UNITY: Adding Vector Data

Figured out Vector data can be added together as variables.  Example:

"      private Vector2 offset = new Vector2(200, 200);
private Vector2 screenDim = new Vector2( Screen.width, Screen.height );
private Vector2 textLocation = new Vector2( (Screen.width / -2), (Screen.height / -2));

         void WriteCountText()
{
countText.pixelOffset = textLocation + offset;
countText.text = "Count: " + count2.ToString();
}
"

PHOTOSHOP: Laggy Path Selection

If your interface is lagging (namely the path tools), disable Open GL draw under "Preferences" and everything is fixed.

Scott Robertson: Rendering Form with Value

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZlpcrpA5u0

Notes:

• drop in a gradient background (dark grey on top, medium grey on bottom) to start.
• gradient value opposite of light direction
• Brain interprets "form" change through "value" change, not color change.
• If you have a nice line drawing, you can put it on a top layer and set it to "Multiply" and leave it across the top.
• Whenever you want to introduce a form change, introduce a value change.
• Use simple top lighting.
• Opposite value gradient to main light will ensure the silhouette is always visible.
• Put object on a layer on it's own and check 'preserve transparency' for masking out the background.

• Quick and dirty:
• Use Burn and Dodge tools after setting a medium grey fill on object.
• Dodge on any surfaces where light will hit.
• Perpendicular to the light will be the brightest.
• Tangent to light you get "Core Shadow", aka "Terminator"
• Better way:
• Make a new layer on top.
• Click division line between base and top layer while holding "Alt", and you get a clipping path layer.
• Set to "Multiply" so as to not lose any of the line work.
• Look to the outside of your silhouette, and if it's an undercut, wrap the shadows around to the front surface.
• Again, Tangent to your light source is your "Core Shadow"
• Fill in the "Lights", Fill in the "Darks", then come back and paint in-between the values.

• Since it's on another layer, you can tweak layer opacity to your liking.
• Create "Cleanup" layer on top and add refinement and details.
• Duplicate canopy section and put it on Multiply.
• Paint in the small details inside the canopy.
• paint in driver to show scale.
• paint on specular.
• soft overall
• sharp point highlight

Refinement:

• Take value below from background, and start painting in the bounce light on to the vehicle.
• It's okay to airbrush over the top of line art.
• Make sure bounce light doesn't overpower main light.
• Any forms in the shadow side can be shown using the bounce light.
• Begin switching from line work to "Surface"
• To show nice lines, you need nice Surfaces.
• Two surfaces form an Edge.
• Put "Radius" on the flat panel edges, as well as 'hard' edges.
• Work quickly without zooming in, "Just to make things go bump."

• Form Change = Value Change

• Side profile drawings are a good practice for rendering because you have to work your values.
• Also good to work in grayscale because you can concentrate on form.
• Tutorial currently uses a simple airbrush, but you can use a more textured brush if needed.
• Could use a flattened elliptical brush for more of a 'painterly' look.

• Once you get your base forms working, everything looks 3D, you can go in and start "Sculpting" the form.

• A technique from traditional media, clean up your silhouette with colors from your background. 

That's basically it, other than adding in some color and texture on top.  More to do:

• Noodle time!:
• keep refining the:
• forms
• volumes
• cut lines
• radii
• fillets
• planes
• adding graphics
• Tip for graphics:
• Marquee areas to be decals
• Duplicate layer with marquee info
• Darken
• Go back and erase to clean up
• Can also continue adding details, like mechanical bits, etc.

• Other render tips:
• Cool to Warm (outdoor rendering)
• "Color Dodge" mode gives very metallic surfaces
• have to go into layer settings and disable:
• Blend Clipped Layers as Group
• Transparency Shape Layers
• CTRL + SHIFT + V: Paste back into place.
• Incorporate value change into reflections.

