Adding a Background to a Green Screen

I needed to replace the green screen background of an image with the background of a sky using Adobe Photoshop.

I was given the two following assets to work with:

Picture of Lady infant of the green screen

Picture of the sky

I will use the photo of the woman in front of the green screen as my main photo where I will replace the green areas of it with the picture of the sky.

After importing both my images into Photoshop, I began by dragging the image of the woman onto the image of the sky so I have a layer for each in the same window.

Next, I selected my color range for my green screen image by using the eye dropper tool to select a very close green part near the woman. I also used my adding eye dropper tool to add other parts of the green that were close to the woman. This created a solid mask around the green green area in my image.

However, I wanted to mask the woman and not the green areas, so I simply clicked inverse so that the mask was around the woman. I knew it was around the woman because my color white was set to solid and black was transparent, meaning the white area in my color range would be where my mask was going to be.

The interface of the color range tool I used

This enabled the software to know where to mask the green screen based on where the colors I selected. All in all, the software now knew how to separate the woman from the green screen making a mask layer of the woman.

The green screen was still overlapping the image of the sky, to change that, with my previously masked layer selected I navigated to the layer menu followed by the layer mask sub-menu and clicked on reveal selection.

The interface of the layer mask menu

That wayPhotoshop would make the sky overlap the green screen and not the woman because her mask acted as a boarder for the image of the sky not to overlap.

The image of the sky overlapping only the green screen

Unfortunately, I noticed a green outline around the woman which was what remained of the overlapped green screen.

Before

To tackle this issue, I reselected the mask I had made for the woman earlier and navigated to the adjustments menu so I can add a hue and saturation layer for the mask. This is so that the remaining green’s saturation could be decreased.

Adjustments menu with the hue and saturation sub-menu

After

I accomplished this by changing the master color control to only the cyan (the green screen in the photo was dominantly cyan colored) so that I only remove the cyan areas of the woman’s mask so I do not affect the color of the woman’s skin or hair.

After that, all I did was adjust the saturation by using the slider button.

I was still unsatisfied with the visibility of the green outline around the woman. I countered the outline by clicking on the “Select” menu opening up a list of other menus which I picked “Modify”.

The Select and Modify menu’s interfaces

In the Modify sub menu I clicked once on “Contract” selecting to contract by 2 pixels (unit for the image size) and once on “Feather selecting to feather by 3 pixels (unit for the image size).

The Contract option’s interface

The Feather option’s interface

Now the green outline seemed even more subtle on the woman’s mask.

After using the Contract and Feather options

To refine the usage of those two features I went to the Select menu and clicked on inverse again on the mask so that everything outside the mask would be selected instead.

The selection is flipped

I proceeded by duplicating the selected area of the sky.

The duplication option’s interface

The duplicated layer

I turned down the opacity of the duplicated sky layer so that it can blend in with my original sky layer. The blend’s visual’s would overlap what little remained of the green screen.

To finish this off, the green screen was showing through my sky texture due to the image of the sky being pasted over it which meant that the creases in the green screen would appear on the sky image.

To fix this, I used the “Brush Tool” and its “Hard Round Brush” with the color selection of black because as I said earlier my black color was transparent. Which meant that it could paint the sky image’s texture onto of the creases in the green screen.

The Brush Tool and Hard round Brush I used (top left corner of the image)

Brush Tool process video.mp4

This is my finished product with my Photoshop file’s history:

My finished product

Apocolyptical Building:

I needed to create a post apocalyptic composition of a building using Adobe Photoshop.

I was given the following assets: The pictire of the building was my main asset that I needed to work with. The image of the sky’s purpose was to replace the sky in the image of the building so that the finished product could have a gloomy feel to it.

I planned on adding the dark sky by masking out my building and inverting the selection. That way everything outside my building was selected which made ir simple for me to just drag the image of the dark sky as a separate layer above my building’s one.

Furthermore, the image of the rust was needed to make the building look somewhat old and worn out from the apocalypse it went through. I did the same thing to achieve this, I masked out my building exept this time, I did not inverse the selection. That way when I drag my rust image on to the building’s layer it will directly paste over it.

However, I wanted my building to have a burning effect, to do this, all I did was keep the rust layer’s opacity at 100% so its color would dominantly show on my building.

Later on, searched and imported some royalty free assets from the internet so I can add more features to my building that will make it look more worn out by the apocalypse.

These elements included:

-a tree branch: to rotate it as if it feel on the ground and act as my main foreground giving my final product perspective.

-an empty crashed car: to give off the idea that someone’s car was overrun by the zombies during the apocalypse.

-an explosion: to add on the car to make it seem its fuel tank has exploded due to its “crash”.

dirt: to make my building appear as if it is being taken back by nature due to the lack of proper human care.

I used certain techniques and methods such as:

Standard paintbrush: So I can fill out certain areas of my image that were lacking in color or adding some texture.

Masking: so that I can create a region to shade any part of the dark sky darker by using my paint brush tool, so I can avoid coloring over objects I did not want to.

Vine paintbrush: so that I can easily draw vines on my building to make it look worn out instead of manually drawing hundreds of vines which would not have been time effective.

Color/hue saturation: so I can change the shadows, highlights and midtown’s of my image to make it look and convey the method of gloominess in a zombie apocalypse.

Layering: so I can add all my assets and pick which go before or after so that I can blend them all in such a way that seems subtle.

Blend modes: some of the added layers I was using did not seem very visually convincing that they belonged over my original image layer which is why I picked from a wide selection of blending modes such as screen, darken and multiply…

Lens flare: my photo had light coming from the top left, therefore, I added a lens flare which acted as a strong light coming directly to the sun to add to the realism of my image.

Lens blur: so I can blend in certain objects with my scene by giving them a blurry camera effect because some of my layers did not fully blend using blending mode. This also added to the realism of my final photo.

This is my apocalyptic building:

This is the process of creating my apocalyptic building.

