Assignment 3 - Materials & Texture Mapping

To give tangible meaning to FormZ as a modeling tool, this assignment had us create a luminaire. To start, we used the "basic" 2D and 3D modeling tools to created forms that were modified with various other tools (intersecting, subtracting, rotating, duplicating, etc.). Once the luminaire took shape, we applied textures and colors to the different objects and planes. Lastly, we used the "lights" feature, to position lights and see the effects of the cast shadows.

FormZ isn't always easy to use, and my first attempt at modeling this luminaire resulted in a great deal of frustration. For example, I was unable to enable the objects to be transparent, thereby allowing their colors and textures to be represented in shadow. The light was also difficult to control; for instance, I wanted to "wash" the backplate with light to give it a soft glow, and I have not been able to position a light to create that effect.

Following our in-class review, our course instructor Nancy Cheng demonstrated several additional techniques, enabling me to create some of the effects that I had envisioned for this luminaire. Shown here are my original layout (left), and the modified layout (right) with model and layout changes. The text has been modified as well.

The inspiration for this luminaire is found in the Stockholm Public Library in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Erik Gunnar Asplund.

Assignment 3 - prelim sketches

This assignment involves creating a light fixture, creating three alternatives through the use of color, materials, and textures. I have not yet had a chance to create ideas in a computer format. However, shown here a concept sketches of potential schemes that I plain to explore.

Assignment 2 (round 2) - One Scene, Four Different Ways

This is the final version of the second assignment, "One Scene, Four Different Ways." You'll notice first, that I created a new object in FormZ on which to test different lighting conditions. In addition, I have included here the evolution of the changes to the presentation layout, based on suggestions made by the course instructor Nancy Cheng.

Assignment 2 - Lighting the Stage (a.k.a., One Scene, Three Different Ways)

The objective of this assignment is to develop control of digital lighting through views, colored lights, and materials. Following the initial understanding of these skills, a secondary objective is to adjust lighting to change the perception of space and form (using Photoshop).

The images shown here are preliminary experiments that will be refined. My goals for this first effort were to simply understand how to use the light rendering tools in Photoshop, and how to apply colored layers and colored lighting to the scenes.

Assignment 1 - The Beauty of Shadows

This assignment was an attempt to develop basic rendering control: creating views, utilizing lighting, and rendering the final images.

The final presentation was critiqued based on the following criteria:

• quality of the inquiry (how thorough was the experimentation with a specific theme?)


• evocativeness of the narative (how well does the set of images evoke memories or tell a story?)


• visual composition (do the resulting images have aesthetic appeal?)