Problems/Conclusion

Having a lot of problems this week regarding rendering. I tried rendering a scene of the exterior using mental ray but it failed every time. I have no idea why this is happening and I have asked several tutors and students. The only reasonable explanation is that may maya is bugged which is not a major issue. However, this puts pressure on render time as each shot takes about a day to render. The render passes include the colour pass as well as the occlusion pass. Alex Hulse recommended that I export the images as OBJ's, however this didn't rectify the problem completely and it would have meant that I would have had to colour the scene again which wouldn't be possible.

With only one computer operational for render this severely hampers the amount of renders we can achieve in such a short amount of time. 

Chris and I were obviously concerned about this issue, however we improvised and made tough decisions that had to be made. We decided that we would have to submit the final clip without the interior renders which were also having problems rendering. This would mean that there would only be exterior shots of the building. I am disappointed that this has come about but cannot be helped due to technical difficulties.

Looking on the bright side we did have a few outstanding renders that were ready to be composited within after effects. We only needed a few more renders to complete a coherent sequence. Although this is a major issue I feel that we have made the right decision in the light of what has happened. The inclusion of some interior shots would have been beneficial.

However, I feel that we have achieved a vast amount working on this ambitious project. I have learnt techniques in all areas such as modeling, texturing and rendering which have all vastly improved the visual look of my work. I am very grateful for the tutors support as well as several students when working on this project. Although there have been a few technical set backs that could not have been foreseen, I feel that Chris and I have risen to the challenge in creating some awesome work. The project itself was a huge learning curve and I feel that it has armed me with new techniques and processes which should prove useful in future projects.

The project was architectural in orientation and I think it has benefitted my modeling and texturing skills. Doing this project was hugely important in terms of a career move. Understanding architectural drawings and knowing how a building works was vital in making the model of the site. I can use the techniques I have learned and apply them to areas outside animation and concept art and into architectural visualisation.

Storyboard

Chris and I both thought it was necessary to draw up some kind of storyboard that would help us when it came to editing the sequence of images. We wanted the images to relate to one another to  form a visual sequence that informed the client about the sites whereabouts as well as its features. We also needed to know where the cameras would be in each shot and the lighting needed to be right for different shots to truly emphasise the features of the exterior. The storyboard would save huge amounts of render time as we could say as much as we needed to about the building with a few well thought out shots. 

The storyboard itself clearly illustrates the light levels needed for each shot as well as camera angles and camera moves.

Modeling the interior

Using the plan images given to me by Husband and Carpenter I began to model the foundations of the interior using polygon primitives. I started by building a cub and subdividing it to the measurements of the room. I manipulated the vertices to create the exterior walls as well as the bathroom area.

I had some trouble at the beginning making the exterior walls. I think this was due to my lack of knowledge when extruding faces. For some reason when I extruded the faces it created geometry within the mesh which caused problems when I needed more subdivisions. I have an outdated version of maya, so this could have been the cause of the problem. I could only rectify the issue by deleting the internal geometry manually which was rather time consuming but necessary. 

I was pleased with the outcome as the shape was the right scale and matched the drawings perfectly. I now needed to start creating details within the model like the toilet, furniture and tiles. Chris concentrated his efforts on rendering the exterior scenes as well as making the bed, cabinets and bedside tables and the windows. Everything else was modeled by me.

I had a few problems when making the sink and bath tub as I did not know how to vreate organic geometry. I used the booleans tool to cut out sections that made up the recesses. I know realise that this causes problems in the geometry with illegal polygons which cause problems when rendering and texturing. 

Interior

Before we finished the bulk of the exterior, I started work on the interior. I knew that the site had had some interest from travelodge and did some research on what a typical travelodge bedroom would look like. The rooms themselves were neutral in colour with cream coloured walls and blue carpets and white bathrooms. Looking at the plan drawing I realised how small the rooms were. The structure of the bedrooms looked simple enough. For the most part the rooms were squares or rectangles with a bathroom attached. 

Here are a few 3d models that show the colour palette of the rooms.

Final Gather Colour Tests

Here are a few final gather tests that show what the scene will look like when it is lit by a physical sun and sky dynamic. Rendering the scene this way will give the scene a realistic light source highlighting key points on the building. By using the physical sun and sky technique we could recreate lighting that would be realistic enough to resemble the way in which the building would be lit in reality. 

Some of the renders were over exposed, however they could be adjusted in after effects using the brightness and contrast sliders. I was extremely happy with the result and I am very grateful to Fahran Younas who has helped us with the render settings to achieve these awsome images.

Looking at the images now I realize that the surfaces look bleached out and very few of the surfaces have little impact on the way in which the building is lit. The occlusion renders should affect the surfaces and bring definition to the entire piece.

