One of the main things I have been trying to teach myself over the Summer is how to use UV maps to texture my models (UV maps are coordinates given to a models texture, allowing it to placed in any size, shape or position). I've still got a lot to learn regarding UV's but I'm particularly happy with my progress here. It's allowed me to create my own textures. Meaning I can keep a consistent visual style with each of my projects.
I've started to take more account into rendering times now as well, as it's pretty normal for me to compile a single shot three separate times. I need to make sure my poly count stays within reasonable limits as well as making sure my lighting isn't too memory intensive. But at the same time I want everything to still look good. For now I'm going with depth map shadows. Ideally I would want to go with 'raytracing' but It's proving to take too long to render.
Here's an example of different lighting techniques I've tried:
Depth map shadows (shadows correspond to a models shape but ignores texture) - medium render time
Raytrace lighting (allows shadows that use 'alpha map' data) - long render time
Flat shaded/ No shadows - Quick render time
Another way I've been keeping my render times down is by using 2D texture plains to fake detail. For example instead of having hundreds of tree models in the background I used illustrations I created in Flash instead. I used the same approach to rendering things like bushes, flowers and grass. Not only did this keep my render times down it also complimented my visual style. I imagine once I have all the animated elements in one shot; the combination of illustration and 3D should make for some interesting aesthetics.
I think this scene has still a lot to go before I completely happy with it but I've really enjoyed putting together what I've done so far.
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