My final product:

Animal Hybrid

I googled images of two animals I like so I can merge them both into one. I chose a monkey and a duck. My goal is to replace the monkey’s head with that of the duck. Hence I will have as duck with a monkey’s body as my end result. I will do this using Adobe Photoshop.

After importing my images I aligned them this way so I can accomplish my next step.

It was time to isolate the duck’s image background, I did this by manually masking out the duck’s head using Photoshop’s pen tool. I made a selection of my mask afterwards.

In order, to be able to use my mask a separate layer, I navigated to the menus: “Layer” -> “New” -> “Layer Via Copy”.

Next, I wanted to expand, contract and feather. To expand, so the size of my ducks head so that it covers any minor details from the monkeys head that would still have been visible. I went to the “Select” -> “Modify” -> “Expand/”Contract/”Feather” menus to achieve this. To contract so that my mask’s edges appear more loose and not too noticeable. To feather, so that any remaining edges blend in the background of the monkey’s photo together-with appearing more smoothly.

In the “expand” tool’s interface I experiment with different values. I found out that 2 was enough to cover the money’s heads remaining details whilst still avoiding looking too big for the monkeys body.

In the “Contract” interface the value I thought looked best was 2.

In the “Feather” interface the value I thought looked best was 2.

I performed these 3 steps in that specific order purposely.

If I were to expand after contracting and feathering my edges, the image would appear as it was before this step but bigger.

I contracted before feathering so, if any edges remained hard the feather tool would not be able to fully blend it in the background due to its increased thickness. Hence, loosening up by contracting the edge allowed the feather tool to be more effective to be used as my last tool in this step.

I duplicated the monkey’s image’s background for the next step.

I used the stamp tool to blend in any remaining rough edges. I did this by scanning the image I was painting on and by doing so the stamp tool generated a specific color scheme to paint. That way the paint could seem as if it were restoring the original photo. Duplicating the monkey’s photo allows me to check my original image after painting it with the stamp tool incase I want to compare it to my current work.

I blended in the duck’s head mask onto the monkey’s body. I used the paint brush tool set to black which was my transparent color.

As a final touch I added a lens flare to give the image more realism. That way the sun’s direction is clear.

This is my final product.

Making a small temple in Maya Autodesk:

The process of modeling the temple.

During this task, I referred to a key element when modeling my objects. Maya has a window in its main interface called “Channels”; it displays the X, Y and Z coordinates of any of my objects in relation to the software’s built in axis.

Objects directly spawn in the world origin (center) when added in Maya’s viewport (where you navigate and modify your objects). The world origin’s coordinates are (0,0,0), likewise any object’s first location.

Knowing this, I am able to move my objects by increments of 1 unit from the world origin. This ensures premises alignment.

However, moving an object by continuously changing it’s location value in the channel window is tedious together-with time consuming. You would think using the “Move” tool which just opens three arrows pointing in each directional axis, is a better method. Unfortunately, it can not move my objects within 1 unit increments. Maya has a feature when paired with the Move tool, comes in very handy. The “Magnet” which when pressing and holding down the “X” key grants you access to move your objects with 1 unit increments, without having to use the channel window.

As for my water I applied the “Beaufort’s” scale to have a clear understanding of how fast I wanted the waves in my liquid to travel based on the wind in their respective environment using the miles per hour unit.

A diagram of Beaufort’s scale. In my case, my temple was located on an island in the middle of the ocean during a calm evening. Hence, the Beaufort force I applied to my liquid was 1. Light air which travels between 1 to 3 miles per hour. I averaged those values and picked 2 mph.

The lights in my scene played their part of only showing the temple and its textures. I wanted to also show the time of the day by adding a sky in the background of my scene. To do this, I installed an hdri image with a resolution of 4,000 pixels of an evening sky also in a forest like background from the website “Poly Haven”. ” https://polyhaven.com “.

The hdri I used.

I inserted this hdri into Maya, by adding a “Sky dome Light” in the Arnold menu.

The final product of my mini temple:

The final render of my temple.

Exercise in shading using “Arnold” software in Maya Autodesk

I explained everything about this exercises below.

This was a trial and error task.

Here are my renders of a shaded scene in Arnold:

Front view

Top view

I did however do one thing differently in this task; I used a pre-made sky-dome from the “Arnold” menu. This allowed me to control where my sun was in my sky-dome. I controlled my digital’s sun factors:

-Elevation: defining my object’s shadows clearly.

-Intensity: properly light my scene so that my objects are visible.

-Azimuth: rotating the sun to place it in my desired position.

Building 3 spaceships in Maya Autodesk:

I demonstrated the process of how I built and textured the second spaceship. (on the left).

For this task I only used the extrude tool to model my spaceships.

I added a stage by extruding one side of a plane and beveling the sharp edge so my spaceships would be viewed in an appealing background.

I began by selecting the sides of my cube and then switching to my front view via spacebar>select.

I extruded my 2 selected sides and turned off keep faces together so each of the 2 faces on my cub would separately change in value whilst retaining symmetry.

I clicked on one of the 3 cubes in the gizmo which showed a cube in the middle which was what I used to change the scale of my extrusion uniformly.

I extruded the face selected again separately on both sides and scaled it afterwards only on the z-axis to form my spaceship’s wings.

I repeated this proces multiple times. I even reversed my extrusion to make shapes that resemble my spaceship’s cockpit.

I navigated to [mesh]>[smooth] to shade my spaceship smoothly and make it high poly.

Note: only pressing [3] on the keyboard will only shade an object smooth in the viewport, NOT in the rendered view hence the finished product.

My second spaceship after being shaded smooth.

I needed to render my scene. I added a sky-dome light proceeded by adding an hdri image I downloaded from the website “Poly Haven”. That way I can see my spaceship in the rendered view so I can properly alter its martials.

I selected my spaceship>clicked the right mouse to spawn the menu where I asignended my material in> navigated to Arnold shades> clicked on the “AI Standard” shader.

This was my selected shader’s interface.

-I picked the chrome preset which was a quick and easy method of giving my spaceship a chrome material.

