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My blender adventure into virtual reality

183:850620075 — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 19:15:14 GMT

Re-creating spaces for virtual reality

It is incredible how much technology has come along over the past few decades. In addition to that, it is unbelievable how much of it we realised could be repurposed and utilised during the COVID-19 pandemic. I for one found a whole new way to keep fit and healthy using my virtual reality headset. It is incredible the number of apps and games you can get now. One minute you are sat in the office and then next you are fighting off zombies with a sword. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

What I think is most impressive is that we have invented something (that something being virtual reality) and we are not using it to hurt or destroy anything in the usual way that humans do, but instead utilising it to create connections with people.

Over the past 12 months I have received two requests to re-create rooms in blender to be used within virtual reality. Although, they seemed like strange requests at first they actually turned out to be new ways for people to connect in times of isolation.

A virtual Christmas Party

Sometime around last December I received a rather strange but also curious request from an Australian business owner. He asked if it were possible to re-create the office his staff and himself worked in so that they could have a virtual Christmas party. With the pandemic causing enforced restrictions many of the staff could not actually physically be there, so this to him seemed to be the obvious solution.

I found this very heart-warming actually. If the pandemic has taught us one thing it is that human connection is vital, so I was delighted to assist them in making this possible for them.

A New Challenge

Although I have worked with blender for quite a while, creating something in virtual reality was a pretty new concept for me. In VR you want to be able to turn and look all the way around 360 degrees. With the projects I usually create I can just block stuff out but if I did that in this project it wouldn’t look authentic or feel real. It’s crucial to give everything a consistent sense of detail all over the place.

Think about an empty corner in a room, for example. It is empty is the way that there is nothing it in, but it is still made up of tiny details such as dust and coffee stains and all manner of things. They exist, but because they aren't really tangible things, they are difficult to re-create. However, if you didn't add them in then the space wouldn't feel organic.

The Family Kitchen

Shortly after completing the office party project, I received another request. This time from a family who wanted their old kitchen from their old house recreated. What made this particularly interesting is that they wanted some elements of their kitchen from different time periods. For example, they wanted their old oven from 20 years ago but the counters from 10 years after that. It made for a strange but captivating experience.

The family sent me tonnes of photos and videos to be used as references. What was really hard in creating this was trying to get everything the right size because actually our sense of scale is really bad. I started modelling things but as soon as I put a person in for reference, I realised everything was too big.

You just take furniture for granted really; it just exists. As humans we seem to have a very warped sense of how big or small things are. I created chairs that were far too tall and tables that would come up to your waist. In the end I had to google the measurements so I could be sure I had them right.

The project was a success in the end! The family were very pleased with the outcome and I felt pleased to be able to create this reality for them.

To conclude…

I really enjoyed working on these projects and hopefully I will get to work on some more virtual reality projects in the future. I just think it is so awesome the way we can take bit of technology like this and use it for such incredible ideas.

Making a hightstreet car chase scene

183:850620075 — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 19:23:20 GMT

How i made this highstreet car chase scene

If you are anything like me and you love classic films with fast cars and dramatic music, then you will love this quirky car chase animation I have created!

Using an open source 3-D modelling suite, I designed, animated and textured this scene.

THE SCENE IN QUESTION...

What do you think? Personally, (and this might sound a bit sad to you but each to their own!) I love this clip and all the little details I have added to bring it to life.

My favourite part, and I admit I am very proud of this, is the camera perspective. I wanted it to look like the camera itself is mounted on the front of the car, as if it were a police security camera recording the scene. The tricky part was creating the movement.

As you can see in the video, the frame isn't still but sort of jumps all over the place. I won't pretend creating this was easy, it actually involved a lot of physics and spending ages observing how car actually move. However, it was time well spent I believe! I feel it really brings everything alive and creates that edge of realness.

Anyway, enough of me celebrating my camera whip quest. Let's talk about how I got started and how it all came together...

THE FOUNDATIONS...

Although this is only a nine second clip, the fine details that were added plus the textures and the actually animation made it into quite a big project.

I began with the roads, starting on a solid foundation so to speak. Then I moved onto adding in the larger structures such as the buildings. I actually used a few buildings I had already created and textured during another project, namely the 'Best Little Antique Shop', 'The Last Anvil' and 'The Food Place'. I wrote another blog on how I made those, click here to read it if you're interested.

