3DArchitecturalAnimation

PacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistory

Advisor:PatWatson

May14,2015

ZaneHarvey

CST401CapstoneLab
Spring2015

CaliforniaStateUniversity,MontereyBay
SchoolofComputing&Design

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CST 401

TableofContents

TableofContents..1

Abstract2

ExecutiveSummary......3

ProjectDescription4

SolutionDescription.5

Methodology6

Changesintheproject.7

ProjectDeliverables......8

Budget&Timeline.9

Evaluation..10

CollaborationStatement11

FinalDocumentation...12

AdvisorSignoffPage..13

3D Architectural Animation
PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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Abstract
ThePacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistorytakesitsmissionstatement,Toinspire
discover,wonder,andstewardshipofournaturalworld,veryseriously.Toaddressthe
goalssetforthbythisstatementtheyhaveanumberofprogramsandfunctions,
includingpreservingheritage,actingasaresourcecenter,andpromotingconservation.
However,servingthesemyriadfunctionsrequiresresourcesandfacilities.Astime
marcheson,populationsexpandandhistoryaccumulates.Thus,itfollowsthatthe
Museummustexpandandadaptinordertocontinuetoservethecommunity.

Tothisend,renovationstothecurrentfacilitieshavebeenproposed.Theplanincludes
animprovedgalleryforspecialexhibitions,anexpandededucationroom,anupdated
researchroom,andalivebutterflypavilion.Thesechangesandadditionswouldgreatly
improvethePGMuseumsabilitytoservethecommunity,butsuchremodelingdoesnot
comecheap.

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PG Museum of Natural History
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ExecutiveSummary
ThePacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistoryisamuchcherishedandimportantasset
tothecommunityinMontereyBay.TheMuseumhasplanstoexpand,renovate,and
updatetheircurrentbuildinginordertocontinueservingthecitizens.Beinganonprofit
meansthattheadequatefundsrequiredtocompletelargeprojects,suchasthis,relies
largelyonthegenerosityofdonors.

Asawaytogivebacktothecommunity,my3Dmodelingandflythroughanimationof
theMuseumwillprovideawaytoshowpotentialdonorsexactlywhatimprovementsare
beingmadeandwheretheirmoneyisgoing.

All3DmodelswerecreatedusingMaya2015.AdobePhotoshopandIllustratorwere
usedtomakecustomtextures,bumpmaps,andnormalmaps.Afterrenderingover
4000frameswiththeMayasoftwarerenderer,AdobeAfterEffectsandPremierewere
usedinpostproductiontocreatethefinalizedproductwithmusicandtitles.

Thebiggestchangeinmyprojectwasaftermypartnerdroppedouthalfwaythroughthe
schoolyear.Originallywehadplannedtomakeaninteractivegame,butwithout
anothermemberonboard,Ihadtochangethefinaldeliverabletojusta3Danimation
flythrough.

ThisprojectwasstartedintheSpringof2014,andwasfinalizedonMay10th2015.The
costmyentireprojectwasvirtuallyzero.Duetothebenefitsofbeingadesignstudent,I
wasabletousetheAdobeCreativeCloudforfreeandIgota3yearstudentversionof
Maya2015

IdliketothanktheentireclassofCST421Spring2014forhelpingmewiththe
foundationofmyCapstoneproject.Withoutthem,thisprojectwouldhavebeentoo
overwhelmingtohandlebymyself.
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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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ProjectDescription
Beinganonprofit,theMuseumdoesnothavelargeamountsofcapitalwaitingaround
forlargescaleprojectssuchastheproposedremodelingplanandsincethereisno
admissionfeeitdoesntmakemuchmoneyonadaytodaybasis.Whilethismakesit
moreaccessibletothepublic,italsomeansthattheMuseumisdependentonthe
generosityofdonorstoprovideadequatefundingforsuchventures.

Theproblemariseswiththeunderstandableskepticismofsomepotentialdonors.Itcan
behardtocommitlargesumsofmoneytowardanunfinishedprojectornebulousgoal,
butwithoutdonationstheMuseumsplanswillneverberealized.Toconvincepeopleto
investintheMuseumsfuturetheyneedtogenerateexcitementforthenewfacilities.In
ordertosolvethis,theMuseumneedssomewaytoshowpotentialdonorsexactlywhat
improvementsarebeingmadeandwheretheirmoneyisgoing.

