1

James Nichols

128 Worster Hill Road Rome, ME 04963

(207)649-2006

jrn5627@rit.edu

RenderSheet_RedSoldier

RenderSheet_SpreadRifle

RenderSheet_Corvette

RenderSheet_LevelAssets

FractalSpace

YellowSubmarine

James Nichols Portfolio Breakdown

RenderSheet_RedSoldier One part of my senior thesis, made early 2011. A low poly human model was made with a focus on edge flow, and then two normal maps for the skinsuit were made in Mudbox- one map was made for the musculature, one map was made for the patches of the suit. Maps were transferred onto the low poly model and then composited together in photoshop. Armor pieces and helmet were created in the same manner- high poly geometry was created in maya and transferred. Diffuse, normal, specular, and reflective maps were made. A color scheme using adjacent colors was selected for readability.

RenderSheet_SpreadRifle The other part of my thesis, made fall of 2010. Barrel encasing twists, and barrels move outwards from the center. Panels on the side slide forwards and outwards. Rigs made for all of these functions, driven by joints (usable inside UDK). Diffuse, specular, and normal maps made. Spread Rifle took roughly 3 weeks from concept to animation. Color scheme was chosen with opposing colors in mind. Orange paint pops against the metallic blue and subdued purple metals.

RenderSheet_Corvette Geometry was created over the summer of 2010, and the project was finished and rendered over winter break of 2010. Mental ray was used with final gather and a studio HDR for image-based lighting. Several elements used Maya-generated normal maps for a fine level of detail, such as the tire treads and the grill between the windowshield and the hoods. Production took roughly 2 weeks in 3 hour increments, and rendering took roughly 3 days.

RenderSheet_LevelAssets Made for a level design class for UDK in the fall of 2010. Diffuse, Specular, Normal, and Glow maps were made. Keys were rigged to aim at the lock and twist. Production time was fairly rapid, assets taking a couple hours each.

FractalSpace Made for a rendering class spring of 2010. The 'fractal planets' were simple spheres with boxes and wheels geoPainted onto it's surface. Sun was a sphere with bright glow intensity. Craters used a displacement map and a rim shader. Scene took roughly a week.

YellowSubmarine Modeled and composited as a final in a rendering class in spring of 2010. Shaders on the submarine were kept clean and glossy to achieve a toy-like look. Hills in the middleground and foreground were masked out and post-processed to achieve a depth of field. Modeling the submarine took roughly 2 hours.