Colour Pass

Once the occlusion renders were done and any discrepancies in the mesh ironed out Chris and I started work on tecturing the building using basic lamberts which combined with the occlusion renders would result in a realistic and accurate building. We had been using images to create the building. These were purely for measurement purposes and were not used for colour reference. We could not leave the building in a state of grey scale. This would not look attractive and would not look professional to an interested client. 

We needed some samples that would best represent the materials that would be used on the exterior panels which would make up the buildings unique and interesting colour palette. Acquiring the right samples took some time and we only received three samples instead of 4. In order to complete the texturing process we would need to create the fourth colour with careful guidance from the architectural company we were working for. Using some artistic initiative we created the colour needed to complete the interesting pattern on the exterior of the building. Looking at the textured model I was excited and overwhelmed with the outcome. The building was starting to take shape and the surrounding buildings gave the hotel a sense of space and scale. Although the modeling process, particularly concerning the production of the exterior took longer than expected the overall outcome was beginning to look like a building that would be a functional one.

I took it upon myself to texture the building once all the components had been modeled. I had the laborious task of combining all the parts that would be similar in colour. The main worry was the intricate panel work on the facades of the building. There were 4 colours that made up the colour scheme and they all needed to be the right tone. We only had three colour samples at this point. It was difficult to combine all the correct panels and colour them accordingly. I didn't want to colour panels in the wrong way as to avoid losing the pattern that had been carefully thought out. Sometimes I missed out panels, however these were very easy to spot when the majority of the building was coloured.

Although the colour pass did not look like much at this point I knew that the building would look more exciting with good lighting and the addition of an occlussion pass to pick out the detail.

Here are  a few renders showing the colour pass.

Occlusion

Here are a few occlusion renders that help in understanding the building as well as the surrounding area. The occlusion itself really helps iron out any discrepancies in the models geometry and the way in which light and shade interacts with the mesh. The way in which light interacts with the surfaces of the model will be key in determining the success of the building.

Lighting itself will be key in showing off the buildings assets as well as how it will react to a change in light levels.

Finessing the Model

The panels were finally finished and work could now be done on the window recesses which would finalise the form of the building. This was easily done by making edge loops that cut straight down the model as well as the circumference of the building. Care was taken to make these cuts in the mesh by using the images to accurately draw out the faces which could then be extruded to form the recesses. Drawing out the faces was time consuming but when it was time make the concave rectangles that formed the windows it was a simple case of selecting all faces then extruding. I was very pleased with the result as the cube now looked more like a building.

A little modeling was done on the upper part of the roof as vents were made as well as doors to add realism to the model based on the drawings we had. It could be difficult sometimes to make the vents accurate as some of the images had been slightly blurred. We worked around this problem as it was not essential to the core of the building as well as the brief. It was important however, to make sure the model was to scale and that the geometry was in good shape. Any faces within the model that would not be seen were got rid of to reduce render time.

Both my brother and I were very happy with the more detailed model and we could now build up the surrounding area using basic geometry to give the building scale and see how it related to existing buildings in the immediate vicinity. We also added street lamps and people to enhance the the models scale. 

Once we were happy with the exterior we focused our attention on the textures that needed application onto the building. We realised we could get a realistic effect using basic blins and lamberts if the building was lit properly. If there was more time in which to do the project we would have created the textures ourselves and applied bump maps to them to give an ultra realistic feel to the building. However, this was not the objective of the assignment as we needed to create a representation of the building. The building would be judged on its scale and accuracy not its textures.It would be nIce to at some point add custom textures and displacement maps to really enhance the realism of the piece. Render time must be taken into consideration.

The images show the development of the building and its surrounding as well as the addition of basic lamberts using maya software.

Adding the detail

Once the bare structure had been modeled we concentrated on building up the exterior details in the form of window frames and paneling. Most of this was a simple copy and paste procedure, however once the paneling was created we needed to fine tune it to fit the buildings exterior structure. 

In some cases we found that certain areas of the building were offset slightly. This problem confused us for quite a while and it was due to the fact that the image planes we used to reference the model were only just out of sink with each other. We eventually solved the issue by resizing the images so they were exactly the right height and width. Although this set back modeling time, we were quick to solve the problem when we located the error. This could have been prevented early on as I was to quick to get to the modeling stage than spend the time aligning the images exactly. 

We moved swiftly to create the other facades on both the east and south of the model. Progress at this point was good as all that was left was the window slots and the roof. We later found that we created some geometry that did not fit with the drawings. We noticed that we had extruded a face on the model that did not correlate with the plan drawings. We originally thought this would be a simple process of moving the vertices in question. How wrong we were.

For some reason I could not delete the faces of the face in question and tried various tools and procedures to rectify the problem. I tried merging vertex points and edges as well as extruding edges to make new geometry. At first it seemed that the problem was unsolvable. At great deliberation I began the horrible and tedious task of deleting whole sections of the building to create new geometry. This was a desperate move, however I thought it was the only way to rectify the problem. I eventually managed to create the faces needed for the panels to sit neatly within the framework of the building. It took quite a long time to solve the issue and I tried many solutions. Im sure there was a better way to solve the issue but I honestly don't know what happened. It was only by trial and error that I persevered and rectified the problem.