The more individual objects came much later on in the project. If you walk down the street anywhere there are thousands if not millions of different objects scattered everywhere. I think we have become so accustomed to a cluttered world that we hardly pay it any attention. Where there is light there are street lamps, traffic lights, reflective bicycle pedals. Where there are buildings there is chipped paint, textured stone and reflections in glass windows. You almost don't acknowledge it until you have to make it all yourself, which is exactly what I had to do in this project.

Every detail matters when you're trying to capture a slice of reality. As aspect of my creation that I think I have done well on. I am particularly happy with the lighting which I shall get onto next...

The Lighting

Lighting is always a tricky thing whether you're 3D-modelling or setting up a real life film set. Above you can see a final snapshot of the completed project with textures. As I am well experienced by now, the lighting in the shop windows that bounces down onto the pavement was quite straightforward. The challenge was taking all that lumination and somehow reflecting it in the sky.

If you are fortunate enough to live somewhere where they haven't yet erected a mobile phone mast every few thousand yards then you might not be aware of this problem. In the city we experience light pollution everywhere we turn. The sheer amount of lumination sort of creates a shield between us and the sky and obstructs the view. This is something incredibly difficult to capture in blender. So, after a few experiments and playing around with different tools, I decided to create a sort of mist in the air. This allowed for the light to travel but not make everything too bright.

THE OUTCOME

The outcome is a rather need car chase scene that I really think has come to life. There was much trial and error but as any of you who use blender already know (other 3D Modelling suites are available), it takes time and effort and lots and lots of zooming in and out of objects until things start to look right.

Why I recreated these 3 Oxford shops

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 13:53:50 GMT

I decide to recreate these three shops I came across in oxford. The question you're probably thinking is why?

Well, on a recent trip to Oxford I was captivated by the mixture of rich history, the old buildings and cobbled pavements, and the hideous towering brand-new buildings that sort of just exist in their weird mess of glass and limestone.

My attention became captured by just how bizarre looking some of the buildings were. They looked really old, but then modern at the same time. I saw an interesting challenge in all of those buildings. To me they all looked pretty unique; there were in-fact hundreds of them but of course I couldn't go around taking thousands of photos.

Oxford is incredible, I mean obviously there are tonnes of incredibly big and detailed buildings, and I would love to take them on one day, but I thought these three were a nifty little challenge, so I got to work!

How I Begun...

My first step was of course to take the photos, which was actually harder then you'd think... The crucial thing is to try and remove as much perspective as possible by getting as square onto the front of the subject as possible - an element I admit I struggled with.

The next step was to look at the subjects objectively and break down the shapes that make them up. Some aspects were a little challenging, the curved windows for example. However, once you get to grips with the basic elements it is pretty smooth sailing from there on.

Adding in the fine detail...

As with most things, once you get going and get the foundations in, the windows and doors etc, it begins to look half decent. Once that's out of the way you can start drilling down to the fine detail.

One problem with digitally creating things is that it's just too perfect!

In the digital world everything is flat, perfectly 100% mathematically flat. Which is problematic when you're trying to make something look real, as nothing in the real world is that perfect. So, to try create something that feels authentic and looks genuine you have to make a few imperfections here and there.

The other problem is knowing when to stop. You can't just keep adding or it just won't look quite right.

If you've ever gone into a room for example and look around at how much stuff is within that room - it is deceiving how much there actually is. I can remember trying to populate an empty room for a film project once, I was amazed how much stuff you actually need to make something to look lived in and make it feel right.

So, in the case of these buildings, it was certainly a hard task to try and capture the mixture of old and new. I am happy to say I am pleased with the outcome!

Trying to capture the history...

When it comes to older buildings, there's an added challenge. Imagine a cross section of the earth for example. You can see the centuries of sand and rock that have built up. Take that concept and and try and imagine if you could do that to the buildings, there'd be years of history you could in a way easily just wipe off. The challenge is to capture the history and somehow soak it into the projects.

What I am trying to say is, to make it feel authentic you have to be a little particular in the way you add small details like shadow and texture. You have to take the environment into account.

The final outcome!

I loved creating this little street image and adding to my portfolio of various creations. I am so pleased with the final outcome and excited for my next challenge!

The Start of my Blender Journey

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 17:52:45 GMT

Ever since I was a child I've been fascinated with movies

I've always wanted to be involved in film, always. I did my post-grad studies of film in Los Angeles at the New York Film Academy which was an incredible experience. Getting to make movies on the Universal backlot... I mean its the home of movies!! What more could a budding young filmmaker want?!

After I returned to England I started my working career in film beginning with short films. Each getting larger in scale until it got to the point where I felt I was ready to take on a feature film.

