Internal Client Outcome - ATRG Advert

ATRG Advert - The Potential of Smart Textiles in Interior Design from Samantha Freeman on Vimeo.

I have now just about completed my internal client project for the NTU Advanced Textiles Research Group (final video above) ready for submission on Friday! I have also decided to do a couple of HD promotional renders to go with the video to put on my DVD, as well as making some images on Photoshop of my storyboard and planning sketches. :)

Context 3 Exhibition Package Assignment

Below are my five catalogue images and my 50 word catalogue entry for the Context 3 'Exhibition Package' assignment.

“Samantha Freeman is a multimedia practitioner with a strong passion for 3D visualisation and virtual environments. Her most valued and developed skills include modelling, texturing, lighting design, and post-production techniques. Samantha wishes to gain a career within the visualisation industry and strives to produce realistic imagery with feeling and character.”

ATRG Internal Client - Lighting & Effects

This week I have been trying to finish my lighting and glow effects (etc.) for my ATRG project. I am currently finishing this before moving onto sorting out a few slow camera shots of each important area of the environment, to edit together for my advert in After Effects after rendering.

Here are some renders of progress of lighting and effects - firstly I tried glow shaders on my mental ray materials in 3ds max, but this for some reason decided to stop rendering properly, so I have now decided to render some objects separately using the matte/reflection/occlusion material so I can add effects in AE.

First few lights inserted - dark 

Screen with texture highlighted by omni light

More lights inserted -  feels lighter, but not too light?

Experimentation with glow shaders in 3ds max

More glow shader experimentation

Quick test of how using matte/reflection/occlusion material can  let me add glow effects after in AE - render times!

PNG render with alpha of glowing areas

PNG render with alpha of environment without glowing areas

Internal Client Project Progress- Texturing

This week I have been doing most of the texturing stage of the project, still sticking to my brief action plan I did before I started creating it, so far so good! :)

Anyway, I have just about done most of the texturing now, although it will not look finished until I add lighting and all of the glow effects for the LED textures. For now these just have self illumination within them, and the glow effects will highlight this much more.

Here are some quick renders I did to show the textures I have decided on for the interior space:

Bed with TV blind

Desk area - LED fabric computer, touch keyboard, etc.

Slide door and keypad from interior (and heated rug)

Entrance - slide door, keypad and metal floor

Touch fabric keypad for entry

TV blind on bed

Sofa area - LED cushions and curtains (and heated rug)

The truth is I guess in some ways I have cheated a lot within this stage, as I have used ALL UVW map modifiers on the objects, rather than unwrapping them. However, due to my choice of modern/futuristic style, I feel all the materials I needed to use did not require this process anyway,as a lot of the textures are either smooth, reflective plastics or easily map-able fabrics with bump maps.

Note I also need to still convert a video files for the texture on the LED TV blind on the bed, as this is currently a still image.

Internal Client - ATRG Visit & General Progress

ATRG Visit

Today I took part in one of the organised visits to the facilities of the Advanced Textiles Research Group within the Bonington building on campus. Although I ended up not choosing the facilities (present) brief, I thought this could be useful to understand the technology slightly better, as well as to physically observe the garments and yarns.

I took quite a few photographs whilst on the short visit, and here a few of the more relevant, interesting of these images:

Antenna embroidered onto t-shirt

Touch-buttons within fabric

Steel glove - good example of knitted texture

Heated fabric - heating within the yarn

Antenna stitched onto military fabric

LED chips integrated into yarn

LED chips integrated into yarn

The last two of this images are the ones that are the most relevant for my project, as I plan to advertise the potential of LED integration within yarns, for both decoration and display purposes. From observing the yarns in person, I noticed they are actually very thin, and the chips themselves were so small I couldn't even see them (literally the size of specs of dust). Therefore, I feel it would still be appropriate and accurate enough to use simpler fabric textures within my 3D design (diffuse & bump maps), rather than having to model a bulkier looking knitted product.

I also looked at the heated technology in some detail, as this is something I will focus on for the rugs/carpets within the interior space. I want to make it as a accurate as would be possible using the technology, so will probably make the texture of it have stripes of different coloured yarn where the heat would come from.

Similarly, I have a couple of touch sensitive fabric devices within my proposed advert, so looked at the potential touch fabrics we were shown, although this apparently has not currently 'kicked off' as much as the other technologies explored. I noticed this was a much thicker, more robust fabric than the other examples may have to be, so will try and show this within my 3D models and textures.


General Progress

Also, I have just about finished modelling the main parts of my interior space for the advert now, and will shortly start to texture these to the best of my ability, influenced by the images and findings from the ATRG visit, before lighting and camera placement/animation, etc.