UNITY: Roll-A-Ball Tutorial

Official Roll-A-Ball Tutorial by Unity3D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv0SqtSzBxc

Tutorial 01: Setting Up the Game

• Unity primitives are all either 1x1x1 or 1x2x1 in size when created
• Empty Game Objects are used as directories in the Hierarchy

Tutorial 02: Moving the Player

• Rigidbody
• required for physics interaction
• can be created and added directly via "Add Component" in the inspector.
• void Update();
• used for controller inputs, etc.
• void FixedUpdate();
• used for anything physics related
• CTRL + ' when highlighting an object in MonoDevelop will bring up the reference page
• Store "Input.GetAxis" calls in a float variable
• use "rigidbody.Addforce" for physics based movement
• create new Vector3 type variable to store movement
• " Vector3 movement = new Vector3(x, y, z); "
• " rigidbody.AddForce (movement); "
• use " Time.DeltaTime " as frames per second

Tutorial 03: Moving the Camera

• Tying the camera to the Player game object
• not as simple as parenting the camera to the Player object
• add a new script to the Camera object via Add Component
• scripts always get added to the root assets directory, so move it to " scripts "
• create a " GameObject " type public variable called "player" so a field will open up for drag and drop inside of Unity.
• create a Vector3 type private variable called "offset" that the script can alter under the Start() function.
• void LateUpdate();
• follow cameras, procedural animations, gathering last known states
• create reference to player GameObject by dragging in to previously created "player" slot

Tutorial 04: Play Area and Pickup Objects

• Creating environment
• create empty game object as a holder / folder
• reset position back to origin
• create geometry and put it under empty game object for organization
• Creating Pickup items
• create new cube
• lift it, shrink it, and rotate 45 degrees on all axis
• add component: script (for rotating animation)
• not using forces, so we can use " void Update() "
• use lower case "t", " transform.Rotate(new Vector3(15, 30, 45) * Time.DeltaTime); "
• make into Prefab:
• Create "Prefab" Folder
• Drag "Pickup" item from Hierarchy into Prefab folder
• When this is done, a Prefab Item is created
• Item in Hierarchy now shows BLUE
• Create empty GameObject named "Pickups" to hold our pickups in the Hierarchy view
• Reset position to 0,0,0
• Spread Pickup items around
• make sure the blue prefab item itself is selected for duplication, not the group node
• change move to "Global" instead of "Local" 

Tutorial 05: Collecting and Counting

• In order to count items, we have to create collision detections
• collisions have to be detected to trigger new behaviors
• collisions have to be "tested" to see which object has been pinged

• edit "PlayerController" script
• but before that, let's inspect the player object
• We're interested in the "Sphere Collider"
• In object header:
• turn down arrow (reveals more info)
• icon
• enable/disable checkbox
• types of component
• object sensitive gear gizmo
• icon of little book with question mark (help)
• Use book icon to go to offline Reference
• Offline Reference (PC)
• Component Help
• Switch to Scripting Help
• we want to use "OnTriggerEnter" function
• can be used for detecting object collision, without actual physical collision occuring
• "void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)"
• references the "other" item we collide with
• "Destroy(other.gameObject);" 
• destroys referenced game object that we collided with
• destroyed game objects and all their children are removed from the scene
• In this tutorial, we'll deactivate gameObject instead of destroying it
• Remove the "Destroy" code
• look up "Tag" under "GameObject"
• Tags can be assigned to objects for identification
• Tags must be declared in the "Tag Manager" before using
• look up "SetActive"
• method used to activate or disable objects
• example code:
• if(other.gameObject.tag == "Pickup")
• {
• other.gameObject.SetActive(false);
• }
• Basically checks if other object collided with has a Tag called "Pickup, and if it does, executes the code. In this instance, it tells the other game object to execute "SetActive" method to false.
• In UNITY, select Pickup object and under the inspector, check the TAG list
• add TAG
• under the first element (0), add "Pickup"
• name has to match exactly to the script
• apply tag to prefab
• Turn colliders into "Triggers"
• static objects don't get recalculated
• dynamic objects get recalculated
• must add RigidBody objects
• turn off Use Gravity
• activate "Is Kinematic"
• performane Tidbit:
• UNITY calculates all Static items and holds it in memory cache
• if we rotate a static collider, the cache gets rebuilt globally
• adding RigidBody and turning on "Is Kinematic" excludes items from Static collider cache
• "Is Kinematic" allows for animation through transforms (IE: elevators and moving platforms)

