Unit 6

Research:

 

These are both examples of product visualizations which is how I am going to make my gadget. They are made by getting real life objects and in a way tracing them into Maya. They will import images of the object and build around that image to scale. They are done to scale so all the measurements have to be correct and precise. So that being said I would say that most of it is CGI however they use real physical objects to base it on.

Here are some more images of daily physical objects built to scale and detailed. That’s why when I build my mouse I am going to import images I have taken of my mouse and make sure it is roughly to size.

 

I used these videos to help guide me through how to design the mouse. For example I used tools such as the Brail tool as well as selecting vertexes and morphing them to fit the mouse shape.  I started with the first video however then later on encountered problems with the “brail 3” tool which meant I had to watch a different video instead. The second video did not work either as I also faced a similar problem but thankfully I found this other video made by a user called “nexttut”. In this tutorial they explain how to import images into maya which therefore makes it easier to trace/get the right size of the actual mouse.

Practical (making my physical object)

First we had to sketch down some drawings of objects we saw round the room provided by Andrew. He supplied objects that you would see every day usually for example this hair dryer. So I Drew it then I had to annotate the different materials it has for example it’s wire would be a rubber type of material however the main frame of the hair dryer would be plastic.

I did the same for this pair of headphones. This was all so we could decide which object we wanted to 3D model as well as knowing what different materials they have and therefore different textures were to be used. For example on this one there is sponge, a shiny plastic and a normal non shiny plastic.

I then did the same for this mouse however this caught my eye and I instantly had an idea of what my gadget would look like so I decided that this was going to be the physical object I use.

We then had to draw what the gadget would look like on the physical object. In my mind I had created it so my gadget could go on top of other mouses and like hack into their data base using a USB type of stick it has. So I created these legs so it can stand on top of other mouses then also a USB type stick sticking out of the bottom middle of the mouse.

 

I started off with the first video tutorial which showed me how to use the “brail 3” tool as well as nurbs. As shown above I created one side of a mouse. I did this by starting with a straight line then selecting the vertexes and morphing them into a curved shape for the base of the mouse. I then did the same with the sides and the top of the mouse to create this shape. Unfortunately I could not carry on to the next step as the “brail 3” tool was not working. The “brail 2” tool did work but would no work if I was to do the whole mouse.

As shown in the picture above I used the “brail 2” tool and it worked, but wouldn’t connect to the roof of the mouse and I therefore concluded that the “brail 2” tool would not work for this mouse as in the tutorial/video they instructor used the “brail 3” tool. I then watched the second tutorial and realised they used a similar technique so I thought I would just find a whole new video and way to make the mouse (the 3 video).

In the third video I watched, you are supposed to import images either from google or from a real life mouse so you can use it as a comparison and to trace around. So this picture is my top view/bird’s eye view of a apple mouse.

These two photo’s are my back and side views of the mouse however I then realised the photo’s were slightly wonky so I had to adjust them and rotate them in maya to face the right way and be in line. I ended up changing from a mac mouse as I felt it was too bland and simplistic so decided to do a thicker and larger type of gaming mouse, although I still used the apple mouse images to guide my roughly to the correct size.

To create the mouse I started off with a normal cube and scaled it up to size. I did this by going to the scaling option and making the width,depth and height of the cube up to around 3000 for each. Then I used the scale tool to get it roughly similar to the image of the mac mouse.

I then added subdivisions using the sub-divide tool as well as using the multi-cut tool to help get the right type of lines and divisions for the mouse. This then created vertexes where the lines connected with each other. I went on to vertex mode so I could manipulate them and as shown in the image above I selected a few then moved them around until I felt the shape of the mouse was similar.

 

As shown in the image above I manipulated the vertexes on the side of the mouse to create the side profile shape of the mouse. I haven’t done it for the top view of the shape yet so it does not have that realistic 3D feel to it.

I then did the same but for the top view of the mouse, this then creates the 3D feel to the shape. I did this by going to the top view camera and using the vertex tool to manipulate different vertexes into position.

I then switched the viewing of the object so that it adds curvature to it which helps with a realistic look. however I found later on that it made it uneven when manipulating the object as well as messing up the subdivisions.

I then created a cylinder by using the cylinder tool which I then extruded the front face multiple times to create the wire. I would move the extrusion slightly to the side each time I extruded the face so it had a curve to it.

Next, I created some more sub divisions using the mutli-cut tool around the centre front of the mouse to create the scroll wheel hole. Once creating the sub divisions I used the extrude tool to intrude into the mouse which creates the hole.

This is what it looks like with the circular view on.

I then noticed that since I had been using the circular viewing option it had glitched my mouse. As you can see there is a gap on the bottom of the mouse as well as the subdivisions being very wonky and broken.

I then created a sphere using the sphere tool and scaled it to the right size for the a scrolling wheel. I made sure to put it in the hole so it is half sticking out like an actual scrolling wheel is.

Final production of a normal mouse

I added a basic dark grey texture to the overall mouse to give it a nice textured feel. then on the mouse buttons I added a different texture to make it stand out and in a real mouse the usually have a more plastic feel for the buttons of the mouse.

 

The Gadget

I started by using the multi-cut tool to make some subdivisions along the side of the mouse. I then used the extrude tool to extruded each divided face outwards to create this leg type feel.

As shown I then also created some sub divisions using the multi-cut tool on the extruded parts to create another extrusion point so they can act as legs. So I used the extrude tool to extrude them down to the ground as well as creating a section in the middle of the mouse to also extrude downwards. I did this because that is where the mouse will connect to another mouses system and collect data and documents.

I added may intrusions and extrusions to this part as a usb stick has loads of them so I was trying to implicate a similar design to a usb stick since this is where the mouse will pull all the data from other mouses.

I then went to texture my mouse and did so by starting with the buttons of the mouse as they are usually a more plastic and shinier texture than the rest of the mouse. I did this by right click on the selected areas and clicking add new material. This then allowed me to choose what type of texture I want (shiny, not shiny) so I chose “phong E” which is a very shiny texture. I then proceeded to place my own file as the texture which is an image I got of google that has a plastic mouse button feel to it.

As shown above I had originally tried using the same texture all over but it just didn’t sit  right with me, as a mouse has multiple textures usually.

Final production of gadget mouse

 

As shown I textured the rest of the mouse doing the same technique as before however since it is a different texture I changed the style of it to Lambert so it does not have any shine and instead is just a plane material. This way you can really tell the difference between textures from the mouse buttons and the rest of the mouse.

Evaluation

Overall I think my normal mouse and gadget version of my mouse went very successful. The main techniques I used where probably to get a picture of a real mouse and import it next to you’re version of the mouse so you always have something to compare it to or even trace to. For the gadget my main technique was to think how it could actually work and imagine it in a movie then replicate it in my 3D model of it. I also think looking at some films that have spy gadgets in help give you inspiration. Even watching youtube videos can be helpful which I did to help create my mouse. If it wasn’t for a youtube video I would have struggled way more than I already did to create the mouse.