Animation and coding project #1
For this project, we have to design and build an interactive web-based interface that responds to a specific building or urban location. But, this project is broken into two parts response: to internal space of the body and the other to do with our physical interaction with the space around us. This will be evident in my blog posts as the first four will be in regards to the first project. The partner I decided to work on this project was Jan, who is very skilled in Adobe software in comparison to me who prefers to code.
As a first idea, we wanted to build 3D interactive models of the skull and brain to show the impact of substances such as specific drugs, alcohol and caffeine etc for a user to interact with on a website. However, since we both did not have experience in 3D modelling we had to experiment with different software and watch multiple Youtube videos. The software we tested were: SketchUp, Maya, Blender, Zbrush and Unity. After experimenting with all these programs we ended up using Zbrush. The reason why we didn’t use SketchUp was that it didn’t allow us to do the finer details of our design, therefore, we tried out a more professional program known as Maya. Maya, on the other hand, we found difficult to work with and required a lot more of our time learning about how to use the program than actually producing anything. Then, we found Blender which is very similar but unlike Zbrush couldn’t offer a colouring option. Therefore, we ended up using Zbrush which was the easiest and most convenient software with all its tools to use. We looked into Unity but realised it’s more suited for producing a simulation.
Initially, we created a skull before creating the brain but in a crit, we were told there was no point in having the skull. As our main objective of producing this was for the user to learn about the brain. Nonetheless, we hadn’t proceeded with the idea as we couldn’t produce it in a web format.
We both decided to create an informative website about the effects of these three things on the human body. Below is pictured Jan’s doing his design work for the website.