Assignment 1: Shape

I realized that writing this section of the assignment actually requires one to imagine and think inside our brain (without actually doing it in Maya) the process of the creation of our model, in order to get our final product: the alarm clock.

So without further ado... I introduce the war plan for the modelling of the alarm clock.

War Plan: Proposed Steps to Create the Alarm Clock

Step 1: Firstly, create a cube with several subdivision (depend on how detailed we want). Then move the vertices of the cube in order to match our outline of the clock.

(click picture to see the enlarged version)

Step 2: Start creating some other primitive shapes so that we can use them for boolean operations to make it more detailed. What areas are those? In our first example, the screen where the time is shown (see picture below) could use some boolean differences to get created.

(click picture to see the enlarged version)

(con't from step 2) Another example would be the triangle that can be found on the cover of the battery compartment.

(click picture to see the enlarged version)

(con't from step 2) So basically we do boolean operations on various places of our clock. Other areas include the area where the "Hr/Min" button resides, the right side of the clock to make some holes where the sliders are located, and the back where there are holes for the nails and 3 little rectangle holes. Note: we do not create the sub-components for the clock at step 2.

Step 3: After all is done, we start to create our sub-components. The sub-components that needs to be created are the sliders, snooze/light button, and the hr/min button.

(click pictures to see the enlarged version)

Step 4: Use the Smooth and Bevel tools where appropriate so as to smooth out the clock.

Step 5: Put some colours for the clock model. Alternatively, if time permits, I should try doing some texture mapping for the model.

Reflection
After doing all the drawings and thinking about the process, I am more prepared to create the clock in Maya. This will be the first time where I create a model without really following any instructions, so I hope that it will turn out nicely.

I will start modelling the clock as soon as I can.