Catch up Posts: Wordpress

Hey Blog!

So first post! Ok so there is a little bit of catching up to do...

My name is James Alexander Simpson (Jay or Jamie to friends) and I started a learning diary for a 3D Aniamtion and Modelling module I took last semester at Heriot Watt University (Part of my Information Systems BSc(Hons) course). It was during this module that I really discovered what it was that I wanted to do as a profession and just how much I love this area of specialization. This Log can be found at the below link

http://www.thdi.co.uk/refelix

It is in this log that I have my first 3/4 intensive months of learning, from here on out I will be posting in this blog! So please have a glance through first =) but I will post my current work up on this site in the next post!

It is an truely bizzare professional that requires two of my favoitre things in life, creativity & art aswell as using very powerful computers :p . Plus it incredibly satifsying for those of us who have a small god complex! As you are essentially creating objects and entitys out of your own imagination, be it a tree, a landscape... or a transforming mechanoid. It is yours and it can be made to do what ever you want... Burn it to the ground, Fly, Shoot a massive rocket out of its leg, Jump.... or reinact Monty Python's ministery of silly walks if you really want (Possible bit of fun I was thinking for my APM Model!). The difference between 3D Modelling and Animation and 2D work is obviously the addition of the Z axis. But its not that simple, as with the introduction of this axis comes the requirment of creating a character or object that does not just look good from the angle the user is viewing it (i.e a sketch on paper or a flash animation), but must be flawless from every angle as you do not draw the model, colour it in and then alter the next image in the sequence to follow.
In the world of 3D your create your enity using a range of methods varying in complexity and suitablity for the subject in question (N.U.R.B.S and Splines for organic objects and Primative or Patch techniques for Hard Surface objects), you then must rig the model (create a skeletal structure that defines the way it will react and move to either manual developer animation or react to simulated gravity or collissions). Followed by texturing the object (essentialy painting it) and then finaly animate it. In some ways it could be considered easier than that of 2D work due to once you have created an object you do not need to draw it again in order to animate. But in other ways more complex in the inital complexity of model creation and learning curve of 3D software.

In this blog that I intend to keep for many many years I hope to describe What, How, When and Where of my newly established passion, I hope that I will end up doing it professionally but either way I will describe my journy as I go. I hope that this blog may potentialy educate me via a means of reflection (or maybe introduce me to those who are already well established in the subject area) and maybe educate others who are just begining or just interested.

Enough waffle... I will learn how to blog better in the future, for now I'm off to the gym it's weights day! I will post again soon and get the ball rolling =)

Jay out!