Nanoscience 3D Simulation Using Autodesk Maya

 

NanoScience Simulation?   What the heck is that?  And how are they using 3d animation?  I am always looking for cutting edge real-world uses of Autodesk Maya and I came across an article about 3D Visualization of Nanostructured Surfaces and Bacterial Attachment.  I spent a couple hours reading about it; nanoscience is wild and how Maya is being used for scientific simulation is very cool.  Check this out . . .  ~Cornell

 

3D Visualization of Nanostructured Surfaces and Bacterial Attachment Using Autodesk Maya

“We ( Boshkovikj, Fluke,  Crawford & Ivanova) present a novel approach for the 3D visualization of bacterial interactions with nano-structured surfaces using the software package Autodesk Maya. Our approach comprises a semi-automated stage, where actual surface topographic parameters, obtained using an atomic force microscope, are imported into Maya via a custom Python script, followed by a ‘creative stage’, where the bacterial cells and their interactions with the surfaces are visualized using available experimental data. The ‘Dynamics’ and ‘nDynamics’ capabilities of the Maya software allowed the construction and visualization of plausible interaction scenarios.”  ~ Scientific Reports

What is Nano-Science? Watch this . . .  http://vimeo.com/49364316 or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70ba1DByUmM (long )

 

Nanomodelling with Maya

One of the main research tasks of the Visualization Lab is to use software similar to that used to create animated special effects in Hollywood productions, including Autodesk Maya. Data is pulled from various sources to create three-dimensional visualizations communicating complex nano-scale concepts. More importantly, we investigate how animation and graphic design principles in general can improve and further advance the research, inform discovery, and enhance communication processes. The research and productions are driven by the passion for visual storytelling that is combining accuracy in science and aesthetics in art. The animated work mainly covers modeling of cellular processes and material/surface analyses.

http://inano.au.dk/research/research-platforms/nanomodelling/

Virtual Archaeology

Can a 3D animation education lead you to a  career in archeology?  Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom came out in 1984, I was 14 years old.  I loved the movie, who didn’t.  Now I didn’t become an archeologist, but I wanted to for a few years.  The movie inspired a generation of archeologists.   "As a teacher, I would ask my students, 'How many of you were influenced by Indiana Jones films?'" said Fred Hiebert, an archaeology fellow with National Geographic. "Everyone in the class would raise their hands."   It was a Hollywood interpretation of what an archeologist was, but it still inspired a generation, particularly in the field of science.   I even went to a Indiana Jones themed wedding . . . my friend was a high school science teacher.  Hollywood is still inspiring, not only with its films, but with it technologies. 

Look how archeology has evolved.  Maurizio Forte of Duke University, is one of the leaders in this field, "Technology is a wonderful catalyzer, and there are people here from a lot of different backgrounds who together can share a lot of ideas and research," he said. "I want to make this field very different from the traditional view of it."  The techniques used in in Hollywood films and video games are taking the field of archeology to the next level.  "Any scientific approach uses inferences and hypothetical analyses," Maurizio said. "We cannot reconstruct the past, but we can simulate it because the past itself is fluid. Our job is to be open to multiple interpretations and perspectives."   These skills and software applications are just “tools” and will be infused with almost every future industry and career path, from Hollywood to archeology.  ~Cornell

https://today.duke.edu/2013/03/maurizioforte

Biome Concept Car

The other day I was a workshop presenter and was looking for some videos to share with the group.  I came across this concept car video from Autodesk and it is way to cool.  After  showing it in the workshop and to my students, I felt the need to post it.  I will quote one off my students, “The is mind blowing!” Check it out!  ~Cornell

Here is the Autodesk Video:

Here is a video showcasing the concept art behind the project:

Also check out this site: 
http://www.notcot.com/archives/2010/11/mercedes-benz-biome-11.php

3D Printed Stop-Motion Animation

 

Check out this 3d printed stop-motion animation.  If you have ever done a stop motion animation, think about how a 3d printer can change your workflow.  Not only just for props, but all kinds of elements.  I can’t imagine printing a whole animation like this, it is just not practical, let alone affordable.   But very cool! ~Cornell

 http://www.visualnews.com/2014/04/13/frame-stop-motion-animation-made-3d-printer/#ZC4V2p7A1Ag0UHxt.01

 

Bringing Coraline to life with Objet's 3D Models

Here is a short clip about how Laika uses 3d printing in there stop-motion workflow.

