Cumulative log - Thursday 20 May 2010

10.00am – I’ve come to the office.
I continue going thru the tutorial of GroundWiz Lite. The plugins has the ability to import DEM files onto 3DsMax, but I need to learn the steps correctly.

Around 1.00pm – I manage to load the DEM files successfully. But there is some problem with navigation on 3DsMax. It seems that I can’t navigate properly. After a few check, it seems that the terrain is so huge, making it difficult to navigate. I then rescale the terrain.
After that, I create a camera and try to find the best angle. I cut the large terrain into several parts and rearrange the mountains. After I found a suitable proportion, I then applied GroundWiz material. I try to simulate ‘Grand Canyon’ rocky textures.
Around 2.00pm – I go out to lunch
Around 2.40pm – I’m back to the office.
I continue working on the texture.
Around 4.00pm – I start render the terrain. I dislike the color as it was too orange. I tweak the render exposure and lighting few more times to get the best render.

Around 6.00pm – I finally found the best render. The background however consist only the mountain terrains. I need to place the castle somewhere in the middle of the mountain. I then start to sketch down the basic shape of the castle.

After I draw, I asks my co-worker Jason for his opinion, and he said that the castle must be in round shape. It’s roof should be something similar to a dome. It needs to look grand. I then re-worked on my sketch again.

Around 7.30pm – We dismiss.