Creating a low-poly, stylised 3D structure.

So I decided to create a stylised outpost looking kind of building in cinema 4D that was inspired by the game World of Warcraft. This took me about 4 hours in total, and I am happy with how it turned out, although, I would like to add more clutter and stuff to it. Here are the results:

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I built the initial structure of the plot.

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I built the roof and added most of the details.

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I cluttered up the scene even more to give it a “lived-in” kind of look.

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I brightened up some of the colours in Photoshop.

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I went way overboard with the colours 😛

After Effects Project: How to stairs

So I made this project to test out my new camera and I can say that I really liked how smooth the video came out (especially now that YouTube allows for 60fps videos).

The total work time on this was about  2 hours (including filming) and it was all done in after effects. The only part of the video I maybe regret is the plane noise that I added in at about 15 seconds.

Superfast numbers – The story

The Story:

Dan is hell-bent on proving that he is truly the worlds fastest man, and will push his body to the limit to do so. As the story progresses, Dan reaches his peak physical condition, and his trainer, Tim, warns him that if he trains any harder, his muscles are going to burst. This takes place a day before the 100M sprint for the new Olympics,  and Dan is insistent that he is going to race tomorrow, and show the world that the drug test was wrong. He keeps having flashbacks to the day they told him that they were rescinding his world record, and the conversations he had with his dad during that day.

The day of the big race finally arrives, and the racers are all lines up the starting points. The gunshot goes off and in a blur of speed, all the racers shoot away, with Dan in the lead and as the race progresses, he keeps having flashbacks about the interviews that he partook in the day of the drug test, and how he was so sure the results would come back negative.

Then, just as he starts making good progress with the race, a tendon in Dan’s right leg snaps, and he stumbles forward (not falling, just stumbling) but is determined not to give up, and tries to continue running, his mind drifting back to his conversations with his trainer. We see his trainer in the VIP box yelling out with rage and covering his face with both hands. As he looks around, he notices all the other runners passing him, and we see his face turn to a deterministic expression. Then, suddenly, the billboard tracking the time of the runners starts to flicker, then, everything freezes. Three men in black suits start to approach Dan, who is still frozen in place, while muttering to each other, talking about how he can’t be allowed to cross the finish line.

As they begin to reach him, Dan’s eyes slowly shifts towards the three men, and he begins slowly running again. We see Dan’s leg muscle expand and contract, before his eyes turn to a look of surprise and fright, and he see’s red number’s begin rising out of the ground. The three men in black suits begin chasing after Dan with some speed and, while shouting “impossible” as Dan begins gaining a ton of momentum, and they begin freezing. Dan stumbles across the finish line with a burst of speed, and slides across the ground with a time of 8.4 seconds. He shatters his old record and the world record, however he, when he looks up, the three men in suits are nowhere to be seen. We see the main agent talking into a Bluetooth headset, saying that his observations were interesting, but minor, and that Dan will never run or even walk again.

The scene switches to Dan inside a hospital, sitting in a wheelchair, with metal bracer’s around his legs, and a blank look on his face.  A blonde nurse is pushing him down a long hallway, making small talk about her youth. One of the men in black suits is standing at the end of the hallway, behind Dan and the nurse, observing him. Then Dan, still looking straight ahead, tells the nurse to stop, which she does, more out of confusion than anything else. Dan begins slowly rising out of the wheelchair, the metal bracer’s bursting off of his legs. The man in the black suit whispers to himself “sit down” as Dan continues to rise out of the chair. The shot changes to a close up of Dan’s feet and the metal plating  (which is now broken into pieces)  and shows them slowly rising off the ground, while Dan says, in a heavenly/godly voice: “Free”. The nurse looks on in confusion, still unaware that Dan is now floating off the ground. Then Dan falls back to the ground on his hands and knees while panting and sweating heavily, as the nurse helps him back onto his chair. The shot changes to a close up of the man in the black suits face, as he talks into his headset and says that he will continue to monitor this case for a while longer.

Superfast numbers – Premiss

The show is set in the the very late 90’s or very early 2000’s, where technology is only just starting to resemble what we have today, and the internet has about 2 websites on it. The world itself is pretty much what you’d expect from that time, except slightly more perfect, i.e: Only 1 world war has occurred and natural disasters are few and far. However, these subjects are only briefly and indirectly referenced in the show.

Burdened with his past failures and wrongful accusation, Olympic runner; Daniel Oyen pushes his limits daily in an attempt to increase his physical capabilities. He is set on proving that the dope test on his last world record was false, and that he really is the world’s fastest.