My spaceship was completed and this was my first render of it.

I applied the same methods of modeling and shading to 2 other spaceships.

The final render of all 3 spaceships.

I referenced each spaceship on one of the three Marvel Avengers charcters:

Left spaceship: Thor Odin-son

-Thor Odin-son

Middle spaceship: Ironman

Ironman

Right spaceship: Captain America

Captain America

Fake news 1:

I aim to make a newspaper about a chemistry experiment gone haywire at the University of West London.

This experiment causes massive amounts of poisonous chemicals loose in the air alongside an explosion.

Modeling and rendering cups in Autodesk Maya

I modeled a variety of different shaped cups using Maya’s “NURB” curves.

I navigated to [create]>[curve tool]>[base curve tool].

This tool allowed me to plot out vertices which when connected together would form a curve after at least four of them have been drawn.

This is what the curve looked like!

I had the outline of half a wine glass, I needed it to extend in a specific direction originating from the world axis.

To do this, I navigated to [surface]>[revolve].clicked on the option’s box and opened the following menu:

The revolve menu’s interface.

I picked thee settings and my wine glass was almost done. After revolving my curve, the new mesh I had added was converted to polygons automatically. However, it was facing inward and looked like this:

Inward facing mesh.

To tackle this obstacle all I had to do was navigate to [mesh display]>[reverse] and my mesh flipped its facing direction.

Reversed mesh facing the right direction.

Now that I had finished modeling my wine glass I modeled a few others as it and placed them onto of a plane.

I modeled a mug and a kettle where I also had to use NURB curves but this time for only their handles.

To create their handles I simply selected the middle faces in my mesh, drew a curve of how I wanted my handle to look like, selected them both, extruded and added subdivisions so the curve would be able to bend properly.

All my objects were modeled on top of plane.

I rendered my scene by positioning them as if they were placed on a table with imperfect positioning by human hands.

I gave all my objects an “AI Standard surface shader” found in the Arnold section of the material menu.

I added a kitchen hdri because I thought it best represented the environment all my objects would be put together.

My finished rendered product.

Secondary research

Alexander Rodchenko,

Some of Rodchenko’s photographic work:

“Fire Escape” (1927)

“Lilya Brik” (1926)

Abstract photography:

was a well-known Russian artist, sculptor, graphic designer, and photographer who lived from 1891 to 1956. He was a crucial figure in the Russian avant-garde art movement, particularly in the creation of Constructivism, a major art movement in early twentieth-century Russia. Here’s a rundown of his life and contributions:

Early Childhood and Education:

Rodchenko was born in 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

He attended the Kazan School of Fine Arts before moving on to the Stroganov School of Applied Art in Moscow.

Participation in the Avant-Garde Movement:

During the early 1910s, Rodchenko became interested in the Russian avant-garde movement.

He was a pivotal player in the development of Constructivism, which was distinguished by a focus on geometric forms, a rejection of traditional artistic norms, and a focus on functional and practical design.

Photography:

Rodchenko is renowned for his groundbreaking work in photography. He embraced the concept of “faktura,” which emphasized capturing the essence of an object, often through unusual angles and perspectives.

His photographs were characterized by bold geometric compositions, dynamic angles, and an innovative use of light and shadow.

Graphic Design:

Rodchenko was a pioneer in graphic design. He created numerous posters, book covers, and advertising materials.

His designs were known for their simplicity, use of bold colors, and experimentation with typography.

Sculpture and Painting:

In addition to photography and graphic design, Rodchenko also worked in sculpture and painting. He created abstract, non-objective art that aligned with the principles of Constructivism.

Collaboration with Vladimir Mayakovsky:

Rodchenko collaborated with the famous Russian poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky, producing some iconic works. His work on Mayakovsky’s book covers and illustrations is particularly notable.

Exhibitions and Influence:

Rodchenko’s work was featured in numerous exhibitions, and he had a significant influence on the development of modern art in Russia.

He participated in various Constructivist exhibitions and was a member of important art groups, including the Society of Young Artists and the First Working Group of Constructivists.

Political Engagement:

Rodchenko’s work was sometimes influenced by his political beliefs. He was involved with the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Soviet government, and his art often conveyed messages related to social and political change.

Legacy:

Alexander Rodchenko’s work continues to be influential in the fields of photography, graphic design, and the broader art world. His innovative approach to art and design has left a lasting impact on contemporary creative practices.

Alexander Rodchenko’s contributions to art and design are celebrated for their pioneering spirit and lasting influence on modern art and graphic design. His work is a testament to the transformative power of artistic experimentation and innovation, especially during a period of significant political and social change in Russia.

David Hockney,

Some of Hockney’s paining work:

“Walnut Trees” (2006)

“Yorkshire” (1998)

“Pool with Two Fingers” (1972)

is a prominent British artist known for his versatile and influential career. He has made significant contributions to various art forms, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and stage design. Here is an overview of his life and contributions:

Early Life and Education:

David Hockney was born on July 9, 1937, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

He studied at the Bradford School of Art and later at the Royal College of Art in London.

Pop Art and Contemporary Art:

Hockney emerged as a leading figure in the Pop Art movement during the 1960s, along with artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

His work often featured themes of modern life, consumer culture, and personal relationships.

Paintings:

Hockney is widely recognized for his vibrant and colorful paintings, often characterized by a distinct use of color and stylized realism.

He is renowned for his swimming pool paintings, including “A Bigger Splash” (1967), which is considered an iconic work of art.

Portraits:

Hockney has painted numerous portraits, including those of friends and family. His double portraits are particularly celebrated for their exploration of relationships and the passage of time.

Landscape Paintings:

The artist’s love for nature and landscapes is evident in his work. He has created a series of landscapes, including scenes of his native Yorkshire, California, and the Grand Canyon.

Photography:

Hockney has used photography extensively in his art. He is known for creating photo collages (joiners) that consist of multiple photographs arranged to create a single image.

His use of Polaroid and later digital photography has had a significant impact on the art world.