Anyway here are some screenshots that show the development of the exterior panels that form the interesting color scheme of the building.

The Modeling Begins

Using the images given to me by Husband and Carpenter Chris and I began to model the basic structure of the building using simple cubes and polygonal shapes. We just wanted to create the essence of the building. Creating details like window frames and panel work didn't enter the modeling phase at this stage as we wanted to focus our attention to the dimensions of the build and its framework. The building's width and height were the most crucial aspects to get right at this early stage in the project. If the building was created in a way that didn't represent the images early on this could cause major problems further on in the build. 

Progress was slow at this stage but this was due to miss reading the images as our architectural knowledge was poor. We found it difficult to read each elevation and there were discrepancies in the model. At one stage we had to completely rebuild the model because it did not resemble the drawings in any way. We found that we included too many faces for a building that is largely a basic cube in shape and we were making it more complicated than it actually was. However, we overcame this issue by asking our mother to help us in understanding the drawings and how the lower levels of the hotel related to the levels above it.

Here is an early screenshot of the building in its early stages of the blockout process. You will notice that minimal detail has been added at this time. 

Project Schedule

This is the project schedule for the project. It highlight the key areas which will require the most of our time. The project is quite ambitious, so careful planning is essential for good workflow and an outcome that will be adequate for broadcast.

The Drawings

Once I had acquired the necessary drawings to construct the exterior of the proposed building I began to scale the images suitable for maya. These would then be used as image planes to project the drawings to form a cube around the model. These image planes would be used to accurately construct the model to a specific scale. All elevations were needed to form the basic structure and accurately convey the height of the building itself. We also some plan drawings so we could construct the foundations of the building and produce a model with the right dimensions.

One of the hardest things during the building's development was reading the drawings produced by the architectural company. In order for the building to be accurate we needed the drawings to be a particular and they needed to be clear enough to read in maya. Chris and I had no experience in reading architectural, detailed drawings, so reading them to begin with was difficult and often resulted in a model that in no way resembled the drawings. However, with a little guidance and trial and error we managed to construct the basic shape of the building using the images given to us by Husband and Carpenter.

Research

Before we started the modeling phase I wanted to find some reference regarding fly throughs and camera moves that show off a buildings features.

I found one example that would help us in producing a theatrical piece that shows the buildings exterior. The video itself is on Vimeo. Here is a link to it http://vimeo.com/2098317. The video itself features the proposed Shard building in london. The piece itself features a full scale model of London which would be far to ambitious for my brother and I to achieve at this stage.  However, the way the camera moves throughout the scene is both artistic and informative. This is something my brother and I want to achieve by the end. The project should also improve our modeling, lighting and texturing skills. 

I do like the way the environment around the structure changes, for instance the change in light levels ue to the time of day. This is very theatrical but at the same time informative. The change in the time of day reflects what the building may look like in different conditions. This is something we will have to consider when working on the project.

The primary strategy for this project is to convey the building itself, how it relates to other buildings around it as well as the buildings interior. When developing the project for broadcast we need to consider lighting as well as the composition of the shots to get the best out of the building while informing the client of its dimensions.

Here are a few 3d examples created by icreate3d.com. This company was founded in 2003, it is an established Architectural Visualisation company working with the property sector throughout the UK and the rest of the world. They concentrate solely on architectural modeling and provide quality, accurate and reliable computer generated images and animations.

Here are a few examples of their work. Looking at these images I will try to create the same effect using textures and good lighting to replicate a realistic environment which would be of benefit to potential buyers.

These images will be hugely beneficial when it comes to modeling the exterior and interior of the building at Clapham Junction. The lighting and texturing within the scenes will help us decide how we want the interior to look like and how light will bounce around the rooms.

Although the drawings for the building have already been made available to us, this will give us the chance to get straight into modeling the exterior structure. The hard part will be texturing and lighting the scene to best depict the building and its features. I feel that this project is very ambitious but at the same time will provide us with the knowledge and skill to produce realistic and accurate architecture and interiors that will make us more employable in the industry we wish to participate in.

Architectural visualisation  using 3d packages such as Maya can exploit its render options and modelling tools to quickly and easily create realistic and accurate images of proposed buildings. This gives clients an image to work with where the client can observe first hand what the building will look like. The latest digital technology allows for quick and detailed architectural designs to be produced quickly and efficiently. Architectural rendering allows the client to understand the layout and environment of the proposed design. 3D modeling enables both the architects/ designers and the clients to envision the design more clearly. 3d packages also allow designers to quickly change features within the architectural design to best suite the client and planning applications if the need arises.