The events in the show revolve around Daniel and his strange interactions with electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones and even satellites as well as his constant flashbacks to the last Olympics, in which he was wrongfully accused for using muscle enhancing drugs to set a world record.

Characters

Main:

Dan Oyen – Wrongfully accused of using steroids to set a world record in the 100m sprint. Seeking to redeem himself. A quite man with high mental focus and determination.

Ben Oyen – Dan’s dad, who believes his sons world record was also wrongfully stolen from him. Slightly more optimistic and loud-mouthed than his son.

Timothy Wesker – Dan’s personal trainer. He believes that Dan’s record was mad under the influence of steroids, and wants him to come clean with the truth. Extremely loud and over the top.

Side:

Smith – Monitoring Dan ever since he noticed him charge a mobile phone with his bare hands. Works for the CIA. Very stealthy, however, can be over-excitable at times.

Denise – A nurse at a hospital in New Jersey, where the main story takes place.  Tends to blabber on about the smallest of things for hours at a time.

Rachel – A journalist who was hired to interview Dan about his drug test. Polite and professional.

Weapon Mod Development

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My weapon (untextured)

My weapon was meant to be a steampunk-esque modified sniper rifle, designed to fire plasma rounds. The outer casing is made of a wooden materiel, however, the inside is filled with wires, circuits and pistons.

The ammo (which is a vapour-like substance) is stored inside the blue and red metal canister on the right of the weapon, and is fed into the barrel using a small, thin reinforced plastic tube.

The gun also features a 20x magnifying scope at the top of it, and is meant for sniping at long ranges with precision and accuracy.

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My final render

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Un-rendered version of my textured weapon

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After adding in the basic gun shape

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My weapon mod, made in Cinema 4D.

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The ammo chamber for my weapon. It was inspired by a common gas canister, as well as analogue clocks.

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Professional 3D guns

Steampunk weapon designs are usually over-the-top in terms of design as they do not need to conform to the laws of physics in a 3D-space and as such, usually have more bells and whistles than need be. Many Steampunk weapons are usually based off of designs from the Victorian era. The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period of fundamental changes in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and social structure. Beginning in England, this period was a true “revolution,” for it thoroughly destroyed the old manner of doing things. An economy based on manual labor and skilled artisans was replaced by one dominated by industry, machinery, and mass production. I believe that many Steampunk weapon designers choose to base their designs on the Victorian era as it was the era in which steam powered machinery was first introduced, and accepted as the mainstream, however, most Steampunk weapons usually have technology in them that is way beyond even current technology, and as such, usually look very complicated.

A great example of a game which features steampunk weapons is Borderlands 2. The game claims to feature over 3000 weapons and variants of weapons.

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Modern Firearms

Modern day firearms tend to feature a slicker, more functional design when compared to Steampunk weapon designs as they tend to favour over practicality over aesthetics. The weapons of today are created in mass production and used by nearly all military s around the globe, where as in most depictions of a Steampunk-esque world, the weapons are usually created by a single person, or small group of people for one individuals use.

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P22 Pistol with a laser sight/torch and stabiliser attachment

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NDM 86 sniper rifle

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The K1 assault rifle with over 60 billion attachments

Assorted Objects

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This blade I found using google images looks like it would fit in perfectly on a steampunk styled weapon

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These type of dial’s are common on steampunk weapons

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Cogs are also very commonly found on steampunk styled weapons

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A steampunk-esque scope

This post is meant to highlight a few different objects that could be used on a steampunk modified weapon.

Steampunk Genre

The steampunk genre is inspired by an alternate future where steam powered machinery has continued to be the mainstream. Many people also compare it to the Victorian era, in which steam-powered machinery ruled the day.

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A steampunk styled watch

Steampunk styled devices/machinery usually consist of many unnecessary components for the sake of aesthetics, as picture above. The watch is clearly over the top in design, however it is meant to favour aesthetics over practically.

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Gloves re-imagined in a steampunk style

Steampunk fashion is hugely inspired by the mid-Victorian dress-wear, with an futuristic kind of twist to it.

Cinema 4D: My Room

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A shot comparing a rendered and an un-rendered poster which I modelled/textured

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A close up shot of the table

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A general eagle view shot

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A shot showing progress made during the render

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A screenshot mid-render

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This is my 3D room which I made in Cinema 4D. It has a pretty small lay out, with the main focus being the television.

My main goal during this project was to expand my knowledge on modelling and texturing within Cinema 4D. For the final render, I used Ambient Occlusion and Global Illumination, however, neither of these two effects are immediately obvious, as I decided to use them in a more subtle way, rather than drawing too much attention to either of them