All posts by Steve Wallet

Licensed San Diego Architect design, planning, 3D models and cartoons Please use my contact form on this site for any questions, thoughts or comments
3D Model, Architecture, Design

Affordable Housing Prototype-Part 4 of 4, Animation and 3D

From static to model to animation, and some 3D views

Once you have a 3D model, you can make an animated walk-through. Click on the arrow button in the lower left-hand corner, and wait a few seconds for it to start.

Don’t try to enlarge this image, my website can only display a lower resolution video that is best viewed small.Even with the software and resolution limitations, it gives a real feeling of what it would be like to walk through this neighborhood.

I had a lot of fun making this, my first animation. I learned a tremendous amount about making animations, and how much time you can spend selecting angles, sequences and generally fiddling around.

Our cat makes his second website cameo appearance in this animation.

 

3D Photographs

A 3D model also allows me to indulge in one of my old interests-stereo photography. The basic principal is that you take two photos of the same scene. The camera is moved over between them by the distance between your eyes. Then you show the left photo to the left eye, the right photo to the right eye, and your brain creates the 3D depth. Here are two old ways of doing this.

Free ViewYou can get the most striking depth using this method. Unfortunately, you can also get a headache and eye strain. It takes some practice, but is quite impressive when you get it.

Click on the image to enlarge. Position your head vertically, about 2 feet from your monitor. Slightly cross your eyes until the two images merge in the middle to form a third image, then focus your crossed eyes on the middle image. It helps to try to get the two images of the person to exactly align.

A more detailed description of how to free view, with some examples, can be viewed at: http://education.sdsc.edu/bewise2009/3d/3dstereo.html

Anaglyph Image

Get out those oh-so-stylish red and blue glasses you saved from childhood, and take a look at this image. An anaglyph combines the two photos above. One image is tinted blue, the other red. When wearing the red/blue glasses, each eye sees only one image and voila’-3D!

This image was created using terrific (and free!) anaglyph software written by  Takashi Setitani. One source for red/blue glasses is: http://www.rainbowsymphony.com/freestuff.html

3D Model, Cartoons, Design

Happy Valentine’s Day

My take on the traditional Valentine’s Day card

 Ah Valentine’s day, when a young man’s fancy turns to – digital modeling. After the intense digital 3D modeling involved in the Affordable Housing Prototype (see previous postings), I turned to it again to make this year’s Valentine’s Day cards. Here are 3 videos and 2 still lifes.

I have included all of the videos I made this year. “(lmr val 2010 1.avi to 4.avi)” I think the last is my favorite. I get different ideas when trying to design something. I can never predict how an idea will take shape (one thing that makes it so fun), and I never know which idea will give the best results.

Top: This is an image I made for my sisters. I started thinking about doing something with “Sis”. I realized that Sis is symmetrical, if you mirror the last “s”. Yes, that’s how my mind works. I then started thinking about mirrors, and symmetrical letters, words and objects. I took half letters/words for my symmetrical message “wow sis! val day!”. I added Valentine’s Day objects and the requisite architect’s pencil. I set them all up on the table, in front of a mirror. Then our ever curious cat came by to see what I was doing.

Second from Top (video with cats): A video assembled from a very quick model. My animation software allows you to move around the model, but you can’t change the model. You can, however, hide parts of the model. This video reveals step-by-step a chorus of cats singing a Valentine’s greeting (“Happy Valentine’s Day, Bubbah!”) to Lisa, standing on a heart shaped stage.

Third from Top (Video with red cylinder): The idea was to start with a set of unrelated objects that would merge at the end into a heart. As with many computer projects, it took longer than I expected. Somehow the end result isn’t quite as interesting as the idea.

 Fourth from the Top (video inside building): I started with a traditional Valentine’s object, Sweetheart candies made by NECCO**. The idea here was to start with a familiar object, viewed at an unfamiliar scale. You don’t recognize it at the start, but get a pleasant surprise of recognition about half-way through.

Bottom: A Valentine’s image that celebrates my dad. I wrote down some of the qualities that make him a great dad, typed them together to form a pattern and applied it to the word “Dad”. I stood “Dad” in front of a photo of my dad. Everything is large scaled and zooming in forced perspective.

A wonderful Valentine’s day full of love, romance and chocolate to my readers.

**Interesting (to me anyway) Factoid: NECCO is also the manufacturer of NECCO wafers, the pastel colored candy disks. Did you know that NECCO stands for New England Confectionary COmpany? (NECCO and Sweethearts are copyrighted by NECCO)

3D Model, Architecture, Design

Affordable Housing Prototype-Part 3 of 4, Neighborhood

From buildings to neighborhood

One of the nice things about digital modeling is that once you have something modeled (a tree, a building or a cat) it is easy to copy. Once you have the buildings, color schemes and trees, the next step is to assemble it all to form a neighborhood. This lets you see what a small group of these homes would look like.

In designing this prototype, I wanted to create buildings that work together to make a harmonious neighborhood. No one building stands out, and yet there is enough variety in shape and color that the buildings aren’t monotonous.

The color schemes are different but complimentary. The colors in one scheme are put on differently than the next scheme. The shape that gets the accent color in one scheme gets the darker background in another. This creates further variety.

These images are sort of snapshots of a walk through this neighborhood. Images from top to bottom:.

.Overall view looking down the street, showing the buildings facing the street, sidewalks, rows of trees and the neighborhood street.

.Elevation through the street, looking directly at the sides of 2 1/2 of the buildings. If you look carefully, you can see 2 front doors facing the street. The narrower space between two of the buildings (on the left) is a landscaped pedestrian entry courtyard. Front doors to the homes that don’t face the street are located along these courts. The wider space on the right is a motorcourt.

.Street from another angle. An entry court is on the left.

.Looking across the street from a patio to a courtyard.

.View from a second floor bedroom window, down a courtyard and out to the street.

.View from a second floor bedroom window, looking out to the street.

.Closer view across the street. Some homes have patios along the street. One of these patios is in the foreground on the right.
.Looking across the street and down a courtyard on the right side.

Next article: An animated walk through the neighborhood, and some 3D images.