Prima Gallery

3D Modeling

Modeling is the process of taking a shape and molding it into a completed 3D mesh. The most typical means of creating a 3D model is to take a simple object, called a primitive, and extend or “grow” it into a shape that can be refined and detailed. Primitives can be anything from a single point (called a vertex), a two-dimensional line (an edge), a curve (a spline), to three dimensional objects (faces or polygons).

Using the specific features of your chosen 3D software, each one of these primitives can be manipulated to produce an object. When you create a model in 3D, you’ll usually learn one method to create your model, and go back to it time and again when you need to create new models. There are three basic methods you can use to create a 3D model, and 3D artists should understand how to create a model using each technique.

1. Spline or patch modeling: A spline is a curve in 3D space defined by at least two control points. The most common splines used in 3D art are bezier curves and NURBS (the software Maya has a strong NURBS modeling foundation.) Using splines to create a model is perhaps the oldest, most traditional form of 3D modeling available. A cage of splines is created to form a “skeleton” of the object you want to create. The software can then create a patch of polygons to extend between two splines, forming a 3D skin around the shape. Spline modeling is not used very often these days for character creation, due to how long it takes to create good models. The models that are produced usually aren’t useful for animation without a lot of modification.

Spline modeling is used primarily for the creation of hard objects, like cars, buildings, and furniture. Splines are extremely useful when creating these objects, which may be a combination of angular and curved shapes. When creating a 3D scene that requires curved shapes, spline modeling should be your first choice.

2. Box modeling: Box modeling is possibly the most popular technique, and bears a lot of resemblance to traditional sculpting. In box modeling, one starts with a primitive (usually a cube) and begins adding detail by “slicing” the cube into pieces and extending faces of the cube to gradually create the form you’re after. People use box modeling to create the basic shape of the model. Once practiced, the technique is very quick to get acceptable results. The downside is that the technique requires a lot of tweaking of the model along the way. Also, it is difficult to create a model that has a surface topology that lends well to animation.

Box modeling is useful as a way to create organic models, like characters. Box modelers can also create hard objects like buildings, however precise curved shapes may be more difficult to create using this technique.

3. Poly modeling / edge extrusion: While it’s not the easiest to get started with, poly modeling is perhaps the most effective and precise technique. In poly modeling, one creates a 3D mesh point-by-point, face-by-face. Often one will start out with a single quad (a 3D object consisting of 4 points) and extrude an edge of the quad, creating a second quad attached to the first. The 3D model is created gradually in this way. While poly modeling is not as fast as box modeling, it requires less tweaking of the mesh to get it “just right,” and you can plan out the topology for animation ahead of time.

Poly modelers use the technique to create either organic or hard objects, though poly modeling is best suited for organic models.

A Workflow that Works
The workflow you choose to create a model will largely depend on how comfortable you are with a given technique, what object you’re creating, and what your goals are for the final product.

Someone who is creating an architectural scene, for example, may create basic models with cubes and other simple shapes to create an outline of the finished project. Meshes can then be refined or replaced with more detailed objects as you progress through the project. This is an organized, well-planned way to create a scene; it is a strategy used by professionals that makes scene creation straightforward. Beginners, on the other hand, tend to dive in headfirst and work on the most detailed objects first. This is a daunting way to work, and can quickly lead to frustration and overwhelm. Remember, sketch first, then refine.

Likewise, when creating an organic model, beginners tend to start with the most detailed areas first, and flesh out the remaining parts later, a haphazard way to create a character. This may be one reason why box modeling has grown to be so widely popular. A modeler can easily create the complete figure before refining the details, like eyes, lips, and ears.

Perhaps the best strategy is to use a hybrid workflow when creating organic models. A well planned organic model is created using a combination of box modeling and poly modeling. The arms, legs, and torso can be sketched out with box modeling, while the fine details of the head, hands, and feet are poly modeled. This is a compromise professional modelers seek which prevents them from getting bogged down in details. It can make the difference between a completed character, and one that is never fleshed out beyond the head. Beginners would be wise to follow this advice.

Mesh Topology
Another aspect of proper workflow is creating a model with an ideal 3D mesh topology. Topology optimization is usually associated with creating models used in animation. Models created without topology that flows in a smooth, circular pattern, may not animate correctly, which is why it is important to plan ahead when creating any 3D object that will be used for animation.

The most frequently discussed topology is the proper creation or placement of edgeloops. An edgeloop is a ring of polygons placed in an area where the model may deform, as in the case of animation. These rings of polygons are usually placed around areas where muscles might be, such as in the shoulder or elbow. Edegeloop placement is critical when creating faces. When edgeloops are ignored, models will exhibit “tearing” when animated, and the model will need to be reworked or scrapped altogether in favor of a properly-planned model.

Next Steps
The next step to creating great models is simply to practice and examine the work of artists you admire. Some of the best 3D modelers are also fantastic pencil-and-paper artists. It will be well worth your time to practice drawing, whether you’re a character creator or a wanna-be architect. Good modeling requires a lot of dedication. You’ll need to thoroughly understand the software you’re using, and the principles of good 3D model creation laid out above. Character artists will need to learn proportion and anatomy.

By understanding these basics of modeling you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration and discouragement, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a prolific 3D artist.

Rhinestone jewelry is made by gluing the rock crystal to foil which in turn is placed in a setting. The metal part of rhinestone jewelry is non-precious, made from either gold or silver colored base metals.

