Research Topic Proposal (Revised)

Introduction/ Project Description:

This study focuses on the benefits of 3D rendering and animation with the Autodesk software 3ds Max. Currently the state of animation covers a range of different areas in the market, and it is not strictly centered on cartoons, “even the most realistic movies call on animations to simulate an ungettable shot or to make a moment just a smidge more perfect” (Brady, 2006). By applying animations to my design it will enable a clearer understanding of how the user can interact with the product and the environment. With the creation of an animated environment the user can understand how an interactive product is affected by varying conditions which include natural, such as lighting, and human, the different ways the user can be involved with the product. The changing lighting conditions dependent on times of day and year can be applied through the use of 3ds max with light studies, which can show the reflectiveness of materials and manipulation of shadows that are created within a space. Moveable elements can also be shown to represent the different manipulations of the product.

Method:

There is the assumption that through introducing 3D animation to one of my designs it will communicate user interaction. But there are some possible constraints in implementation; these can include computing power, time to learn the software, and communicating how the user can interact through animation. In terms of computing power there may be a problem with the size of the file that is being loaded into the program. The larger and more complex the file size, the slower it will run, therefore there is the possibility that once rendering and animation is introduced, the file may be so large or complex it may have difficulty running properly. There is also an issue of time constrains in which to learn the software. In the time allotted, there is not a lot of time to do an in depth study to efficiently learn all of the capabilities of the software. Another issue with time is also the fact that learning the software is self guided, through tutorials found on Lynda.com and books on the subject. There will be a limited availability for help when troubleshooting problems that are encountered through the process. Lastly there are limitations in the software which can possibly keep the user from understanding their interaction with the product.

The tools that will be used to create and implement the design will include rendering and animation in 3ds Max and Rhino. The design will be modeled in Rhino and imported into 3ds Max for the rendering and animation.

Results/ Outcome:

The results of this study will be a fully interactive system that shows different iterations of configurations as controlled by the user or environment. With this digital exploration of my design I will be able to understand the impact on the physical product through interactive studies. Animations will allow a walkthrough of an environment where the design is installed and how it is affected by natural and human responses. Problems with the design an also be addressed based on how the installation is installed and designed, which will determine whether elements should be moved around or changed based on how I would like to manipulate the environment.

References:

Brady, M. (2006, March). Wired 14.03: How Digital Animation Conquered Hollywood. Wired. Retrieved February 7, 2011, from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.03/animation.html