Wasteland , my first feature, was an epic journey; a battle of endurance. It took a good few years to complete and and then get released which we were thrilled to be able to do. It's available in a range of outlets, including Amazon .

So this is where I was at. I went on to start working on a second feature called Vengeance , which is filmed and edited but this is where there is a sharp turn in the story. My family was pulled into a legal battle for an education placement for our eldest daughter. It was one of the most destructive and mentally and psychologically draining experience I've ever had and ended up in a high court case, which we won. It took everything from my wife and I, and left us needing to rebuild our lives.

After a prolonged period of not being involved in work or really anything to with the life I was building previously, I decided I needed to get back into working towards getting back to where I was. My confidence was at its lowest point. I didn't really know what to do. I wanted to be able to tell stories. I want to feel that thrill of seeing a narrative come together, but I didn't know where to start.

One day I was on Instagram and I came across a collection of images that had been created using a software called Blender. I remember looking it the programme about 5 years earlier and trying it out and not really getting on with it. I found it difficult to navigate and just an overwhelming amount of buttons.

So one day in June 2019 I downloaded a copy of Blender. Installed it and start to play around I figured the worse case scenario was that I'd have to delete the programme a re-install it. After a few hours of clumsily trying to figure out how to do literally anything I had this my first render.

Now I'm totally aware this isn't going to blow anyone way but for me in that moment I'd created something . Something I didn't think was possible, especially after the battering my mental health and confidence had taken in recent times. I was quietly pleased with myself. Not for this image, no, this is awful, but because I'd tried to do something that I didn't know how to do and I'd achieved it. It was a baby step to returning to where I was before.

My mind now started to wake up. The possibilities were suddenly endless, but so endless I didn't know where to start.

So I did what everyone does, I tried to do it all, and all at once. I went off in every direction.

I went in straight for a cloth simulation and a liquid simulation. My computer did not know what hit it.

Needless to say this was a step forward from my chair but there are lots of issues with it. I then tried to go down a sci-fi route, an environment route and a creature design route. None were very successful because I wasn't getting the basics right.

I was getting a little bit disheartened. My need to achieve something was starting to impact on my ability to get to my goal. I took a break.

After a few days of not touching Blender I decided to learn properly. I started trying out Blender courses online. I paid for some courses and did a lot of free one on youtube which is an incredible resource for learning. I would do the tutorial and the I would try and make some for myself without using the tutorial just to see what I could remember.

I was starting to get a few result I was happy with

My confidence started to return. I started looking at more and more images for inspiration, each time I would look at the render results and look at an area that I thought needed work on. On the next project I'd focus on that more...

Sometimes it was pretty clear what was wrong, but each time I learned so much especially in term of how to keep things organised and make sure I wasn't costing myself rendering time with unnecessary geometry.

After a while I felt more and more comfortable to try more complex ideas. I was getting quicker at the workflow, still moving slowly but I could build things in a week rather than many week.

This was the render that really inspired me to keep building and see if I could possible do this more in terms of a future.

After 6 months of using Blender I exported out a little showreel, not for anyone but me just to see the journey I'd been on. I've always found it comforting to see the progression of my work.

Building a 3D Coffee Shop Loop.

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 18:09:06 GMT

This was one of the most ambitious projects I’d worked on. Ever since starting working with Blender I’ve had a cautious relationship with animation. It’s area I want to do more work within, but there are so many moving parts (literally) and the slightest key frame in the wrong place can throw the whole thing off.

When this job came in I was quite excited to tackle it as it’s not complete animation but there are lots of moving elements.

Stage One

The first stage is to build the basic block out. This is the time to try some ideas around and pull in ideas from other images and see what’s working and what’s not.

It’s always a challenge when starting off with the fabled default cube; at least it’s not a completely blank screen.

When I first started out I would use only use one image to work from but now it does take a bit of time pulling together reference images together. Especially when doing a complex scene with lots of different elements. So for example I might like to use a light in one idea or a table in another. Once I’ve got these reference images pulled together I start to set out some shapes and just to get the feel of the space.

Stage 2

From here it’s a straightforward case of replacing the rough blocks with more refined models.

At this point I’ll start adding some textures a bit of lighting just to start building the mood. I can get really lost in this stage. I love the world-building element of creating environments in 3D. It’s something I've always enjoyed doing, even in my live filmmaking. Even though you can’t actually see around the corner it’s the idea that it's actually there and not just blank space. As soon as the textures are in then there’s its time to start layering in the details.

Stage 3

This stage immediately throws up a new challenge. Light gets absorbed and we lose at lot of the lighting I’d already set up. Especially when adding more details outside the window.

