Week 6

 

 

The Museum of Power Assignment Brief

Today marked the start of the next part of the "Virtual Environments" assignment involving the modeling and animation of a steam powered asset from the "Museum of Power". Having decided our group several weeks ago, today the first official group meeting took place where it was decided what asset was to be made. Having taken numerous reference photos from the prior Museum visit we all came to the mutual decision to choose the "LMS Fowler 2-6-4T" Steam Engine as our final asset. This was due to the fact that it is a relatively complex vehicle, comprised of a multitude of mechanical moving parts which will present a challenge in terms of modeling and animation.

 

2368 LMS Fowler 4 - MT Class 2-6-4 (1927)

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Once this decision had been reached a work schedule was devised starting by compiling a list of probable tasks needing to be completed in order to reach the final goal. These were then placed within a Gantt chart so the timings of each could be predicted. Now that we had established the tasks required, the work load and job roles were distributed amongst the group members. Myself and Steven Harwood will commence the modeling process, hopefully reaching the stage that was agreed in the meeting for next week. Lee confidently gave the presentation which he prepared prior to today's lecture and displayed his concept storyboard/sketches for the animation process. Steven Muller also presented several sketches which were drawn of a potential "Steam Bot" character that will be modeled this week for inclusion in the end animation.

My task assigned for this week involved the creation of the train wheels and undercarriage area. This will be modeled as accurately as possible based on the reference images that were collected. In order to prevent potential problems during the modeling process in the future, a measurement scale was confirmed so that each part of the Steam Train  will be correctly sized. Upon the completion of this stage of modeling, a trial animation can be conducted next week to gain a rough understanding of how the remaining parts will interact.