Tutorial 06: Displaying Text

• We need a tool to store collection count, and tool to add on top
• Add these tools to "PlayerController" script
• add private variable "count"
• initialize to zero under Start();
• count = 0;
• under "void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)"
• add: " count = count + 1 "
• Displaying Info via GUI Text:
• Add new empty GameObject: " Display_Text", transform 0,0,0
• Create "GUI Text" gameObject
• Parent to "Display_Text" game object
• Move to " Upper Left "
• 0,0 = lower left
• 1,1 = upper right\
• Set Transform to 0,1,0
• Then use "Pixel Offset" setting in the GUIText
• X = 10, Y = -10
• Under "PlayerController" script:
• add new public "GUIText" variable called "countText"
• this opens up another slot in Unity that allows for drag and drop
• initialize "countText" to: 
• "Count: " + count.ToString(); 
• count.ToString(); must be after "count" has an initialized value
• update "countText" everytime an object is picked up
• under "void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)"
• add "countText.text = "Count: " + count.ToString();
• create new function instead of typing "countText.text = ....." repeatedly
• void SetCountText()
• {
• countText.text = "Count: " + count.ToString();
• }
• add function call to respective locations of the script
• drag GuiText object into new "PlayerController" script slot
• VOILA!
• Displaying WIN condition:
• create new GUIText object "WinText"
• parent to DisplayText game object
• add reference to PlayerController script:
• create new public GUIText variable: " winText "
• initialize winText.text = ""; // empty text
• under " SetCountText()" function:
• add:
• if (count >= 12)
• {
• winText.text = "YOU WIN!";
• }
• save and return to unity
• drag-associate WinText object to the PlayerSphere reference call (drop it into the field)

Tutorial 07: Publishing the Game

• Unity can build to all to all target platforms
• Open Build Settings
• Current build settings are denoted by the UNITY icon
• Switch build platform by highlighting target platform, and hitting "Switch Platform"
• Add current scene to build by clicking "Add Current", or drag and drop any scenes from Project folder to the "Scenes to Build" field
• include only the scenes needed
• Hit "Build" button
• Create new folder under main project root folder called "Builds"
• Name the build, and Save

Kiwinuptuo's Color Palette Tutorial

http://kiwinuptuo.deviantart.com/art/Pixel-Art-Tutorial-Colors-184802567

Notes:

• Base: Pick based on Marc Brunet's Color Theory (http://bluefley.blogspot.com/)
• Shadows:
• Hue: Move away from center
• Saturation: More Saturated
• Value: Darker value
• Highlights:
• Hue: Move toward center
• Saturation: Less saturated
• Value: Lighter value

MAYA: Creating Layered Mia_Material Shaders Tutorial

http://vimeo.com/23032246

In order to use a LayeredTexture with Mia_Materials, use a SurfaceShader and manually connect the "Result" from the Mia_Material, to the "outColor" of the SurfaceShader.  Then plug the SurfaceShader into the LayeredTexture.

BAM. Layered Mia_Materials textures.

Drawing: Art Marker Tips & Techniques

Tips:

• When lines show up during fills, stroke the opposite direction to get rid of them.
• Colorless Blender markers are great for erasing and blending on tracing paper.
• can also load multiple colors on the clear nib and do strips.
• can use plastic palette to mix colors.
• just remember to clean off blender.
• put acetate or plain white paper to modify bleed characteristics.
• can use Prismacolor color pencil to correct overly darkened values.

• Vehicles:
• always have a ground shadow
• find your dark areas (optional technique)
• otherwise, render from light to dark (since there's no UNDO) aka. "Sneak Up" on the values.
• ground colors bounce off and show in areas close by.