Below are a few quick renders of the modelling so far, showing how I have slightly changed the layout since my first presentation. I may slightly increase the size of the room again, as it may still feel a little cramped when cameras are placed within the space.

Internal Client - Feature Design

As well as making the shape of interior space feel more futuristic or modern, it was also advised that I used a similar method when designing a ceiling for the room. Using one of the images within my previous moodboard for futuristic interior design, I found the idea for having oblong shaped holes within the ceiling revealing a material above. For my design, I think this could be effective to show a black surface - fabric? - with lights on it, as a form of both decoration and illumination, perhaps.

Example for infleunce - ceiling 'holes'/'panels'

Render showing ceiling design with this idea in place, so far.

Internal Client - Modelling Stage

So I am now at the stage of 3D modelling in the internal client project, where I have give myself 2 weeks at the most to model all of the parts I will need to make the room for my advert.

The first thing I did was think about the feedback about the layout, size and shape of the space I had originally proposed in my presentation, and decided on a bigger space with a more curved shape (inspired by moodboard in previous post).

Top view of current room shape - wireframe layered on top

Perspective shot of entrance to current room shape - wireframe layered on top

I have also started modelling quite a few of the objects and pieces of furniture I would like in the interior space, including those shown in my proposal presentation prototypes, as well as new less significant items that could provide a 'sense of place'.

Bed with TV blind from front (rough version of sheets/blind)

Bed with TV blind from back (rough version of sheets/blind)

Chair

Desk

Touch keyboard

Sofa

Glass tumbler

Lamp in full

Close up of interior of lamp - inner panel will light up, rather than being a bulb

PC mouse

For now I am carrying on modelling more items to put within the space, as well as researching the properties of fabrics, and seeing if they will need to be modelled as well as textures; perhaps knitted fabrics, for instance.

Internal Client - Feedback & Production!

I have done my presentation for the internal client project, and received both good and bad feedback.. My style and general idea seems to work pretty well, but my choice of audience (graduates and potential collaborators) did not fit this idea very well. Therefore, instead of changing the whole feel and narrative of my advert, I have decided to change my audience to possible retailers or designer interested in the products within the advert. Other than this, my feedback was pretty good, I just have to consider the shape of my interior space fitting with my chosen style (futuristic), and think about my time management a little more.

So now I am starting the production process, beginning with modelling the items, and testing out skills I may need later on. For instance, I have tried using the vray renderer at university, and found it quite challenging and totally new! However, I do think it could be worth using over mental ray if I learn enough in time, so shall see how it goes before I have to begin texturing and lighting. I have also been learning and experimenting with the cloth modifier in 3ds max, as this is something I will most likely need to make the fabric objects within my scene.

Here is a quick test I did using a cloth plane colliding with a box and a ground plane :)



Cloth Simulation - 3ds max from Samantha Freeman on Vimeo.

Internal Client Project - Moodboards

I have chosen the animation brief 1 for the internal client project for NTU Advanced Textiles Research Group advertisement. Here is what is expected:

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE ADVERT?

This brief is to create a short (approximately 45secs) video that should speculate on

the potential uses of the product. It should create a sense of anticipation of the

future of this research.

Potential applications for the technology include the following:

Retail: RFID tagging of textile products from manufacture to point of sale;

Medicine: Vital signs monitoring, body chemistry monitoring, stroke rehabilitation,

pressure measurement in compression garments, RFID tagging (numerous

applications from stock control to use in care of those with dementia);

Military: Vital signs monitoring, performance monitoring, physical condition, position

and orientation monitoring, radiation monitoring, monitoring of harmful gasses, RFID

tagging (numerous applications), wearable communications devices, camouflage,

meta-material devices for microwave cloaking, smart clothing with response to the

environment;

Sports: Performance monitoring;

Architecture: Stress and strain measurement in textile roofs, ropes and textile

composites. Lighting screens, flexible display screens.

Aerospace: Stress, strain and temperature measurement in textile composites;

Personal Electronics: Wearable computers, wearable communications devices,

electronics for social interactions.

I have done a few moodboards to help with development of ideas and to show within my presentation next week. They are based on:

• The Advanced Textiles Research Group (images given and found)
• The general area of smart textiles and its future
• Influences and style/colour scheme
• Futuristic Furniture

I have also had a quick go at recapping on setting up self illumination on materials and glow lens effects. This is obviously a very simplified model of yarn with no real textures, butshows how I could achieve a similar effect for a possible logo or title screen for the advert.