3D Skill Development Journal

Wilf Bangham
Extrude (Paint Tube)
The extrude tool is used for extending faces out by creating new faces. I used this on my paint
tube to achieve the effect on the bottom of it being rolled up. This was done by extruding the
edge, rotating the faces by 45 degrees, and the continuing to extrude the edges until I got the
effect that I wanted. This was useful because it allowed my to create as complex shade easily.
Extruding objects can be limiting, however, as it can be hard to achieve the exact form that
you want when using this tool.
Smooth View
The smooth view increases the amount of tris on the model, and makes the model look
smooth, which means that I can model in low poly and still render the model in a high poly
count. This save time as I do not have to edit a lot of polygons at the same time, instead, I only
have to edit one or two of the faces to achieve a large difference. This was useful because it
saved a lot of time when modelling, but was tough to use as it can alter topology that you
don’t necessarily want to change, which you then need to use another tool to fix.
Insert Edge Loop
The cap was quite complicated to make, and required lots of editing of edges and extrusions.
After editing the cap, altering the subdivisions messed up the model, so I instead had to insert
an edge loop onto the cap so i could then achieve the effect that I wanted. This was helpful
because it saved me time and ensured that I didn’t have to redo the cap. However, the tool
doesn’t always detect the loop that you would want to create.
Crease
The crease tool is specifically for the smooth view, and makes specific edges more angular,
which allowed me to achieve the effect on the rim of the tube. This was helpful because the
tube would have been too rounded if I left it, but the crease tool allowed me to move the
edges closer together. The problem with this tool is that it doesn’t allow the squared edges of
the normal view.
Hypershade (Stingray PBS)
The Hypershade menu allows me to make all of my materials very easily. The Stingray PBS
(Physically-Based Shading) is able to make realistic materials such as metal and plastic. This
allowed me to make my metal and plastic materials for my cap. This was useful because I
could make a material without having to manually draw in the shadows. The tool becomes less
useful when making glass or other transparent objects.
Roughness Map
A roughness is used to tell Maya what parts of a model are rough, and which parts are
smooth. I used a Roughness map on my pin to achieve the look of different materials, being a
rough metal on the top and a shiny metal on the side. This was helpful because it meant that I
didn’t have to manually paint in the rough texture on my albedo map. However, it can be
difficult to get the exact smoothness on a material.
Create Polygon
The logo was quite complicated to make, and would have required lots of editing of edges and
extrusions. I then learned that an easy way to make a shape like a logo was using the create
polygon tool, which allowed me to outline the logo and easily make it for my model. This was
helpful because it saved me time and ensured that I didn’t have manually edit each edge util
the shape was perfect for each of the stars. Complicated shapes can be quite difficult to get
right if you want to keep the poly count low.
Text
The text tool allowed me to create 3D text that I could use on my model. I had to use the text
tool to create the text on the pin because I wouldn’t have been able to get that level of
accuracy on my model by using either create polygon or by creating polygon primitives. This is
limited by the fonts that you have installed on your computer, so you may need to install new
fonts for each time you use the tool.
Bevel
The bevel tool reduces an edge on a polygon to a slope, by removing an edge and adding a
face instead. This makes the shape slightly smoother, and the process can be expanded to
make the corners very smooth. I have used it on the corner of my book to create a slightly
worn look on the pages. I use this technique to enhance my model and include more
interesting details.
Multi-cut
The ‘Multi-Cut’ tool creates edges, similarly to the ‘Insert Edge Loop’ tool, but is able to create
an edge at any position on a face. I used this tool to create specific edges on some of my
shapes, including the mountains and my lock. This is a useful tool as it can quickly make
custom edge loops on a model, which would be useful if Maya didn’t give you the edge loop
that you wanted when using the automatic tool.
