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Production Diary

Displayed here are the different stages that I went through in production of making the eagle model,

textures and rigs. In terms of the first image, this was the first model that I did of the eagle using the

concept designs that I was given from the concept department of my team. Even though I thought

that the model came out well, I thought that it didnt quite look like the eagle from the original story

so I decided to start again. This leads me onto the third picture which displays the new model of the

eagle that I based on the original images from the story book. I found that this worked a lot better.

Next, I have shown the different processes that I went through in order to get the right rig for the

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eagle. As you can see, the bones and skeletons of the rig differ in each image as I was finding it hard

to get the rig right so that it moved accurately. Also, I was unsure about the positioning of some of

the bones, for example, on the legs as I was told that the joints should have been reversed and not

like a human. Furthermore, by going through online tutorials and seeking help from the lecturers, I

was able to address this issue and so in the last image, I have shown the final eagle rig that has a

controller system instead. Also, once the rig and model were completed, I then began to work on the

textures of the eagle with the help of Georgia doing the Eagles feather textures. Looking closely at

the textures used in the book, I gathered images and used brushes in Photoshop that I thought

would be appropriate for the eagle, and created a UV texture map in Maya so that it lapped nicely

onto the model. Even though I had some issues with the UVs, for example, on the beak where it

didnt sit on the mouth properly or the features on some parts of the eagles body had to be

repositioned, I still managed to solve these issues and get the eagle finished ready for animating. If I

had to do this process again, I would have perhaps added a few more polygons in some areas, just to

smooth the mesh out a bit.

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Here are some final renders that I did of the

eagle in different angles. Overall, I am

pleased with the model because I think that

it resembles the eagle that is portrayed in

the book. Although, if I had to improve it, I

would address some of the textures and the

way that they sit on the model.

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Shown here are the development stages of me creating the cow model, textures and rig. To begin

with, I looked at cow references for inspiration as the cows that are displayed in the section of the

book were not very clear. From there, I looked at the concept designs that were given to me by my

group and decided to do some of my own. In the first image shown above, this can be seen and I

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started to block out the basic shape of the cow character. From there, I then smoothed the mesh out

so that it didnt look blocky and then started to create the rig. Again, similarly to the eagle rig, I

wasnt sure how the skeleton and joints of the cow would work, so I looked at tutorials and got help

from the lecturers in order to address this. In the fourth and fifth image shown above, I have

included pictures of the rig that I created using joints, controls and IK. This process was slightly

different to the eagle as the cow isnt in the story for long so the rig isnt as complex as the eagle. To

begin with, when I binded the skeleton to the model, I had a few issues as the mouth and udder

wouldnt move properly. Similarly, for the eagle I had this issue with the mouth as it would not open

properly or the joints would have influence on other bones. However, I soon solved this issue by

removing certain bones influences and so the rig behaved better. Another small issue that I had with

the cow rig was the world control that I made. At first, I could move the rig around, but I could not

scale it. I solved this however by sorting out the hierarchy of the skeleton. Lastly, in these images I

have included the final renders/design of the cow. For these textures, I used a similar process to the

eagle and created a UV texture map from Maya and put it into Photoshop so that I could paint the

textures onto the map. Once this was done, I put the map back into Maya and put it onto the model.

This process did have a few issues with positioning but I soon addressed these in Photoshop.

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Next, I have displayed images of the bridge that I modelled for a specific scene in the story. In the

part of the book that we were given, there wasnt a design for the bridge so I decided to create a

design of my own. With this in mind, I decided to make it not too complicated as I thought that this

wouldnt fit the theme of the story and I started to gather reference of some bridges so that I knew

exactly how to model it. In the first three images above, I have included the basic model of the

bridge that I created in Maya. Once I had done this, I started to gather textures that I thought would

look like the textures that were used in the book. From there, I gradually started to add fine details

to the bridge, for example, adding the burn, highlight and dodge tool so that it gave a nice wooden

effect. The only issue I had with the bridge was the lining up of the lines that are present on the

textures and occasionally the textures would reverse on the arch but I later fixed this. In the last

couple of images I have included a render of the bridge taken from different perspectives. If I had to

do this process again, I would have liked to of created more designs for the bridge in case there was

a design that would have fitted more with the story. Although, I think that this design is ok.

Below, you can find the development stages of changing the textures of the bridge that I did in

Photoshop.

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This is the final texture plane that I used for the bridge. Each layer was build up with numerous

textures and this was then edited in Photoshop by using masks, opacity and then using different

tools for detail (dodge tool, burn and highlighting).

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Lastly, here I have included the final

texture sheets that I created of the

cow and eagle models. Similarly to

the process of the bridge, each layer

was built up using different textures

and then I added more details using

different brushes and colours. For

reference, I looked at what the

characters looked like in the book so

that I knew exactly what colour

palettes and textures to use. To begin

with, to create these textures I just

added a new material (lambert) to

the model in Maya and added a

texture to the material. However,

even though this was a simple

process, it made the file of the model

too big so it started to crash in Maya.

To address this issue, I thought that

instead of using so many materials in

Maya, I would create a whole body

UV texture map in Maya, and then

import this into Photoshop so that I

could literately paint straight onto

the model net. This process was a lot

better and kept the file size of the

model low. Once I did this process for

each model, I then imported it back

into Maya and it sat on the model

nicely.