Texture Test

Okay So i decided before i go any further i need to test that the UVs are in the correct place and when i eventually get round to texturing properly i wont have to then to back and faff about doing something i should have started before now! 

During my trip to France over the summer i had the opportunity to take lots of texture photos. fortunately i had one of a log that is used as a chair, i mirrored this over so it will line up on either side, hence the horrible middle piece. I quickly put this on  my UVs and instantly realized a few of them don't line up.

I decided to test the texture out in UDK as i figured i can then create the material and re save over the file. While examining the logs i realised there are a few Uv shells that are slightly out of sync with the others so i need to go back in and move them up/down slightly.

I will be doing this to all of the structural pieces (on the bottom floor) today as i want to have them fully working, unwrapped and light mapped by tomorrows practical. once this is done i will begin on the second floor structure as i think its past time i got them sorted.

On another note i remodeled the chair. i figured the other one looked too quirky, this one looks mucccchhhh better! it fits in with the scene a lot more. ill post images tomorrow, right now i hope on finishing the structure.

Duvet Designs

Okay so i did make a start on the stairs like i planned i would. I still need to sort them a bit more before posting about them tho. A friend shown me how to use the cloth simulator properly and decided that its probably going to be a lot faster and more effective to use that. Especially when comparing the trial versions to my previously modeled version. so for the past hour or so I've been playing around with that and produced some outcomes. I think the top row and the bottom right one are looking really good and the final one will come from that bunch. I still need to go back in and sort out the topology, get rid of  some unnecessary verts, clean up the topology.

Small but significant update

The block out in UDK is coming along nicely, everything in the scene bar the fireplace and the start of the stairs are fully unwrapped, including light mapped, and ready for game play, the collision is sorted also. it doesn't look like much ATM however to me its starting to take shape, it doesn't seem to look as impressive in max, i think that's cause i know I've got a fair few assets that still need to be tinkered with and unwrapped etc. where as in UDK it feels like its going somewhere and i am making progress.

Here's how the bedroom assets are going, i added a bit of originality into the bed frame, the pillow and the quilt still need a lot of work going into them yet. The draws and desk need unwrapping and light mapping, other than that tho they are ready to import into UDK. 

I think my next move is to finish off the walls and make a proper start on the stairs. i think once this is done and the upper level is added it will start to look more complete. I aim to have the basic structure fully modeled and in UDK ready for testing by the end of the week(unwrapped and shading complete).

Asset work

So today i finished modelling the set of draws i started on last night and started on the bed. The draws were pretty simple to model and came in at just over 1000 tris. I even added in the slots along the draws for where they would slide in and out.
I begun modelling the quilt about 20 minutes ago, at first i was debating a cloth simulator however i think that would push the tri count an awful lot. I also i want the quilt ruffled as if the previous owner had forgot to make the bed before leaving.

Progress update

Yupp! i solved the wall alignment problem!! I feel so much better now that its sorted.
so from that i went onto creating the modular parts of the walls, the fireplace part of the wall and the windows and door parts.

From this i went onto creating more assets for the bedroom, i created a desk and a set of draws. These still need working on as they are still block outs however the shapes are comming along well.  

Below is the block out so far. Just a quick update of how its beginning to look, i still need to catch up a lot from the week i missed, i would carry on working through the night however i need to be up early in the morning.

I think i solved it!!

I think i solved it!!

i think its the pivot points! i tried taking the edges of the same side and connecting them and exporting into UDK (i put them in UDK because i thought it might of been how i was rotating and mirroring them in max)
i found that it fits perfectly with the ones i took it from and i think thats because the pivot point is there, i look the same block and moved it up to the second set and i ran into the same problem with it aligning on one side of the log but not on the second, i think this is because theres no pivot point to snap to.
To solve this i think i will export each set of logs from the corner piece out separately, with this the pivot points should be able to snap together no problem.
I was thinking of doing this but adding in the wall pieces and exporting that out as one object, i know ill have to create some pieces as a big wall however having all walls this was wouldn't be very efficient i think. hopefully this will work! Its been bugging me for the past 2 weeks, it was such a relief when my brain clicked onto the problem! (at least i hope its solved, shall find out soon!)

