A Spot of Modeling

Whilst continuing with the more shall I say 'organisational' tasks required in this project such as typing up minutes, contacting Des, creating storyboards, SWOT analysis and accompanying paperwork for the project I began work on modeling some assets that would be featured in the guildhall during the animation, including some of the architectural aspects of the guildhall such as the windows and doors.

One of my tasks for the group project is to model the windows for the guildhall. To start this process I referenced the photos that we took whilst on our visit to the guildhall to see how the windows looked and what they were comprised of. I drew a quick sketch of one of the windows and separated it into four main parts for which to model. These four parts were the main window frame, the inner window frame, the glass panes and the lead piping. Now to make the modeling process slightly easier I decided to model only the one large pane of glass to fill the frame rather than many smaller panes, which would generate an unnecessary amount of extra information when rendering. I also decided to model the lead piping in a similar fashion. As time is short I decided that I would not make the windows functional (able to open) and if we have time later I will use the same process of modeling but create locks and latches whilst also making the windows function.

To begin the window modeling process I started with the main model of the guildhall that Alex had created and created a simple box using the standard primitive shapes that fit into one of the window recesses to get the correct size. I then cloned this box 3 times so that I had an exact copy of this box to use for each section of the window. After this I entered isolated mode to work on the simple box away from the other objects in the viewport.

Changing the box to an editable poly, and using the faces selection option, I selected the front and reverse faces and used the inset function to get an idea of the width of the frame I wanted. I then used bridge to create the frame. Selecting the inner border of each window allowed me to use chamfer so that the frame wasn’t so square. I used the same technique for the inner window frame, adjusting the frame size and positioning so that it sat inside the outer frame. After following the same techniques as the outside window I used the connect function, creating 2 segments so that the inner frame had 3 faces on the front and reverse of the box. I again used inset, bridge and chamfer to create the 3 separate openings. Next I moved onto the lead piping. As with the inner frame window I used the connect function to create 45 smaller sections, then applying inset, bridge, and chamfer. The last cloned box was used for the windowpane and I adjusted each section to the correct size and positioning to look like the windows of the guildhall.

I left isolation mode and went back to the main model of the building, again repositioning and resizing to get the correct placement for the window on the guildhall model. After I was satisfied with the positioning I added materials to see how the windows would look, trying out both ray traced glass material for the glazed pane, and with a frosted effect. In the end I much preferred the clear glazing and left it at that. I was satisfied with how they looked and as time is of the essence I decided to clone this window to use for the other window recesses by resizing and repositioning as required for each individual frame. 

And the guildhall with windows resized and positioned according to each window opening;