QUESTIONS & REVIEW
Topological Level
Double-Click on a Tool to get its options
Self/Copy/Replicate
Terrain Models
Sections - object of the section first, cutting surface second
Ghosting
Direction (p 4-172 to 4-173)
FormZ Part 3
Snaps - that magnetic attraction that you want
Booleans - for objects
Union - erases common area leaving one object
Intersection - leaves common area to both objects
Difference - 1st object minus the 2nd
Splitting - One way=1st object split by 2nd. Two way=2 objects split each other
2D to 3D
Trimming & Stitching - for mesh surfaces
Trim
Split
Trim & Stitch
With a Line
Get a Line of Intersection
Insertions - the magenta tools
Insert Segment (and Point) - no pre-selected face required
Insert Outline
Insert Face
Building Stairs w/ Face Insertions
Insert Hole - use negative heights
Insert Opening
Deletions
3D Line Edit
Break
Close
Trim
Join
Connect
Fit Fillet
Beveling
Color
Keep Current Face Color
Clear All Face Colors
Export to VRML
RenderZone
The PROCESS
surface styles created and assigned to a palette of surfaces - surface styles can be as simple as a color or as complex as reflective metal
active surface style is assigned to object
Texture Map tool used to specify exact position of texture, type of mapping, size of the tile and other parameters. Thus the same surface style may appear differently on different objects, depending on how it is mapped.
Decal tool can be used to assign other surface styles on top of the first
Light(s) are generated and positioned
Model is Rendered.
Rendering Methods - details of each on RenderZone pp6-4 to 6-7
flat - fast; good for early development
Gouraud - a bit smoother, but no highlights on curved surfaces
Phong - slightly longer; color of pixel calculated from interpolated normal distance
z-buffer - adds textures, bumps, shadows, fore/background, reflection. In Full Z-Buffer, you also get transparency and anti-aliasing
raytrace - slow but most sophisticated; high quality, photo-realistic; rays of light traced from light source through the model
Color Shader
Reflection Shader
Transparency Shader
Bumps Shader
Surface Styles Palette
Surface Style Parameters - Procedural shaders and Pre-captured shaders
Name
Color
Reflection/Transmission
Transparency
Bump
Size
Image Map in [Color] and [Transparency] menus
Wrapping - whole object, cylindrical or flat (each face applied individually)
Texture Map Tool
Previewing
Methods
Size
Texture Groups
Decals - graffiti, posters, labels, etc.
Lights
Distant - parallel rays, infinite distance, constant intensity; sun is one
Point - from one point out in all directions, intensity may or may not diminish; candle is one
Conic - from one point but in a direction defined by a cone, intensity may or may not decrease; car headlight and much indoor light is relatively conic
READING for further reference FormZ User's Manual - Tutorial. AutoDesys. pp.149-150, 154-163 FormZ User's Manual - Modeling. AutoDesys. pp. 4-195 to 4-209; 4-235 to 4-249; 4-300 to 4-306; 4-327 to 4-346 FormZ User's Manual - RenderZone. AutoDesys. pp. 6-1 to 6-120
ASSIGNMENT - this assignment is an individual assignment. It is due at the beginning of class next Thursday.
The assignment for this week is also very general. In the last lesson, we looked at how to model landform. For this assignment, I'd like you to think about how to model either vegetation or water.
To do this, please select a portion of your site (or the area around it) that contains some vegetation or water or both. Using Form Z, build a model and render it with textures, focusing on developing techniques for realistically rendering vegetation and water.
As a product, please copy a folder with your name on it containing all relevant files
(FormZ project files and images) to the Print_Server/Data/PC/f97larp_computing/ folder on the network. I will copy these files onto a Zip disk at the end of class next week. No late assignments will be accepted.
This will probably require you to scan some textures into Photoshop, save them as *.bmp, *.tif, or *.tga and then import them into FormZ. I will also provide a set of tectures in *.tga format on a Zip disk to one class representative. This will be available on the Print_Server by the weekend. Be creative with your search for textures. Don't think simply green for veggies. Try to think about the seasons, branching on trees, lighting, texture, leaf size, etc. How would you differentiate between one variety of tree and another? Will you spend a lot of time modeling a single tree and then copy and paste or will you look at massing of vegetation across a whole area? How will it look on the screen? On a printer? What does the backdrop look like? Will you go for speed of rendering (more complex drawings will take a long time to render) or quality of rendering. Will you make a very simple model in FormZ and simply map a very detailed image onto it from Photoshop? Will you hand-draw textures using graphite or charcoal, scan these and work from there? There are several ways to do this. Try to come up with your own. If you have comments that will help me interpret your process, please write them in a 'readme.txt' file inside your project folder.
As with all of the assignments, try not to see this re-doing something you have already done. Use this as an opportunity to push your studio work forward.