Thetargetaudienceforthisprojecthasawidevarietyofages.Thisarchitectural
animationistryingtoconvincepotentialdonorstogivetheirmoneytoagoodcause.
Thedonationswillbereceivedmostlyfromadultsintheareawhohavethemoneyto
spare.Theprojectmustalsoappealtotheyoungergenerationofchildrenwholoveto
visitthemuseumandincreasetheirknowledgeoftheNaturalHistory.Ifthecommunity
canseeagroupofadolescentsexcitedfortheproposedremodel,thiswillleveragetheir
finaldecisioningivingdonationstothePacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistory.

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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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SolutionDescription
MysolutionwastocreateapersuasiveThreedimensionalrepresentationofthecurrent
museumwiththeproposedrenovationsincluded.Ithenproducedananimation
flythroughallowingdonorstogetarealisticviewofhowthemuseumwilllookonce
enoughrevenuehasbeengeneratedtoimplementthecurrentlyplannedremodel.

Thegoalofthisprojectistocreatearecognizable,andconvincing3Dmodelofthe
PacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistory,inordertoinspireandmotivatelocal
businessesandpotentialdonorstodonatemoneytothemuseum.This3Danimation
willgenerateavisualthatshowcaseswhattheirmoneywillbefunding.Withawellput
togetheranimation,thedonorswillhavenoproblemunderstandingwhereandwhy
theirmoneywillbeused.

Othersolutionsincludecreatingahistoricalgameallowingtheplayertowalkaroundthe
museumandgetadigitalexperienceofhowitwouldlookwiththeaddedrenovation
plans.Thiswayapotentialdonor,oranyoneelseplayingthegame,couldchoose
exactlywhichexhibittheywantedtocheckout,givingthemabetterfeeloftheoverall
experience.

Nootherexistingprojectslikeminehavebeencreatedinordertogeneratedonation
revenueforthePacificGroveMuseumofNaturalHistory.Thisisthefirsttimethe
Museumhasbeenrecreatedina3Denvironmentforthepurposeofshowcasing
proposedrenovations.Similarprojectsfrompreviousyearsincludetheflythrough
animationfortheTanimuraandAntleLibraryoncampus,andtheanimationofthenew
BITBuilding.Bothoftheseprojectsusedsimilarmethodologytomineinorderto
producetheirfinalproduct.

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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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Methodology
ThesoftwarerequiredformyprojectincludedAutodesksMaya,AdobePhotoshop,
AdobeIllustrator,AdobePremiere,andlastlyAdobeAfterEffects.Forhardware,I
neededcomputerswithpowerfulenoughRAM(atleast8GB)andProcessingpowerto
RenderourFlyThroughAnimation.IhavetakenPatWatsonsCST307Character&
EnvironmentalModelingClass,providingmewiththeskillsneededtouseMaya2015.
BeingaCommunicationDesignstudent,Ihaveacquiredadequateskillsinboth
PhotoshopandIllustratormakingtheprocessofNormalandBumpmapcreationalot
easier.

IusedMaya2015toproducea3Dvisualizationofthearchitecturalplansprovidedby
thePacificGroveMuseum.lwillbecreating3Dassetsoftheexhibits,pictures,trees,
walkways,doors,windows,andsignsusedtomakeamoreconvincingMuseum.After
settingup3pointlightingtocastshadows,IcreatedaCamerapaththatcirclesthe
museumshowingmyworkateveryangle.

AdobeIllustratorandPhotoshoparetheprogramsIusedtocreatecustomtextures,
bumpmaps,andnormalmapstogivetheassetsamuchmorebelievableappeal.This
willallowforviewerstorecognizespecificdetailsofthemuseumthatwouldotherwise
beunattainable.

Afterallassetswerecreated,andalltextureswereappliedIusedtheMayaSoftware
Renderertorenderoutoverfourthousandframes.UsingAdobeAfterEffects,I
combinedtheframescreatingaplayablemoviewith24framesasecond.Adobe
Premierewasusedinpostproductiontoaddsoundandtitles.