Time Table

So i had to create a timetable for a separate module and thought why not post it on here too. This one is extremely basic for this module and i will sometime soon produce a more in-depth one.
as shown i will be spending at least half of my time on this module.

Wall alignment

I must be having a brain block! Thats the only thing i can think of atm to explain why i cant get these logs to line up!












The corner pieces line up fine when mirrored which is how i was going to place them in the scene. i took the open edges and duplicated them across to create the wall and for some reason it lines up fine on one side but is slightly out on the other side! i cant explain why. its exactly the same on both sides, maybe its the pivot point but it shouldn't be, its on the same vert on both objects.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Today I've been trying to sort the walls out. I've also added in the roof structure and support beams. The shell of the project seems to be coming together quite nicely.
after some careful thought and consideration I've realised i can use the modular pieces to create 3 of the walls and 3 walls will need to be modelled separately due to spacing.
The walls that need to be done separately are the front door wall and the small wall by the side, this has been connected to a modified corner piece for the inside of the cabin, and the left hand side wall.

Today has been very much trial and error, I've gotten to the point now where i need to call it a night or am going to end up completely redoing the wall structure, maybe thats what i need to do in a sense, make the cylinders again cap them at certian points and make them unique that way? tonight i began to notice how the wall pieces didn't line up perfectly as i started to model the second floor wall pieces. fortunately the day doesn't seem completely wasted as did the roofing structure and i started on some of the bedroom assets such as a chest of draws and a desk/table

I wont be working much on this next week as i have to go home for a family matter meaning i wont have access to my pc with max on. i might be able to get some concept work done for this however other modules require my attention, i should start working back up on FYP on friday 8th.

Note to self: Create cylinders> vary sizes> cap ends (middle wont be effected)> ctrlX drag verts to place (trace corner pieces) see if that works.

Sunday, 3 November 2013: Walls

I spoke to one of my tutors this week and he helped me realised that i can get more done blocking everything out first instead of making something then unwrapping it (how i was previously working).
He gave me a lot of help in terms of direction and how the cabin should look, particularly on the walls. The walls was an area that i was uncertain in, i didn't know if i should do the walls as actual logs or planks. I saw some images that used horse hair plaster between planks that i thought would give a twist on the colour scheme as one of my main issue with the colour scheme is that the interior will look too brown. After talking to my tutor he explained that at first it might look interesting but it would probably loose interest after a while, logs would be more fun to model, and he was right i have enjoyed modelling the logs probably more than i would have with planks,  this way i can give them all a unique feel and make the cabin look traditional.
Another issue raised is how to make the walls. usually i would use modular pieces; a corner piece, a main wall piece, a window piece and a door piece. Usually this would work however all of my walls are different sizes as my cabin is an 'L' shape. Below are the outcome of how the modular set would work.

 To overcome this issue i think i am going to have to have each wall as a separate mesh or at least in some cases half a mesh that can be mirrored.
I can model half of the back wall and mirror it across. I could quite possibly use the modular set for the right hand wall on the image above and will defiantly be using the corner pieces.
I will be using between 2 and 3 texture maps for the walls and roof. I hope to use my UV space wisely by overlapping a lot of the logs and rotating the UV's to give each one a slightly different texture. I've used this method before and found it extremely successful.

Sunday, 3 November 2013: Fireplace

Note: all posts from the previous blog has been posted.


















Okay, now everything is sorted and reorganised time to update!

The fireplace: 
I started by creating the left inner panel, i created the inner section first leaving the small outer blocks that would connect to the next panel blank.i figured unwrapping this section first would be the best way to go about using my uv shells as once i rotated this the uvs would be overlapping.
i did this for the back panel as well, the back wall will be a simple plane, i was debating with myself to have it modelled untill i realised that with a decent normal from a high to low poly bake i can save almost 700 tris that can be put to use elsewhere.
Creating the stone was alot easier than i first thought it would be and i think its coming along quite nicely. i still need to model the top half and the stone oven, as well as the stones underneath the fireplace as padding.
the padding would be used to protect the wood around the fireplace preventing damage.

So far the fireplace is just under 2000 tris, 1010 verts.

31st October

So i realised today that tumblr dosnt have time stamps. I must remember to title the date!

Okay so since my last post, roughly two weeks ago, ive been modelling in max and exporting into UDK.

