Group Reflection & Evaluation

 

Throughout the duration of the six week long "Museum of Power" assignment the active group members have worked efficiently together to produce an ambitious and innovative project. The initial brief was to produce a 3D animation of an item from the Museum of Power in Langdon, Essex. Our group chose the LMS Fowler 2-6-4t Steam Engine which turned out to be a rather demanding decision due to the shear number of parts which make up the Locomotive. This therefore dramatically increased the end level of detail needed in the 3D representation to match that of the real Steam Engine. This was passed on in the form of a substantial workload which could only be completed if appropriately divided between the group members.

Consequently before any production took place an initial group meeting was conducted where our individual skills were established. As a result the outlook of the project was split into key areas which in turn were shared amongst the group. The Steam Engine itself required to be modeled to a high enough level of detail to show the functioning of working parts. Myself and Steve Harwood were allocated this task as we enjoy the task of 3D modeling and were therefore willing to exert the amount of time needed to fashion the majority of the components in 3D using 3DS Max. This section of work was divided further to allow simultaneous production of the the required components which could later be merged rather than waiting on each other for the completion of specific tasks. I was responsible for producing the main Body and Undercarriage parts of the Train whilst Steve Harwood constructed the wheels, boiler and front sections of the model. Once these tasks were eventually completed I made the Passenger Carriage in 3D whilst Steve Harwood textured both the original Steam Engine and new Carriage.

Steve Muller was specifically identified for his natural animation skills which were employed to produce the "Fly In" animation where the separate parts of the Steam Engine are assembled. He also proposed an idea to include a character early on in order to effectively show how the Steam Train would have been used back in the early 1900's. The addition of a character is a unique asset that I believe enhances the end animation increasing its appeal to a wider audience such as young children who may not normally take an interest to an informative mechanical themed video. Towards the end of the project it was decided that additional characters were needed to enforce the Time period at which this particular Steam Engine was used in. Consequently the original SteamBot character was modified to create 4 additional themed characters including BoilerBot, KidBot, ProfBot and GentBot. These extra characters were included as passengers in the Passenger Carriage and were modeled to symbolise typical job roles of the late 1920's. This concept was developed further with Lee Hallett's decision to include narration in the final animation to strengthen the delivery of information of what the Steam Engine was used for. Lee also produced the Train movement animation to a realistic level of detail where the individual components rotate smoothly and increase in speed as the train progresses. The majority of paperwork including meeting minutes, presentations and group organisation/scheduling were additionally done by Lee whilst production on the other elements continued with the remaining group members.

The occurrence of regular weekly meetings ensured that the current progress was consistently reviewed allowing the upcoming workflow to be planned for the following week. Any indecisions were discussed and voiced with opinions therefore no arguments as such were experienced. Due to the fact that as individuals we personally get on well with one another and I feel this helped us to perform as a group to be able to effectively communicate and discuss what was needed.

The only and main issues encountered were experienced in the last couple of weeks of the semester. These were basically technical limitations rather than any physical disagreements amongst the group members. During the final rendering stage of the project the different sections of the animation were rendered on different computer setups. This is combination with the high use of MeshSmooth modifiers meant that severe problems were encountered once the end files were merged. This lead to problems with opening the files on different computers which hindered the animation and final rendering stages for a couple days. However this was successfully resolved by remaining in constant contact with the other group members to discuss potential solutions. Eventually the previously described issues were sorted out by optimizing the number of MeshSmooths used and how many "Iterations" were set for each under their parameters. Also after performing test renders on various computers it was ascertained that my desktop system handled the files with the least strain on the CPU and Memory. Whereas previously renders would fail of the computer system would lock-up whilst opening or editing a file.

Overall I am extremely content with how we performed as a group, due to the fact that no issues arose concerning a lack of communication or failing to complete assigned tasks. Working with such a dedicated group has been an enlightening experience which showed how the quality of the end product can benefit as a result.

Week 10

 

LMS Period 3 Vestibule Open Third

Now that the modeling of the LMS Fowler 2-6-4t Steam Engine had been completed, work continued by researching typical Passenger Carriages that were used in the same time period and vicinity. Given the fact that the Steam Locomotive was produced by London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway company the group decided that a passenger car made by the same manufacturer would be most suitable. Consequently the LMS Period 3 Vestibule was chosen as the passenger carriage to be modeled for inclusion in the final animation.

