The next two weeks will be spent finalising the building, textures and lighting as well as cluttering it up, for a more realistic atmosphere as well as adding animation and effects. It will be a very busy two weeks, but I'm hoping with some care and a bit of planning, it will be close to how I envisioned it earlier in the project. I've had a fair share of problems, with Maya pulling some dodgy crashes (which in turn corrupt the scene) so I'm now safely-paranoid: saving often and backing up everyday. I think the post-production list will be pretty hefty, which I'm hoping will give the images a 'pop' and a bit of quality control with rendering should also help.
Below is the Workshop as of now, the plan is to block off the view of the machine completely until it is very close, with the camera panning past an object to finally reveal it. A lot more clutter and detail is needed in this room, as well as better shadowing to make the lighting less flat. The idea is to make it smokey, with machinery moving and clunking, in contrast to the study. I'm hoping within about a week, to have this all done, so I can focus on the last stage. I also have some more props rendered.
Hi Sam.
The environment is starting to come togther nicely. However, one quick suggestion - The beams (Ceiling), shelves, and hand rail (left) are all too accurate (Vertical and Horizontal). Shift them around slightly in either their positin (Trans, Rot, Scale) or geometry.
Also - the second image (time machine) is too dark in the centre (on the time machine). A good image should have a 'pool of light' in the centre with a focus on the main content. At the moment our eyes are drawn to the rear (windows) beyond the main focus.
...Simply put you need a front light on the time machine.
Ok, thanks Alan, I'll try and make everything look a bit more wonky and natural. I was also hoping to light the Time Machine separate with some linked lights to help it stand out, maybe a lightbeam through a crack in the ceiling.
Hey Sam - I can only imagine the length of your 'Maya beard' at this stage of your major project; suffice to say, yes, you need to grubby-up your world a bit, and make it seem a bit less pristine in terms of its structure, but there's lots to relish here in terms of atmosphere and materiality - so onwards, always onwards and don't lose heart - it's going to look fantastic :)