Stage Design:

Hockney has ventured into stage design, creating sets for various operas, including “The Magic Flute” and “Turandot.”

Exhibitions and Recognition:

His work has been exhibited worldwide, and he has received numerous awards and honors, including the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II.

Major retrospectives of his work have been held at prestigious art institutions, such as the Tate Modern in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Openly Gay Artist:

Hockney has been open about his homosexuality and its influence on his work. His art often explores themes related to gay love and relationships, contributing to the LGBTQ+ artistic canon.

Legacy:

David Hockney’s art has had a profound impact on the contemporary art world, influencing subsequent generations of artists.

His versatility as an artist and his innovative use of technology in art have made him a trailblazer in the field.

David Hockney’s body of work is characterized by its diversity and innovation. He has played a pivotal role in the development of modern and contemporary art, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire and influence artists and art enthusiasts worldwide.

John Stezaker,

Some of Stezaker’s photographic work:

is a British artist known for his work in the field of contemporary art, particularly in the medium of collage. He is celebrated for his innovative approach to image manipulation, combining and juxtaposing found images to create new and often thought-provoking compositions. Here is an overview of his life and contributions:

Early Life and Education:

John Stezaker was born on 23 August 1949 in Worcester, England.

He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London during the late 1960s.

Collage Art:

Stezaker is primarily recognized for his collage art, which involves the appropriation of various printed materials, such as old postcards, vintage film stills, and other found images.

He skillfully combines and manipulates these source materials to create surreal, enigmatic, and visually compelling compositions.

Juxtaposition and Transformation:

One of his signature techniques is the juxtaposition of images to create a tension or dialogue between them. He often merges disparate elements in a way that challenges the viewer’s perception and interpretation.

Stezaker’s work blurs the line between reality and fiction, often conveying a sense of uncanny and mystery.

Exploration of Identity and Portraiture:

Many of Stezaker’s collages focus on portraiture and the human form, often obscuring or transforming faces through the clever amalgamation of images.

These pieces question our understanding of identity, representation, and the gaze.

Exhibitions and Recognition:

Stezaker’s work has been exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions. He has received critical acclaim and recognition for his contributions to contemporary art.

His art has been featured in notable institutions, such as the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Awards and Honors:

John Stezaker has received several awards and honors for his work, including the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2012.

Influence on Contemporary Art:

His unique approach to collage and appropriation has had a significant impact on contemporary art, inspiring other artists to explore the boundaries of visual storytelling through the use of found imagery.

Conceptual Engagement:

Stezaker’s work is deeply conceptual, and he often engages with philosophical and aesthetic questions related to visual culture, memory, and representation.

John Stezaker’s art challenges our preconceived notions of images and their meanings, encouraging viewers to think critically about the act of looking and the transformative potential of combining visual elements. His work continues to be celebrated for its thought-provoking and visually engaging qualities.

Fake news:

My idea for this project is a series of unfortunate accidents in a chemistry lab lead to poisonous outbreak. This outbreak causes a fire and poisonous chemicals to roam freely in the building to the sky. I will use Adobe Photoshop to create such an image and afterwards I will add it as a story on a broadsheet newspaper. This story will be submitted on Halloween (31/10/2023) which would match the theme due to the orange fire representing pumpkins and green poison representing fear which is a huge aspect in halloween.

These are the assets I used (I will show how I used them afterwards):

The UWL Ealing site

Poisonous clouds/gas

Explosion 1

Explosion 2

Green poisonous sky

Fire texture

This is the process of how I created my image:

I added pngs of people running in panic and blurred them out because newspapers usually do that to avoid a lawsuit from the people in the photo.

This is my final photo:

The newspaper (final product):

Modeling and rendering a Stop-watch in Autodesk Maya’s Arnold render engine

This is my work-flow:

I started by adding a sphere since it had the closest resemblance to a stop-watch.

I selected the upper half of the sphere in the front view for a more accurate result. Then I extracted it. [Edit mesh]>[Extract]

I scaled each half of my extracted sphere and differently scaled each in to each other as shown above.

I scaled the upper half so the glass part of my watch would be independent to its body. Then, I extruded the lower half’s edges inward followed by another extrusion downwards so my watch’s rim would cover any open areas.

I beveled the edges of the lower half which I will now refer to as the “body of my stop watch” to give it some realism.

The next few slides will be a series of modeling the stop-watches key-chain extension. I modeled this part by adding a series of cylinders, a sphere and a torus. Afterwards, I simply altered their scale, rotation and placed them in my desired area.

Next I added a plane so I can begin making my stop-watch’s interior screen.

With my plane selected, I navigated to the [Edit mesh] menu >[Circularize] to turn my plane into a disk. I did this instead of just adding a disk by default so I would have a more quad like topology for reasons I will explain later on.

After my plane had turned into a disk, I used its quad like topology to extrude a rectangular shape downwards which I intend to act as my digital clock.

To create a digital watch, I needed to model numbers to display the time. This would be tedious, I used Maya’s type feature to turn anything I type into mesh by navigating to the [Create] menu >[Type].

The mesh added by Maya’s type feature.

A screen displays pixels that do not pop up from it. That meant I had to disable the extrusion Maya enables by default when creating a type mesh.

I typed in a random time “20:03/8:03pm” and positioned, rotated and scaled it in place.

I needed to render my scene now that I was done modeling it. I began by adding an “AI_standard_surface” material I could find in the “Arnold” menu of the “assign new material from the [right click] menu. I added the “glass” preset to my watch’s window by navigating to the [preset] menu>[Glass]>[Replace].

I added the gold preset to my stop watch’s body and its keychain extension.

I added a gold preset to my stop watch’s screen and adjusted the gold’s color to black so I can have a shiny black material.

To give my clock a light emitting from it similar to how stop watches are in real life, with my type mesh selected, I navigated to the [Arnold] menu>[Lights]>[Mesh lights]. This made my type mesh act as its own light which I changed its color to green.

To make my scene more realistic, I added a plane which was going to be the ground my stop watch is laying upon.

