Final Referencing for Dissertation

 

1.     Cusson, R., Cardoso, J., 2010. Realistic Architectural Visualization with and 3ds Max and Mental Ray: Second Edition. Burlington: Elsevier Inc.

This book combines models with lighting, as well as with the metal ray renderer making the models look as realistic as possible. The books shows you ways of making organic models from real life images, and how they should be lit. Models such as trees, bushes, plants, and other sorts of foliage can be found inside this book giving you a good understanding on how they are made, and how you should achieve the end result. This book will go perfectly with my scene as it can show me how to make my realistic surroundings for the outskirts of the village, and how to bring them to life.

Referencing for Dissertation (Continued..)

So far, I have found another two books that can help me a lot in my dissertation. One is slightly similar to another, however contains useful information on other aspects that the other book didn't specify.

Gahan, A., 2009. 3ds Max Modelling for Games: Insider's guide to game character, Vehicle, and environmental Modelling. Burlington: Elsevier Inc.

This book contains a lot of techniques and ways of making different models in 3ds max ready to be imported into game environments which proves very useful when creating models for my own game and importing them. It shows simple methods for making low and high poly models, as well as new ways to texture them. It also gives a good understanding on normal mapping which will prove to be very useful as I learnt how to do this before.

McKinley, M., 2010. Maya Studio Projects: Game Environments and Props. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc.


Although this book is about Maya, it is still very similar to 3ds Max, and so the techniques used in this book can still be applied in Max just as well. Again, in this book, there are additional methods of creating different aspects for modelling, as well as how to make models that have not yet been stated inside other books. Different environmental elements are shown in great detail as to how they can be made and textured to a high standard are shown throughout this book, which would greatly help me in my project.

Kahrs, J., Calahan, S., Carson, D., and Poster, S., eds. Pixel Cinematography:
A Lighting Approach for Computer Graphics. [pdf] Available through: http://education.siggraph.org/resources/cgsource/instructional-materials/archives/courses/s96-c30/s96_course30.pdf [Acessed 24 October 2011]

This is a PDF file all about lighting techniques that explains how and when what type of lighting method should be used depending on the current circumstances of the scene. It tells you how to get special effects and how to set the mood for your environment. It also explains how different different camera shots can add mood to the scene, when the correct light is also there to add depth and realism, and with these two methods working well together, you get the perfect realistic render.

De Jong, S., 2008.  The Hows and Whys of Level Design: Second Edition. [pdf] Available at: http://www.horences.com

Another PDF file that contains more useful information about level design. However, this focuses on most areas and not just on modelling. A section in this PDF that I will pay most attention to will be the lighting, as he goes into great detail on how it should be done, and what do avoid with several examples of good and bad lighting. This should therefore illustrate more clearly what I should and shouldn't do when lighting my environment.

Greenway, T. et all., 2011. Photoshop for 3D Artists: Volume 1. Worcester: 3DTotal Publishing.


This book will be very useful on another key area I will be focusing on in my work, and that's the textures. My level needs to have textures that look realistic, clear, and add the depth to the scene. If they were bad and pixelated, the lighting would pick up on this and the overall effect of the level would not be good at all. This book also suggests methods on lighting with the textures, and how to bump/normal map them correctly.
 

Reference Images

Some ideas as to how my project will look. Either by the layout or theme/style that has been used.



This image is almost exactly the same kind of layout that I will be aiming for in my work. A small town with only a few buildings, perhaps with a river and bridge leading off to maybe an Inn, or an abandoned house.

I won't be aiming for model characters however, as my main focus is the modelling and design of the environment.

Here is another image of the same town, just a close-up view on some of the houses. I would like to make houses similar to the style in the image, however these are very detailed and maybe slightly too hard to make in 3ds Max. But I wouldn't mind trying trying though.

For this image, I really like how the models have been made, and find they look very realistic. This is more or less the overall style I'd like my buildings to look like.

The town has been made very well with a good layout, but it's the buildings I like the most.

