clay render for end of year show piece

Here is a final render of the poster that I have created for my end of year show. I have added a Clay render to give a good effect to show off my final piece of work for my Dissertation Module.

Bibliography

Pro Optimizer and Optimizer tutorial
http://mycreativedaddy.com/how-to-reduce-polygon-count-in-3ds-max-easily/

Pepakura Files
http://www.therpf.com/f78/blackouts-mark-42-hd-pepakura-files-view-my-helmet-model-interactively-online-185331/
http://www.therpf.com/f78/helagaks-iron-man-mark-42-all-files-released-176505/


Pro-Optimizer and Optimizer tutorial
http://mycreativedaddy.com/how-to-reduce-polygon-count-in-3ds-max-easily/

Xnormals download page
http://www.xnormal.net/Downloads.aspx

Clay render tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH_rHnlUFBw

Bookmarks for references, tutorials and general researching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSXtjFI9ig - Baking Normal maps in 3ds Max
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH_rHnlUFBw - 3DS MAX Clay Render Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_YIHLcpwMU - xNormal - Baking Normal maps for 3ds Max & Troubleshooting
http://www.3dtotal.com/tutorial/3d_studio_max/fast_ambient_occlusion_mapping/fast_ambient_occlusion_mapping_03.php - Fast Ambient Occlusion tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPuPNA0daY - Baking normals, AO and more in 3DS MAX (render to texture)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybiHIUWPZnc - 3DS MAX Normal Map Baking Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBW2RQr4fNk - Retopo Workflow between Autodesk Catch 123D, 3ds Max and Mudbox
http://www.videocopilot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=116137 - Mark 42 3D model reference
http://media.cmcdn.net/19884007/780x759.png - Iron man mark 7 reference
http://cgi.tutsplus.com/tutorials/an-introduction-to-subdivision-high-poly-modeling-tools-and-techniques--cg-734 - An introduction to Subdivision (High-poly) Modeling Tools and Techniques
http://3d.about.com/od/3d-101-The-Basics/a/Introduction-To-3d-Modeling-Techniques.htm - 7 Common Modelling Techniques for Films and Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VJ60VCQoQE - Zbrush creature sculpting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VJ60VCQoQE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSXtjFI9ig - Texture Baking Normal Maps n 3DS MAX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6CtYSw63aE - Simple Normal Mapping Tutorial in 3DS MAX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ79bAe7zns - Scultping and modelling in Maya and Mudbox
http://library.creativecow.net/kaufman_debra/VFX_Alessandro-Cioffi_Iron-Man_3/1 - Iron Man 3: The Trixsters Behind Tony Stark's Shiny New Armor
https://www.udemy.com/3dmotive-complete-game-asset-workflow-the-treasure-chest/ - Complete game asset work flow - The Treasure Chest
http://3d.about.com/od/Creating-3D-The-CG-Pipeline/ss/Maya-Lesson-2-2-The-Extrude-Tool_3.htm - Maya Lesson 2.2 - The Extrude tool
http://3d.about.com/od/Career-Resources/tp/5-Common-Pitfalls-Of-Beginning-Modelers.htm - % common pitfalls of Beginning Modellers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPuPNA0daY - Baking normals, AO and More (Redner to Texture)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CADg397cf0 - 3dsmax Modelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kONIPr_gBM - 3ds max tricks - Edit normals to control smoothing and lighting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAiHihF9ea8 - High poly robot modelling for games
https://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalTutors?feature=watch - digital tutors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptjlWuvNzMQ - 3dsmax with Mudbox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJSrxsBRLQ0 - 3d skull modelling
www.digitaltutors.com/ - 3d modelling tutorials
http://5k3d.blogspot.co.uk/ - Movie models
http://cgi.tutsplus.com/articles/43-mind-bending-mudbox-tuts--cg-1584 - 43 Mudbox mind bending tuts
https://area.autodesk.com/mudcom/showcase/iron-man-3d-by-felipe-fierro - Iron Man 3d
http://mudbox-sin.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/iron-man.html - Mudbox art by Sin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=126YvIpwXHQ - hard surface forms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIP9L7N5JTE -  Modeling and painting with Mudbox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFvalXJMh7o - Iron man modelling Training DVD
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-mark-42-patriot-armors/769914 - Mark 42 and Iron Patriot Armour
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-mark-17-heart/759521 - Heart breaker armour
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3ds-max-ironman-mark-iii-armour/625330 - mark 3 armour
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3ds-max-mark-42-armor/758048 - mark 42 armour http://sgthk.deviantart.com/art/WIP-Iron-Man-Stage-2-94572091 - WIP Iron Man Stage 2
http://www.3dcadbrowser.com/download.aspx?3dmodel=28890 0 Iron Man helmet 3d Model
http://5k3d.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/iron-man-3-armor-mark-42.html - Iron Man 3 armour - Mark 42

