3D

We added 3D to our mix back in the mid 1990s. It seemed a natural progression from interactive media into computer animation and modeling. Since then the industry has grown with many freelancers and some large production houses in Canada and abroad. We offer advice, powerful modeling and post all in one place, which we can combine with flash animation, streaming video and interactive media.

10 years ago, 3D was expensive and rare, largely confined to film. Since then architects have found that 3D can be used to render tours of buildings still under construction. Industrial designers use it to train sales and customers on products still in test. Doctors use it to demonstrate surgical techniques and lawyers and insurance agents use it to reconstruct crime scenes and accidents.

Virtual 3D tours are exciting and attract publicity, so they increase traffic to your website or offices. The essence of 3D is to build it once, modify it and render it out a second time to highlight new features. 12 townhouses that are almost identical can be generated from one file with just a few touch-ups to the textures and fixtures.

Taken further, with 3D you could model a product or place, and have the client come in to suggest the flourishes they need to make it a sale.

Having built the animation, why not make it interactive, play it in a public kiosk and let potential customers discover what you have to sell by touring the model.

In September we participate in a tradeshow and need a demo reel to show our talent. After much discussion, we rejected a dozen ideas in favour of a 3-minute character-based animation of us at work.

Raine spent last week drawing caricatures and the team is busy building the models (due tomorrow). Meanwhile Raine has moved on to the storyboards based on my script.

We’re going to use this space to illustrate the process from artboard to online. Everyone on the team has access to post their experiences.