Hi Everybody,
I hope you enjoyed last weeks class. Last week we covered the basics of using a free 3D Editor program called "GMax". We looked at some example movie clips of what 3D Animation looks like in Hollywood movies, movie clips on the web and movie clips that I made in G-Max and 3D Studio Max.
GMax is a free 3D Editor program provided by a company called Autodesk. The "G" stands for "Games", because it is intended to be a free resource for Game enthusiasts and developers. It's almost identical to the commercial program called "3D Studio Max". But in GMax, they only included features that Game developers might use. For us, it's the perfect editor for learning 3D animation. It's free. It contains everything we need to make really cool 3D animations (like the ones that we saw in the movie clips last week). And, after you you've learned to use GMax, you are 90% of the way to knowing the commercial version of the program, "3D Studio Max". And, with practice, you might work in the 3D Game or Movie business someday! Imagine your name in the closing credits of some block buster movie a few years from now.
What is the class all about?
I do 3D animation and film effects just for fun. It's not my job (I'm an electrical engineer by day :-) But it's a hobby of mine, and I love doing it! And, I want to share what I know with others who are interested. So, this class is about you having fun. Above all, I want you to enjoy doing the projects. My intention is that we will each choose a short (maybe 5 or 10 second) animation clip from your favorite movie, and then attempt to do our own version of it. I think that you will be surprised at how easy it is to make the amazing special effects that you see on the movies using free software tools that you can download from the web. I want you to feel free to move at your own pace (no pressure!) and enjoy what you can create.
What is this web site for?
Each week I will post example animations and movies that we create in the class. I want to encourage each of you to follow along and create your own version of each of the example lessons. And, with your permission, I will post your animation movies on this site for all your friends to watch! This web site is called a "Blog". That means that you are free to post messages to the group if you want to. So feel free to post messages and post pictures of what you have done. I will try to check the site each night and respond to your posts.
What will we do in Class #2?
In Class #1, we got started with the Gmax 3D editor program. We installed it on your laptops. I demonstrated the basics of how to create various 3D geometric shapes. And I showed you how to move, rotate, stretch or shrink a shape after you created it. Using those basic shapes, you can make lots of interesting objects. For example, I showed you one example where I used spheres, a cone, and 2 calendars to make a very realistic looking UFO (at least as real looking as any I have seen). Then, I viewed it in the perspecitive view and moved the whole model downward to make it look like an animated UFO landing.
In Class#2, we will move much more quickly than last week. (we'll move fast because there are only 6 or so weeks I think in this class!) In the next class we will cover more interesting ways to create 3D shapes in GMax. We will take photographs of reference models (like toy robots or cars) that we will then use to create moving 3D computer models for our animation movie. I will show you the completed UFO landing movie that I made from the model that we created last week, and I'll show you the basic steps that I followed to do it. Here's a quick summary of what we'll learn in Class #2:
1) How to do "extrusion modeling". (This is where things get fun! We're moving beyond using the simple geometric shapes!) How to put a photograph of your model into GMax so that you can simply trace it's shape when making your 3D model! So easy!
2) How to "Color" and "paint" your models (using the material editor in GMax). How to paint photographed pictures onto your model. How to paint your model with colors that "glow in the dark".
3) How to setup your scene for the animation. How to place your camera and lights on the "stage" just like you were making a movie. And, how to draw a "storyboard" to plan your animation. (A story board is a quick hand drawing that looks like the square pictures in a comic book. It shows the action sequences and how the 3D models and characters will work in your 3D animation movie.)
4) How to Animate your model. In this class we will probably only have time for some simple animations, but I think you will be impressed at how easy it is to do and how good the 3D animation looks! In a later class we will animate a robot character's legs and arms to make him walk and look around. It's all up to you what you want to do in this class. But, maybe we could make a quick film of each of you interacting with the robot character that you will make. You could make a video clip of you jumping and giving your robot the high-five on the basketball court next to the classroom! Use your imagination and we'll figure out a way to make the film clip!
Books!
I ordered each of you a copy of "The GMax Bible". And, I also ordered each of you a copy of "The Gmax Handbook" that I showed you last week. I found the books on-line at Amazon.com at a reduced cost, so I was able to afford both books for each of you, at no cost to you. I should receive those books by Class#3, so I hope to give them to you then. Until then, I will give you lots of hand-outs to follow along with.
My E-Mail Address
If you need to contact me, just email me at DeWitt.Russ@gmail.com
I work during the day, but I try to check my email every day, and will usually respond to you by the evening.
That's it. I hope to see you all in class #2!
Russ DeWitt
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