Week 11 - Y-Wing and X-Wing

This was only a quick scene that I managed to do in 30 minutes so I decided to improve this one the most as I now have more time to do so. 

Evaluation:

Positives:

• Camera angle is a point of view/behind the ship shot. This shows a range of camera angles that I have used. And also shows all three ships.

Negatives/Improvements:

• Could improve the camera angle by panning it back away from the tie fighter so you can see all three ships.
• There aren't any lights or anything to show that the ships are moving. I should add different coloured lights to each ship.
• The ships are, again, quite wobbly and rotate slightly from left to right a bit too much for a space scene. They should have a smoother transition and also move left to right a bit as well. 
• Add motion blur to the ships to, again, show that they are moving quite fast.

Improved Video:

The improved video now includes a camera pan backwards so that you can see all three ships. Rotating as well as left to right movement of the two ships and also lights to all three ships to show that they are moving. 

Week 11 - Explosion Of the Y-Wing

Today I have completed the explosion of the Y-Wing.
Here is the video:

Evaluation:

There wasn't any need in changing this video as the explosion was big enough and looked quite realistic because it didn't explode straight away which most explosions do by doing some research and by previously watching Slow Mo videos.

Also because it's in space and there's no gravity I decided to get the materials to float.

Week 11 - Lasers Shooting at Y-Wing

During the middle of week I created another video for my animation. This time I created a scene in which the lasers that were from the Tie Fighter (previous blog entry) are now shooting at the Y-Wing. Here is the original video below: 

Evaluation:

Positives:

• Background is clear and not pixelated.
• Lasers are consistent with them all being the same colour as one of my other scenes that I had created for the animation.
• Cameras location is good because it shows the point of view from the laser. This shows I have used a range of camera angles.
• Shows the ship is actually moving rather than it being still. Moves forward and also rotates.

Negatives/Improvements:

• The back of the Y-Wing looks quite plain so it needs a bit more colour and material added to it.
• The back the Y-Wing also needs some engine lights to show that it's moving.
• The ship is too wobbly and rotating side to side too much so instead I want to improve it by actually moving it side to side as well as rotating slightly. 

Improved Video:

This is the improved video.

I have improved the moment of the ship and it even dodges one of the lasers. I added lights and a new material to the back of the ship as well.

I think this looks much better than the original.

Week 11 - Tie Fighter Lasers

Early this week I completed another part to my animation which was a sequence in which the Tie Fighter shoots out four lasers. The camera is located in front of the Tie Fighter so the lasers are shooting directly at the audience, this gives the perception that you're actually there looking at it. It's almost as if you could watch it in 3D. Here is the video:

Evaluation:

Positives:

• The smooth movement of the tie fighter and how it moves through the scene. It's doesn't stutter or make any sharp movements. This shows the zero gravity in space.
• The quality of the tie fighter and how you can see the glisten of the metal from the light.
• The background isn't pixelated and is a good quality environment.

Negatives/Improvements:

• The fact that the lasers aren't actually coming from the guns itself, some are a bit off from the guns. I could have improved this by actually starting the lasers inside the tie fighter where the guns were situated and maybe using a path controller with a spline.
• None of the lasers went straight into the camera which is what I really wanted to do, I tried moving the lasers into the camera but because of how the lasers had been rotated this could not be achieved. Again I could have used a spline and a path controller.

Week 11 - Weekly Blog Entry

My views on the differences between 3D Studio Max and Maya:

• I think 3DS Max has a stronger modeling tool set with a huge library of different modifiers that you can apply to a range of different shapes. This can make the modeling process easier. 
• 3DS Max has a lot more tutorials compared to Maya which means it can be a little easier to grasp. 
• Complex models that are linked with architectural visualization like interiors and buildings caters to these types of artists who creates these models. Whereas Maya can be a little less forgiving in creating complex models and can be a little harder to accomplish but in some of the newer versions they have improved their modeling toolkit which brings a faster workflow.
• With animation, Maya has a much more powerful application. It has a huge library of tools and can also be very customizable. 3DS Max still has excellent tools and can be accomplished the same but Maya is stronger with its ease of use. 
• Maya also pulls ahead slightly in Rigging. You can complete complex rigs in Maya  which is difficult to achieve in 3DS Max but with the newer versions of 3DS Max it's now a bit easier to rig models. 

Overall I think 3DS Max is better as a program on a whole because I am used to creating and animating models in this program. I have used Maya before but only for simpler models, 3DS Max UI is laid out much better and has a much easier use.

Research on how the tools are used in the video games industry:

I have done my research on the internet about which program is being used more and to be honest both programs are being used the same amount. Although there are some sources saying Maya is being used slightly more as each year when they release a new version they have added a lot more tools whereas 3DS Max haven't released anything outstanding compared to Mayas LT which is designed for indie developers. So Autodesk seems to be upgrading Maya slightly more because more people may be using it. 

Reference: Mark Masters. 2014. Will 3DS Max die next? (Not likely). Available at: 

http://blog.digitaltutors.com/will-3ds-max-die-next/ [08/12/2015]

Week 10 - R2 D2

 Today I have created another part to my animation which will be R2-D2 spinning around like he's in trouble. This was easy to do as all I had to do was rotate the head a few times.

Evaluation: This animation was easy to make. One thing that could be improved would be the textures, this is because they look quite fake rather than a shiny metal material. To do this I may be able to add an omnilight so that the metal shines from the light.  Another thing that could be improved would be to add motion blur to make it look more realistic.

Improved Video:

This improved video now includes motion blur and I also made the rotation repeat rather than it being slow at the beginning.