I redesigned the windows as i realised they would work better, this way i can have the plant life creeping through an open window where in the other design id have to have a smashed piece of glass. 

from this i went onto making some plates and pots to make the kitchen look lived in, these are fairly simple and can easily be reused and retextured. The pots are in two separate pieces, the pot and the lid this way they can be scattered to help enhance the environment.

I made a start on the fireplace a few days ago, at first i was going to start with the bottom and work my way up however this process didn’t work as planned. from this i worked from the inside out, this way i can duplicate the inside while keeping the outer wall unique. Currently i am making the stone look varied in hight and size, hopefully if all goes to plan i hope to have this finished by tomorrow (including the outer wall) ready for unwrapping.

decided to add a bit of depth to the fireplace sketch, i quite like how its looking so far.

Okay so the past week I’ve been working on my proposal, figuring out milestone dates and generally sorting my work shedual out.
hopefully ill have the interior modelled by the end of December, Texturing will start at the beginning of December and modelling the exterior will begin mid January. 

commence hermit mode!  

okay so the kitchen was set in stone and figured i should model them, these are fully modelled, unwrapped and light mapped so initially i was testing for bugs, seems okay so far! Lets hope it stays that way.
Placed in UKD for now still undecided on the engine yet.

trying to decided if i should go for the one single floor or use the loft space to create the bedroom, i think my decision is leaning towards the loft space.

Figuring out how to design the fireplace and how a second floor would work.

8th October: Rethinking and Refining.

Okay so over the past few days I’ve been collecting more references. I didn’t have a clear idea of what material I wanted my walls to be made of, I didn’t know if brick or stone would be a good material as then I could create moss and other plant life growing from the cracks in the walls. Wood was my original choice helping create a natural organic feel. After research I found a photographer through an urbex photography group on DeviantArt,http://bluemangoimages.deviantart.com

He captured an abandoned cabin made from wood; the interesting and most capturing aspect of this was the white stripes between the planks of wood. After a bit of research I found this to be horsehair plaster. Ultimately this tipped my decision. Having areas of this plaster would help to break up the earthy colours and help balance the colour pallet. 

One key feature I want to create is a fireplace with a stone oven above. I have been looking into how this would work and how to design it. I found a website which explains the various types of cooking with this kind of oven.http://www.fornobravo.com/pizza_oven_management/oven_operation.html 
This would be the key area in the room, the table and chairs would be centred on this feature for warmth and convenience.

Another feature I have been toying with is the bedroom; I don’t know weather to use half of the loft area to create an upper bedroom.  I have been designing some concepts, to keep in with the open plan theme there would be railings instead of walls to keep players from falling to the lower floor. One issue I have with this would be that the roof would need to be slightly higher, probably only half a floor as the height of the rafters would create the headspace however this would most likely cause issues with the collision boxes. I don’t want to create a big shack, this would be cold and hard to heat up and I think almost create too much empty space. I could cut this by putting half of the roof on a steeper slant; I think this could draw the eye down to the fireplace?  My main issue with this idea is that it is too modern; I think cabins like this would be single story as it is easier to build. 

I didn’t want to create an environment that was modern and up-to-date, I wanted to create a place that was almost in tune with nature, living off the land and using natural resources. This means no gas oven and radiators etc. 
outside would be a shack where the lavatory would be. Out side there will also be either a hand pump or a well, this feature is yet undecided. Around the area would also be water containers, collecting rainfall.

Just some quick sketches, mainly floor planning, these were done before any solid research and designs have altered slightly now :)
















The image to the left was mainly to get a feel for how plant life would have begun regaining control.

Introduction

I previously started my blog on tumblr and have roughly 10 posts starting from the end of september, i decided to change because of time stamps. Unfortunately on my last blog there was no time stamps which i find incredibly useful to help keep track of what I've done and when i did it.

Well Third year has come around way to quickly and for my final year project i intend on creating a small environment with both an exterior and interior. 

This blog will be used to keep a record of what I’ve done and most likely remind me what i need to do!

I intend on creating a small abandoned cabin in the countryside, this will be a single story cabin that is fairly open plan. I want to create how nature would slowly take back over, how the plants and foliage would grow wild and out of control. Great thing about this is i can use the excuse of research to go hunting down specific plants and going to certain places haha.

Ill post sketch work, concepts and moods and updates as i go :)