Reactors

The images below show my first use of reactors. The images show the animation of a bowling ball knocking over some pins using reactors to simulate the collision and the effects of gravity. This was done by importing the objects and then adding them to the rigid body collection. Then I gave the pins a mass of 10 and the bowling ball a mass of 20. I also changed the collision tolerance to 0.2 and the start frame to 3. Then using auto key I moved the ball forwards and added spin up to frame 5 to give the ball momentum and spin. Then I previewed the animation in the window and made tweaks to the animation to make it seem real and so the ball knocked down all the pins.

Expressions

The image below shows the animation of different facial expressions. In order to create this animation I started by importing the head object and then creating three extra copies of the head. Then using poly editing I selected certain parts of the mouth and used the grow function to select the entire jaw. Then I moved the mouth to the desired expression. I then repeated this for the other two faces to create the expression of closed eyes and raised eyebrows. Next I used the morph function and selected the three different faces from the scene. Then using these different expressions I used the auto key function to create a short animation of a combination of facial expressions.

Tank mood board

References:

Leonardo da Vinci, n.d. italyconnoisseurs.com. [image online] Available at: <http://www.italyconnoisseurs.ru/eventi/wp-content/immagini/leonardo_davinci.jpg> [Accessed 15 February 2012].

thetoyzone.com, 2009. thetoyzone.com. [image online] Available at: <http://www.thetoyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/davincitank_thumb1.jpg> [Accessed 15 February 2012].

Kaimai school, n.d. kaimai school. [image online] Available at: <http://www.kaimai.school.nz/leonardo/images/tank_image.jpg> [Accessed 15 February 2012].

John Farrier, 2009. 15 War Machines by Leonardo Da Vinci. [image online] Available at: <http://www.neatorama.com/2009/08/03/15-war-machines-by-leonardo-da-vinci/> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

Patrick Wright, 2011. Tank: Life and Times of a 'Wonder Weapon'. [image online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/gallery_tank_01.shtml> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

Leonardo da Vinci, n.d. Da Vinci Invention Tank!. [image online] Available at: <http://www.leonardo-da-vinci-biography.com/da-vinci-invention-tank.html> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

flickr, n.d. Da Vinci - The Tank 2. [image online] Available at: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ovidiu_tudor/3311516950/in/photostream> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

flickr, n.d. Da Vinci - The Tank. [image online] Available at: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ovidiu_tudor/3311515030/in/photostream> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

Demitrius Berkley-Thomas, 2010. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – Review (Xbox 360). [image online] Available at: <http://www.gametactics.com/2010/12/assassins-creed-brotherhood-review-xbox-360/> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

Siege engine mood board

References:

Leonardo da Vinci, 1480. Machine for Storming Walls. [image online] Available at: <http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventors/ig/Inventions-of-Leonardo-DaVinci/Machine-for-Storming-Walls.htm> [Accessed 18 February 2012].

Gift of the Goddess, 2009. Da Vinci Siege Tower. [image online] Available at: <http://gift-of-the-goddess.deviantart.com/art/Da-Vinci-Siege-Tower-136613577> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

TheJimReaper, 2010. 3D Model Leonardo Da Vinci Siege Ladder. [image online] Available at: <http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=229573> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

Mar.k, 2009. Siege Machine. [image online] Available at: <http://www.the3dstudio.com/product_details.aspx?id_product=229573> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

sharetv.org, 2009. Doing Da Vinci. [image online] Available at: <http://sharetv.org/shows/doing_da_vinci/episodes/473349> [Accessed 2 March 2012].

Rendered images of my three models

The image below sows the base with the weighted concrete balls on the back. In order to create the box that contains the concrete balls, I first had to create a simple box and convert it to an editable poly. Next I created a segment in the middle of the box. This segment was a slightly smaller square in the centre of the box. I then used the polygon tool to extrude the segment downwards to create the box. Then I created a basic sphere and copied it a number of times to fill the top layer of the box.

Then to complete the base of the model a base was added. In order to get the base to fit the shape of the model correctly, a box was used with a number of lengthways segments that had been added. Then using poly modelling the box was moulded to fit the base of the siege engine. Also the pole that would have been used by the animals to pull the siege engine was added using two boxes and a cylinder.

After the base had been completed I started to build the model of the siege engine upwards. The first thing that was built up was the stairs. This was because the stairs can be the hardest thing to get the correct height, so they still look natural and not too steep. Then to make the stairs look more authentic two beams were added either side.

Then once the stairs were in place I continued to build the frame up using copies of basic boxes that were scaled up or down and rotated into place.

Once the frame had been created I could then create the bride that would drop down onto the wall. The bridge was created by using a simple box as the base and then was copied and rotated for the sides. Then a pyramid was added for the end. Finally the bridge was placed in the correct place and scaled down to fit the size of the model.

Next the counter weights and string was added. In order to create the counter weights I used a number of boxes and then to create the curved edge I used soft selection and curved the edge in. To create the sting a cylinder was used. Next tori were used to make the effect that the string was wrapped round the poll and for the hook that the string was tied to.

Finally the textures were added. Various UVW map settings had to be applied to the texture to fit correctly onto the model and so that the planks of wood move in the correct direction. The string used a plane white texture and the hooks for the string used the architecture and design copper texture. The wood texture was found at:

Like a texture, n.d. Wooden Plank. [image online] Available at: <http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/265/9/2/wooden_plank_by_like_a_texture-d2z9iqu.jpg> [Accessed 1 March 2012].

The image below shows the completed model of da Vinci’s siege engine.