Doctors Use 3-D Printing To Help A Baby Breathe

My wife called me after hearing an interview on NPR about 3d medical printing.  I searched for it and shared it with my advanced class – Very Interesting!  I played the NPR audio interview followed by the video and then a short discussion.  It went well, but for my intro class I chose to just share the video followed by a short discussion.  The audio interview was a bit on the long side, but it was more interesting for the higher level classes.  *Every time I talk about 3d, I start with saying something like ‘3d is not going away and it will be part of our everyday life like having a car or a cell phone; 3d printing will be huge!!!’ ~Cornell

Baby’s life saved after 3D printed devices were implanted at U-M to restore his breathing

March 17, 2014 - University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

Ann Arbor, Mich. – In his 18 months of life, Garrett Peterson has never gone home, spending his days in hospital beds tethered to ventilators that even at the highest settings couldn’t prevent his breathing from periodically stopping.

His condition was so tenuous that often his parents could not hold him for fear of compromising his breathing. But after surgeons at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital implanted 3D printed devices to  <<  More  >>

 

Here is the NPR audio interview:

Ever since the day Garrett Peterson was born, his parents have had to watch him suddenly just stop breathing.

"He could go from being totally fine to turning blue sometimes — not even kidding — in 30 seconds," says Garrett's mother, Natalie Peterson, 25, of Layton, Utah. "It was so fast. It was really scary."

Garrett was born with a  <<  More  >>

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/17/289042381/doctors-use-3-d-printing-to-help-a-baby-breathe

Super Bowl Cleats Were Designed Using 3D Printing

The first day of class, I was showcasing our 3d printers and sharing all the cool things that can be done with it.  I even explained that you could print shoes with one.  They laughed and thought I was nuts, but it is normal.  Check these out . . . rainbow-colored crocs.    The crocs style shoes are actually functional, but fairly costly for consumers.  There might be a time when they are cheap enough for retail use, but great for prototyping.  With that said, check out the new Nike cleats designed and prototyped on a 3d Printer.    Check them out . . .  here is a interesting article from Sneaker News, and a CBS News video clip.  Very Cool!!!  ~Cornell

 

Over the last decade, 3D printing has made huge forward strides in development. This style of additive manufacturing has the potential to change the way manufacturing as a whole is done – and for Nike, a company that heavily relies on creating molds and primary structures that assist in the production process, the possibilities are endless. For designers, 3D Printing has sped up the process by months; molds that typically takes 2-3 months to take shape can now be accomplished in a few short hours. During today’s Nike Super Bowl Symposium, the Vapor Carbon Cleat was unveiled – a shoe that utilizes the next-generation manufacturing process on the actual shoe. The cleat will debut at the Super Bowl, undoubtedly the  . . .  <<  MORE  >> *Sneaker News

 

“When the Seahawks and Broncos take the field for Super Bowl XLVIII, players on both sides will be wearing a cleat designed with 3D printing.”  <<  MORE  >>

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-bowl-cleat-designed-using-3d-printing/

3D Printed Kidney?

Here is another cool 3d printing video to share.  It focuses more on non-traditional uses like medicine and weapons.  Great for initiating discussion.   ~Cornell

 

January 25, 2013: Imagine a world where you can make anything you want, just by pressing "print". 3D printers have arrived and they promise a fascinating future, depending on what we make. For more info, please go to http://www.globalnews.ca/3d+printing/...

The World's First 3D Sensor for Mobile Devices – COOL!

 

Now that I have an iPad and have become an addict, I am have come across a bunch a very cool apps and tools related to digital arts, particularly 3D.  I am seriously considering get one of these and seeing what we can do with it. My only concern is the scan quality, I have used a number of scanners and have found the scans to be sub par.  I have also used the Kinect as a 3d scanner and although thought it was very cool, was disappointed in the quality of the scan.  *The people who design the Kinect also also has designed the technology for this device.  Either Way . . . Very Cool and I still want one . . . ~Cornell

 Also Check this interview out – THIS IS SO COOL!!! 

Hollow Face Sculpture? An Amazing T-Rex Illusion

I do not remember when, but a while back at either the MET art Museum or the DAM (Denver) I saw what is called a ‘hollow faced’ sculpture of a head.  It was really cool .  As I walked around it,  a number of times,  it seemed to track my movement.  It is hard to explain, but the second video will give you an idea of how it works.   It was basically in a negative of a sculpture or the mold, but as you move around, it  gave the illusion that it was a ‘typical’ sculpture . 

I just came across this video and had to share it, it works on the same ‘hollow face’ principle.   It is the Amazing T-Rex Illusion!   Check it out.  ~Cornell

Amazing T-Rex Illusion!