I applied the [Brushed metal] preset to my ground.

All my martials were assigned. However, upon opening the rendered view of my model, I came to find out that it is pitch black. This is because there were no lights in my scene. I added lights by navigating to the [Arnold] menu> [lights]> and picked the [Area light]. Next, I duplicated it and placed it in a mirrored potion. Problem: my render was still pitch black!

Solution: I navigated to both area light’s [Attribute editor] and altered its “Exposure” (top of the attribute editor menu) and gave them softer edges to add a hint of realism with my lighting.

After altering the position of my area lights alongside their settings I came to find this angle and lighting work best with my stop watch model:

The final render of my stop watch.

Maps and Rendering:

During this week, I explored Maya’s “Hyper_shade editor” which allows me to create specific textures that also react differently to light when needed to.

Working with the ramp node:

I began by setting up this scene in Autodesk Maya, both planes have an AI standard surface shader.

I opened my “Hyper_shad” editor, pressed tab, searched for the “ramp texture” and connected it to the base color of my AI standard surface. This formed a gradient texture. To apply this texture I held down the middle mouse button on the shader in the window above the graph. I dragged it all the way to my plane in the viewport and my shader weas applied.

I opened the ramp’s attribute editor and gave it a light blue color paired with a white one.

I added anther node by pressing tab and searching “checker”. I then connected it to the metelness.

With my checker node selected, I lowered the black color and increased the white.

I wanted to learn how to break off the nodes from the texture. Nodes such as the ramp and checker.

Method 1: right clicking on an extension and selecting “break connection”.

Manually unplugging the node from the main texture in the Hyper-shade.

Holding down [Alt] and [Shift] + dragging my mouse with the left button selected across the wire I wanna cut.

After, this I broke each node’s connection to my AI standard surface shader.

To reset the color I dragged the base color back to black and then to white. Moreover, I set the metelness back to 0%.

I added another ramp texture the same way i did so last time and changed the type “circular ramp”.

I gave my ramp its colors. I set the interpolation to “None” which effected how smoothly my colors would blende and in my case they would sharply.

With the “place2dTexture” node selected, I repeated its UV 12 times on each axis.

Followed by setting its coverage to .5 of each axis to position it in the bottom left corner as it shrunk.

Now that my texture was not taking up all the UV on my plane, I wanted to add a texture behind my circular one. I did this by connecting a new ramp texture’s alpha color to the first one and selected “Default color”.

I changed its type to “UV ramp”. Gave it a blue color onto of the white one it had together-with adjusting the gradient. Rotated the frame to a 45 degree angle as shown in the picture after this one.

I wanted to further test my skills in the Hyper-shade. I added a poly sphere.

Once again, I added a ramp texture and gave its gradient it a red color on top of the lack one.

I was going for an apple look. I added a node node which I connected to the ramp.

I navigated to the noise texture’s color balance and gave the color gain a green color.

This is my final product.

Working with bump mapping:

I added a sphere and assigned it to a AI standard surface material.

I opened the geometry tab in the material’s attribute editor and selected “Noise”. from the “Bump mapping” checker box.

This is what the noise texture looked like by default.

With the noise node’s place2dtexture selected, I rotated the frame to my desire alongside repeating the UV 4 times on each axis.

In the Hyper-shade graph I added a bulge texture.

I connected it to the bmp value.

With it selected I was snow able to adjust the bump’s quad’s depth.

With it selected I was snow able to adjust the bump’s quad’s depth.

This is my final result. I added a sky and sun hdri for scene lighting using Arnold.

Working with displacement mapping:

I set up my scene the same way I did the others.

In my main shader’s node graph. I selected the “AIstandardsurface1SG” node and clicked on the displacement mat’s checker box. The selected the simple noise texture.

I envisioned my final texture to have a largely detailed surface. To achieve such look, I navigated to my poly’s sphere attribute editor > [Subdivisions] [type]> “catclark”. Also, I increased the “Iterations” to 4.

With my simple noise node selected, I repeated its UVs 4 times on each axis.

I added a displacement shader and turned down its scale to 0.030 to get a less saturated surface.

This is my final result.

My bond gadget:

For this assignment, I decided to model a computer mouse that when plugged into a device has the ability to by pass any security such as passwords. I used Autodesk Maya to make this.

Here is the main image:

The laptop is being hacked. The mini screen is displaying unlocking the laptop. The mouse’s wires and circuits are beeping to activate the hack.

Wireframes:

Back view

usb

front view

left view

The circuit of the previously mentioned mouse. (it is inside the mouse).

the computer mouse

Right view

The secret mini screen

Raw mesh:

Back view

Front view

Left view

Internal circuit of mouse

Right view

Secret mini screen

Renders of objects:

Laptop being hacked

Key caps on keyboard

USB and laptop portholes

Wire plug

Secret mini display

USB

Mouse’s internal circuit

Mouse’s CPU

Mouse’s wiring system glowing by Arnold Mesh Lights

Mouse’s scroll wheel

Mouse, it has two glass windows to display its wiring

The process behind certain modeling techniques:

Modeling a mouse could be challenging because of its irregular shape. To tackle this issue, I used a blueprint image to trace the basic outline of a mouse.

The blueprint I used for the mouse.

I navigated to the referee image feature Maya has by default.

I added a cube in-front of the imported image.

I gave it subdivisions so I can have smoother edges late on in my mouse.

I deleted the front faces of the cube so its wireframe will not be effected upon my changing of its shape.

I moved each vertex to place. I eventually did the same thing for each sides.

Making the keyboard’s buttons using the “Bevel” feature:

I added a cube which resembled a key cap’s shape.

I scaled its upper face smaller.

I navigated to “edit mesh”>”Bevel”.

The Bevel’s menu interface

My adjustments of the bevel’s menu.

I used extrusion to model the mouse’s scroll wheel:

I added a cylinder with 40 subdivisions.

I selected its width’s edges and navigated to “edit mesh”>”extrude”.

