Week 5 - Part 2 Si gains a lounge (and proper appliances!)

Now was the time to consider the dimensions of the lounge, especially since I would create both environments in the one file - and the copy the relevant version of Si's animation sequence into the scenes! The camera needs to be able to move freely, but not highlight the rooms appearing too disjointed with spacing for furniture and other interior features...


In order for me to advance quickly with the aim of this week, I was intending to create a new set of walls, but this would cause alot of alignment headaches.

So this image is a result of a 'copy' clone, with which I renamed as 'lougeenterance' for easier reference later on.
I was pleased at how the distance from the two would defiantly work with the camera path I was intending to create for the intro into each.

I realized that I would need to resize the rooms for one last time, especially given the dimensions of Si as I designed him.

In the image I had selected all four walls and the floor and resized from the centre of the tool, so that they would increased dimensions equally (although, I feel now I could heighten the ceilings a bit more for extra usability!)
Also shown are the light sources I have used to demonstrate the interior lights that will be reflecting around the room off many surfaces


^He is one of my proposed images which will be placed onto a vertically aligned plane to display outside the interiors. The idea of Si's home being on the moon, with outer space images all around will very much add to the feel of the Sci-Fi concept^

^With a bit of adjustments of the U and V tilings, I was able to take this diamond-stamped material and include it as the lounge floor texture. Using 'Pyramidal' filtering and increasing the 'bump' attribute, it gave this material great depth and reflective properties, as shown below^




Appliances and furniture were about to be made at this point and I didn't really have an idea of what I was aiming for - geometric shapes or anything slightly quirky was really the name of the game if I'm honest!
And so I began with a rectangular box and positioned it along the back wall just off from the entrance to the kitchen
In the image, the material editor also shows the 'brushed_metal' texture being prepped for use

I then discovered the 'lattice' modifier
I hadn't thought of using it in this context but as soon as I saw what I did to the simple rectangle, an idea of how I could work this oddity to my favour began to emerge


However, it looked almost too obvious in this setting so I experimented and found that by adjusting the segments of the struts and joints, they became more rounded and usable in a material context

Now I just needed a texture equally as offbeat...



^I felt strongly against using a 'UVW Map' on this object for fear of it all going wrong when rendering, so I tried to alter the tiling respective of how it appeared on the joints more so than the struts - the 'rusted_steel' material was more than ideal for this purpose!^


The 'object' needed a surface (it was to be a work surface for him after all!) and I thought to go with a basic slim rectangle placed over the top in between the four joints and not worry to much about it!
(I had thought the image in to the left made the whole thing look like an operating table really, but still..)


I therefore tried a texture to improve things, the 'galvanised_steel' shown here, but no matter how much alteration there was with the tilings and even a 'UVW Map' couldn't change my mind

I was to then return to the object's sub-object level to pick away at the polys and vertex to create a surface from the shapes own form



After I had applied the 'Mesh_Smooth' modifier to increase its gradual-rusting properties, I descended into sub-object level.
Having used 'Quad-Ouput' as the subdivision method, then I moved onto local control and, from there, selected edges of the object.
I could now see the individual edges of the struts and began to CTRL and left-click the edges I wanted to select

Once I had chosen the majority of the upper section of the near-side strut, I pulled it across, making sure I was sticking to the 'y' co-ordinate, so that this strut were to merge with its opposing strut
Once I had reached the other side (the rusted texture keeping its integrity thankfully!) I decided it needed a little something else...

^Using much the same technique as with the struts, I selected the four central edges of the opposing strut and pulled then upwards on the 'z' axis to get this splash-back addition^



Having found the 'melt' mod. a little earlier on, I thought about using it for another piece of space-age furniture in the kitchen; a snazzy looking waste bin (hey, even aliens have things they want to throw out!)

I created a cylinder and applied the modifier: a melt amount of
120 points, spread % of 7 and jelly-like solidity (0.4)
This sucked the inside of the cylinder inwards and gave the base a slight outwards splay - similar o what I have experienced with the mod before.

The 'Galvanised_Steel' material I previously tried with the worktop was therefore used here (I will be chucking in some geometric objects to act as pieces of rubbish inside the bin!)


^Once I was happy with the bin's dimensions, I re-modified it by applying a 'Edit Poly' modifier, which then allowed me to alter the vertices, edges and polygons as I would have done when I first converted it. Checking the 'Ignore Backfacing' option, so I wouldn't unknowingly select an opposing edge, I began to select, in groups of three, edges which I then pulled inwards to create this very raw, industrial look (an experiment which paid off I must add!)^

In part 3, I shall post details of portal windows and, my new best friend, the Boolean tool...