Lord of the Rings: Sam vs Shelob

Cameron Casey - CSC 471 Fall 2021 - Zoe Wood

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Project Description

I have always had a keen interest in video games and movies, and I am a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies specifically. I attempted to recreate a part of the scene where Sam fights the giant spider Shelob. It depicts a dummy model (Sam) facing off against the giant spider, with a web cocoon (Frodo) laying nearby. The spider's head looks between the cocoon and the dummy, and when it looks at the dummy, the sword glows blue. In the background there is the Eye of Sauron, with particle effects that resemble flames. There is also a camera that flies through the scene with a press of the G key.

Project Features

Camera Movement and Pitch/Yaw

- 360 degree camera movement, WASD movement including SHIFT and SPACE to adjust height

Blinn-Phong Shading

- simple shading to light objects without using textures, low poly effect on terrain

Particle Effects

- random color/size generation and gravity effects on particles to mimic flames for the Eye

Texture Mapping

- texture mapped ground and "sky-sphere" to add atmosphre to the scene

Heirarchical Modeling

- dummy and spider are heirarchically modeled easily to position and animate

Collision Detection

- boudning box collision detection and invisible geometry are used to make the sword glow blue when the spider looks in Sam's direction

Cinematic Passthrough

- camera passes through the scene on a track using spline paths and Bezier curves with the press of the G key

Images

References

Lab 5 (lighting)

Lab 6 (textures)

Lab 7 (skybox)

Lab 8 (particles)

3D object files: TurboSquid

Converting and editing 3D object files: Blender