The extrude’s menu interface with my adjustments to it.

With my extruded edges selected, I pressed [shift]+[.] to add my selection by one layer.

I extruded my new layer.

I gave my second extrusion some thickness to resemble the small lines on a scroll wheel.

I made my mouse’s wire using Maya’s “Nurb Curves” feature:

I switched between “perspective view” to to “top view” by pressing [space] and hovering my mouse on which view I wanted to use. I did this so my curve could be plotted on one axis without me having to worry about if it’s y axis will change.

I navigated to “create”>”curve tools”>curve tool”

Upon making 3 points for my curve, it had hard edges which needed to be smoother and round.

After adding 4 or more points to my curve, it would begin to form a rounder and smoother curve because each point acts as a subdivision that can bend the curve.

I held down the right click button and navigated to “control vertex” so I can reshape my curve.

This gave me an advantage in using Nurb curves over mesh because this curve allowed me to move one point and have it effect the other points as if it had real world physics.

Now that I had the base shape, I needed to give it some thickness. I did that by navigating to “Generate”> “Attach brush to curves”.

This opened a menu in the curve’s attribute editor which I navigated to “Pressure mappings”>pressure scale”>”scale” and altered it to a value of 5.

Now that I had my wire’s shape ready, I converted it to mesh to get rid of its inward look by navigating to “modify”>”convert”>”Brush effects to polygons”.

This is my final result of how I used Nurb curves to create my mouse’s wire.

To make a screen effect, I needed my mesh to have lights emitting from themselves. To do this I used Arnold’s “Mesh lights” feature.

I added my screen’s basic shape of a plane.

I turned on shading and lighting mode in my viewport to preview the light my object will soon emit.

I navigated to “Arnold”>”Lights”>”Mesh lights”.

This added a light to my plane which can be seen here as it lights another object in my scene.

UV mapping:

To practice my UV editing skills, I balanced a workflow as such:

1: Cutting my UV main map into sub-parts based on my model in Autodesk Maya.

2:Unfolding each part and altering its 2D placement texture in Autodesk Maya.

3:Creating a costume UV map in Adobe Photoshop.

4:Importiung the costume UV map back to Autodesk Maya, applying an Arnold AI standard surface material to my object with a 2D texture color and choosing my costume UV map.

I molded basic mushroom using previously learned techniques in Autodesk Maya which was going to be the object of my UV map.

This is my process:

This is my initial model.

This is my model’s default UV map in the UV editing workspace.

To properly view and alter my mushroom’s 2D UV I needed to see it in a planned map from the Z/X -axis. I navigated to [UV]>[Planar].

I selected the Z-axis and clicked project.

This is how my 2D UV map looked like when it was projected from the Z-axis.

My mushroom was going to have different textures on it. To do so, my mushroom need individual UV maps based on each separate part. To do so I navigated to [UV]>[3D Cut and Stew UV Tool] to cut separate parts on my 2D map.

I wanted to visualize the intersection of each separate part of my UCV map I wanted to cut. To do so I pressed the “Shade UV shells” which color codes separate UV maps.

These are the separate UV maps I cut with my 3D cut tool. Each time I were to cut a new p[art I were to reset the tool.

If my texture were to lay flat on my UV maps, they needed to be unfolded which I did by nav9gating under the “Unfold menu” with each UV map selected individually. This placed the 2D maps in such a way that all their faces were visible.

I turned on the checker box and material shader to estimate how my future texture will lay upon my UV map. I altered each map’s placement so the checker boxes would lay in proper straight shape.

However, the previous step could not properly align the cheeker boxes perfectly on my UV maps. To take this further I navigated to “Tools”>”Smooth”.

The smooth tool’s interface.

This is how the smooth tool altered the checker boxes on my map. To do this I shift clicked on the “Layout” menu under the “Arrange and Layout” Hud which opened up the menu seen in the image. I altered the settings to my likings and my UV map was ready for exportation. I applied this process to the rest of my UV maps. Now I needed to place all my UV maps in the U1V1 square seen in the image. Note: any map that screeches out of this box, its designated texture repeats itself on my object.

With my object selected and UV map in wireframe mode, I clicked on the camera icon in the UV editor. This opened an exporting tab for my soon to be 2D UV map image. which’s settings I altered to my needs.

The mushroom’s raw UV map.

I imported the image into Adobe Photoshop to give it some textures.

To view my color with the map’s outline, I added 2 layers, one black whereas the other one white.

The mushroom’s painted UV map.

I applied a sun hdri to my scene alongside an Arnold AI standard surface material to the mushroom with a 2D texture color.

My final rendered result (front view).

My final rendered result (bottom view).

Week 9: Introduction to Substance Painter

I was given a pre-modeled Autodesk Maya model of a barrel.

This is my Maya model with its prepared UV map.

After exporting the model as an FBX I created a new file in “Adobe Substance Painter” using the following settings.

In Substance Painter, I clicked on mode and “Bake mesh painting”. I also activated each type of UV map just so I avoid working in a destructive process.

These are the pre-made martials Substance Painter provides.

Substance Painter also provides an hdri with its own settings which I can manipulate in the “Display settings” menu.

In the material editor, I can alter the metalness, roughness, height and more as seen in the image above.

I can edit each aspect of the brush such as its size and spacing between particles there.

These are the pre-made brushes Substance Painter provides.

I made the hdri more visible to see how light reflects on my object’s surface

In the alpha tab, I can pick from many provided shapes of brushes.

Adobe has a wide range of free to use martials I can import into Substance Painter on their website.

Link to the website:

https://substance3d.adobe.com/community-assets?assetType=substanceMaterial#

This is how I import any of the materials from the above website after downloading them in to Adobe Substance Painter:

Usage of Stencils:

To use stencils and patterns, I turned on symmetry as shown above in the image. Within symmetry I chose “radial symmetry because of my circular shaped object. These are the settings I picked.

I opened the alpha menu and dragged one of them to the stencil box in the stencil menu.