Books 
Franson, David - 2D Artwork and 3D modeling for game artists
Daniele, Tod - Poly-modeling with 3ds Max; thinking outside the box
Murdock, Kelly L. - 3DS MAX 2008 bible

reflection

This post is a simple list of issues that upon reflecting back on the project are what I would have done to achieve a better end result if time was no object and if I had the knowledge I now have from completing this project:

•  I have established that the biggest flaw in my dissertation has been creating my high poly first instead of my low poly as this has caused most of the issues, but this is personal to myself as others find it easier to model the high poly first so it is dependent on personal experience and I believe I would personally more comfortable and achieve better results modelling this way.

• I think that if I had created the model all as one object the issue with Mudbox may have not been created as this would have made the poly's and geometry flow better within the model, instead of creating the different aspects of the model separately and adjusting/ adding to the geometry to attach the new parts of the amour whilst attempting to make the geometry flow fluidly. I believe if I did it this way that the poly count could have been even lower as well.

• If time was no object I would create the low poly first and carry the model across into Mudbox and add the details as originally planned to make the high poly and then try Xnormals again to see if the errors I came across were my own fault or the software. If that didn't work I would use projection mapping again but this time I would ensure that I research thoroughly into more depth about UVW creation and again into more depth with secular maps then finally add texture maps to give the model more aesthetic appeal and reduce the poly count even further, which will aid with all of the previous processes greatly. 

• I would also have more time to experiment and make mistakes due to creating low poly first.

• Do not get enticed by the Retopologize tool. 

• I have learnt not to use the Turbo Smooth modifier and if I have to use any sort of smoothing, I should use Smoothing groups instead, but if I can, I should create the geometry so that smoothing isn't needed.

• I have learnt not to use optimizer or pro-optimizer modifiers, unless it is for a last resort and not for this sort of work as it was near impossible to use for baking as my normal maps weren't created when I used it. I found this out the hard way as I mentioned previously due to the poly's being reduced but not uniformly which wasted a lot of time that could have been spent on my UVW creation/ research and adding more details into the model, normal and specular maps.  

• If is was to do this again I would have modeled the low poly better to aid in getting better results when modifying the cage when projection mapping.

Final render of submitted work

Here is my final renders of the Low, Normal mapped and High poly models in one file ready for my submission.

Low, Normal and High poly Models.

I haven't added any special lighting or effects to this render to show my models in their entirety, to show the work that I have put into this project. On a side note I have made the high poly more detailed with the geometry on the mask, shoulders and chest purely to show the detail that could potentially cover the whole suit, again if time was no object.  Ideally I know a lot of these details would be added using texturing but I wanted to zone in and focus my work on the baking side and leave out the texturing, so the high poly count is mostly due to this, and this aspect isn't as focused to the industry standard but I wanted to test mine and the abilities of normal maps as well as having a good high quality piece to show at our end of year show.

Final Render of High poly model

 Here is my final render of my high poly model using a simple Clay render in Max that gives it a really nice finish and brings out the lights and shadows of the geometry. This wouldn't work as well on the lower poly models as clay renders affect the geometry more so than the normal maps.

I followed this simple tutorial to achieve the clay render look above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH_rHnlUFBw

Normal and Specular Maps

This is a simple, short ans sweat post explaining briefly normal and specular maps relationships and how i used them in my model.

From this point in the project my time has been spent making the model look as good and high quality as possible. I was suggested again to add a specular map as well as the normal map to enhance the shadows and best parts of the model as specular and normal maps work hand in hand with each other and promote each other greatly.

Due to time and lack of knowledge again I only done some basic research and established that I didn't have enough time or knowledge to create a brilliant, out of this world, specular map, so instead I applied a simple white texture in the specular map slot to enhance the lighting of the whole model instead of specific areas. Ideally I would use the normal maps to produce a black and white texture that is specific to the normal map and this would then brighten the light areas and darken the shadowed areas, but time is very much against me now.

xnormals and Projection Mapping

Once I had finished my low poly model to a standard I was happy with I then moved forward to creating my Normal maps.

