How do we do 3D modeling?

Aug 17

Jeff3D, Flash 3d animation, 3d modeling, 3d web design No Comments

We here at Reef Light Interactive think that our 3D work is what truly sets us apart from other online agencies.  Bringing life and vitality to a website, our 3D modeling allows for our clients selling proposition to jump off the page.  With that in mind, we wanted to highlight some of our 3D modeling process.

To start any model, we base it off of client provided photography.  Based off of those images, we start rendering the object in our 3D modeling application, first building the wireframes.  Once that has captured the real shapes and contours of the image, we then proceed to adding realistic elements in a virtual scene.  These elements including lighting effects, textures, viewing angles, shadows, etc.  Upon completion, these 3D models can then be used as images for print or the web, can be animated to be used on a website, or as a real-time visualization inside of a computer game.

That’s the quick summary of our 3D modeling, but to have a better understanding of the process we can break it down into these 4 categories:

• Modeling
• Texturing
• Lighting & Rendering
• Animation

Modeling:
Modeling here refers to making a 3D virtual version of an object we see in real life – a virtual geometrical representation of an object.  We feel confident that we can model any object, be it a simple sphere all the way to an automobile, buildings and bridges.

Several of our clients to date have been bakeries, so we have been working on modeling food images recently.  In the example below we’ll showcase our work modeling cupcakes, an image that lends itself well to 3D modeling as it really appeals to the viewer’s senses (sight – bright colors, taste, etc.).

To start the process, we took some photography of the cupcakes we wanted to model (Figure 1):

Based off of those images, we then created the wireframes of these models, seen below (Figure 2):

Texturing:
Once we are set with our 3D models, we move on to textures.  Textures take images that appear dull and computer generated, and gives them realistic features. Textures control the model’s surface characteristics, which include: Surface color, Transparency, Glossiness, Reflection, Refraction,….etc . Our “texturized” models can be seen below (Figure 3):

Lighting & Rendering:
After we have created our 3D models and given them textures, we move on to lighting effects.  This is the stage where they no longer appear as if computer generated images, but rather real-world images.  To achieve this effect, we layer in familiar lighting sources such as light bulbs, the sun, spotlight, 3 point lighting, etc. – all of which have unique characteristics.

Once we are happy with the models texture and lighting effects, we move on to rendering.  This refers to the process where we finalize the images into a two-dimensional, pixel based image, which will then allow us the flexibility to place where we want or to animate.  The final, rendered models can be seen below (Figure 4).

Animation:
The final stage of our 3D modeling process involves animation – where life is breathed into the images. Animating these models requires a lot of skill and practice, and an animator needs to understand the basics of physical principles in the real world in order to have a convincing result .

Once the object is modeled in 3D, this has allowed for the image to have representations from any angle and/or distance.  This is important to note as in 2D animation, each frame would need to be drawn separately to achieve this effect, greatly reducing animation time.  That is not to say that 3D animation is a fast process by any means, simply faster than it had once been.  We still need to render each frame of the animation (creating two-dimensional pixel based images), and then combine all of those scenes together into a movie, creating the effect of animation.  This process can be time consuming, as every rendered frame needs to blend seamlessly together.

To see the final product of this example, take a look at http://bakery.reeflightinteractive.com.

­­­­­­_____________________________________________________________________________________

As you can see, 3D graphics can be a powerful way to showcase your website, highlight a specific product or service, and truly set it apart from the competition.