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Case Study Gallery - Lightwave with Vertisketch

An Army of Ants: Digitizing Bugs with MicroScribe and Vertisketch 
Courtesy of Magnetic Dreams, Inc.

Animating the character in Lightwave

Magnetic Dreams is a Nashville based animation house that produces commercial and industrial animations that include everything from logos and environments to fully articulated characters. A recent project for client Filmhouse required the creation of a crowd of ants for a spot entitled "Tax Ants".

Initial sketches of one of the ant characters

A maquette of an ant character with the MicroScribe in the background

Happy digitizing!

The accompanying photos illustrate the process, beginning with an original model or "maquette" that was produced using Super Sculpey modeling compound. After the model was baked to harden and marked up we digitized it in Lightwave 5.6 using the MicroScribe® digitizer. We chose to use Vertisketch's point to point method to create a cloud of points in Lightwave layout. The points were selected to create four point polys where possible. Some triangular polys were unavoidable but we attempted to place them in strategic, less obvious areas. Half of the model was modeled in this fashion then the half was exported to Lightwave 6.5 for cleanup. 

Once in Lightwave 6.5 the models were refined using the software's powerful editing tools. The metanurb feature in combination with the smooth shade perspective window were invaluable in providing a real time preview of modifications. The new subpatch weight controls allowed us to control the curves and overlaps in the ant's exoskeleton. 

The finished half of the objects were mirrored and joined together to complete the character. Additional female and baby ant heads were digitized as well as a baby blanket shape. The female head was secured to the generic body then alterations were made to her form. The baby ant's head was nestled into the blanket shape. 

All models were image mapped using Lightwave's new surface baking procedure utilizing UV maps. Some maps were illustrated in Photoshop. Skeletal structures were set up in modeler and layout for each ant. Duplicate ants were created to populate the scene. 

The MicroScribe/Vertisketch combo worked seamlessly with Lightwave 5.6. This combined with Lightwave 6.5's newest modeling tools enabled us bring our cast of 3D characters to life. 

[ click on any image to see a larger version ]

A mark-up sketch of the character	The character model in Lightwave