Xnormals
My first port of call was Xnormals. Similar to a lot of my work on this project I have never used this software before and it was suggested to me at the start of the year by another student on my course. I have jumped in at the deep end with this project as I have attempted and experimented with a lot of different pieces of software that I haven't used before and I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience in doing so.

Instead of me explaining a step by step guide on how I used Xnormals I will simply direct you to the link below as I followed this tutorial to the letter. Unfortunately however this didn't work for me as the normal map didn't render at first and when I eventually got it to render after a lot of tinkering with settings and UVW Map creations it didn't work. Again see below the normal map that was produced with Xnormals and you can see that this would not have worked on mine or any model.

Xnormals Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGszEIT4Kww

Xnormals Normal Map

After many attempts to create a working normal map on my low poly, optimized and pro optimized models I established that this wasn't going to work as the same results kept appearing. So I then moved on to Projection Mapping.





Projection Mapping
This method seemed difficult and didn't work at first, like Xnormals, but after some tinkering with the settings and ensuring that the program used the existing Chanel mapping coordinates that I set and made and not the automatic flatten mapping that occurs when the wrong check box is ticked, I started to get some promising results.

However the results from the Optimized and Pro-Optimized low poly models didn't work very well at all. So then, through process of elimination, I had established that my UVW Template was better than the one that the program made itself, even though it was very basic and simply modified (moved lower jaw section from bottom of the model to its own space on the map). I had also established that the best method for this particular model was Projection mapping, with all of the points mentioned in previous posts about if time was no object and what I would do differently if I was to do this again, i'm sure that Xnormals and the other techniques that I attempted would have worked if I didn't attempt a quicker method of doing the initial modelling in the first place.

I now have a great basis to learn more from in the future. My normal's may have took a while to actually create using the different techniques, different software and my lack of experience with this but in the end I have generated the normal map and baked it onto a low poly model that was based on a high poly model which is what I set out to do way back at the start of the year. It may admittedly not be a brilliant and highly detailed model but as I mentioned, if time was no object and I was to do this again the out come would be different as I have learnt from my mistakes and I now know what to and not to do when creating normal's, UVW Maps and baking them.

Below is my Final Normal Map from projection mapping and an earlier version of the result of rendering to texture, which is the key part of projection mapping as this then becomes the normal map. You can see that I had been previously spacing the UVW's as I was suggested to, but genuinely forgot to do so on the one render that worked the best. I believe this render worked the best because I spent a lot of time within the projection mapping settings ensuring that the 'Cage' which is generated from this technique was as precise and close to the high poly model as possible and I tweaked the low poly so that it had enough faces in the right places to project better. i.e. the helmet, chest piece and shoulders. Again if I had more time I could have done this better and would remember to space out my UV's at the start of EVERY process.

Final Projection Normal Map

Earlier Render to Texture

Finally a combination of the two of these images would have been a close to perfect normal map as they are evenly spaced and show a lot of detail.

uvw unwrapping

UVW unwrapping is my most weakest point and is fundamental to good normal map creation. When it came to unwrapping my models I applied a simple unwrap in the UVW editor called Box Mapping (I did this on all of my experimentation and tests with Optimizer and Pro-Optimizer throughout the project) and in doing so I think that this is the main reason for why my models normal maps do not look as good as they potentially could.

As Xnormals creates the normal maps and Unwraps the UV's for you I was most keen to use this method of generating my normal maps as I knew that this side of the modelling process is my weakest point. (i will talk more about Xnormals in future posts)

This has been a great learning curve and I know now what to and not to do in the future when normal mapping and to plan a lot of time during production for the unwrapping of the UV's. Below is my simple UVW template that I used once I had fully completed my low poly model to a standard I was happy with.

UVW Template

If I was to do this again I again would have spent more time on the unwrapping and researched more into how to create a better UVW Unwrap. I also would have spaced the map out better as suggested to me by my module tutor, which I was doing with earlier unwraps when trying out different techniques but at this point I had completely forgot to do so and ironically this was the best resulting UVW Unwrap of them all so I left it as it was so I didn't spoil the end result.

Again if time was no object I would have spent more time on this and researched into more detail about how to generate better UVW templates and will be giving myself more time for Unwrapping on projects in the future.

Final Low Poly Model