CHAPTER-2
3D-PIPELINE (LIFE CYCLE)
Hi friends, in the last chapter we saw-what is true 3D.....Our next step is to learn about the steps involved in the process of creating our virtual 3D world.....Like our real world which contains water, land , animals, birds, people, machines,buildings etc....In our virtual world we can create anything from a small drop of water to a big skyscraper......Most of us in the real world believe in a supernatural power (God) who created this world ...... but remember in our virtual world ..you are the "virtual God" ....you have the power to do anything in our virtual space....you can build a fantasy castle or even the devil's hell here...its your choice...there's no one to stop you.....so keep your imagination open!!!
Lets move on to the steps involved in the creation of our virtual world...There are six steps in creating any object in 3D (whether its a simple needle or a complex character)
- Modelling
- Texturing
- Rigging
- Animation
- Lighting
- Rendering
But before we go through each one of them in detail.....we must ensure that you have done the most basic and most important element ..... whether you have a Model sheet in your hand or in your system???
Model sheet
This is the most essential element that is needed to create any object in your virtual world.....Model Sheet is a reference sheet of a character in different poses or an object in different views which is essential for a modeler before he starts creating something.....A modeler creating a object without a model sheet is similar to a blindfolded painter painting the scenery before him.....He won't have a clue on where to start painting or even what to paint...similarly the modeler will neither know from where to start his/her model nor the proportion of the model...
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| Reference image-LCD television |
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Character Model sheet
Superman |
The right-side picture shows the character Model sheet of Superman....if you're designing only an object like a Television, then even if you don't have a model sheet of a TV, a reference image like the one in the left-side would do.
But remember for designing a character a model sheet is mandatory.....without which something will definitely go wrong in the middle of the Modelling Phase
Now , lets move to our 1st step in actually creating a element in the virtual world.....Modelling.....I am going to explain most of the phases (steps) with a human character as an example but this process is applicable to all the elements whether its an object or a background etc...
MODELLING
The process of constructing a geometry in 3D is known as Modelling....and the person who does the Modelling is know as the Modeler
Now if you are going to make a painting of your friend...what will you do first??....you won't go straight to the paints, would you???...first you will do a sketch of your friend's physical appearance - the body structure,face,eye shape etc... Similarly here, you are creating a Model with the physical characteristics of your character.....its just like pulling and punching a clay in different directions and moulding it into the desired shape...i'd like to refer modelling as creating a muscular structure of our character like the ones we have inside our bodies
In the left picture you can see the muscular system of a Human being and in the right you can see a model of a 3D man...you can clearly see the similarities
In general, Modelling is of two types
a) Hard Surface Modelling- includes geometric shapes like bikes, buildings etc
b) Organic Modelling- includes modelling of muscles,faces..used mostly in character modelling
TEXTURING
The process of adding the specific outer texture or the outer skin to our models is known as texturing
As our real world God gave us a skin to cover our muscular system....we as a virtual god should also give the appropriate skin to all our models ... to make it look complete and more realistic
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| A textured model of a man |
Texturing is done by a method know as "UV MAPPING"....where all the parts of the model are divided and made flat and mapped to its respective textures....we will see more about uv mapping in the upcoming chapters
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| UV mapping done for a Rabbit |
RIGGING
Rigging is closely attached with Animation. Rigging takes Geometry and make it suitable for animation. This can range from a simple constrain to a full character muscle system
we started with modelling a man and then we gave the required outer skin for the man.....so do you think we can make him walk or run or do any action??.....No....do you know why??....because the man model does not have a skeleton system....do you remember your biology classes in school days....we used to learn that because of our skeletal system,we are able to move our hands , feet, legs etc....similarly you have to define a skeletal structure to your model...which is nothing but Rigging....without which your character can be used no more than a clay doll....with no Actions or Animations
In the above image you can see that the right side is the Rigged structure (skeletal structure) which is linked to the left side model....hence the model can be animated-the model is able to walk.
ANIMATION
Animation is the process that brings our 3D geometry to life. 3D animation involves manipulating the physical position of the object over time. Time is Displayed via Timeline in which each second is divided into frames
In simple terms , Animation is changing the position of the different parts of a model-frame by frame....so that when its played back you will get the illusion of movement to our 3D model...For example...for a walk cycle you might move your character's legs and hands frame by frame and finally if you play it .... it will look like your 3D model is walking
The above pictures show frame by frame animation of a boy throwing a ball....you can see the change in position of the ball and the boy's body movement in each frame....so when these frames are played in real-time it will be seen as a clear action
LIGHTING
Just like in films where the camera man gives importance to lighting, Digital scenes should also be lit with lights and lighting techniques
Imagine that you have created a wonderful house in 3D and need to show that it is night time inside the house....This is where Lighting process comes handy....you can create artificial lights in 3D software and place the correct types of lights in the appropriate places inside the house so that the house gets a night-lighting Effect...there are different types of lights found in 3D softwares like Hard light, soft light, directional lights... like the ones used in a real-world film production. You should also know the subjective awareness of how to use lights ... for example....you cannot have a brightly lit background in a scene for a sad situation...then background and the story wont sink together
In the above picture you can see how the same scene is lit in two different types of lighting techniques and it shows the difference as day and night effect....you can also see that lighting also adds extra life to your scenes
RENDERING
This is the last process in the 3D pipeline...
Rendering is a series of complex calculations that converts the digital scene via camera(virtual) into a high quality image or movie in case of animation
This is nothing but getting the final output of the your animation....the 3D movies that you watch in televisions or theaters are Rendered output....Only the rendered output can be played outside the 3D software so that the general public can view the movie!!
you can see that the above image is a rendered output of a single frame of the movie "Ratatouille"....similarly if you get a rendered output of 2 or more frames of the same movie...you will get it as a small movie clip that can be played in players like vlc players...
okay guys tats it for chapter two....from my next blog post we will start with - MAYA (3D software)....and from my next post i will have a mix of video and text content so that your better understanding....if you have any doubts or clarifications or suggestions about my blogs feel free to mail me ... my id is mangal1105@gmail.com.....and i like to thank all the people who viewed my 1st first blog and and encouraged me to write more blogs!!!
REFERENCE
- Escape studio learning material
- And of course GOOGLE.....
