3D Animation Workshop: Lesson 4: Get Primitive | 3

Lesson 4 - Get Primitive - Part 3

Primitives can be meged in space to create composite objects.

This should begin to get your imagination going. Notice a new, directional light, added to the scene, which relfects both off the forward end of the pink object and off the bottom face of blue object. This gives the viewer a feel for the relative placement and orientation of the objects in an abstract space.

By changing the colors, the composite object now seem unified, and a viewer no longer can see the individual elements. Very sophisticated objects can be built this way--simply by combining primitives that have been resized in different dimensions.

Although our subject is modeling right now, we never want to drift too far from animation. We make models for animation, and one of the first things the 3D animator learns is that objects that appear simple and uninteresting can become very exciting when movement is involved. The following small animation uses only the very simple ideas we have considered in this lesson.

This little piece is composed of a sphere and two cones, all primitives. The cones oppose each other and move along their opposition axis during the course of the loop. The entire composite object turns during the course of the loop. A little jolt in the animation timing keeps the object interesting, even a little magical as it seems to pop out. And the color pattern keeps the composite object unified to the viewer, who doesn't even see the simplicity of component parts with all the movement. Notice that the mystery of the object is enhanced by changing the density of the color grid as the animation turns. Many new ideas may occur to the reader as he or she considers this loop and the extraordinary effect that animation has on even the simplest geometry.

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Created: March 18, 1997
Revised: March 6, 1998

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