Lost in a Dream: Designing the Archways in Maya
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Program: Maya
Time Spent: 5 days
Date Completed: April 9, 2022
For the next part of my project in the Digital Design Aesthetics course, I needed to learn a new program: Maya. Here is the process of how I achieved the final columns in the image above!
Our professor challenged us to create a 3D model of one of the objects we drew in our preliminary sketches. I decided to create the row of arches from my sketch to the left.
New Sketches
First, I drew a few more sketches to help myself have a better understanding of what the columns would need to look like and how to make them look realistic.
From Humble Beginnings
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After following Maya's tutorial and watching some introductory videos on LinkedIn Learning, I opened a new project in Maya. I soon discovered the daunting task ahead as I tried to figure out what volumes I needed to use to create the archway's basic shape.
However, after looking back at my new sketches, I realized why I was struggling to create the basic shape: I was trying to create the negative shape of the arch rather than the positive shapes of the columns and voussoirs (the wedge-shapes that form the pointed arch). I needed to change my approach. After all, architects construct buildings using the positive space, using frames, bricks, and mortar, not the air of the negative space!
The Main Process
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First, I erased the volumes I had and started fresh with a new cube volume. I increased its height, and then I used the symmetry tool on the x-axis to widen the top faces of the cap and to increase their height. My goal for using symmetry and scale was to just make the top wider, but I wasn't expecting it to create the triangle shapes in the negative space! (I probably should have foreseen that, but I am still brand new to Maya.)
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Next, I created three copies of this volume and pushed them so that their meshes overlapped, which allowed to see how the columns would appear as a whole. It also allowed me to check the negative space.
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Then, I separated the original column to add more detail. I created an edge loop around the base of the cap and used the symmetry tool to pull out the edges. Then, I used the bevel tool on the edge loop to round it off.
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I made another copy to check my negative space to make sure it has a good shape. It does!
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Here, I experimented with pushing in the faces and vertices on the column to try to create a brick-like surface. It did not work.
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Instead of a brick texture, I decided to make a more rounded texture. After looking up more images of Whitby Abbey (especially where the camera is closer to the architecture and the image is much clearer), I realized that many of the columns appear to be made of many cylinders fused together. So, I replaced the rectangular prism of the column shape with a cylinder, and then I added many smaller, thinner cylinders and intersected the meshes with the main cylinder.
(This photo was taken by George Hodan and was made available in the public domain. Source: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=169796&picture=whitby-abbey
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For my last detail, I decided to add a torus volume to the cap. I wanted to edit the vertices so that it would not look like a donut, but I didn't know what to do with them.
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That, is until I tried rotating the vertices! I really like the interesting, swirled textures I was able to create, but for the purpose of this project, I decided that the middle torus looks the most pleasant and realistic.
The Final Model
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Here are the images of my final model! I don't think I succeeded in achieving an early Medieval style for my columns and archways. In fact, they look more Greek or Roman.
However, I do think I succeeded in keeping a simple, minimalist style, which was one of my goals that I mentioned with my preliminary sketches. Medieval architecture can actually be very ornate, so using Whitby Abbey as inspiration was probably not the best choice.
All in all, I did succeed in learning how to create 3D models in Maya, and with more time and practice, I could create more complex models.