SWOT

strengths: i learn quickly and always want to learn more. In 3dsmax i like to tinker with setting to see what they do and get different outcome from this. i also think i am able to create objects with just reference images very well.

weakness: when following tutorials i like to scan the text and do what i think it is telling me do do rather than what it is. so i end up missing a stage at the beginning and at the end find i need to start again because of the stage i missed. i also don't always manage my time as best as i possibly could due to distractions and a certain little person.

Opportunities: i have wanted to explore the world of 3d modelling for a while but never knew where to start. i love creating things and expanding my knowledge of different software and expanding my multimedia skills. i plan on doing some extra work over xmas with my panda as due to rigging the model it will be easy to animate.

Threats: my less than great time keeping may hinder my ability to create decent models and show my potential. and my lack of drawing skills may stop me creating the standard required to skin my model effectively.

and the final stamp

panda stamp finished

finally after like 5 1hour+ renders today i have finished it

heres the render:

panda lighting

i am playing around with the lighting on my panda

i have used a sky light an omni light and a target spotlight

the 1st one didnt put enought light onto the bamboo

so i edited the settings and changed the colour of the plane under the grass to make it look more realistic

each render takes around 45mins on my home pc and over an hour in the mac lab. so each change i make takes ages to see the result

luckily it gives me time to work on my other projects

this is the final render

i like the shadows cast but the bamboo is now lit too much so i will change the omni light multiplier and try again

the grass is AMAZING tho

panda continued

i solved the problem with the skin on the hands of the panda

problem:

i sovled this by making sure the finger and wrist bone were aligned with the model properly and the bones were of a suitable scale so they were not before.

i have now positioned my panda in the scene and imported my bamboo object which i made previously.

i am having trouble with the lights at the moment with them making the bomboo too light.

i am also using the hair and fur modifier on a box underneath he panda to simulate grass.

completed stamps

my panda is causing me some problems while i try and move the limbs to position it. the skin on the panda doesnt properly follow the biped. i will have to play with the parameters again

as i have finished the other 2 stamps i have put them in the stamp template.

Goldenseal

Turtle

i have now gone back to my panda.

i recreated the model as my skills have progressed from my last attempt.

i forgot to get a render of this.

but i have a blank render of my uvwmapping before and after

after: (still needs a bit of work)

i started to get annoyed with the model mapping again so i decided to start getting it in the correct position for my render. as i want it climbing up the bamboo i made before.

to do this i had to insert a skeleton (biped) to attach to the model.

i then had to adjust parameters to allow the model to follow the skeleton movements properly.

i almost finished my goldenseal last night

i have 3 lights on the scene, 2 to get the shadows on the leaves and partially iluminate the flower. and a 3rd with include on the flower bud to fully illuminate the flower to make it the focal point of the image.

i am having an issue with the hair and fur modifier not showing through the plane of the smaller leaf so i will have to see how i can resolve this.

i have almost finsihed my goldenseal

i like the leaves and the stem. i will have to put the hair on the stem at home as it wont work at uni.

i am still unhappy with the center of the flower. although i have redone it 3 times.

i may redo the flower altogether as it is too slim.

Goldenseal

now i have finished my turtle i have started my next model.

it has come together quite quickly

im not completely happy with how the center of the flower looks so i may redo it if time permits.

i need to do a couple of leaves and then it will be ready for mapping/materials.

turtle = DONE!!

i have finished the turtle for now. i changed the shell from the one in the other shot. thanks to Andy my pet mississippi map turtle for the photo :).

there are a couple of things I'm not very happy with and if I have enough time at the end ill come back and do them.

completed turtle:

started the turtle map today reasonably happy with how it looks so far.

the bmp im editing in photoshop:

how it looks on the model:

the eye when you look closely has the same texture as the fin which is not desired so i will have to find a way of getting around this.

i may also find a different shell picture as the one i have used i dont like and looks like it been varnished.

after about 6 hours work today i have finished the unwrap UVW mapping template

i thought i would piece all the pieces together so i could create a smoother image to place on my turtle model. doing this will also make it easier to stop the appearance of seems between each part of the turtle. (takes so god damn long tho).

Start:

....6hours later....

