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Pixar in a Box
Course: Pixar in a Box > Unit 12
Lesson 1: Modeling with subdivision surfaces- Start here!
- Introduction to subdivision surfaces
- 1. Split vs. average
- Interactive: Split and average
- 2. Subdivide operation
- Subdivision
- 3. Subdividing your own designs
- Interactive: Build your own shape
- 4. Subdivision in 3D
- Interactive: Subdivision in 3D
- Subdivision in 3D
- Getting to know Alonso Martinez
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Introduction to subdivision surfaces
Overview of this topic.
Want to join the conversation?
- what is the best simple animation software?(13 votes)
- @Simeon Actually, the program Pixar uses is called "Marionette", but thanks for your feedback. :)(0 votes)
- Cool! How do you become an animator for Pixar?(4 votes)
- you learn how to animate perfectly and ask them to employ you.(8 votes)
- How did you make that alien from toy story?(3 votes)
- There are many many ways to 3D model objects, characters etc.
However one of the easiest ways to pre existing characters is using reference images.
You usually need a side and front photo and then you can shift rows and single polygons to match the image.(5 votes)
- so, umm what programs can I use, because I like look through the internet and I can't find anything that is really helpful, any ideas?(3 votes)
- YES YES YES that is defiantly the way to find something good(2 votes)
- which platform do you use to make the actual charecter(1 vote)
- why isn't there no activities to help you understand why this process works(1 vote)
- Because this is just the introduction. If you hit the "Learn new stuff onward" button at the end of the vid, you will see the other stuff.(1 vote)
- how many movies have you guy's made ?(1 vote)
- Thank you to everyone who gives answers to questions. I find reading Q and A helpful.(1 vote)
- Woeh! Can we split the pixel?(1 vote)
- How do you connect the model pieces and do the models start in the t-pose?(1 vote)
- Why do physics have many equations(1 vote)
Video transcript
- Hi, I'm Tony DeRose. I'm a computer scientist here at Pixar. In Pixar films, the
way our characters look and act varies wildly. But one thing they have in common is they don't look computery. They have an organic believable look. The first step in
creating that organic look is called modeling. Modeling is creating a virtual three-dimensional shape in the computer. One of the biggest problems of modeling a character that looks
believable is getting their forms to appear to be smooth no matter how close or far away they are from the camera. The computer works most
easily with simple shapes likes planes and cylinders, but we need to create much more complicated shapes. This sounds like a complex problem. But we were able to break it down into two simple steps that are easy to calculate on a computer. We discovered we could use a mathematical algorithm
called subdivision to make smooth shapes. Here's how it works. Let's start with a simple
two-dimensional example made of straight lines like this, defined by four points. The first thing I'm going
to do is add midpoints along each line. I'll call this the split step. Next I'm gonna make the
shape a little smoother by sliding each point halfway to its right neighbor, then I'll connect all eight points. I'll call that the averaging step. And that's a good start, but I can make this curve even smoother by doing it again. Split and then average, and then another time. And I can even put these two steps, split and average, together into a combined
step called subdivision. That's easier still. The really cool thing about this solution is that it allows you to
animate the whole curve just by moving the original four points. Now our characters are not just curves in two dimensions. There's surfaces and
three-dimensional space. But the same principles of splitting and averaging apply in three dimensions. And you can still animate it using just a couple of points. So we've solved the complex problem of creating curves by
breaking it down into steps we can solve with math. - Oh!