Modelling references
Modelling
Starting from a cube I extruded the faces to create a rough body shape to refine.
I bevelled the sharp corners.
After smoothing.
Adding detail/rounding foot
Testing colours for the weevil.
Warm orange/reds/browns to contrast turquoise background
Modelling antennae.
Increased eye size and adjusted head shape.
Smoothed body – 6k polycount without all legs
adjusted proportions of snout,eyes, antannae
Leg
After smooth
Used soft select, sculpt geometry brush to smooth out areas on the face and head and leg
Duplicated body, extruded faces on abdomen to create wing shell
Selected faces and extracted to split it in two
Start of inner wing
After mirroring front leg can see the placement is off
Mirroring final legs
using trial and error to find the point the wings rotate from.
Rig test for the wings
ISSUE
Due to how complicated the motion of weevils wings unfolding is, I will not be animating the wings opening as part of the model.
Due to errors when importing into substance painter I had to run a cleanup in maya to remove edges with zero length.
Using mesh fabric materials to get the texture for the eyes, my own setting for the translucent wings and a muddy ground texture to get the roughness on the body.
Realised I forgot the antennae I modelled in the UVs and export.
Testing adding height to the wings and smudging out the edges to create the look of insect wings.
Base colour on legs and antennae. Need to shade body segments on abdomen and add colour variation to legs and antennae. Also need to add veins and height variation to wings.
Added depth to the wings.
Adding segments to abdomen.
Used paint along curve tool to add segments to abdomen.
Added textures into maya
First test of Unity AR Foundation using a cube.
Then added weevil.
Repositioning weevil after issues in AR app
Weevil did not show up. Moved too far from origin
Got the lean touch package working so the model is translatable, scalable and rotatable.
Need to add labels to the weevil and make them camera facing or easy to read on rotation. Model labels in maya then add as a child object of the weevil prefab in Unity. Need to check if you add more than one asset to an image in Unity AR foundation.
Using Light and clockworks tutorial I managed to get multiple image tracking with a cube and the weevil model.
Testing different options on lean touch. Lean twist rotate rotates around z axis lean twist rotate axis rotates on the y axis and is more applicable to my AR experience.
Weevils are connected to each other when one is scaled so is the other. I need to delete the one in the scene but when I delete it it deletes the lean touch scripts attached to it. Fixed by turning it into a prefab again with the scripts attached.
Testing if parenting a prefab to one that is made to spawn on an image will make the child spawn in too.
Made a 2D sprite face the camera using a billboarding tutorial by Firnox on YouTube as a test for the labels on the model.
Need to make transparent textures for the labels so I can import them together as planes from maya or go straight into unity and hand place each one- which would make it more easily adjustable.
Got camera facing label as child of weevil model now need to create them and add them so that they don’t block parts of the model. Also the text was backwards.
Changing pivot on the labels.
Add empty parent to label, add 2d box collider.
Testing: Label is backwards, not aligned and doesn’t pivot with the model.
Next test: Label isn’t backwards but now doesn’t point to the foot. It still clips through the model.
New Test: Label doesn’t align from above due to diagonal label line tag adding extra space below the text and the pivot being in the bottom corner. Need to configure the AR to be viewed from a printed picture on a desk.
ISSUE: Objects don’t delete when image is no longer visible. Need to code for them to delete.
1st Attempt at delete code
Cube not deleted and weevil glitching back and forth. Commenting out code to see if it is causing the glitch or if it is juts the tracking software.
The glitch is just the image tracking when it is held at a certain angle.
Minor edit code still doesn’t work.
Time to test each if.
Can’t see console in app on android. Need to find a way to view console from in the built app.
Downloaded log viewer package to see debug logs in mobile.
After the second if statement runs once there is an error that repeats constantly: object reference not set to an instance of an object.
Unable to find a fix for this due to limited time.
Adding all labels with empty object pivots to make sure the labels stay stuck to the anatomy they are labelling.
Leg labels lose alignment from above
Issue duplicate weevils: fixed by deleting weevil from scene before building as it is instantiated by the code so it shouldn’t be in the scene already.
When weevil instantiates on image it is facing upwards which makes the labels clip[ into the body. When adding target image for zine add it upside down so it faces the right way???
Label alignment is better but not perfect.
Zine to be printed
With my own digital art, gouache painting and acrylic marker illustration.
Testing alignment on printed zine
The facts were too small and covered the image too much.
Good alignment but prefab spawned backwards so had to change and rebuild the app for the final version.
Final Video Without Narration
Narrated video
Extra video of the weevil model page
Unity packages used
Lean Touch by Carlos Wilkes Available at: Lean Touch | Input Management | Unity Asset Store
Log Viewer by DREAMMAKERSGROUP Available at: Log Viewer | Integration | Unity Asset Store
References
Andreas Kay (2019) Pinocchio Weevil taking off in Slow Motion [Video] Pinocchio Weevil taking off in Slow Motion [Accessed: 12/11/24]
Animalia (n.d.) Boll Weevil [Illustration] Available Online: https://s3.animalia.bio/animals/photos/full/original/1269pxthumbnail.webp [Accessed: 10/11/24]
Firnox (2022) Billboarding in Unity: Make 2D objects face the camera [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiGvVgwtJ8k [Accessed: 18/11/24]
Hana Ketley (2024) The NHBS Guide to UK Weevil Identification. The NHBS Guide to UK Weevil Identification [Accessed: 28/11/24]
LightsAndClockwork (2023) Unity Augmented Reality Tutorial Lesson 02 – Multiple Image tracking [Video] https://youtu.be/Fpw7V3oa4fs?si=8uHudA6v7QqPdsln [Accessed: 22/11/24]
Mohd Hamza (2021) Use touch to scale, rotate and drag AR objects | UNITY AR Foundation (ARKit & ARCore) | LeanTween [Video] https://youtu.be/jgQVUttENTI?si=E3WnfOypf_MsvveX [Accessed: 15/11/24]
Nested Mango (2020) DEBUG YOUR Unity GAMES IN MOBILE & PC USING LOG VIEWER(Reporter) | Log Viewer | Integration [Video] DEBUG YOUR Unity GAMES IN MOBILE & PC USING LOG VIEWER(Reporter) | Log Viewer | Integration [Accessed: 10/12/24]
Images Used in AR experience
Bohy, L. (2024) Close-up of an Acorn Weevil on Asphalt [Photograph] Available online: Close-up of an Acorn Weevil on Asphalt · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]
Ewing, S. (2022) Insect on Petal [Photograph] Available online: Insect on Petal · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]
Kamalev, E. (2019) Jewel Weevil Crawling On Leaf [Photograph] Available online: Jewel Weevil Crawling On Leaf · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]
Kamalev, E. (2022) Macro Photography of a Weevil [Photograph] Available online: Macro Photography of a Weevil · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]
Kamalev, E. (2022) Close-Up Photograph of a Weevil [Photograph] Available online: Close-Up Photograph of a Weevil · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]
Montanaro, J. P. (2023) Weevil on Leaf [Photograph] Available online: Weevil on Leaf · Free Stock Photo [Accessed: 12/12/24]