sketches and development

I knew i wanted my character to be in the form of a bear so i started off by looking at polar bears and theirs characteristics. I also looked at teddy bear toys and how they a designed to look cute and friendly.

Below is my initial sketches and as you can see how i have developed from one to the other.

I developed my sketches to look like this below, I am happy with the outcome of the bottom character and i think this would look well created on 3d max.

Research - 72 hour urban action

 I did some research and gathered the images that stood most for each element. 

I liked the environmental aspect the most once i started looking into each. The colours that relate to this was mostly of pale blue and green shaded which would work well with the signature 72 hour orange jumpsuits. There is also a lot of animals connected to the current environmental issues, the most popular being the polar bear. The polar bear is a strong, majestic yet vulnerable character which i why it would make the perfect character to represent this project. 

72 hour urban action project - character design

Our second project brief was to create a character to represent the 72 hour urban action project. The 72 hour urban action project is about teams of people joining up to create points of interest in parts of a city that is run down or forgotten about. it is all about the environment, the local community and coming together to make something worth while.

http://www.72hoururbanaction.com

Taking all this into account, I started off by doing some brainstorming about the elements that are considered in the urban action project. The factors that stood out to me most as you can see below were environmental, build and make and international.

I then decided to look more into each element and get a better idea on what to base my character on.

final design on photoshop

sketches

Mood board

Here is my mood board for cutlery for children. My idea was to create something educational, fun and interactive. I researched toys and cutlery that already exist for children to get a better understanding of what would interest them.

3Ds Max - Lego head lathe and polygon modelling

we were shown how to model a lego head firstly by create a simply plan using line tool. i planned out a rough draft and then selected each vertices to give them a specific length.

I then used the lathe tool in the modifier list, we can see it taking shape from this.

I then added a turbo smooth to get a realistic view of the lego head.

i then used the previous template and added a cube around the shape.

3Ds Max - Modelling a building

Using 3Ds max we were shown how to model a building using splines, extrude modifier and editable polygons.

here i started off mapping out the building walls by using create - line tool and using snap to grid points. 

 The next step was to use the extrude modifier to get the walls to rise.

I then create lines that intersected each wall of the building and joined the gaps with the bridge tool to make the doors. I then created a quick slice through one wall on the front port and used 'extrude' to push back the window and i then deleted the polygon, creating a window.

 This is the final rendering of the building.

3ds Max - bottles

 here you can see the stages in which i created two bottles using 3ds max.
 the first is a water bottle made using a simple line tools and latheing them.

creating a simple hand in 3ds max

I wanted to have a go at using 3dsmax on my own as I wanted to get a better grasp on how to use it. I found a tutorial online which I found was extremely helpful.

I started off by creating a box with length seg: 3 Width seg:7 and height seg:1.

 I then used the polygon tool and extrude to create basic shapes for fingers from the box.

Here was what the shape looked liked when i turned on NURMS toggle. Its starting to take shape at this point I just need to add a few more details.

Here you can see I create nails on each finger. I turned on polygons and used extrude, move and scale to get a simple box to sit on top of the finger and smoothed the edges.

Finally I wanted to move the fingers around slightly to look more relaxed and realistic. Here is the final rendering and I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Reference:

1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7TTie6e33E
2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2vzfoouWck
3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHQvpYeUyrA

cutlery design

after i decided on what my cutlery would actually do i had to investigate into what would children like and find visually interesting. i looked on websites for children such as 'toys 'r' us' and 'Argos', to see what children from specific age ranges play with. i created a mood board to show the toys that stood out from their shape, colour and purpose.

here you can see that most toys are thick, rounded, bright and colorful and easy to grip. these are all aspects i must consider when sketching my design. i also have to remember to include the USB and how to discreetly hide the device so there is no danger of the children pulling it out or breaking the fork.

Reference:

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/index.jsf

cutlery brief - further research

from the brainstorming exercise we done in our lecture, i found that this really sparked some inspiration as to what i wanted to design. My main goal is to create a learning device that would engage with children from aged 2-5, creating a fun, educational eating experience, so instead of a 'smart phone' how about a 'smart fork'?

i researched this concept and discovered that there actually already is a device called the 'smart fork' but it is designed for adults who are looking for an aid when dieting. this device is operated with a USB that you can put into your computer and monitor your daily intake of food. it also vibrates when you are eating too much, too quick. i thought that this idea is extremely innovative but could be taken a lot further and perhaps used as something more important like an educational tool for the young generation.

Reference:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2024825/smart-fork-says-stop-eating-so-fast.html
http://www.dezeen.com/2013/01/08/hapifork-vibrating-smart-fork-for-weight-loss-at-ces/

3D MAX intro

We were introduced in our lecture to the Auto-desk 3D max software. On opening the software, it was a bit daunting with all the buttons, modifiers and other things I was not familiar with. Justin took us through what each of the buttons would do and we got a general feel for the layout and things we could do. I downloaded the software when I got home as I wanted to get familiar with it and understand better when using it in class.

Monday 4th February

Today we looked at ways to brainstorm and develop our ideas and concepts. We were put into groups according to what brief we wanted to work on. I personally decided to go for the designing cutlery for kids option.

We were set methods of brainstorming, our first of which was called intermediate impossible. This method required us to think of the most radical and impossible way of designing our product and working out ways that we could reach this outcome.

Our ideas included:

- cutlery that flies
- cutlery drives around the plate like a train
- cutlery is temperature sensitive and gives off an alarm if too hot
- design the cutlery so it more like a game for the child.

We then took each idea and considered the positives and negatives and whether what we considered would be reachable.

I found this method of brainstorming extremely effective. It allowed you to be really creative and think about the most innovative crazy ways kids could use their utensils to eat and make it enjoyable.

Monday 28th January 2013

This was our first class and introduction to 3D design.

we first started by asking ourselves what we thought of when 3D was mentioned, what type of careers we could progress towards and what was expected in working in this field.

we gathered the following careers:

product designers
games designers
architect
interior design
fashion
character design
sculpture
landscaper
jeweller
animator
photography
film sets/props/scenes
forensics
engineers

the problems that they would face and tasks to consider:

finance/budget
efficiency
audience/needs of the client
practicality
materials
scale
time management
anatomy

when we were first asked to write down what we knew about 3D I was a bit stuck but when you start to notice the things around you and what you use on a daily basis you understand that 3D design is an extremely important part of modern life. 

we were then shown the design process - the double diamond

-discover
-define
-develop
-deliver





Divided into four distinct phases, Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, it maps the divergent and convergent stages of the design process, showing the different modes of thinking that designers use.