 

How it Actually Works. . .  It will make you laugh.

Playing with Shadow

A to Z by Kumi Yamashita 2011

I love light & shadow AND I love sculpture.   I have experimented a bunch with creating sculptures where the subject was the actual shadow not the sculpture.   Man, I love Yamashita work, make sure you check out his gallery too. 

I also came across this software that plays with shadow in a similar way.   The design examples that are used are a bit on the simple side, but it has potential.  Imagine what you could do with 3d modeling software and a 3d printer; it could be a lot of fun.  ~Cornell

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Kumi Yamashita

Niloy J. Mitra, Mark Pauly
ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2009

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Shadow Art

Abstract:

To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images. - Plato, The Republic

Shadow art is a unique form of sculptural art where the 2D shadows cast by a 3D sculpture are essential for the artistic effect. We introduce computational tools for the creation of shadow art and propose a design process where the user can directly specify the desired shadows by providing a set of binary images and corresponding projection information. Since multiple shadow images often contradict each other, we present a geometric optimization that computes a 3D shadow volume whose shadows best approximate the provided input images. Our analysis shows that this optimization is essential for obtaining physically realizable 3D sculptures. The resulting shadow volume can then be modified with a set of interactive editing tools that automatically respect the often intricate shadow constraints. We demonstrate the potential of our system with a number of complex 3D shadow art sculptures that go beyond what is seen in contemporary art pieces. 

<<  More  >>

http://graphics.stanford.edu/~niloy/research/shadowArt/shadowArt_sigA_09.html

 

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Silhouettes Of Jazz

You also need to  check out this movie produced with the Shadow Art tool.

http://www.silhouettesofjazz.com/

Tomasz Strzałkowski – CG Artist

Tomasz Strzałkowski – CG Artist
Website: tomstrzal.com/
Galleries: http://tomstrzal.deviantart.com/  http://tomstrzal.cgsociety.org/

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Interview with me on Evermotion

14th february 2013

Interview with me on Evermotion :-)))
read more...

 

 

3DArtist Magazine Issue 51

1st February 2013

This is great! I'm absolutely proud and happy because my work is in latest issue 3DArtist Magazine! Here is cover and page with my work.
read more...

 

3DWorld magazine March 2013

30th January 2013

Cover 3DWorld magazine March 2013 and page from this issue with my work
read more...

 

 

 

<<    More Strzałkowski Interviews    >>

Sebastian Sylwan - New Lenses to View Reality: Art, Science and Visual Effects

At the end of a semester of an intro class, I always have at least one student approach me and tell me that ‘I ruined going to the movies for them’.  What they mean is that they can’t watch a film without thinking about the technology behind it.  I always laugh because If I can, I will watch a film twice, once for the film itself and and another to really look at the FX and Animation. 

The first time I watched Avatar, I wasn’t really even aware of FX and animation, I was able to just enjoyed the film.  I can say that was the first time that had ever happened; there were a few times in Avatar, but generally I just got lost in the film.  Well, thinking back, I guess I didn’t think about the waves in The Perfect Storm and I am sure there were others.  

Sebastian Sylwan of Weta studios gives a TEDx talk exactly about this.  And states that, “through out history we have searched for and constructed more and more sophisticated tools to produce better more convincing representations for our stories.” and that even though today we are using cutting edge technologies, the next generation will just “push the boundaries of story telling even further.”  I can’t wait.

Check out Sebastian’s talk. 
~Cornell

vHelix - Free-form DNA-nanostructure Design

Check out this cool Scientific Plugin for Maya . . .

~3DTeacher

Download the vHelix plugin for Autodesk Maya http://www.vhelix.net/

The plugin is available for the 64-bit versions of Autodesk Maya 2011, 2012 and 2013 under Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It is currently not available for other versions of Maya and not for the 32-bit versions. The plugin might work with other versions of Maya but that has not been tested. If you are interested in using the plugin with another version of Autodesk Maya, you will need to download the source and compile the module for your system.

The plugin is hosted https://github.com/gardell/vHelix The files hosted there are updated regularly with fixes and new features, but might also suffer from regression.

Installation instructions at the github repository are given in the given on the first page of the repository at https://github.com/gardell/vHelix or directly at https://github.com/gardell/vHelix/blob/master/README.md. The instructions contain a brief description of the organization of the files and how to enable Autodesk Maya to use the plugin. The links below point directly to the binaries required. Along with the binary versions below are some brief installation instructions as well.