Risksincludethelossofdatabeforeasufficientbackupcanbeproduced.Another
potentialriskisoverworkingourhomecomputersandpotentiallydamagingtheCPU
makingthemunabletobeusedtocompletetheproject.
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PG Museum of Natural History
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Changesintheproject
ThebiggestchangeinmyprojecthappenedinthemonthofJanuary.Thiswaswhenmy
projectpartnertoldmethathewantedtopursueadifferentCapstoneentirely,leaving
metofinishwhatwestartedallbymyself.Originallywehadplannedoncreatingan
Interactivegametogoalongwiththe3Dflythrough.Aftercreatingthe3DMuseumin
Maya2015,wewouldimportthemodelsintoUnityandcreateagameenvironmentin
whichyoucouldwalkaroundtheintheMuseum,completingsmallminigamesateach
individualexhibit.

Uponhearingmyprojectpartnersintentionsofdroppingout.Ihadtoquicklymakea
wholenewplaninordertokeepmyselfontracktomeetthedeadlinesofCapstone.
ThismeantIhadtocompletelydroptheinteractivepartofmyprojectallowingmeto
focusfullyonthe3Danimationflythrough.Nothavingastrongbackgroundin
programming,Idohavetheabilitytocodeanentiregameaswellasfinishthe
aestheticsoftheMuseum.

HavingcommunicationissueswithmyclientatthePGmuseum,itwasdifficulttoattain
someofthevitalinformationneededtokeepworkingonmyproject.Thisresultedin
myselfnotabletokeepasteadyworkflow.Originally,themuseumwassupposeto
providemewithdetailedmockupsoftheproposedexhibitsinthenewroom.After
manyemailsthatwerenotanswered,Idecidedtostickwiththeanimationonly
showcasingtheoutsideoftheMuseumwithproposedremodels,andtheinsideisa
replicationofhowthecurrentlayoutissetup.

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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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ProjectDeliverables
ThefirstdeliverableformyCapstoneisthisFinalReport.Thisreportcoversthewhole
processofmyCapstoneexperience,fromstarttofinish.IwillhavethisFinalReport
printedoutandprofessionallyboundinareportbinderthatallowsthetitlepagetobe
seenthroughthecover.Theprofessionalbinderwillbeatmyposterpresentationfor
anyoneinterestedtolearnallthespecificdetailsoutlinedinthereport.

TheseconddeliverableismyCapstonePresentationPoster.This24x36posterwillbe
showcasedduringmypostersessioninroom156aftertheCapstonePresentations.
Thisposterisbothvisuallyappealingandinformational,allowingtheviewerstogeta
goodfeelforwhatexactlymyCapstoneisallaboutatfirstglance.Theposterbriefly
andefficientlycoversmyProblemStatement,Solution,Methodology,andTools.

ThethirddeliverableismyCapstonePresentationPDF.ThesearetheslidesIwillbe
usingwhileIpresentmyCapstoneonThursday,May14th.ThePDFcoversmyproject
overview,problemstatement,solution,methodology,tools,andwhatIlearnedduring
myyearlongCapstoneexperience.ThisPresentationPDFalsoprovidessomevisuals
ofmyprojectinordertosparkagreaterinterestandkeeptheaudienceentertained
throughout.

ThefourthandfinaldeliverableisaDVDthathasmyfinalCapstone3Danimation
flythroughvideo,thisfinalreport,andmyILPwebsitearchived.ThisDVDcanbefound
atthebackofmyprofessionallyboundfinalreportduringmypostersession.This
providesawayforanyonetoeasilyaccessmyworkingfilesinorderseethestepsIve
takentocompletemycapstone.

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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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Budget&Timeline
Budget

Actual

Hypothetical

Software:

AdobeCreativeSuite

$0.00

$69.99/moperuser

AutoDeskMaya

$0.00

$185/moperuser

Unity3D

$0.00

$75/moperuser

Labor,DevelopmentCost:

3DAnimation

$0.00

$25/hr

GameDev.

$0.00

$4600/mo

UXDesigner

$0.00

$7000/mo

Activities\Month

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May.

AnalysisandMethod

DesignPreProduction

DevelopmentProduction

Implementation

Evaluation

Theactualcostoftheprojectiszero,thisismerelyanestimatedrundownforCSUMB
andmyself.Thecostofallsoftwareandlaboraresubsidizedbytheschoolinsomeway
oranother.SalariesanddevelopmentcostsarebelowaveragepurposefullybecauseI
amnewtothis.