 

LMS Period 3 Vestibule

(Click for Full-Size)

 

Restored Carriage

(Click for Full-Size)

 

With Steve Harwood currently busy texturing the original Steam Engine model, I began construction on the passenger carriage which will be incorporated into the animation sequences being produced by Lee Hallett and Steve Muller. Having previously modeled the main body and undercarriage of the 2-6-4t Steam Engine this experience could be applied to the passenger carriage. As a result the creation process involved was considerably shorter than the initial steam engine, due to the know-how already established considering modeling this type of vehicle. Additionally several parts could be salvaged from the Steam engine model then modified for the passenger carriage such as the trailing end of the undercarriage and wheels for example.

 

Construction Process

In order to fashion the body of the passenger carriage a section of polygons from the original train were copied and extruded out to get the basic shape. This was then modified in accordance to the reference images gathered of the passenger carriage.

 

Body Start

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Having adjusted the body's dimensions to match that of the side reference image, the end walls were produced by inserting additional edges then extruding out the newly formed polygons. A slight overhang was made were at the of either end to simulate the presence of a connected roof.

 

Bridged End Walls

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

The next stage consisted of inserting extra edge rings to mark out the size and position of the windows. Firstly one window will be made, then it will be cloned the required number of times and modified for varying sizes. Having inserted new edges the polygons between these were inset creating an outline of additional edges. The selected polygons were then deleted to cut the rough window hole through the side of the body. The corner vertices created via the inset function were then scaled inwards to produce smooth curves to the corners of the window hole. Additional edges were added for the position of the separate window pane struts which were then formed by bridging the required polygons. The entire body object was then given a "Mesh Smooth" modifier to preview its smoothed appearance and to therefore identify areas that required extra edges or further tweaking.

 

Window Area Construction

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(Click Images for Full-Size)

 

To reduce production time of making and evenly positioning separate windows the "Array" tool was used to conduct this task with ease using just a single window object. The Array tool basically allows a selected object(s) to be cloned a specified number of times incrementing the space between each copy based on the X, Y & Z offset options. In this case a total 7 window objects were cloned and spaced out along the Y-Axis. The first window object was positioned at the end of the reference image so that the spacing preview of the Array tool could be compared directly to the positioning of the reference image. As a result the correct spacing between each window was easily established using this quick visual method.

 

Window Array

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Window Array Before Bridging

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The edge polygons on either side of the window objects were deleted allowing the Borders to be selected and then bridged to fill the gap between each window. Smaller windows were also produced using the same techniques and positioned at each end of the passenger carriage. A door was also constructed using these steps and consisted of a small window in addition to hinges which were produced using a number of cylinder objects. This selection of objects was grouped and positioned according to the reference image of the side of the passenger carriage. An appropriate sized hole was also cut into the body where the door overlapped leaving a slight gap between the door and edges of the body. The pivot point of the door group was then moved to the centre of the hinges allowing the door to rotate realistically, however it is unlikely that any door movement will be incorporated into the final animation.

 

Smoothed Door

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Undercarriage Construction

The next process involved creating the undercarriage sections to support the body and hold the wheels in place. Intuitively the old trailing undercarriage from the main Steam Engine file was imported and slowly adapted to fit the passenger carriage in accordance to the reference images. Firstly the redundant parts were deleted then the selection of undercarriage was lined up approximately with the side reference image. The main supporting beams of the undercarriage were then extended and angled support struts were introduced.

 

Aligned & Modified Undercarriage Section

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Edge Extruded Support Beams

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The middle section of the undercarriage was then formed using a series of edge extrudes and bridges to fill any gaps created. At this point only half of the undercarriage will be made allowing it to be clone and mirrored for the opposite end of the carriage at a later stage. This will cut down on the working time required as well as ensure that the undercarriage is symmetrical with no missing parts.

 

Undercarriage Middle Section Scaling

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Work then began on the axel area which will hold the wheels and braking system. The wheels arches were again copied from the original train model and then modified to fit the new passenger car undercarriage. The brake housing system was then constructed from a group of cylinders and the actual unit fitted to the axel surround was made from a box object  with multiple edge loops allowing further details to be extruded then shaped out. This was then connected to the main undercarriage and small details were added such as nuts & bolts which help portray how the parts are connected. Smoothing was then applied to the cylindrical objects to remove harsh edges caused by alternately angled polygons, the entire group of objects was then cloned for the opposite side of the undercarriage.