Hallmarking Rhinestone Jewelry

Vintage rhinestone jewelry ranges from $50 to over $1,000 depending on its quality, age and whether it has a hallmark. Hallmarks are unique symbols placed on a bracelet/necklace clasp or tag or inside a ring identifying the jewelry maker, date the jewelry was made and other related information. Having a hallmark doesn’t guarantee the jewelry is authentic nor does not having a hallmark mean it’s a fake. Hallmarks can be copied. Additionally, the jewelry designer may have forgotten to affix a hallmark it or may have made pieces they didn’t see the need to mark.

Caring for Rhinestone Jewelry

Over the years, rhinestone jewelry made with clear rock crystal may start to yellow. This is caused by the deterioration of the glue holding the rhinestone to the foil. As the cause of the yellow cast is underneath the rhinestone, it is impossible to remove by surface cleaning the jewelry. The only alternative is to have a jeweler replace the rhinestone – a simple process.

Jewelry cleaning camps are divided on how to best clean rhinestone jewelry or any costume jewelry for that matter with foil backings. Some say it’s okay to use soap and water brushing off the surface dirt with a toothbrush and rinsing the jewelry under running water.

Others say getting the foil wet causes it to turn black, ruining the appearance of white and light colored rhinestones. An alternate method to the above is to dunk a toothbrush into soapy water, shake until the brush is barely wet and carefully clean the rhinestones, taking care to keep any moisture from getting into the setting.

Bernini is one of the most famous and talented artist of the baroque period and indeed of all time. His work was a testament to his skill and genius. One such work that continues to enthrall observes today and was given the spotlight in Dan Brown’s book (and the subsequent movie of the same name) Angels and Demons, is the Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1647-52). What fallow is some background on the artist himself and the real story behind this magnificent sculpture.

About the Artist

Gianlorenzo Bernini was born in Naples December 7th, 1598 and received his first education from his father Pietro, who was a successful Florentine sculptor. From a young age he was a prodigy and chiseled his first bust when he was only 8. He learned by studying the sketching the great masters. It was not easy to follow in the footsteps of such great artists as Michelangelo and Raphael but Bernini did just that. Soon he was getting commissions form nobles and even the pope himself.

Bernini himself was passionate about the theater and an innovative scene designer. He was at his best when he could merge architecture, sculpture and painting. He accomplishes this magnificently in the Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

The Statue

The statue is set in Cornaro Chapel in the church of Sta. Maria della Vittoria. The sculpture recounts one of her divine experiences; of how an angel pierced her heart with a flaming golden arrow. The statue shows the moment as the angel has pulled the arrow out from her. In her own words Saint Teresa says: “The pain was so great that I screamed aloud; but a the same time I felt such infinite sweetness that I wished the pain to last forever. It was not physical but psychic pain, although it affected the body as well to some degree. It was the sweetest caressing of the soul by God.”

The figure of the angel comes directly from the saints’ account. She describes him as young and beautiful. St. Teresa herself is reclined on a floating cloud, her mouth parted. Both are on a floating cloud as they appear to rise toward heaven. The saints garments are chiseled in such a way as to appear all rippled and disheveled – an outward sign of her turbulent spirit within. The angel’s garments are done in such a way that they make him look like he is wrapped in flames.

They are both lit from above by a window and above that is a fresco by Guidebaldo Abbatini depicting the glory of the heavens. At its center is a brilliant burst of light and clouds of jubilant angels surround it. This celestial “explosion” gives force to the thrusts of the angel’s arrow and make the ecstasy of the saint believable.

1. Low lighting

Lighting is always an issue indoors so use it to your advantage. Choose an area or location in your house that has good natural lighting, enough to light your subject but not too much that will overpower it. Switch off your flash and any other artificial lighting. This low lighting is going to help you get a moody effect with just natural light. An image doesn’t always need to brightly and evenly lit and shadows will only add something extra to the photo. A half lit face adds drama to a portrait shot indoors using just natural light.

2. Abstract art

This is a really an easy photo opportunity and lends itself to macro or close-up photography. What’s great about the home is that there are many items that can be given a new artistic perspective when shot close-up. Choose part of the object, get in really close and see if you can shoot it in such a way that someone would not recognize it for its intended purpose. Most of us have seen those ‘guess what this is’ photos in magazines of an object where readers have to guess what the image actually is. Change your white balance settings for some interesting color casts.

Amber is fossilised pine resin (from the amber pine) which oozes out of the trunk and then sets. When it fossilised, it becomes amber. Often bits got trapped in the resin before it set, perhaps even insects (see right). The film “Jurassic Park” imagines that you could take a mosquito from a piece of amber, remove some dinosaur blood from the mosquito’s stomach, extract the DNA from the blood, and clone a dinosaur. This is impossible, but not completely impossible, and it makes a good story!

Amber beads were common throughout Bronze Age Europe.

The Greeks called amber “elektron” (which may come from a Phoenician word for the sun, meaning “golden”). They noticed its power to attract small bits of ash when rubbed with a cloth. This is static electricity, and the word “electricity” comes from “elektron” or amber. Pliny, the Roman author, knew that amber came from resin, by its smell and the way it burns, but didn’t realise that it was fossilised.

You can find amber on the beaches of East Anglia UK. The top piece in the photograph above was found at Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England. Ambergris (which gives its name to amber) is a strongly smelling substance found in the intestines of some whales, which is used to make perfume. It is nothing to do with amber! But since amber can be found on beaches, perhaps people thought that it can from the sea, and so must be ambergris.