I was asked to create a state machine for an assessment that has a few simple rules, basically creating a self-determined “creature” that had a few basic abilities. Building on the initial ruleset, I decided to develop it into an automata simulation.

Check it out here.

The creatures have four attributes: thirst, hunger, fatigue, and boredom. They are capable of idling, walking, running, eating, drinking, sleeping, and with user interaction they can play. Clicking with the mouse will cause nearby creatures to react.

Each state has a transition pre-state that occurs before it. The color of the character will blend from a color representing his previous state to the color representing his new state.

- Initial values of the four attributes are generated randomly when the SWF is loaded.
- If no state is queued, it will idle. Idling causes its thirst, hunger, fatigue, and boredom to increase.
- If it gets too bored, it will either run or walk (50% chance).
- Walking increases all attributes except boredom, which decreases slightly. If it gets too thirsty, hungry, or tired it will switch to that action.
- Running increases all attributes except boredom, which decreases. If it drops below 50% boredom or above 100% fatigue, it will eat or sleep (50% chance).
- Playing causes all attributes to increase except boredom, which decreases significantly. It will not stop playing until the user releases the mouse button.
- Eating causes all attributes to decrease except thirst, which increases significantly. It will drink after eating.
- Drinking causes all attributes to decrease. It will idle after drinking.
- Sleeping causes fatigue and boredom to decrease, thirst and hunger increase. It will idle after sleeping.

I had to disable the real-time stats for the web version, otherwise it gets too choppy. But in a standalone player is runs nice and smooth. If you want the source code just shoot me an email.

I looked up one of my old 3d projects from an independent study from 2003 and decided to touch it up. This was a prototype for a standalone DVD copier/media player, where an original and blank would be inserted in the trays and it would create a duplicate. A product similar to this was released about a year later, and now it’s all pretty laughably obsolete.

Still, there was some good detail work here (especially the CD drives), so I started restoring it and put some new textures on it. I can’t remember if none of the corners are filleted intentionally, or if Inventor 6 would crash if you created too much geometry. Either way, this whole project could use some fresh case design and re-purposing (Blu-Ray Copier?).

After reading about the Vertical Farm Project, I became interested in trying to design a building with some type of environmental benefit for my final ARTD490 project. I came up with a scalable tunnel/road-covering for rural roads, powered by solar cells, and intended to provide several benefits:

• Off-grid highway lighting for remote/rural areas, increasing wildlife visibility
• Supplemental electricity for connected areas
• Insulation, reducing icing in winter and cooling roadway during summer

The arch design is essentially in compliance with AASHTO Standards for US interstate bridges and passageways, with a clearance over 18 feet and an inside width of 40 feet. Each section is 10 feet long.

Variations on the design include a longer version with lined troughs on each side so topsoil can be packed into the outer supports, increasing its insulation properties and reducing its visibility in naturally pristine areas. Another variation envisions each section connected to another by mag-lev rails, allowing solar energy to be expended deploying a flexible, weatherproof “curtain” between arches in the case of severe storms or emergencies.

With the exception of the solar cells, construction materials are low cost but durable enough for prolonged service. More concept renders below:

Front/Side Perspective View
Additional “Night” View
Draft of Daylight Composite

Here’s a pattern study, working from an original design.  This is my first render that makes use of the MentalRay rendering engine and its extended material library.

It’s been a long time since I worked with 3D, and my early attempts were always marked by an amateurish aesthetic and lack of design consideration. For my first independent study project, I focused on created a high-resolution, visually rich typographic piece.

Created in 3dsmax, polished in Photoshop.