Japanese Temple
Today in class, I started to model the Japanese temple and it’s turning out pretty great! My idea is to have the house sitting on a rock base. For the roof, I want to create two levels covered with tiles.
Update: Sadly, I was working on this model at 3 am, when Maya crashed and when I opened the project again, it was corrupted. I tried looking for solutions on YouTube but there is nothing I can do… I will have to redo most of it.
Fortunately, the second try turned out even better than the first one. I realised that modularity was crucial to prevent this type of accident and I started using Increment and save a well, just to be safe.
It’s finally complete! I think it turned out great for one of my first models! Also, I added some lamps and created a quick plane to make it more natural.
Horse
The next step is modelling the horse. My main inspiration is the horses from the world of warcraft since they give off that game look to the scene and because they are much more robust and bigger than a regular horse.
I started doing it today, during class, but it’s proving to be quite the challenge due to its organic shape and all the details. I watched some YouTube tutorials to understand how I should go about modelling this creature and I’ve found multiple problems. First of all, I can’t get the first Maya model right. Something about the topology (and my lack of knowledge) is preventing me from getting a viable model. Secondly, I find it quite hard to get the curves and organic parts right. Everything about it bothers me.
Although now it looks fine, I have multiple problems with the topology and the back legs are incorrect. I have been trying to correct some of it and I even tried exporting it to blender to sculpt the muscles and the small details. However, I encountered many issues that I don’t know how to solve yet. Also, I found it very awkward trying to model characters in Maya. I think next time I will take a more “hands-on” approach by using only blender. Unfortunately, I think it’s best to leave this for another project. I don’t think I have enough knowledge to complete this yet.
Rocks
The rocks will serve as a cave for the final scene. They create this mysterious entrance into the unknown and add the feeling of adventure. They were very easy to model since they are essentially “random” shapes.
Japanese Gate
I thought it would be a good idea to also include a typical Japanese gate or 鳥居 (torii), normally found at the entrance of a Shinto Shrine. I thought it would complement the previously designed temple and reinforce the feelings of mysticality and spirituality.
Update: I’ve been following a YouTube tutorial to build this element, and it was very helpful! I learned a lot from only one video. It went into the details on how to make the edges round or create smooth curves for the top, etc. Overall, very helpful, and the result was very pleasing, as well.
Terrain, Sky and Planets
These were the easiest to model of all the elements in my scene. It literally took me only a few minutes to get all of these done. Firstly, I don’t think it’s worth talking about the planets because, for now, they are literally just spheres, and will only become “worthy” once I add the textures. Secondly, the sky is just a light dome with 0 brightness and with a 360 image attached to it. And finally, the terrain was a simple plane that altered a little bit using Maya’s sculpting tools. The end result was exactly what I had planned in the beginning. A mountainous region with a big lake.
Trees
This element is the only one I didn’t model. I have been reflecting about it and I have had enough with organic elements, for now at least. Besides, I was a bit confused with adding leaves to the trees in 3D. From what I saw, most use planes and then images that fit into those, plus a transparency filter. But one of my major problems right now is understanding UV, cut and sew in particular. So anything that complicates this process right now is a big NO. I’ll leave that for another time. The link for the model will be attached below.
Trees Update : Mash Problem
Of course, I couldn’t finish this process without having issues (facepalm)… When I try to create a Standin object and then a Mash, for some reason, it doesn’t show when I render it. Today I asked Kelvin about it and we were both clueless. To solve this, I had to opt for the heaviest (render-wise) option, that is creating a mash with the actual object. This slowed down the rendering time considerably, but it was the only solution.
Also, thanks to Kelvin, I found a way to prevent trees from existing on the paths I wanted to be empty. It turned out pretty great in the end.