I positioned my stencil alpha using the s key to rotate and resize it on where I wanted to paint on my object. I then painted over my stencil.

This is how my object looked like without the stencil.

To delete my stencil outline, I clicked on the x in the stencil menu box as shown above.

To apply my newly learned skills I textured the barrel from 0.

I started by adding a fill layer with a blue color. I increased its height and roughness.

I increased its height and roughness to their maximum values.

I added a second fill layer to make the outline for rust and dent marks.

To make it so that I paint on my 2nd fill layer in an inverted mask. I simply added a black mask.

I decreased the height to its lowest value. Which I did the opposite for the roughness and added a bit of metelness.

This is my final product with a different base material in the first layer.

I now needed to import it to Autodesk Maya:

I navigated to “file”>”export texture”.

In the main mesh settings, I changed the height map’s format to “exr” 32 bits which allowed Maya to recognize its detail when importing it.

These were my main export settings choices of selection.

I changed the output template to Aistandardsurface because it was what Autodesk Maya recognizes.

These are the image texture’s maps I exported from Adobe Substance Painter:

Base color map

Metal map

Normal bump map

Roughness map

I re-opened my original barrel file with no applied texture.

I assented an AIstandard surfacematirial to it.

This is my texture node map which from my files that I showed earlier plugged in each as an image texture.

Each file’s color space setting was changed to raw for better color quality since storage was no issue. (Raw takes more storage).

This is my final render in Autodesk Maya.

Note: this render and texture is not to my best of abilities. This was merely a trial.

Assignment 2: “Time Leap”

For this project I needed to model and texture a defining item for a historical period of time in Autodesk Maya and Adobe Substance Painter.

I decided to model a “Steam Locomotive” from the 19th century.

Trains have played a crucial role in shaping human history, revolutionizing transportation and connectivity. Here’s an overview of trains throughout history and their impact on society:

Early Steam Locomotives (Early to Mid-19th Century):

The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built by George Stephenson in 1814, called the “Blucher.” However, it was the “Rocket,” built in 1829, that is often considered the first successful steam locomotive.

The introduction of steam locomotives led to the rapid expansion of rail networks, making transportation of goods and people more efficient.

Expansion and Industrialization (Mid-19th Century):

The mid-19th century saw a boom in railway construction, particularly in Europe and North America. Railways facilitated the movement of raw materials, finished products, and people, driving economic growth and industrialization.

Trains became vital for the transportation of goods, enabling industries to reach new markets and accelerating economic development.

Transcontinental Railways (Late 19th Century):

The completion of transcontinental railways, such as the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States (completed in 1869), connected the East and West coasts, significantly reducing travel time and opening up vast territories for settlement and commerce.

Impact on Urbanization and Population Distribution:

The availability of efficient rail transport influenced population distribution. Cities and towns located along major railway lines experienced rapid growth, while remote areas became more accessible.

Urbanization increased as people moved to areas served by railroads, leading to the development of urban centers and the decline of isolated rural communities.

Military and Strategic Importance (Late 19th to Early 20th Century):

Railways played a crucial role in military logistics during conflicts, facilitating the rapid movement of troops and supplies. This strategic importance became evident during the American Civil War and both World Wars.

Technological Advancements (20th Century):

Electrification and dieselization of railroads in the 20th century increased efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

High-speed rail systems, particularly in countries like Japan and France, demonstrated the ongoing innovation in train technology.

Challenges and Decline (Mid-20th Century):

The mid-20th century saw the rise of automobile and air travel, leading to a decline in the dominance of trains for passenger transportation.

Railways faced challenges in the face of competition, and many passenger rail services experienced a decline.

Revival and Modernization (Late 20th Century Onward):

In recent decades, there has been a renewed interest in rail transportation due to its environmental benefits and efficiency, leading to investments in high-speed rail and modernization of existing rail networks.

In summary, trains revolutionized transportation, connecting regions, fostering economic growth, and influencing population distribution. The 19th century, especially the mid to late 1800s, can be considered the era when trains had a transformative impact on society.

Here are my reference images:

I will also model and texture the common environment this vehicle operates in. This would consist off:

-rail roads

-cargo containers

Old vintage abandoned wooden cargo train carriage

-train stations

The blueprints I am using:

Old steam locomotive front view – vintage train

The processes:

To import my reference image/blueprint: [create]>[New Image Plane] while in front view so my objects could properly lay on top of where they’re meant to be on the image.

I modeled the basic body of my train by extruding a sphere in my desired shape. To create the bump up, I moved my new extrusion on the Y-axis and rotated to avoid its odd distorted look.

To give off the effect that each cylinder is a separate component, I added an edge loop while holding down control and shift to get a precise and 10% length increment. After adding the 2 edge loops on the end of each cylinder, I added a third so when I scale each “third loop”, only a specific part of the cylinder would take effect.

This how my model looked like when it’s components were “separated”.

To get rid of the sharp edges on my model so far, I beveled each loop on my extruded cylinders.

I wanted to model the frontal component of the train. I added a sphere in its place, positioned it and cut half of it to create a semi-sphere.

In favor of a future step I had planned, I combined the semi-sphere with the train’s main body.

For my “future step” both my former separated object and my main body were connected. To connect their mesh, I switched to “edge” mode in the right click menu and used the “target-wield” tool.

In my original reference images, I noticed golden looking loops placed in where each train component separates. I added a torus with an increased radius to my circular edges.

The frontal part also has 2 tube-shaped handles. However, I have quad topology all over my mesh. To create a circle in the motive to extrude it to model a tub like handle, I clicked on [Edit mesh]> [Circularize].

I modeled another cylinder with extrusions and bevels to create the part the tubes connected to.

This is what the completed frontal part of the train looked like.

I modeled the train’s biggest steam vent by extruding a cylinder and scaling its edges as shown above.

I modeled this specific detail by selecting the faces of my cylinder and extruding them separately.

The bell handle I wanted to model also had tube like handles. I circularized the following quads on my mesh as I did earlier, this time adding 2 subdivisions.

