Tuesday 3rd December, Using Sketchup and Lumion.

Today I begun using Sketchup, at first it was extremely difficult to navigate but I soon learned how to use the tools and realised it is just AutoCad but in 3D. I started making the model of the exhibition by pasting in the AutoCad plan and then tracing the wall points to make shapes and pushed them upwards. I made all the main walls and then begun adding fittings and furniture that I had constructed away from the model, in order to have space. I then built the mezzanine next to the model which I pasted exactly where I needed it and lastly added colours and texture. The most difficult part of the model was the 'For Now: Unexplained' hanging velvet as fabric needed a lot of different shapes to make it appear like real fabric. Making the model was extremely tedious and took about 30 hours to finish but it was worth it, I really learnt a lot and I found myself very quickly accustomed to it, in fact I really using Sketchup.

Overview of Sketchup model, Sketchup furniture and fitting modes.

I then moved onto Lumion to add more detailed furniture and fittings and create the rendered serial views, plans and sections. It was much easier than Sketchup and I would even compare using Lumion to playing a video game. I added furniture made some small tweaks to the materials and texture of the model and then took some serial views using the camera mode. I explored the different special effects available in the library and after a bit of experimenting I figured out which ones I wanted to use. I used 'Ray Tracing' which makes light in Lumion behave the similar to how it does in real life, by 'bouncing' off certain textured and coloured surfaces. I then used 'Real Skies' to be able to change the brightness of the sky, season, time of day and sun heading. Volumetric sunlight gave me the control to change the volume of light in the space this can change the appearance of the atmosphere, giving the impression of either a dusty and heavy atmosphere or a clean and lightweight one. Finally I used 'Colour Correction' for any small tweaks needed to make the renders seem as real as possible. Below I have shown the progression of spaces, from sketchup to lumion, exploring light and depth.

My next steps are to now make the rendered floorplans, sections and use photoshop to add people and outfits to the serial views.

Exhibition Entrance View 1

Exhibition Entrance View 2

For Now: Unexplained View 1

Screen Room View 1

Celebrity Showcase View 1

Celebrity Showcase View 2

Sixty Years a Queen View 1

Sixty Years a Queen View 2

Stairs & Lift Area

Workshop View 1

Workshop View 2

Workshop View 3

Gift Shop View 1

Cafe View 1

Cafe View 2