For this project we had to create a pirate camp and use 3 different procedural animations within the scene. The main piece of software that we have been encouraged to work with was Autodesk Maya. The software was fairly similar to Autodesk 3DS Max but with different command codes. For this project there were several different inspirations I could use for the layout and design of the pirate camp. These were; One Piece (Japanese Animation), Pirates of the Caribbean and a game called Fable.
All of these inspirations were good however the one inspiration I chose to stick with was the Fable game as it included pirate camps but they weren’t design like your typical pirate camp. Instead of being in a location like the beach or island, they were located within woods and mountains, with all the same objects inside the camp. So by looking at Fable the game, I made decisions for my pirate camp, such as making everything out of wood and to have a wall and defences around the camp.
One of the risks that I took on for this project was using a completely new software to create objects within. This was a risk because it meant I had to learn about the new software, which would take time to do and make the creation of the camp a lot longer than if I was to create it in a more familiar software like 3DS Max.
Throughout the course of this project there wasn’t many problem until the end of the project. This was because we were unable to gain the knowledge of rendering within Maya as well as sorting out the particle systems we used within the scenes. However these challenges were overcome by the class working together and solving each other’s problems together. One example of a problem I had and was solved was with the rendering of the scene because I didn’t know where to start with the rendering and did not realise that it was better to render all the frames off as images instead of the animation as a whole.
Whilst working on this project, I learnt a whole new software which will become useful in the future. I also learnt how to create realistic looking effects like fire and snow and wind within scenes. However even though I learnt new techniques, certain problems created a lack of time for improvement, so if I had more time for my project, I would add a sky within the scene and because the scene was based around cheery blossom trees, I would have liked to create an effect of cherry blossom petals floating through the scene.
