Infinity Glasses Project

Infinity Eyewear

This is a side project i am working on where a client approached our college and asked if there were any students available to create some work for him. He wanted a 3D model of a pair of new glasses he is thinking of making and trying to sell. He will need the 3D model so that he can show his potential buyer what it will essentially look like with out having to spend too much money on actually making the finished product. 

The idea for the glasses is that they will have lights and mirrors inside the lenses and that this will give and infinite lights effect but will still be visible through the lenses so the person wearing the glasses will be able to see the world with a ring of infinite lights around there vision.

He came into visit and i asked what it was that he was specifically after:

Purpose: Novelty for clubbing and nightlife scene. But with a high end style, smart and looks good.

Srtyle: Potentially aviator style glasses, rim as thin as possible (baring in mind lights have to go inside).

Blueish tinted lights, rame colour preferably black and frame as thin as possible.

black environment background preferably, if not then grey

He would like an interactive VR so that the client can spin and turn the glasses model round and see a full 3D view of the product

He would like stills and style frames sent off to see how things are going

Styles of Glasses (image refferences) :

Researching potential frames. This pair has a gap in the frame above the nose (potentially where a battery could go)

                                                                                                                                                                            Style sample idea for the 'clubbing' novelty wear the client was talking about being the purpose for the glasses. 

Environment and display research ideas:

The client discussed how he wanted the glasses, although being made for novelty purposes as they will be for a just bait of fun, to look high end and good quality. One way this can be reflected as well is through the environment that the glasses are situated in when being displayed. I googled some ideas from how apple have displayed their phones in advertisements and they generally seem to use minimalist backgrounds which have no other elements to distract from the product and are often either a black or white background with some use of shadow. 

Infinity style lights:

This is what the client wants the inside of the glasses lenses to look like. The wearer of the glasses will be able to see these lights around the edge of their vision but will also be able to see through the centre so its gives a triply fun effect for the person wearing the glasses. 

Existing product that is similar to what the client is looking for:
(the style of this product is goggles though)

https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-neopixel-goggles/overview

                

i used this image of glasses i found online that resembles the shape of aviator glasses as this is what the client mentioned they wanted as a style reference and this particular style i found is a bit chunkier take on the style of the aviator and so would be more likely the possible outcome with regards to considering the need for space on the glasses for a battery and for the lights etc.
i then altered the colours on photoshop so the distinction between the shape of the glasses and the background are more noticeable and easier for me to use as a template in cinema 4d to make the glasses model from.

This is when i opened them up in c4d as an image to use.

I then started to make the apes of the glasses  using the reference picture as a shape indicator`:

These are a few of the versions of glasses styles i made for the client to choose from :

Aviator style (slightly chunkier than original aviator style still with regards to the arms and the frame of the lenses) this version i made with a low nose bridge ark:

The arms are thick with this style of glasses as i have placed the battery inside the arm.

These are some images of the glasses of a similar style to above but with a higher bridge ark (i also added nose pads onto this one so that the lenses wouldn't be so low on the face when worn due to a very high nose ark

And i also made a version that would have the battery in the middle section between the lenses i shaded this a slightly different colour to highlight its prences but this could be changed to any colour or made as just one full block. I made the arms smaller on this one to show that this can be done if the battery is not in the arm:

After showing the client these styles they mentioned that they liked the aviator style glasses and the goggles style glasses

Changing the colour of the nose pads:

(video moves very quick because it is a VR converted into a video. however this shows how i have tested the angles and the height of the camera and the number of steps of each angles (the more steps there are the less twitchy it looks when you move it).

          



          



          



         


This has been a good side project to work on as it has given me experience of actually working for a client, with regards to sending them models and style sod the glasses and receiving feedback and making alterations with regards to how they want the model to look until we arrive at a final conclusion that the client is happy with. It has also given me chance to work on my cinema 4d skills and experiment with using VR animations (which i could not upload onto my blogger account but i will include in my hand in).
This has also helped improve my time management as i have deadlines for handing in the work for the client and i have had to manage my final project management and this side project together (as it meant taking on extra work to deal with this project for the client).

Steven Swanborough Visit And Work Crit

Steven Swanborough a freelance motion designer came in to my college to talk about his work and his experience with getting into the industry to my class as he is a student from stockport college on the motion design studio in 2011. 

