Brainstorming
The most difficult part of this process was choosing and making a certain device work in a different time period. If I had found a device I’d like, I could not figure out how it would work. One such device was a Wacom tablet in the Stone Age era. I had to move on from this idea as I could not form the mechanical elements of it effectively. Another such device was a Brita Filter, which I decided did not have enough elements to animate.
After a while, I chose the stand mixer, deciding that I could also have a personal connection to it. I grew up watching my family members kneading dough by hand, eventually switching to a stand mixer to do the hard work. I thought about how much more difficult it must have been to knead dough, especially in India, considering how kneaded dough is an integral ingredient in Indian cuisine. The working was also simple enough to adapt to a range of time periods.
Choosing a time period was more difficult, as these mechanics could be taken as far back as the stone ages. However, I wanted to first place my device during the Indus Valley civilization at first. Upon further thought, I realized that the textures and materials I wanted to experiment with would fit better later.
Iteration 1
I did not fully have an idea of which era I wanted to place my object in, and i dove headfirst into the design process.
Only after trying to refine the initial block of the model did I realize that my project currently had no direction. I realised that since I had no defined era, I did not have any identifiable features to define my device.
The feedback I received also reflected the same sentiment, so I decided to take the design back to the drawing board and refine my process further.
Iteration 2
I decided to definitively place my object during the mid-17th century, during the beginnings of French and British colonialism in India. It is not uncommon to see utensils passed down through generations, and a lot of utensils my family uses back home come from this era. Design choices include sleek, uncomplicated designs with unique shapes. Wood, brass and bronze are very common materials of this period, especially among middle-class families..
I based the shape and working of this device around retro coffee grinders, which originated in France and England. I figured that this would line up with the beginnings of French and English influences in India.
Texturing
I think this may have been the most enjoyable part of the process for me. My parents had access to utensils from this time period, which I made them photograph and send to me. I used these as references for my materials, trying to achieve a look as close to these as possible on SUbstance painter. Here are some of these references:
I felt that the most accurate material I achieved was the bronze handle on top:
I thought I would be overwhelmed by the process of creating materials, as it is not something I had explored before. However, I was surprised by how simple I found it and how creative the process was.
Lighting
I chose to focus on lighting especially for this project, as I had learnt quite a bit about lighting a scene since my last project. I used Arnold lighting and focused on three-point lighting.
After adding three kinds of lights, I played around with the exposure and intensity until I achieved what I wanted.
Animation and Rendering
As my device was fairly simple, the rigging process did not take too long. I felt that this device was simple enough for me to understand the concept of parenting and constraints.
My main challenge was the process of animating the camera in a way that showcases all the aspects of the device. I experimented with creating transitions to help illustrate the workings of the device, for example with toggling the visibility of the bowl.