Gold Medallion Advice
I need to create an animated a gold medallion with engraved text. The animation
has yet to be storyboarded but it will almost certainly be some sort of generic
rotation/fly on. It's been over a year since I've worked in 3DS, I've got to
create, oh, about 15 seconds (I hope not more), and I have to do it in just a
couple of days.
Therefore, I'm seeking advice anyone would care to share about how I should
approach this project. Sneaky tricks welcome. <g> My concerns are:
1) Model complexity.
The medallion design was created by someone so I'll be lofting from an *.ai
file. I've got the paths basically setup already. Because the text is important
and the medallion will be prominent (and should match printed materials), I
don't want to skimp too much on the vertices or steps. I want the medallion
edge to appear as round as possible, but I also want to be able to render the
thing in a reasonable period of time!
2) Creating believable gold.
Are there any special techniques, map files, tricks etc. that I can use to
create the gold? (I've several CD's lying around that might have appropriate
texture maps and I've got seveal books that might describe some techniques for
metal shading, but I haven't had time to do any research. Besides, real world
experience is invaluable.)
3) Lighting. I know there's no substitute for the many test renders I'll do,
but does anyone have suggestions for lighting a floating, probably rotating
pice of gold metal. The background has yet to be determined for the rest of the
video, but it will most likely be a green marble. Do I want shadows on the
background? Best achieved with multiple spots? Single spot?
Thanks for any and all replies.
– chris barnes
santa barbara, ca