I've just had another wander about on Second Life, and this time was actually quite eventful. I started off talking to a guy who was, like myself, having problems with the controls. Shortly after this, I started talking to two people nearby about a big crazy red object they were staring at. Then one of them gave us loads of free stuff, like cars, houses, drinks, all kinds of bizarre stuff, including this rather charming Tool shirt - She then proceeded to demonstrate several crazy tricks, including a flying car, big grey plates falling from the sky with a satisfying 'thud' sound, and this beautiful moment - It was enough to bring a pixellated tear to my virtual eye...!
I thanked them for their help and then went for a little stroll. Utilising the ever so convenient power of flight, I soared off into a forest to try out some of the free things I'd be given (primarily, just to try and recreate the Mario moment). I attempted to try out some of the vehicles, including an exotic magic carpet, but couldn't seem to get any of them moving (other than one of the cars, which I unfortunately crashed into the sea and got it stuck before I could nab a worthy snapshot). Amongst my vehicle trails, I had to fumble with a flying pig - ...and the world's largest pancake - I've just signed off to take advantage of those blissful hours of unconsciousness known as sleep, but next time I'm on I'll have a further search around the free stuff, see if I can build a house and then watch it raining Italian plumbers from the comfort of my virtual back garden.
Man, what a hectic day! Lots of epic missions around town, coffee, packed trams and accidentally leaving several boxes of Weetos I'd just purchased in Tescos, then having to trek back and get them... Cities are mental, haha! Amongst all this mayhem however, I managed to design another one of the heads for my avatar, the Id this time. I think I'm definitely starting to improve on 3D Studio Max, and I'm finding out all kinds of new ways to make objects, and make them do things, that are easier and give a smoother final result than the way I was doing things!
Once again, I sketched him out a few times before I started, and then after I'd created the 3D model, I made him freak out a little too, and wiggle his gaping jaws about.
I really like the way he moves, but I didn't actually attach his teeth to him, so when he shakes his head there are a few moments where his teeth poke out of the bottom of his head. The other problem with his teeth is that I made them all in the view you're looking at him now with, and when you tilt him about his molars are actually all over the shop. However, both these things are problems I'm sure I can fix without too much hassle.
After making the Id, I went back to our old friend the SuperEgo to see if I could sharpen up his beard. And, lo and behold, after actually constructing one and playing around with the shape rather than trying to draw it with lines and then lofting it with a circle, I made a not too shabby beard! Before -
After -
As for the 3D Studio seminars, last week we made our own little versions of the BBC3 worm. Mine ended up looking a tad more evil than the actual worm, due to his rather charming green hue and the horns that Andy showed me how to put on him. I had a bit of trouble with animating the worm using the Morphing technique, and unfortunately lost his eyes in the process...! Still, he manages to give off quite a mighty bellow -
Today we made little walking pairs of legs. I managed to construct the legs without any major difficulty, but when I made them take a little stroll, after the first step one of the legs went a bit weird and he looked like he was ice skating! Unfortunately 3D Studio crashed as I was working on the legs, and even though it managed to store a back-up copy of it, it kept telling me that the file was corrupt and I couldn't do much with it. Uploading it to YouTube failed miserably, and it wouldn't seem to let me render a still image. Alas, a valuable learning experience but one I now have nothing to show for.... Brutal!
And, last but not least, I managed to grab a shot of my Second Life character - He still needs a bit of work, as I got quite carried away with distorting his face into all kinds of crazy shapes and couldn't really return it to it's normal state too well after. He looks a bit rough around the edges too, but I'm not sure whether that's my fault or just what Second Life looks like! I haven't managed to venture to much into Second Life that much yet, but I recently installed it on the laptop I'm typing this on right now, so I'll be able to wander about on it when I'm bored, waiting for a pizza or just generally sitting about. What a plan!
