Week 3 - Creating a realistic leaf

For this tutorial we were to create a leaf using a realistic material, with mapping techniques. An already made 2d photo of a leaf was given to us to edit in photoshop and to create a black and white silhouette of the leaf.

In 3ds max a plane was created for which the leaf would be displayed on. The material was then to be prepared using the material editor and selecting the bitmap of our original leaf. Next was to go to the maps tab and click none in the opacity box. This time we would upload the black and white image of the leaf. Whilst in map select the box next to bump and reload the original image and increase the amount.

This material was then applied to the plane and we have a realistic looking leaf that is 2d. To give it some 3d dimension we go to edit poly and soft selection and choose vertexs that we wish to move and help curl a leaf. My rendered leaf is shown below.

Week 2 - Creating a chess piece

For this task half a drawing was made of a chess piece in adobe illustrator.

This was then saved as an early version of illustrator 3 so it is a simple path for 3ds max to understand. Next we import this drawing into 3ds max and merge objects with current scenes, then a single object.

Next is to go to the hierachy tab and select pivot and affect pivot only. We use the move tool so that the pivot point is along the innermost section. By zooming in helps to find the end point.

To create a 3d model of the chess piece we then lathe the drawing from the modifier list . Weld core was selected to ensure the mesh is solid. Below is my chess piece.

Week 2 - Using Reference Planes to make a Tank

For this tutorial we were to create a tank using reference planes. For this to work properly we used the blueprint of the tank provided by importing into our materials section. Next a plane was made for the design to be seen on. The material was then dragged onto the plane. We had to make sure we could see the blueprint so had to change the colour to 100, configure the driver and reload the image. This made a clear viewing of the tank.

To align the tank with our plane we used the modifier uvw mapping, gizmo. This allowed us to move the top view of the tank around. Next we selected the plane and made a copy my using shift and dragging the plane. We had to rotate the plane so it was showing a side on view of the tank. Again using gizmo, we could move the tank to how we wanted it. We selected both planes and froze the panels so they couldn't be touched.

I first decided to make the wheels of the tank and created cylinders for these and copied the wheels multiple times until i was happy. By making sure that all the parts being created were see-through would allow me to edit my shapes accordingly to the tank blueprint and make viewing easier. Next I created a box above the wheels and decided to work upwards.


When I was happy with this stage I went onto the next part of the tank and again made sure that everything was aligned in the top and side views. I used a pen tool for this part of the tank as i found it easier. For this I extruded my drawing. I again used the line tool and extruded the next part, however I used the edit poly modifier and changed the vertex positionings to try and make the shape more realistic.


Next I created the entrance and barrel holder, using the line tool and extruding and again editing the vertex placings. After this the barrel was created using a inverted cone and created more segments to try and make it more rounded.


The actual barrel head was again designed with the line tool and extruded. To finish off my tank I decided to see what it would look like with it being all green and taking of the reference planes. Below is my finished tank. I am happy with my first attempt however I need more practice with trying to make objects more rounded as it is very square like.

Research Board

James Bond: The World is Not Enough (1999)

I have decided to produce my assignment trailer based on the 1999 film hit oo7 the world is not enough. This was the first James Bond I ever saw and the idea of trying to reproduce the boat chasing the assassin to a hot air balloon along the thames can be a challenge but also very interesting.

I feel that this is a great action packed film to create a 3D trailer for, with many scenes to pick from.