I created this shape while synonymously extruding on both circles. I also added a torus and shaped it as if it was coming out of the train. This made the handle look as if it was properly built into the train. I then mirrored it on the X-axis so it would be symmetrically placed, rotated and sized compared to its counter part.

For my bell, I added another reference image. To trace the shape whilst maintaining smoothness in my mesh, I used the “Nurbs curve” feature which allowed me to bend my curve and have it react to real world physics. To add my curve I: [Create]>[CV Curve Tool].

After tracing only half my bell’s shape, I: [Surface]>[Revolve box].

These are the settings which I selected.

The feature revolved my curve around itself in a 360 degree angle hence its name. Problem, the curve was revolved inside out of its mesh. Solution: [Mesh Display]>[Reverse]. This flipped my mesh’s face around which without doing so, was causing the black color on my mesh.

Problem 2: The bell had some very keen edges. Hypothesis: beveling each edge would not be enough to create an overall circular shape. Solution: With each edge *visible from the Y-axis*, I :[Edit Mesh]>[Circularize].

This is how my bell looked like circularized. I gave it a tad bit more details and placed on a new cylinder I place between my handles with a torus on each end acting as what held the bell and tilted it when needed be.

I molded one of the engines on the top the same way I made the big steam vent. (With extrusions and bevels). These are my object’s extrusions.

These are my object’s bevel’s.

To give my object a curvy roof, I added multiple edge loops by holding down control and shift to get an accurate and equal distance in between each loop. Then I scaled each loop smaller as I went up to create a dome shape from a hard cylinder surface.

The engine had another roof coming out of the first one. To model it, I added a sphere and cut half of it and target wielded it to the first roof as I did with the front part of my train.

While making a place for my engine to sit on, I gave it a 4 cylinders which wrapped around it on each side. To give them the soft edges, I extruded them and increased the subdivision levels in the extrude menu. Afterwards, I moved and rotated them in position. To avoid repeating this tedious process, I mirrored the tub once creating a version of it on the Z axis which I combined together with target wield. To create the end on the X-axis I would mirror the tub again target wielding each tubes together in the process of doing so.

I added a quad-shaped ring around the engine’s platform.

I made a platform for the second engine using extrusion.

I scaled the platform downwards to flatten it out on a 90 degree angle.

I modeled the second engine very similarly to the first one. IU also added some gimmicks on top of it.

To make the front part, I added a cylinder and removed its faces. The extruded it inwards. (I reversed its mesh in the mesh display menu).

I checker selected its extruded faces.

I extruded the faces inwards to form the inner shape.

I added a cylinder and extruded it to resemble a wire and placed in between and engine.

I duplicated my cylinders and made each new one smaller than the other and placed them in this contraption.

I midled my main wheel the same way of the front design of my train. I then mirrored it so I would have an exact replica of it on the other side facing it.

In the mirror tab, I selected the Z axis because that was the direction my wheels would be in in order to function in a real world event.

I duplicated the upper part of my wheels and raised it. This would act as the wheel’s handles.

I added a lower engine by performing some extrudes on a cylinder.

From the lower engine, I extruded 2 poles to act as my wheel’s rolling part.

To extrude in the shape I wanted I selected the quads on my cylinder, circularized them and gave them enough divisions to be quads.

I added the handle which connects both wheels and the machine together.

I added the smaller wheels to my train by extruding inwards and sideways then beveling.

I duplicated the small wheels again as it was what my blueprint guided me to.

To make the locomotive’s life guard’s irregular shape: I selected the lower left edge of a cube and raised it on the Y and X axis.

To make the railing around the guard, I selected the shape of bars on a plane, deleted them, and extruded the entire shape to give it thickness.

To bend my straight object to closely resemble the shape of the lifeguard, I navigated to

This is how the lifeguard looked like on the train.

As a final detail, I extruded this pole from the lifeguard based on my blueprints.

I began modeling the driver’s room by adding a poly cube and scaling it on the z-axis to form the foundation of the room.

I extruded this shape from it that came from a loop cut that I placed on the 60% part of the cube.

I also extruded this crate like object behind the room based on my blueprint.

To make the window shape, I planned to use the “Boolean” feature. I modeled the shape above by adding a bevel to the edges on the z -axis of a y axis elongated poly cube.

I duplicated by mirroring it 3 times in each of my desired window positions.

Now to boolean, hold [Shift]> [boolean]>[union].

After using a boolean, this is what my object looked like.

To make the thin copper line seen in the blueprint, I added a CV curve via [create]>[curve tool]>[cv curve tool].

I navigated to the front view to add the curve in a straight shape without deviation.

I gave my curve’s stroke a thickness to my likening in the “default brush1” tab in under the attribute editor.

To convert my stroke to mesh I [Modify]>[Convert]>[Paint effect to polygon].

My new mesh was flipped, to fix that I [Mesh display]> reverse].

I made this bucket originally from a cylinder and added some bevels to it to smoothen out the sharp edges.

I added this bucket to my mesh copper wire as shown to me in the blueprint.

This is how my model was looking like so far.

I filled the hole of the windows via [mesh]>[fill hole] and extruded it again to scale it inwards so I can repeat the action but to make the smaller area go inwards the room forming a. window shape for each of my windows.

I created this outer wall design through extruding and beveling quads on this we wall and added three windows the same way I did earlier.

I added a similarly molded design to the side of the train.

I created a lamp holding down the stiff wire which held the bucket from its other end based on my blueprint.

I added a special poly object found in the shift + right click menu called the “pipe” and reduced its subdivision to further resemble screws I duplicated and placed on the L shaped edges of my train.

I made my train’s door handle also using the previously mentioned cv curve tool to make an irregular shape for its look alongside, adding its holders.

I added some spheres for extra detail tp make my handle look more elegant.

I extruded inwards and deleted the face to make a door. I extruded the hole’s boarders and beveled the edges.

I used the cv curve tool again, this time it was tricky because I had to make it in the shape of a spiral around this mesh. To do so I kept switching between each view.