entire process in a few minutes. After getting more familiar with the brushes and the basic hotkeys, I tried sculpting the lips. For the second half of the class, to help us understand sculpting better, we watched a ...

Week 3 For week 3 we moved on to UV mapping. UV Mapping is projecting a 2d image onto a 3d object to create a texture. The 3d object is unfolded by adding seams and making cuts along the model. Our professor did a quick demonstration by holding up a literal box and unfolding it to help us understand and make clear the entire process of unwrapping. From what I learned through some of my own personal experiences is that you always put seams on the 'back'. By this, I mean that when we are picking sides or edges where we want to put our seams, we should choose a side or edge that is in the least focus. The area where won't matter as much compared to the 'front', where having a cleaner look and undistorted texture is necessary. Our professor too reiterated that it is advisable to not put seams where the texture cannot be compromised.  These are some good examples of UV Mapping, Following the explanation, I watched and followed a couple of UV mapping tutorials which are a...

Week 1 Regarding 3D Modelling, Autodesk Maya software is the industry standard, which is why the first class started with an introduction to 3D modelling in Maya and a brief introduction to its interface. The introduction began with an overview of the course and how it will help students gain knowledge and equip them with the skills required and needed in a prospective 3D artist for this industry. This module is practical in its approach and has project-based assignments meant to make the students more comfortable with the software (Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Substance Painter, etc.) The module will cover all the related aspects involved in the modelling process such as 3d modelling, sculpting, UV mapping, shading, texturing, lighting and rendering. 3D Creation Pipeline Mind Map   Week 2 For the second half, we did workshops designed and created to understand the various modelling aides available in Maya such as the deformers (Bend, Flare, Sine, Squash, Twist). We experimented wit...