KNB127 CGI FOUNDATIONS N11456388 Adrian lai

Image source: From cgtrader by jamesmiddz, 2021 (https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/cityscape/low-poly-british-royal-mail-red-post-box-letterbox-mailbox)

Week 1

In week 1, I began preparing myself to use Maya, a 3D computer graphics software developed by Autodesk. I am new to Maya and also to creating CGIs, but hopefully I will be able to learn all the skills required for making CGIs and animations through researches and attending workshops. The first assignment is to create a mailbox using Maya and then apply textures using Adobe Substance 3D Painter. 

Week 1 reflection

This week, I have been exploring Maya and getting familiar with its interface. I haven't started working on the assignment yet because I'm still getting used to 3D modeling apps. I will start working on the assignment in week 2.

Week 2

In week 2, I have been starting to modeling the mailbox. I have used a model of a cylinder in Maya as a base to start. Then, I cut it in half and expand the parts of the cylinder to make it form like a mailbox. In order to make the mailbox looks appealing, I will keep refining the shape of the mailbox until it looks similar to the referencing image.

Refining

The size and the shape was actually wrong , so I need to refine the model to make the mailbox's shape fit like the referencing image.

Week 2 Reflection

I was stuck at the issues I had this week before attending the workshop. However, after seeking help from the tutors in the workshop, I was able to solve the issues I had so it is very important for me later on to reach the tutors for assisstance if I face problem in this assignment. After refining the shape of the mailbox, it is time to add the other details of the mailbox, this includes the stand, flag, door and envelopes. My goal in week 3 is to get all these done so that in week 4, I can start smoothing.

Week 3(adding details)

The stand, flag and the door of the mailbox have been added.

After completed the stand and door of the mailbox, I added a few envelopes, as they were shown in the referencing images.

Week 3 reflection

So far, the model of the mailbox is bascially completed. Next week, my task is to smooth up the mailbox. I am going to smooth all the edges of the mailbox. I faced some difficulties to make the flag of the mailbox at first so as usual, I reached for tutor's help to tackle this issue. To make that shape I actually just need to adjust the size of the edges.

Week 4(Smoothing)

When smoothing, I switched to smoothed preview to work on it. This temporary smoothed preview visualizes how the mailbox will look with a higher level of smoothness.

Week 4 reflection

Smoothing is now completed. Different parts of the edges have been smoothed and the mailbox looks more appealing than before. My next task is to start UV mapping, the step before adding colour and texture in Adobe Substance 3D Painter. Next week is week 5 and the assignment is due in week 6. So far, the progress is good and the remaining tasks are UV mapping and texturing the mailbox. Meanwhile, based on the tutor's feedback, I should add a base for my mailbox as well. I will add that next week( just a cylindar model in Maya and rescale it to the right size).

Week 5(UV mapping)

UV mapping in Maya means creating a 2D plane model of a 3D model's surface, allows accurate texture application. This process entails unwrapping the model's surface onto a 2D space, adjusting its layout using the UV Editor, and exporting the resulting UV map as a template for texturing. Applying textures based on this map allows the 3D model to have realistic and detailed visual results.

Week 5 reflection

UV mapping is definitely one of the parts that confuses me the most. At first, I was confused when I saw the UV plane map before it was unwrapped. It looks very complex and overwhelming. Initially, I tried to manually adjust the positions and sizes of the UV elements. However, it was too time-consuming so I decided to look up solutions online. Luckily, I found really helpful YouTube videos that taught me how to auto unwrap and layout in Maya. Afterward, I could simply scale some of the UV shells to refine them. This method saved a significant amount of time. I have learnt that watching tutorial videos on YouTube is very important for me, especially as a beginner who may not be proficient at creating 3D objects. These videos have been instrumental in helping me overcome difficulties in my 3D modelling.

Week 6(assignment due)

It's week 6 and the assignment is due at the end of this week. The remaining task for me to work on the mailbox is texturing in Adobe Substance 3D Painter.

Texturing

3D texturing is the process of applying textures to 3D objects. This involves: adding textures (either from photos or from scratch), applying textures to 3D objects, brighting the scene and applying final details. (Adobe, 2023)

Baking

Before I start texturing the mailbox, I need to complete the process of baking first. Baking is the process of saving information from a 3D mesh to a texture file (bitmap). Substance 3D Painter generates Mesh Maps by baking mesh information. Mesh maps can be used to give more information related to the mesh geometry and enhance the appearance of materials.(Adobe, 2023).