With the design stage completed, the next stage of development will involve utilising Autodesk Maya to create the full 3D model of this design through the use of planes and polygons.
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Through previous lectures that included simple 3D modelling exercises, I already had an idea of where to start with creating my model. After importing the reference images I had drawn, and using the Weekly Modelling Challenge involving the vase as a baseline, I created a polygon cylinder to then shape into the pole of the magic staff.
To do this, I first adjusted the subdivision on the 3D shape to 24 (a recommended number from our lecturer) and then adjusted the height of the shape to the intended length needed for the staff. From here, I used the multi-cut tool to create loops around the cylinder, emphasised mostly where the curves of the staff appeared.
With that done, I was able to select each individual loop to independently adjust the overall sizing of each section in accordance to the 2D reference while viewing it from a fixed camera position.
Once the pole of the staff was completed, the next step involved creating spheres for the crystal ball and ornate details of the staff. To do this, it was advised that instead on relying on the polygon spheres created in Maya, for us to create a polygon cube and subdivide it to make a quad sphere. I used this base to create all the spheres on the final model, including the more oval shaped gem near the top section of the design.
After this, I quickly moved on to creating polygon tori to take the place of curved ring elements on my staff. Through a one on one session with my lecturer however, I had learned that there are key behavioural differences between the NURBS primitives I had unknowingly used originally and the Polygon primitives, and was advised to switch them out for sake of ease in the later stages. After creating the appropriate polygon torus though, all that needed to be done was adjust the size and width of each one to fit with the staff.
For the diamond that would be placed between two polygon tori, the first step was to create a polygon cylinder and subdivide it to 8, both so that it would match up with the 2D reference image, but to also lend it to being easily divisible with the polygon cylinders with subdivisions at 24. I once again used the multi-cut tool to add a couple of loops to adjust the angular silhouette of the diamond.
Now at this point came the most elusive and challenging part of the 3D modelling process. Even after I had finalised the design for my staff, in the position of a student mostly inexperienced with the basics of 3D modelling, I was completely uncertain of how I would obtain the arched and pointed shapes of the wing segment. It was only through an informative one on one session with professional 3D modeller Michael O’Callaghan, that I gained the invaluable insight I needed to show what my next steps should be.
So I would start by creating a polygon plane and changing the subdivisions to 1, allowing for a clear slate that I could edit freely in the later steps. Once the plane was properly positioned and it’s size adjusted, I would switch to one of the fixed camera angles and go on to use the multi-cut tool to outline the shape of the arched shapes from the 2D reference image.
With the outline complete, I went on to manually divide the shape into smaller quads, making certain that the divisions only consisted of 4-sided shapes. This step is in direct correlation with the next, as the use of dividing up the currently 2D shape comes into play once you begin to extrude the shape into 3D. This allows for more control over the shape and is seen as standard knowledge to abide by in these circumstances.
Throughout this final stage, I had to remake more than one of the five arched shapes, attributed to errors found through the mesh clean-up and just from general refinement of the technique through repetition.
From here, all I needed to do was adjust the now 3D shapes by moving the vertices in line with the 2D reference image, which included merging the vertices together at the tips and creating a smooth transition from the base of the shape to the tip.
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And it is thus, that from this arduous yet fulfilling creative process, that I have finished the 3D modelling section for my magic staff, with which the WIP can be viewed from this Sketchfab link!