Here is an image of a blacksmith created in 3ds Max made by the same person as the last image, which is also something I'm aiming to have in my village. Although I'm not a huge fan of how this one looks, I could still use it as reference for when I make mine.

The building seems to look very low-poly too, something I will try to avoid, however not go over the top either.

I really like how this model has been made. It has been modelled very nicely and to a very high standard. Not necessarily something I'll be making for my village, but the shape/style of the barn could still be used as a house for my village instead.

The small cart just in front of the building looks good too, so I may make a similar one and could be used as an 'accessory' in my village. 

Simple things like this will be what brings the town to life, and make it look more like people actually 'live' there. It also adds to the realism.

The final image is of an Inn, and I really like how this one has been made. Again, very detailed and shows some of the accessories that the Inn contains on the inside on the outside.


All typical models you would expect to see there, making this a great image for reference and ideas. An Inn is a model that I would make for my village, so this image is perfect.

Reference for Dissertation

So far, I have been looking through books to find information on what I need as this proved easier than searching online.

Murdock, K., 2009. 3DS Max 2010 Bible. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.


This is the first book that I thought would be very useful to me, as it will further develop the knowledge that I already have with new additions to learn when working on the project. I could perhaps learn new ways of creating models and potentially increase my skill at in 3ds Max.

This will therefore allow me to create better models, with more detail and expertise.

Steen, J., Boardman, T., 2010. Rendering with mental ray and 3ds Max. Burlington: Elsevier Inc.

Since we have had no teaching on how to light a level professionally, this book would prove to be very handy with hints and tips in how to light my game environment realistically. It shows you different methods you can use and what effects the lighting will give you. It also suggests which lights are best suited depending on what environment you are going to be adding the lights to.

Ahearn, L., 2008. 3D Game Environments: Create Professional 3D Game Worlds. Burlington: Elsvier Inc.

This book gives great insight into different aspects into creating an environment for a game. It suggests how to plan out your environment before making anything for it, as well as different techniques for modelling, texturing and positioning.

It also gives you an understanding of what is needed when creating natural worlds with terrain, and what the world should be full of - trees, rocks, plants, sky, water etc and how to go about making these.

Meigs, T., 2003. Ultimate Game Design: Building Game Worlds. Emeryville: McGraw-Hill.

Another book slightly similar to the last, however gives different views on level planning and building. It also gives information on lighting within a game world, particles, effects, the design by genre, scripting etc. All the main points that a game environment needs are in this book. With these key facts in mind, I will hopefully be able to build a well structured 3d village.

Dissertation Idea

3D Virtual Environment - Fantasy Village

For the final year, I would really want to focus on the area I would like to work in as a career. So for this project, I am going to develop level designing by creating a 3D world possibly created inside Unity, with all models and assets made in 3Ds Max. The theme that I will develop will be a small town/village or city set in an era yet to be decided. As this game will be a fantasy-medieval time period, it is hard to pinpoint the exact moment in time as to when this village would have existed. 

This project will start off small, which is why for now it will only be classed as a village, and depending on time will progress into a town or city. This village will contain lots of different styled buildings however based on the same theme, and will contain such things as a blacksmith, tailor, jewellery craftsman, merchant, pub etc and depending on these types of buildings will determine how they will look. The village will also contain lots of vegetation, trees, flowers, maybe a river running through it, and hopefully NPCs that walk around it (again, depending on time). Not only that, but I also want to use lighting in a way that will really bring the village to life and make it look more natural and realistic.

Since I want to focus mostly on level design and the 3D models that are in the project, I will need to make sure that firstly, the design of the level has been well thought out, and secondly, that all models are made to the best of my ability. These are the 2 key areas I feel I will need to focus on the most. 

So what I will work on for this project is:

• One House - Cloned 5x and slightly modified to make each house different from each other.
• Monastery  - Situated possibly in the main square
• Small Training Area
• Trees and foliage

Extra buildings will only be added depending on time, but as it stands, these models will be worked on in great detail, making sure they are at the highest quality before moving on to anything else.