He showed us the presentation he held at the last Glug event held in manchester which is an event held ever so often for the local design and creative community. He explained how he defines himself as more of a generalist than a specialist as he works with all ranges of design platforms and techniques instead of just specialising in one area (this is probably something that also helps with his freelance work and flexibility). 

He spoke about how his show reel from university has changed so much looking where he has come to now and said that we just need to keep working even if we don't feel fully self reliant at this point with regards to skills. 

We also spoke about about looking and asking for work experience and for jobs and he mentioned that manchester is a very friendly design community and that we shouldn't be put off searching for opportunities within the industry and spoke about how he went round places with his cv that he had screen printed to make it stand out. This is something i could consider with my cv or to consider presenting my work or getting my work shown in a way that stands out.  

Another thing he told us about that inspired me was when he explained how he got a job at the neighbourhood (a studio in manchester he worked with since he graduated university before he became  freelancer). He explained that the day after his deadline day he went round to 15 studios handing out his cv and showreel and as he was doing so invited people to his final year show, which kind of would give him a second opportunity to grab their attention as well and have a chance to speak to them in more informal relaxed environment whilst still showing the work. This is something i am going to do when my final exhibition is drawing near as i thought it was a very clever way to gather more of an audience for the show. The neighbourhood ended up hiring him for paid internship and then hired him full time from there, so he was able to get a job practically straight from graduating university which is something i would like to try and achieve (or some kind of placement set in place). 

I should also after having this talk consider more about my attendance to animation festivals within the area and getting more involved within the community as steve mentioned that the majority of contacts and clients he now works with have been who he has met whilst at these events. He also mentioned that this is where animators come and discuss and share there work with each other so it is good for inspiration and to get to know the other people within the industry and becoming known. Motion north and Glug are two animation events that he mentioned were good to attend. 

I thought having Steve in for this talk was extremely helpful as it was good to speak practically one to one with somebody who was in the local industry as he has been stockport and manchester based and therefore his experience of traveling through the industry was closer to home and even started to help with getting to know and hear about the people in the existing community more. 

He also showed us some of the work he has done and one thing that stood kurt when he was discussing his work was when he mentioned that he decided to make a brand for himself to promote his work as this is something i have been considering doing. Perhaps setting up my own website to display my work and have a professional way of showing potential employers my work. I could link them to my website and have my show reel on the home page so that it can be the first thing they see to display my work to them easily but then after they have watched it they could travel around my website and encourage them to spend longer looking at work i have done/ showing my strengths to them. 

I then went onto find his website to have a look at how he has organised and designed the space to get some inspiration for when i come to do my own. 

When you click on the website link this is the first page that comes up. It gives you adoption link to go to his site and and option to click on the showreel, with a showreel of still of work he has made as the background images. He has also used his brand logo that he has m,are on this page and kept it simplistic. I like how this is simple and easy to navigate with out the user feeling like being on the website is going to eat into their time, yet still manages to persuade the viewer to have a longer look (with the option for the website link). 

On the website link there is then the portfolio page in which you can click on each individual project he has worked on and see a description of who it was made for and why and then the development of the work and some research etc (so showing work surrounding the pieces as well). this is good as it shows the amount of work that has gone into each project and gives chance to highlight more of what has gone into the projects. 

There is also an 'About' link on the website that gives information about him as a designer and what kind of work he does. I thought this was a clever way of showing this (by giving snappy titles to each section of work keeping it all quick and simple and stylised to read).

I also liked how on the clients link on the site he had put the logo brands of the clients he had used again making the page more enjoyable to view while still getting the information across (with as little reading as possible). 

Before Steve Swanborough spoke about himself and his work he had chance to look at some of the work i have done and the project i am working on so far and was able to give me some feedback on it.
He suggested that i shorten my silhouette forest piece or add more narrative which is similar feedback to what i have received previously from other designers and shows that this is defiantly something i should alter with this piece. He also suggested making the movements of my character animation smoother and less jolting which would make the flow of the piece look smoother, he also told me that my idea for the project i am currently working on is good and that considering i am using c4d to create the animation i should try and go for a more stylised approach as this would add interest and creative feel as well as uniqueness while also not highlighting my weaknesses with regards to the level of skill i have when using the programme.