original cellphone

[traq]

this is a "self-assignment" to model and then create an animated presentation for my portfolio. The subject, the "dockphone," is a fictitious cell phone of my own design. This project will not be so much about the design, but about making a neat, clean finished advertisement.

This is about 2 hours of modeling in Wings, rendered in Kerkythea. I'll start on the animation once I'm done, and it will be 2D, using CorelDraw.

Dimensions: 140mm x 38mm x 14mm. I know it looks kinda like a remote control, but I wanted a unique (for phones) shape that was also comfortable to hold.

Things I'm working on next:

mini UBS port
micro SD flash memory drive
camera lens and flash
various buttons

Comments will be appreciated

this is a thumbnail image. please scroll down.

[traq]

microSD drive, and a new color scheme (not final). I haven't combined the drive with the phone body yet, so that's the reason for the pinch/shading issue on the side.

[Ozylot]

Looks pretty good so far. I might suggest trying to use a hdri in your lighting rig though.

It will be interesting to see how you do the buttons.

[traq]

I'm thinking about the buttons. They're physical buttons, not touch-sensitive, but I am considering making them translucent with a LCD display or something underneath so each button can have multiple display functions. This would also allow the buttons to be reoriented to the user's preference, i.e., left- or right-handed, horizontal or vertical orientation. Not to mention hotkey possibilities.

hdri
yes, I'd love to fix the lighting.

[Ozylot]

A good place to get some globals would be in the kerkythea download section.

LINK

The global probes work well IMO.

[traq]

thanks, I'm trying them.
I see also that Kerkythea 2008 Echo is available, have you used it? is it good?

[Ozylot]

Its amazing. Been using it since January. Definitely worth a go.

[Major Diarrhia]

Hm, a little narrow and long but not impossibly so in either respect. You should be able to make it a little thinner though because it's so long.

Personally, I hate port covers for anything that is used on an even remotely regular basis, like that card slot. Better to make the card edge flush with the surface of the device, so the card plugs the port. When it's empty, it just stays open, that's all. It will fill with dust slowly but can be cleaned with a tooth pick or just blowing on it. This will also make the device look better because it won't have this random rubber cover messing with the look at feel. It should probably be at the top or bottom edge too.

The buttons can be made shorter, allowing for another row added above. Or you can just make them shorter and the screen taller.

For the buttons themselves, physical is good but if they don't have an identifiable texture you might as well make them screen based because in the not to distant future the physical click sensation will be simulated by a rumble device. IE tactile feedback touch screens.

There are certain features you may not be able to model but I still feel are worth mentioning. There are a couple things I've never found satisfying in my phones: the ringer can never be made load enough, the vibrate never strong enough. If you can make the ringer load enough, it's then too load in many situations and you have to change the volume. I want at least a 100 db ringer that monitors ambient noise and adjusts itself to be just load enough to hear but not annoy. The vibrate feature either needs to be bulked tremendously, or completely changed. Instead of a little shaky think, how about a plug that shots out and hits you rapidly? It means you have to have the phone oriented with the back to your leg for it to work but I have a feeling it might be worth while. Alternatively, use a heavier vibrator material, like tungsten or depleted uranium to give it more momentum. It it looks like a small animal trying to escape my pocket, then it might be powerful enough to catch my attention.

Make the screen of glass, not plastic. Give it a flashlight and mirror program, one makes the screen white and other black.

[traq]

Originally Posted by Major Diarrhia

Hm, a little narrow and long but not impossibly so in either respect. You should be able to make it a little thinner though because it's so long.

it may become thinner. it's at its current thickness because I'm imagining a lot of features (bluetooth/ wifi/ office networking w/memory card/ camera/ etc.), and I'm not sure how much space the hardware would all take up. And I, for one, would be happy to have a slightly thicker phone that has a higher-capacity battery.

I like the length because it allows for all the keys I need to make it multimedia capable and comfortable to hold in one or both hands. it's not much longer than a typical folding cellphone (when opened).

I'd planned on it being narrower. it's only as wide as it is to accommodate the screen (320x240).

Originally Posted by Major Diarrhia

Personally, I hate port covers for anything that is used on an even remotely regular basis, like that card slot. Better to make the card edge flush with the surface of the device, so the card plugs the port. When it's empty, it just stays open, that's all. It will fill with dust slowly but can be cleaned with a tooth pick or just blowing on it. This will also make the device look better because it won't have this random rubber cover messing with the look at feel. It should probably be at the top or bottom edge too.

lol, I feel exactly the opposite. my fiance got a V3 razor that doesn't have a USB port cover, and we both hate it. You must have less lint in your pockets/ crap in your purse than we do.

Originally Posted by Major Diarrhia

The buttons can be made shorter, allowing for another row added above. Or you can just make them shorter and the screen taller.

For the buttons themselves, physical is good but if they don't have an identifiable texture you might as well make them screen based because in the not to distant future the physical click sensation will be simulated by a rumble device. IE tactile feedback touch screens.

I'm not sure I need another row of buttons; the way I have it laid out, the 4x4 side will be the numeric pad (plus some function keys on the side), and the pad opposite will have two function keys (like left/right "soft" keys), a CLR/BKSPC key, and a mode select/cycle key next to the navigation circle. Things like volume, etc., that won't be used much will be small keys on the sides.

I much prefer the physical keys. they will have a texture to them (hard to tell, but the key "outlines" are a raised ridge). tactile feedback is something to consider, as is some sort of hybrid solution (a translucent coating over the screen or something...meh...whatever). this is still up in the air. We'll see what looks best as I model it.

Originally Posted by Major Diarrhia

There are certain features you may not be able to model but I still feel are worth mentioning. There are a couple things I've never found satisfying in my phones: the ringer can never be made load enough, the vibrate never strong enough. If you can make the ringer load enough, it's then too load in many situations and you have to change the volume. I want at least a 100 db ringer that monitors ambient noise and adjusts itself to be just load enough to hear but not annoy. The vibrate feature either needs to be bulked tremendously, or completely changed. Instead of a little shaky think, how about a plug that shots out and hits you rapidly? It means you have to have the phone oriented with the back to your leg for it to work but I have a feeling it might be worth while. Alternatively, use a heavier vibrator material, like tungsten or depleted uranium to give it more momentum. It it looks like a small animal trying to escape my pocket, then it might be powerful enough to catch my attention.

I hate vibrate settings. mostly because it increases wear on everything else. but as you say, it's not something I'd model either way, so you're free to imagine that this phone is strong enough to please a rhinoceros in heat.

Originally Posted by Major Diarrhia

Make the screen of glass, not plastic. Give it a flashlight and mirror program, one makes the screen white and other black.

cool idea.

******
Ozylot,
got it. cool. seems to render faster, with more complicated materials, too.

I tried out the globals, and they have cool lighting setups, but I can't figure how to separate the bitmaps out... some of the best lighting comes with weird, blurry, low-res backgrounds. can it be done?

well, this sky is cool enough. enjoy.

thanks guys

[Ozylot]

I am not sure what you mean by 'separate the bitmaps out?'

Any image that you can use as a spherical sky can produce lighting effects. To access them directly, skip to the second page of the 'sun and sky' dialog, choose spherical sky and then click on the black square to choose an image from your HD.