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3D Modelling

As I mentioned in the Moving Teams blog post, I am quite inexperienced in 3D modelling using Blender. I made the decision to quickly develop my skills before the start of Semester 2 so that I can be well informed of my skill level before we as a team form a development pipeline. I aim to model and animate something simple so that I can remind myself of the basics, and refresh myself on anything I may have forgotten. 

Modelling

I have decided that I will model and animate a fish. This is not only because it links to the project and can work as a placeholder asset, but also because a fish has a limited yet unique range of movements that would be a good starting point in my animation journey. 

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I was able to model a very simple low poly fish. I did this by putting a mirror modifier on a cube so that I may have symmetry when editing the model. I then started subdividing and extruding different parts so that I may get the fish model. This process gave me confidence as it made me realise that I am more knowledgeable about 3D modelling than I thought. I was then able to add armatures to the fish, which essentially act as bones. Adding the armatures in the tail fin was difficult, but I eventually was able to position them in such a way that the tail would move when dragged. I then made three keyframe animations of the tail fin being on the left, centre, and right. Blender then fills in the frames between the keyframes to give the above animation.

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I firmly believe that with more practice and refinement I will be able to do the animation and some of the 3D modelling for our game, I just need to set myself personal development goals during Semester 2. 

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I used the below series of videos by Imphenzia to assist with this exercise:

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Modifier Animation Test

While browsing the internet and looking for different techniques of 3D animation, I came across this video by IanHubert. Here he shows a way of animating fish without armatures, and instead using modifiers. 

I decided to follow along with the tutorial as a way of further experimenting with 3D modelling. I made the below model with a picture in the background for a size reference. I could not UV map the textures from the background onto my model, but I believe that is because I was using a different version of Blender. 

Screenshot (225).png

I then followed the video's step of creating a keyframe animation of the fish moving forward. And then I applied a displacement modifier onto the model and changed the texture of the displacement modifier to be a cloud texture. What this does is cause the model to change as it moves through space. The cloud texture, when set to the correct strength, makes my model sway from side to side as though it is a fish swimming through water. I then duplicated the fish multiple times and deleted the duplicated fish's animations. I then set the original fish as parent, which attached all the duplicated fish to it and gives me the below animation as a result.

After this, with Flora's help, I was able to put the fish onto a circular path. I struggled to get them to swim in the direction of the path, but changing the axis they followed seemed to fix the problem.

I definitely want to utilise this method of animation for our game. I think that the movement of the fish using this method is so realistic, and it was incredibly quick and easy to do. Plus it does not add any more pressure to the game engine than having individual armatures in each fish would do. My next steps would be to experiment with modifiers to see if I can simulate flight for the bird segment of the game, and also put the fish into Unity and experiment with how I could make the swarm build in the context of our game. I would have to converse with Jacob, but my current idea involves making a script that attaches individual fish to the parent fish (the player-character) when within a certain proximity.

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