 

Wheel & Braking Details

 

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(Click Images for Full-Size)

 

The last detail to be added to the undercarriage involved several supporting beams which hold each of the wheel sections together. This again was constructed via box and cylinder objects which were converted to Editable Poly's then transformed accordingly by extruding edges as well as moving vertices.

 

Wheel Section Supports

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Rear Door Construction

Having produced the main body and undercarriage objects the last few steps remained involved adding further components to increase the level of detail in comparison with the real passenger carriage from the reference images. The rear doors and connecting seal were the next features to be modeled. Starting with the back door was formed from a box object and was split down the middle to represent the two separate doors. A number of edge loops were inserted into each half allowing the top section of each door to be curved into an arch shape. The connecting door plate was then made be cloning and scaling down the first door object. This was made into one solid object by attaching the two halves, the middle gap was then filled by bridging the edges either side. All the polygons on either side of the connecting plate were selected, inset and then deleting leaving a door shaped rim which was made slightly narrower using the scale tool.

 

            Back Door                                           Connecting Door Plate

         

(Click Images for Full-Size)

 

Next the rubber connecting seal which stretches between the back door and connecting plate was produced using a box object with multiple segments. Every other edge loop was then selected and scaled down to produce a zigzagged folding effect. Additional edge rings were then inserted either side of the triangular polygons to ensure that the Mesh Smooth modifier only rounded off the sharp points whilst retaining the same amount of protrusion. The seal was then extended around the edge of connecting plate by sequentially extruding and rotating the end polygons until one whole half was complete. This was then mirrored, attached and welded to form one complete seal object which was then given a Mesh Smooth modifier to provide more a softer rubber-like appearance.

 

Connecting Door Seal

         

(Click Images for Full-Size)

 

Finishing Touches

To finalize the passenger carriage several smaller details were added to exemplify the overall level of detail. The first extra object was a circular hand rail curving across the rear sections and following the gradient of the roof. These were produced much like the hand rails made for the main Steam Engine, starting with a manually drawn spline object which was lofted using a circle spline as the loft shape. The lofted path was then scaled down using the "Scale" Loft Deformation tool to result in a much more appropriate rail diameter in comparison to the reference images. The ends of the rail were angled inwards slightly using the Vertice sub-object mode to scale and rotate the end polygons as required. Further support posts were added to basically simulate holding the rail in place on the rear ends of the carriage, these were produced using cylinder objects that were also scaled using edge loops to create curved bases. These group of objects were then attach and smoothed then mirrored for the other end of the passenger car.

 

                Back Rail Spline                                         Back Rail Loft Scale

          

(Click Images for Full-Size)

 

Smoothed Curved Hand Rail

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

The last area to have further detail introduced was the roof of the passenger carriage. Curved roof segments were created by extruding and strip of the roof polygons then detaching it to form a separate object. This was then given a couple of edge rings to control the curve applied by the Mesh Smooth  modifier. Once one of these roof beams was produced it was included in an Array object involving the creation of 17 clones spaced out evenly along the Y-axis.

 

Smoothed Roof Struts Array

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Lastly to end with small roof vents were constructed from Tube objects which were transformed using "Bend" modifiers. Although they weren't difficult to produce their shape had to be somewhat improvised as the reference images failed to provide a clear enough view of their actual shape. However the end object is as close to the reference images as possible from the little detail provided and I am rather pleased with the end smoothed result. Again these were included in an Array similarly to the roof struts to reproduce the required number of clones dictated by the reference images.

 

Roof Vent Object - after Bend Modifiers

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Roof Vent Array

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Once these extra details had been finalized a conclusive check was carried out to ensure all of the objects were smoothed appropriately and that all required vertices were welded. The final Passenger Carriage Model can be viewed below note that it is not textured yet as Steve Harwood is currently working on the UVW Map using Adobe Photoshop.

 

Final Passenger Carriage Model

(Click for Full-Size Image)

 

Overall I am extremely satisfied with how the Passenger Carriage turned out as I believe it is clearly comparable with the reference images which will be further enhanced once the UVW Map and textures are applied. Production was shorter than the Steam Engine model due to the fact that several parts were adopted from the LMS Fowler 2-6-4t model and customized to suit the composition of the Passenger Carriage. The previous modeling techniques and knowledge applied during the first Steam Engine Production could also be exerted during production of the Passenger Carriage which prevented previous problems from reoccurring.