Create Polygon Primitive
The ‘Create Polygon Primitive’ tool allows me to create polygonal shapes that I can the mould
and edit to create my desired shape. The tool allows multiple different polygons to be made,
some of the most useful being: cubes, sphere, cylinders, planes and cones. I used this
multiple times during my modelling process, first to block out my model and then to create
each detail on my model.
Image Planing
Image planing is a technique that incorporates an image than can then be modelled over to create an
accurate form for an object. I use this to create an accurate top for my postbox, which had lots of small
changes in the form, so would have been hard to capture without this technique. The only limitation of
this technique is that it can be hard to form round objects that you want to be symmetrical, as you will
have to keep switching between the side/front and perspective view.
Set Project
The set project function is a way of storing projects so that it is easier to manage all of the files for
textures, animations and scenes. This helped in my later models such as my Switch model because it made
organising my files easier so that my desktop didn’t become cluttered. It also makes it easier to transfer
and share the project files. The function is limited by the number of folders it creates, which can make
finding the specific folder you want harder.
Duplicate Special
The duplicate special function allows for objects to be duplicated a number of times around the initial
object, and any changes made to the original will be copied into the duplicated objects. This is very good
for saving time and works better than the standard duplicate function, because with some simple maths it
can save the process of positioning the objects perfectly. It can be limited as changing the anchor point of
an object may be required to make it work exactly how you want it to.
Normal Maps
Normal maps are used on models to create differences in height, than can save time when modelling
because you don’t have to model in all of the small holes and seams. This saves a lot of time as normal
maps can be created easily in photoshop by using the ‘Create Normal Map’ filter, which will make a
normal map from a black and white image. The limitation of this is that it can be quite hard to get the
exact style you are looking for.
Curves
The curve tool allow a line to be made which can then be use to make shapes or tubes. This was especially
useful in my flower model because it allowed me to make both the stem of the flower and the vase. To
create the stem, I extended a cylinder along the curve and increased the divisions. The limitation of this
tool is that the divisions can increase the poly count by a lot, which can make altering the shape a lot
harder.
Revolve
The revolve tool allows a curve to be turned into a cylindrical face around a certain point, so I was able to
use it as my vase. The tool helped me to make a vase without having to first make a cylinder and the
extrude the faces and change edges. This would have taken me longer than drawing an outline and then
revolving the curve. The only limitation of this technique is that you have to move the anchor point for it
to revolve in the correct way.
Emission Maps
Emission maps are used to create a light area on an object. My emission map for my switch had the green
light so my emission map had to have the cuboid of the light coloured green and everything else black,
which was the value 0 (for non-emissive). The green meant that the light was green, because the colour
white would make the light white, and not just make it emit light from the colour of the albedo. The
limitation of this technique is that without a good UV, making specific areas emit light can be quite
difficult.
Opacity Maps
Opacity maps make certain part of the object translucent/transparent, with the colour black being
opaque and white being completely transparent. This can be useful in making glass objects, such as my
vase, which need to be translucent, and have some streaks of opacity. The limitation of this technique is
that getting exact values of opacity can be tough and may have to be edited multiple times to get the
correct look. A different Stingray PBS setting is also required to allow transparency in an object.
Booleans
The boolean tool allows 2 separate objects to interact in a few ways. They can be joined in a union, or be
divided with a difference. I used the Difference Boolean tool in my switch model multiple times to create
the form, specifically the headphone port, vents and usb ports on the dock. While this saved time by
ensuring that I didn’t have to make an edge loop every time I wanted to extrude a face down, the problem
was that my topology became poor and I needed to spend time at the end of my modelling to fix this by
adding more edges to make the bad areas into multiple quads.
Layers
The layers function in Maya allows different sections of one model, or 2 different models, to be separated
and able to be made invisible. The layers can be renamed and colour for ease of use, and was especially
useful in my Switch model, as it contained two separate items, each made of multiple models, which I
could turn invisible when I was working on the other one. The limitation of this function is that the modes
can be confusing as one mode makes it visible, but non-editable, which can be confusing to new users
such as myself.