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PG Museum of Natural History
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Evaluation
Forour3Dmuseumflythrough,wewillplayavideofiletoshowoffourwork.Testing
willsimplyincludemakingsurethevideoworksonmultipleplatformsmadebydifferent
manufacturers.Sincethisflythroughismeantforavarietyofages,theagesofthe
individualswesamplewerewidespread.Fromthekidswhowillbeatthemuseum
learning,totheboardmemberswhoaredecidingtodonatetothePacificGrove
MuseumofNaturalHistory.

AssoonastheFlythroughanimationwascompletedwebeganourtestsbyshowingit
toourinitialviewersgettingdirectfeedback.Thisinvolvedmeshowingmy3Danimation
tomyroommates,advisor,coworkers,andcolleagues.Ifounditdifficulttofindand
gatherusabledatafromchildrenundertheageof12,soIstucktothefeedbackgivento
mefrommycurrentsocialcircle.

Afterinitialreview,myAdvisor,PatrickWatson,wantedmetochangethemusicIused
inthefirstfinalizedanimationIshowedhim.Heprovidedmewithcopyrightfree
licensedmusicthatIwasabletosiftthroughtofindasongsuitableformyfinished
product.

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PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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CollaborationStatement
Firstoff,IwouldliketothanktheentireclassofCST421Spring2014Multimedia2.It
wasinthatclass,thisprojectwasstarted.Withatotalofsixinteractivestudentsinthe
course,wewereabletobuildthebasicdesignandstructureofthePacificGrove
MuseumofNaturalHistory.Withoutthehelpofeveryoneinthatclass,Iwouldnothave
beenabletotakethenexttwosemesterstobuildandfinalizetheendproductofmy
Capstone.

StevenBarnettwasresponsiblefortheinitialbuildoftheoutsidewallsandstructureof
theMuseum.DanielHoffmanskillfullycreatedthebutterflyroomandalltheassetsthe
shownonthefinalvideo.MirandaSquireshelpedbycreatingtheupstairsabovethe
BearRoom,makingmanyexhibitcasesIwasabletoutilizethroughoutthemuseum.
ZacharyWoodwardspentagoodamountoftimefinalizingthewhaleroom,thispartof
the3Dmuseumisinmyopinionthemostskillfullydone,andtherenderfootageIgot
fromthatroomlookalmostphotorealistic.

FinallyIdliketogiveaspecialthankstoMichaelChambers,originallypartofmy
Capstonegroup,hegavememuchhelpandsupportthroughouttheentireprocess.
Althoughheeventuallyhadtodroptheprojecthalfwaythroughtheyear,hewaswilling
providemewithalltheassetshecreated.Ontopofallofthat,hehelpedmeout
drasticallywiththe3DmodelsIstillhadtomakeviafacetofaceinstruction.Michael
skillfullycreatedmosttheassetsyouseeinthebackyardpavilionportionofthe
Museumflythrough.Withouthim,thisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossible.

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PG Museum of Natural History
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FinalDocumentation
Thecolorsusedinthecreationof
the3DArchitecturalAnimationfor
theMuseumofNaturalHistory,
stemmedfromacolorpalette
createdtoconveyafeelforPacific
Groveaswellasasenseofthe
naturalworld.Thisprojectisan
exerciseinRealism,takingits
visualcuesprimarilyfromthe
Museumitself.

RGBScale:
CreamyWhite
(R:240G:235B:215),
MahoganyRed
(R:100G:30B:25),
Redbrick
tiles
(R:130G:25B:0),
Grayishorange
(R:100G:75B:65),
Blonde
(R:205G:165
B:95),
MediumBrown
(R:140G:100B:60),
DarkBrown
(R:60G:35B:20),
Grayish
Green
(moregray)(R:40G:60B:60),
Taupe
(R:130G:110B:90),
Eggnog
(R:245
G:220B:160),
Sand
(R:215G:190B:100),
ConcreteGray
(R:110G:110B:110).

Afterhoursoftweakingthecolorsaround,Ifoundagoodbalancebetweennaturalistic
andrealism.AlargeinfluenceonthevisualdirectionItookinmyCapstonecomesfrom
AlexRomansTheThirdandTheSeventh.Thisprovidesanexampleofthelevelof
believabilityanddetailcapableinMaya2015.

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PG Museum of Natural History
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AdvisorSignoffPage

3D Architectural Animation
PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015

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3D Architectural Animation
PG Museum of Natural History
May 14, 2015