The SQA requires you to present the surface and solid components of your model as a series of line drawings with all facets removed. This is fine for a programme like 'Autocad' - the software the course was originally built around, and O.K. with Pro/Desktop (for the solid components).
However, Blender is an out-and-out surface modelling and animation programme, so you'll find that your ortho. and iso. line drawings are a bit basic once you remove all shading.
Last session we were moderated and our moderator didn't want us to rely on wireframe / partially transparent drawings to illustrate the surface models. It may be that this situation stems from the SQA's desire to standardize the evidence submitted by candidates, though it means that candidates can't gain credit by using the superb transparent / wireframe drawings that it's possible to render in some packages (such as Blender and Pro/Desktop). All the same, include you wireframe / transparent renderings. They'll look good in your portfolio, for future interviews.
The extra wire frames / transparent renderings you present will also allow the SQA moderator to see the extent of your work (because the line drawings won't do that very well).
You should refer to the these drawings in your student record, when you detail your five 'modelling operations'.
Spring 2008 - Though Mr Black hasn't tried it out yet, 'Pantograph' - a vector renderer for Blender may be a solution to quickly creating 2D drawings from a 3D model. More info to follow.
This is the best line drawing, with facets removed, that your teacher has managed to produce in Blender.
You can see that it doesn't impart a lot of information.
See below for details of rendering settings used.
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See below for details of rendering settings used.
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See below for details of rendering settings used.
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First, make your model white in colour.
Then, in the 'shaders' panel, make the 'Emit' value 1.0. This makes your component glow like it's a light bulb. This has the effect of burning out all the shaded detail.
See below for the final step needed - adding 'toon' edges.
Now, use Blender's 'Toon' edges setting to give the edges of your component a black outline.
Bring up the rendering buttons, and in the 'Output' panel enable 'Edge'. You can vary the intensity / visibility of the line that's drawn around your component with the 'Edge Settings' button. The default value of 10 will work fine for most situations, but experiment until you get rid of all evidence of shading, leaving only lines visible. Leave the line colour black.
Make the background colour white (in the 'world' buttons).
Make sure you make a decent size rendering, say 1200 x 900, so that your jpg will be big enough to avoid jagged edges, when placed on an A3 drawing in PagePlus.
This rendering does a much better job of describing the surface modelled component, but there aren't any marks available specifically for including it. Include it on an A3 sheet anyway, as part of your evidence for the five modelling operations.
Standard settings will achieve this style of rendering.
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Now we're talking.
This type of rendering properly illustrates the work you've done, but, of course, there aren't marks available for producing it.
All the same, make sure you include a few examples of this type of rendering and refer to them when detailing your five modelling operations, in your Student Record.
The rendering is effectively a screen shot. However, Blender does the rendering without you having to send a screen shot to the clipboard. Simply press the tiny render button below the active window in Blender.
Make sure that all of the renderings you produce in this style have a white background. This will save on printer ink. The white background was achieved by placing a mesh plane behind the lizard. A white material was added to the mesh plane, and made highly emissive (glowing like a light bulb).
It seems that this style of drawing will satisfy the course requirements.
It has been laid out in PagePlus, and the various .jpg Blender renderings have been placed in it.
Present this style of drawing to show your surface modelled components' meshes, to help convince SQA that you qualify for full marks for your modelling operations.
Please note that there aren't any marks specifically available for production of this type of drawing.