End:

i have found the cellular bump map very good for the turtles fins, head and shell. varrying the bump and size amount helps to keep a universal texture but also help to seperate the sections of the body.

i also tried the dent, noise, smoke and speckle but none of these produced a scale type effect.

i have finished texturing the model now just need to do the uvw map hopefully will get most of that done tomorrow.

not too sure about the belly texture. but i will be rendering the turtle from a 5-10% angle up from the front so shouldn't be shown anyway. will have to see once ive uvw mapped it :).

i have managed to texture the turtle partially this morning the colours are just so i could identify what each section looked like once i applied the texture to the model.

i think i may have a problem once i come to uvw map it as the texture segments stop and change abruptly but if the map is smooth and flows with the shape of the turtle i hope its not noticable

for the stamp i am going to have a coral reef in the back ground as this is the turtles habitat

have only just been able to post this from last week

have got alot more detail into the head and bottom jaw looks very much like the real thing now.

now to start the texturing

had a spare hour to work on my turtle

i have attached the head, it still needs a bit of work to make it look realistic and get the eye sockets and mouth/beak to look right.

the renders have turbosmooth on with 1 iteration any more and the turtle looses shape looks like a green blob.

the top view blueprint isnt matched exactly as it is at an angle but i have tried to follow the general shape.

cant wait to finish and get it textured its going to look amazing

the panda was doing my head in so i have started on the turtle

having some decent reference images i have progress on it well. im happy with the shape of the front fins, and the head. i think the shell may have to be scaled up as its slightly too small

im not too sure on the scene i will have the turtle in but after modeling it i can work that out.

i have decided to theme my stamps on endangered species. this will enable me to use the panda i have create once i make some modifications to it. (I have created it so many times now due to not liking how it looks and the file getting corrupt i know the tutorial off by heart.)

I'm sure as you read this you are thinking animals. but if you search google for the top 10 endangered species 2 of them are plants/trees. the rest of them are animals.

According to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) the top 10 most endangered species are:

1. Black Rhino
2. Giant Panda
3. Tiger
4. Beluga Sturgeon
5. Goldenseal
6. Alligator Snapping Turtle
7. Hawksbill Turtle
8. Big Leaf Mahogany
9. Green-Cheeked Parrot
10. Mako Shark

For my designs i will be creating 2 animals and 1 plant from the top 10 endangered species.

1. The Giant Panda

2. Hawksbill Turtle

3. Goldenseals

i may have to change the panda for one of the other top 10 as it is very difficult to find suitable reference images.

My pumpkin scene

i realy happy with this scene the pumpkins look quite realistic and the lights in them puts a cool shape onto the floor

i have started to remake my panda as the previous one looked like a crossbreed of shrek and po

and my model of bamboo:

my leaf render

richard promised me leaf of the week for this:

finally got around to texturing the model yesterday

i used a basic unwrap uvw and exported the file as a bmp and edited it in photoshop to get the colours

i don't no why there is the section on the belt that is green showing through

had a play around today with 3dsmax followed a tutorial on how to create Po from kung fu panda

ive craeted the model and will hopfefully have a bit of time tomorrow to do the texture tutorial to put fur on him:

heres the model

bishop and pawn

bannana

here is my bannana model

Biodiversity Moodboard

The term biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth, from micro-organisms to mighty whales, along with the habitats they depend upon. (Natural history Museum, 2009)

with this in mind i created my mood board to cover as many different type of organism and habitats as possible

the text across the middle is the 3 different biological variety levels that have been identified. and i have tried to include a picture of each.

i have added the farmer, as this is a very large part of biodiversity for 2 reasons. 1, it is one of the main food production methods for humans, and is the habitat for many insects and their respective ecosystem. 2, many habitats have been destroyed to provide room for farms and fields for livestock.

I think the most wondrous and spectacular environments is the rain forest and will be the subject for at least one of my stamp designs.

one idea i had was to have the stamps related in some way. for instance, air, land and sea.

1st Model

not a bad remake.

i should have added an environment to make it look more realistic. Also I would like to add the windows to my model.

although this isn't the first time i have used 3d studio max I couldn't remember some of the basics and the slightly more advanced things i learnt. but after starting some of the things came back to me and enabled me to create this model.

Reaction To Brief

the subject of the project is interesting, and a real world issue.
the project to create postage stamps is strange but im looking forward to it as its somthing different and the design opportunities are endless.
im assuming that each stamp will have size guidelines. which will be restricting but it'll make me really think about the designs to make them most effective.

i am looking forward to broaden my knowlodge in 3dsmax as it is a ery powerfull program.