Last updated Feb 9, 2024 Edit Source

• What is 3D in software?
• Why Should we care about it?
• Types of 3D data creation and manipulation
• 3D Packages
• Film vs Games vs other
• goals for this course
• assignment

3D software at it’s core manipulates and creates 3D data.

–

Written by Ivan Suthland in 1963 for his PhD and is considered the ancestor of modern 3D computing especially of CAD.

First program that we know of the utilize a complete graphical user interface (GUI)

Sketchpad - wiki

• John Lasseter
• Ed Catmul

–

Utah Teapot

https://www.dim13.org/teapot

was constructed painstakingly by manipulating bezier curves and spreadsheets

–

• personal computing boom
• CAD exploded
  • 1983 AutoCAD launched

–

• Blender launched 1989 by Tom Roosendaal
  • https://www.blender.org/about/history/
• PRISMS
  • a collection of C programs running on UNIX mainframes computers at Omnibus in 1985-1987
  • would later be Houdini

–

• Modernization
• blender’s popularity spiked

–

• PRISMS first release in 1998
• https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/side-effects-software-25-years-on/

–

–

Maya was originally a next gen animation system based on the code from ‘ the Advanced Visualizer’, ‘ Power Animator’, and ‘Alias Sketch’

Disney Collaborated closely in the early development

https://www.titancomputers.com/The-Story-of-Maya-s/947.htm https://inspirationtuts.com/what-is-maya-history/

CGI history

computers interpret data Digital 3D isn’t real, that data could be interpreted in any number of ways. In our case we will interpret is like 3D data.

3D software visualizes the 3D data for us

–

• Polygons
• Voxels
• Curves/Nurbs
• SDFs

• Other

are typically made up of

• Points
• Edges
• Faces

are 3D grid coordinates that hold relevant 3D data

–

curves are technically mathmatical functions that interpolate through any medium.

Gradients are technically curves mathematically

–

nurbs are 3D surfaces defined by curve algorithms

(Also known as 3D modeling)

–

• Poly Modeling
  • Box Modeling
  • Boolean
  • Mesh Creation
  • Subd
  • Sculpting

–

Go Kart Mechanical Brake Caliper

I want to see how well you can do this

• everything a single mesh except for the nuts bolts and screws and other obvious separate pieces
• doesn’t have to be perfect, just do your best
  • don’t spend too long on this
• you can use kitbashed screws and bolts if you want. Or exclude the screws and bolts
• I will be looking for generally nice topology