It was requested by the client that the exterior was dusk, with an emphasis on the interior being warm and cosy.

The next task is to adjust the lighting and layer in the next level of detail. I focus on some interior lighting. The first ones I liked were the glass domes and just a diffused light, but I couldn’t find a texture I was happy with. Whilst I liked the light it gave off (the soft shadows made the shop feel warm) but I traded that for a stronger light with a warmer colour.

Stage 4

Once the client and I were happy with the layout of the setting I started on the props and the elements that populate a coffee shop. This was where my all my research at the start comes into its own. I’ll drop a reference image into blender and then start modelling the items. This maybe time consuming to start with, but it’s not long before there is a small library of items to use on a variety of projects moving forward.

Stage 5

This next stage was by far the most challenging, both in terms of computer processing power and my knowledge of metaballs.

The client had requested the animation loop to include rain pouring outside on the street. First things first, I got a simple plane and raised it above the street. I then added a particle system, attaching that to a low poly ico sphere that I’ve stretched at one end. I added a basic glass texture to it, baked the animation and was done.

This section was more complicated. I opened another project, once again I got a simple plane and added a particle system but this time I linked it to a metaball.

I added another plane and set it at angle so it would catch the particle but also still allow them to run off. The fun thing about metaballs is that they will interact with each other which exactly what I needed for rain drops the way they run down a window and the join other raindrops do. Once I found the right settings for the rain I baked the animation and then set to work on the next stage using the particle system as texture paint so that it looked like the rain removed other drop and particles as it ran down the window. Once all that is done, it all needs to be exported and turned into a video layer. Next its added to the window panes. Then I needed to add the steam elements, which were just keyed, live action footage looped and added to the cups.

For the final stages it was a case of making sure all the video elements were the same length. I then set the timeline to 120frames and then render out the loop in cycles which can take sometime especially on large projects like this.

Once the render is complete I do some last bit of colour grading and the export the final video.

All thing Sci-Fi

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 18:09:06 GMT

I've always loved sci-fi, ever since I was a kid and I saw Star Wars for the first time.

The amount of times I've started a sci-fi script; got half way through and realised it's un-film-able (without a budget the size of a small country) is too many to count. I love the fact that with sci-fi you can create your own rules; the past and the future can collide and create a really fascinating hybrid.

Just going back to Star Wars for a moment... One of the things that draws me to it is the old broken down nature of the future it portrays. Everything I'd seen up to that point showed the future as new and bright and shiny. This was a contrast to that.

The next film I watched that really pushed this idea further was Blade Runner; another example of incredible world-building. I loved the idea of recycling old and fashions and tech so it can be incorporated into a rundown future that is in direct contrast the the shiny polished versions of the future we saw in the 50s and 60s.

Discovering the Future

When I discovered Blender in 2019 my mind immediately went into override as to what the possibilities are. You know the phase walk before you run well. I completely ignored that and just went head-first into creating worlds and environments needless to say nothing was finished and nothing came out very well as you can see from the renders below.

This is where I really needed to learn the basics involved in modelling. The main issue being that I was doing a catagolue of things wrong. Now I'm sure that quite a few people will be saying I should have done this or done that but part of the learning curve is is making mistakes and understanding the reasons way thing s are needed to be done in a particular way or at least not in the way I was doing them to start with. So one of the main issues in what I was dong is the vertice count. I wasn't really paying any attention to it. Which is a bit of an issue, for 2 reasons, 1 my computer was old and couldn't handle and lot and secondly having too many would just be too many to keep track of.

Being able to keep track of the vertice count can be quite useful. I've since managed to work with in a vertice budget, which can still be very high but not to the point where my computer doesn't give up.

So after going back to school, so to speak, and learning the basics I thought it was it was time to revisit the sci-fi environments.

Once I was more aware of the basics I could start modeling some simple enviroments and even tried some simple cases and sci fi kind of looking objects.

This opened up the world of hard-surface modelling. This was like seeing behind the curtain. So many things that had looked unachievable only a few weeks earlier now seem, well not exactly simple but definitely do-able.

So I started to research and look into all things hard-surface. Some of the results were mixed at best but again the learning curve is never a straightforward one.

Once I had been able to build a few environments I and get to grip with the work flow I was felt it was time to start thinking able some more world building and creating some more of the environements that had interested me as a kid watching Star Wars for the first.

So now the next step in to start working on compositing live action footage into these environments and seeing how that goes. If it works and is to a standard that looks good I might be able finally make one of those unfilmable movies.