Rhino: Furniture and Objects

Adding items such as lamps can actually be very easy.  For example, if you look at the diagram on the left, you will see that I drew two curves, revolved each of them, and added a light source for a quick and easy table lamp.

There are a variety of different lamp shapes, lamp shade styles, etc.  You can even create a variety of table lamps to save for future projects.

You may also want to play with desk lamps with flexible bases (see example below).  Simply draw a curve and use the "Pipe" command to make the pipe.

Other pieces that are fairly easy to build include furniture items such as desks or beds.  If you do a search for "desk dimensions" or "bed dimensions" you can often find good diagrams (or even plans) for putting the pieces together.

I am including a couple examples to get you started.  Notice in the dresser design, that it consists of 10 boxes.  You really just need a simple design to convey what the furniture is.  Since we won't be opening the drawers of the dresser, we don't even need to hollow them out.

Rhino: Begin Room Layout

(You can click any of the images below to enlarge)

We begin this project by placing our floor.  If your room is rectangular (as the example shows) it is pretty easy to plot it out.  I started my room in coordinate 0,0, entered 144" (12 ft.) for the length and 120" (10 ft.) for the width -- and then specified 3" for the floor thickness.

Next I began adding walls by specifying the length, height (I did 96" for 8 foot ceilings), and the wall thickness (I did 3" -- but remember to add to your room length when adding walls)

Next I added the remaining walls.  After you get two connected walls you can simply copy and paste to make new walls.

I remove one wall so I can see into the room easier -- similar to a dollhouse view.  I also add a doorway and window opening by doing a boolean difference.

Next I began adding some details.  In this case, a mattress and box springs (two boxes with filleted edges), and feet for the bed.

I continue adding details by adding "lofted" curtains (2 curves lofted together), a pillow, and a rug in front of the door.  I am also in the process of adding a poster to the wall -- in this case just a box (.25 inches thick) with a texture I will apply next.

I add textures, lights, gloss, transparency, etc for my nearly finished scene.

Reminder: Measure Your Room (Due Tomorrow)

Tomorrow we will begin building our room with the measurements you have taken at home.

Make notes about where your doors and windows are, where furniture is placed, etc.

Try to measure everything in inches -- for example, if the room was 10 feet long it would be 120 inches.  If a door was 7 feet tall it would be 84 inches.

Photoshop: Movie Poster

Today we will begin creating a Movie Poster with Adobe Photoshop, but before we begin we should ask, "What makes a good movie poster?"  A good poster is attention-grabbing, succinct, convincing and memorable.  There isn't a specific color scheme, layout, or design that works best, but there are some definite characteristics that are general rules of thumb.
Some main characteristics of good poster design etiquette include:

1. Arrange the image(s) and text without a lot of  “busy” clutter. 
2. Arrange the design and lettering to attract the attention of passers-by.
3. Consider how effective it will look next to other movie posters.
4. Text and design should be large enough to be seen from a prescribed distance, usually 8-12 feet.
5. Use harmonious color combinations.
6. Design and text style must complement each other.
7. Use a modern up-to-date art style, unless you are deliberately trying to create a poster that is mimicking an older style.
8. The design should not detract from the impact of the words.

When I was a child, most of the advertising for upcoming movies was done via posters in the lobby of the local theater as "Coming Attractions."  The movie poster could make [or break] a movie.  Sometimes the movie poster was scarier [or more exciting] than the actual movie.  A few iconic movie posters that I recall include:

You can view more examples of movie posters at sites like http://onesheetdesign.com/ or http://www.movieposter.com/.

Assignment Requirements:

• Dimensions: 27 inches (width) and 40 inches (height)
  (This size is known as a One-Sheet and is the most common among US movie poster sizes)
• Resolution: 100dpi (or pixels per inch)
• Images: All images / photos must be high-quality /high-resolution
• File Type: Save your project as a PSD file until you have completely finished
• Text / Graphic Elements: 
• Movie Title
• Names of Main Actors / Actresses
• Fictitious Credits
• Movie Rating
• Dolby Stereo Logo
• Hook or Tag-Line [optional]
• Quotes from Fictitious Movie Review(s) [optional]

Your assignments is to create a poster for a movie that doesn't exist.  Some ideas include:

• A sequel or prequel to a movie that you would like to see
• A movie being made out of your favorite video game
• A movie made from your favorite book (or comic)
• A remake of a movie with better actors than the original
• A parody of a movie, book, actor, etc.

An example I created in class was for the fictional movie "Bieber Fever." It consisted of many separate pieces including a zombie, Justin Bieber (he's the one on the right), some "ruins" I downloaded from PhotoXpress, a foggy cemetery, and an ominous red sky.  I also downloaded a couple fonts; "Living Dead Dolls" for the title, and "Steel Tongs" for the "credits" at the bottom -- my personal favorite font for movie poster credits.  Steel Tongs can be downloaded and installed free (download it here).  Not only does it have the proper style of movie poster text, but it has built-in characters for "Written by", "Directed by", etc. -- as well as logo's for DTS, DVD, Closed Captioning, etc.

Finished Version

Components of Image

If you are having trouble thinking up a movie, think first of different movie genres.  I have a general list of genres below, or you can read more about genres here: http://www.createyourscreenplay.com/genrechart.htm

• Action (Disaster): Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through a clash of physical forces.
• Adventure: Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through encounters with new "worlds."
• Comedy: Stories whose central struggle causes hilarious results.
• Coming-of-Age Drama: Stories whose central struggle is about the hero finding his or her place in the world.
• Crime: Stories whose central struggle is about catching a criminal.
• Detective Story/Courtroom Drama: Stories whose central struggle is to find out what really happened and thus to expose the truth.
• Epic/Myth: Stories whose central struggle plays out in the midst of a clash of great forces or in the sweep of great historical change.
• Fantasy: Stories which are animated, or whose central struggle plays out in two worlds - the "real" world and an imaginary world.
• Gangster: Stories whose central struggle is between a criminal and society. A cautionary tale, rooted in a main character who commits crimes (This genre is often blended with Film Noir).
• Horror: Stories whose central struggle focuses on escaping from and eventually defeating a Monster (either human or non-human).
• Love (Romance): Stories whose central struggle is between two people who each want to win or keep the love of the other.
• Science Fiction: Stories whose central struggle is generated from the technology and tools of a scientifically imaginable world.
• Social Drama: Stories whose central struggle is between a Champion and a problem or injustice in society. Usually the Champion has a personal stake in the outcome of the struggle.
• Thriller: Stories whose central struggle pits an innocent hero against a lethal enemy who is out to kill him or her.
• The Black Comedy: A comedy that uses death and morbid doings as the root of its humor. Surfaces regularly. Most recent incarnations, Very Bad Things and Pulp Fiction.

I suggest using components such as movie ratings, logos (i.e. Dolby, 20th Century Fox, etc.), etc.  Here are some examples that you can click and copy -- or you can locate them online.

Some student-created "fake movie posters" can be found here (http://www.phswebclass.com/BIMM/movie_projet/student_examples.htm) and some other examples include: