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[thepowerofmovement]

Character Design

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 18 Summary

I haven’t done any work this week as I was enjoying the Easter break with my family. There is still no progression with the problem I encountered on Maya when trying to render or character model, so they will both need to be addressed upon return.  

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 17 Summary

This week, I have added the lighting to my Mystery box sequence. I also voice acted the dialogue of my lip sync project. By filming myself saying the dialogue, I notice how my mouth and jaw would move and where the lips would stretch. I found some research on lips syncs that supported my findings so it was good to know I was noticing the right things. I wanted coloured lighting for my Mystery Box sequence, with a yellow main light and a pink and purple light in a studio set-up where the pink and purple lights are 50% of the intensity of the main yellow light. I can’t view the lighting in Arnold for some reason. I followed the necessary steps, but no change. I am unsure whether it is the same as the previous problem I encountered with Maya last week. It’s quite frustrating as my progression is limited. I focused on researching how to model and what to focus attention to when character modelling. I done this to better my understanding of how the controls work and hopefully speed up my progression upon return. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 16 Summary

I travelled home for Easter with the intention of focusing most of my time into creating my character model, however Maya wouldn’t work on my computer. I was able to animate, but it wouldn’t allow for modelling. It is quite frustrating as I don’t know why it isn’t working, thus leaves me with limited time when I return. I was able to work on my Mystery Box sequence. I have tinkered and tweaked the animation so that it flows better. I am at the edge of finalising the sequence, there have been a few instances where arms would continuously rotate or the legs pops out. Using the attributes editor, I would then reset the frames and then reposition the specific body part. Next week I will focus on the lighting for my Mystery Box. I will also try to diagnose the problem with my computer and Maya. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Weekly Summary 19

This week, I have been focusing on completing my character model as I wasn’t able to complete it during the Easter break as Maya wouldn’t work on my computer, as it kept on crashing. Before the Easter break, my model was not too far off completion. This week has been focused on finalising the details of the character, before UV-ing the character, to then be textured in substance. I did have to clean up the mesh as I had multiple double extrusions which is problematic when later texturing the model. Typically where I found flaws, I would delete the faces and then bridge the vertices, and this seemed to work. I have also textured my character using substance, based on a character design I had made earlier in the project. The main texture is the lizard skin, I simply painted over the flesh and blended the colours into each other where appropriate. I am very pleased with the out come, is better than what I intended, and looks quite similar to my character design. 

 Also this week, I have started my lip sync project again, as there was too much happening in the frames and I didn’t include arcs when moving the head, so the animation didn’t play out well. With this in mind I thought it would be wise to start again. As we could use the anim brush to paste the mouth shapes I done so too with the head shapes. I had a stencil for my characters head with an open and closed jaw, which I would then paste the correct mouth over. Once the mouths were positioned, I then animated the eyes and I manipulated their shape in correspondence with the nature of the dialogue. Although I completed the animation quickly, I feel it works in the same way, and it might be a more efficient way of working in the future.

Later in the week, I have gathered all my clips from across the year to compile my showreel. I have also sourced my music from bensound. I will begin composing the show reel next week. The music helps assist with the feeling behind my showreel. I’m excited to see how it all comes together. 

To conclude this week, I am happy, time is no longer on my side however I have taken steps forward and completed essential parts of my project and I couldn’t be happier with how they have develop and the stage they are at now. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 14 Summary

This week we were introduced to our show reel brief. We have been tasked to create our own show reel exhibiting our best work over the course of the year, with the show reel being 75-90 seconds in duration. In this session we looked at what constitutes to a successful and a not so successful show reel. We will be creating our show reel using Adobe premiere. Elsewhere, we begun creating our character models on Maya. In this session we refreshed our knowledge on how to manipulate shapes to our desire. We were also shown how to toggle through controls to view our character with smoothing. 

In our character modelling session, we begun with a simple cube to create our character. I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to create our own desired character or to create a random character, so I chose the latter as I felt I wouldn’t be too precious with the representation of the characters form, thus allowing me to be free with my decision making and have a looseness with my mistakes. I found this was helpful as I was inclined to test the boundaries and discover what was achievable. Using the multi-cut tool, we dissected the cube into sections that correlate with a human anatomy, i.e head, neck, torso, waist etc. We also extruded from where one would typically find ball and socket joints (hips and shoulders) then the hinge and pivotal joints. Following these steps, we begun to shape our character, tinkering the sizes of each section and body part. Speaking honestly, I feel the longevity of the task will be quite difficult in due course. The character I found myself with by the end of the session appeared far from refined, thus I am beginning to question how well I will be able to represent my idea using the method given to us. I hope that after the next session and more development, it will become apparent as to what and what is not achievable against the constraints detailed. 

Following my issue last week with the length of the walk to the box, I have managed to retract the length of the walk and be closer to the box. I have worked in stepped to plan out the key frames. I have managed to begin with the performance of my Mystery box, thus far the animation seems to be heading in the right direction. Now that my knowledge of the controls has developed, my decision making has become quicker. So far the sequence is going as planned and hopefully I will be finished soon. 

Overall, this has been a good week. I have learnt the basics of creating my character model and have made strides with my Mystery box sequence. Next week I aim to begin modelling my character as per my design. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Weekly Summary 20

This week has been directly dedicated to finalising and exporting my projects into the necessary format they require. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 15 Summary

Continuing from last week, we developed our character models on Maya and we were formally introduced to Adobe premiere, the software we will be using to create our show reels. Following last weeks modelling session, I have started again with the creation of my character. In our show reel session we were shown how premiere works and operates. By the end of the session we produced a short piece that would require the same techniques and steps with our show reel piece in time to come. We have also begun our lip sync project where we create the lip sync for one of two pieces of sounds using TV paint.

In our show reel session, I found the premiere software very easy to use and I was able to draw comparisons with other software I have used in the past when creating short films, so I wasn’t fazed by the software. We used prepared footage and photos and were shown how to assembly them together on Adobe premier. We cropped our clips and included sound, created title cards, marked the beats of the shots to that of the sound. Overall, I’m happy with what I produced in the session, I feel I have the necessary skills to create my own show reel.

In our lip sync session and after hearing the two sound clips, I chose the crime lab sound clip as it sounded dynamic and exhibited a range of tones, speed and projection. I wanted to create a very dynamic and smooth animation, meaning that rather than using a set of mouth shapes, I would need to draw out each mouth shape. I’m not too sure if I’m heading in the right direction, but the mouth shapes I have drawn out seem to correlate with the sound that I hear. The more I layer the lip sync the better indication I will have. I found that making notes of the sounds you hear makes knowing where the mouth shapes are much easier., and you can diagnose them quicker, saving time. Overall, I feel my lip sync is heading in the right direction, or so I believe it is. 

I have finished all of my key frames in my Mystery box sequence, now the piece requires a clean up, to make sure there is counter shifting throughout the body. The main aspect I need to focus on is the feet and when a step is taken the foot needs to snap down to the ground. 

In our character modelling session, I have begun to create the basic shape of my character. As my character sits upon a humanoid frame, I have used my own anatomy for reference, feeling how the muscles connect and how the skin wraps around those muscles. Overall, I am really pleased as the process takes a lot of time, but initially, I can see my character starting to take shape. 

Overall, I have enjoyed this week, I’ve worked on a few different projects this week, all at different stages. I am happy with my Mystery Box animation and how far it has progressed, it won’t be long before I am able to render. I feel that my lip sync could be a success or I have done it completely wrong, I think I will know as I progress if it is going to be as good as I had hoped. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 13 Summary

We begun the week by being introduced to our character modelling project, Fantastical Creatures. We were informed that whichever pathway you take, the outcome is to create a character that encompasses elements of other animals and creatures. Later in the week, we begun creating our maquette’s using wire, tin foil, masking tape, and Super Sculpy. We first drew our character out in different positions and perspectives to help assist with the creation of our maquettes. Peter kindly showed us how to twist the wire correctly to ensure the wire wouldn’t slide against each other. Once we had created the core structure, we would then wrap it the tin foil and masking tape (if necessary), before applying the super sculpy to form the final shape of our character. 

I thoroughly enjoyed creating my maquette! I initially questioned how successful I might be with its creation, however any doubt was quickly eliminated the further I progressed. My original concept was to have the torso and limbs of my character to be very slender and thin, however I quickly discovered that this wouldn’t be achievable as the super sculpy on the maquette needed to have a degree of thickness, otherwise the sculpy may become brittle and fall off once baked. With this in mind, I adapted my idea to match the limitations of the super sculpy. As the maquette needed to be thicker, I thought it might be wise to focus on the anatomy. I based the core anatomy to that of a homosapien as I could use my own anatomy for reference. I begun sculpting the core of my character extending outwardly to the limbs and head. I wanted to advocate the nature of my characters personality through his pose and facial expression, as though he was at the pinnacle of a scene. As I continued to sculpt and had a base layer of clay, I used additional pieces of clay to shape the general mass and size of the muscles that would be associated with each area. I was quite pleased with how well I manged to shape the legs and buttocks. By allowing my hands to feel the contours and curvature of my own body, I was able to have a strong understanding of how each muscle met each other and each associating joint. I am very pleased with the success of my character and I am very eager to continue with his development. I feel I diagnosed the core shapes correctly. I need to add layers to my character and be completely sure that the base shape is correct before I obsess with the finer details, which I am excited to engage with. Based on the product I have finished with for the time being, I found this to be a very pleasant and peaceful task, and I feel my character is heading in the right direction. I have found maquette making to be very very enjoyable! I am excited to see my progression in the near future!

Continuing with my Mystery Box project this week, I feel confident now and more rounded with my understanding of how the transitions between frames should appear. After plotting out the walk, the character takes too long to get to the box, and I also realised the character travels too far from the box. After changing the tangents to auto-tangent, the characters whizzes across screen so the space between frames needs to be greater, thus making the overall animation longer. I wish I had realised this sooner before investing so much time into the sequence, however, I have noticed it and I have time to fix it. I am going to work back into the frames to condense the walk.

To conclude, I cannot stress how enjoyable this week was, I really enjoyed creating my maquette, it was great fun, especially as I was crafting my concept to life. With regard to my Mystery Box, I hope that reducing the length of my walk will help my overall animation, as the walk demanded too much of the time available.   

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 10 Summary

This week, we begin our mystery box project, having chosen the CG pathway, we were introduced to Maya. In this session, we were introduced to the 11 second club, where we would download our rig. Once downloaded, we would then manipulate the rigs anatomy, testing it’s capabilities, and fundamentally ‘break the rig’. Our other session this week, explored animatic’s and how they can and are used. We then created our own animatic in response to our Mystery Box sequence using TV paint. 

After being shown the controls of the rig and the attribute editor, (and the essential variables of it’s contents, X Y Z etc.) we were then guided to make our character Max walk. First we would place one foot ahead of the other, then manipulate the rig to form the up pose, to the contact and so on. Each time the rig transitioned through poses, the waist would be moved up and down to keep the follow of the character consistent. In the industry, animators work in stepped, and so we did as Maya completes the transitions for you for ease. I felt that my characters walk looked odd when the whole rig played in transition, after moving the arms. I sense that Maya might take some time to get used to. However so, I did enjoy this session. It was fascinating to engage with the bones of CG animation, and having sole control over how the character walks. Although I feel the walk was odd, considering it was my first walk cycle in Maya, I feel I gasped the task well. I was able to manipulate the character through poses swiftly, the basic controls aren’t dissimilar to the controls used for modelling in previous projects. I’m eager to delve into my own animation as see how I might progress. 

In response to our Mystery Box project, we created our animatics. The purpose of the animatic is to quickly give an indication of what the film or piece will feature. Animatics are an efficient and tested way to communicating visual ideas, as the detail isn’t essential rather the narrative and contents of the story. Using TV paint we created our own animatics. As our Mystery Box sequence is taken from one shot, I crafted my animatic follow suit. I directed my attention to the poses and I tried to make them strong poses. I also wanted to inject exaggeration into the performance, Chaplinesque and theatrical. As the limitations for animation are low, I wanted my character to jump for joy in delight when he finally knows the can be alone with the contents of the box. The jump represents the explosive emotional change, and the characteristics of joy and delight, and raw happiness. 

Overall, I enjoyed this week, it was fun to finally be able to control a character using Maya, and be enlightened to the process behind it. Upon reflection, I feel for the time being I am going to focus on the feet and waist of my rig. I need to understand the mechanics, and see how each part and control works, before I can feel confident that I know what I am doing is the right thing to do. I look forward to what next week entails! 

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 9 Summary

I really enjoyed this week, we were introduced to our new brief, that focuses on a Mystery Box. I have chosen CG for this brief as I feel that there is more to learn regarding the tools and processes needed to excel with this medium, furthermore I believe the more exposure I have with the software, the quicker I will become fluent with animation and my general understanding of how to navigate through Maya’s controls. The highlight of my week was the performance classes, I didn’t want to hold back in these sessions as I feel they are key to animation, I felt I would be quite good at fulfilling an action when considering the context of the character and situation. We had two sessions that explored performance animation, one would familiarise us to previous teachings and what to consider when replicating and understanding an action. The other session was catered for us to create our own live action clip, which we would then use to create our response to the Mystery Box brief. Concluding the week, we were enlightened to a story board session with Helen. 

As I am keen to comment on the performance sessions, I will begin here. In our first performance lecture, we begun by working in groups, creating random shapes and scenarios using our own form and as a group. We had a matter of moments to create each shape. I found that communication was pivotal to being able to create each shape under the time restrictions. I liked this exercise as it forced us to feel rather than think, allowing us to not get too caught up in the finer details. The exercise that followed was an independent task, as we were told a scenario which we would have to respond to through live action. Understanding the Laban movement and Stanislavski’s teachings were aids in fulfilling each individual action. What was interesting to see was that although we were all chasing the same chicken (the scenario we all responded to), everyone's response was varied and no two were identical. Another point that presented itself to me was how much an action could be broken down into fine segments, which highlighted the saying that “the devil is in the detail”. When trying to present a change in emotion, albeit a visual change, then the key to creating a convincing and easily understandable transition is contrast. Contrast in speed, weight, shape and body and shape language  and exaggerating each expression but allowing the audience to read each pose and transition, all pivotal to the success of not only the live action performance, but to animation as a whole. A pioneer for this would be none other than Charlie Chaplin.  

The second part of this session was geared towards us shooting our live action reference for our mystery box sequence. We all took turns in shooting our clips. I was happy to help the other members of our group, I feel they were happy with my performance as I invested myself into their work. Again, what elevated the success of the clip was dependant on how efficiently we communicated the scenario. As I acted out the scene, it became apparent that I needed to know the emotion of the character and what they were thinking, when this understanding was ambiguous, it had a domino effect on the representation of the scene. It became stagnated at times as there was confusion between what I was doing and what was wanted/required. In contrast, when we communicated efficiently and understood what was needed, not only was the clip successful, but as a group we were able to advise and add to the clip. For my shot, I wanted my protagonist to appear as a self-centred, oblivious 40 year old office worker, who had more money than compassion. I wanted to communicate this through his walk and posture. I wanted my protagonist to catch a glimpse of the mystery box and its contents, then come to a stop to question whether what he saw was in fact, what he saw. I then wanted him to explode into life to examine the box and to seek clarification and realisation. Once he is sure of the contents of the box, I wanted him to check his surroundings to see if anyone is present and watching, once assured, he then becomes weightless and bouncy in his demeanour, adopting a childlike persona. This change is justified by the contents of the box, containing an intrinsically cute and pure kitten or puppy, I wanted it to appear as though he is reconnecting with his innocence, presenting a caring nature. As I explained earlier I feel contrast heightens a change and I feel that through this presentation, I demonstrate a juxtaposition between the extremes in emotion and character.  

Also in the week, we looked at storyboards and what contributes to a successful storyboard. We explored different camera angles and when they might used to help advocate a narrative. Close-ups can be used when there is tension and the characters emotion is the point of interest, differently an establishing shot helps the visually describe the setting to the audience. The key is knowing what each shot communicates to an audience and where shot should be featured. 

I am excited to begin animating my Mystery Box sequence using Maya. Overall, this week has been a very enjoyable one. I have learnt about what to consider regarding a performance, and how there is a host of ways to communicate a narrative via the camera shots. With an Oscar to my name, this week has been thoroughly enjoyable, but most importantly, educational too!

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 8 Summary

This week we learnt about UV’s in Maya. Having been given a character to work with, we would then have to cut the character into segments, akin to the seams on clothing. By fulfilling this process, we were able to add textures to specific parts of the character dependant on where we would choose to cut the characters UV map. In our life drawing session this week, we focused on perceptive by understanding vanishing points. Progressing from last week, in our stop motion session, we were tasked to create an animation which focused on a walk with a change of expression. 

With regard to Maya and the UV’s, I found the task initially confusing but as we progressed, I begun to understand what was required and what was needed to be considered when cutting up the character. We used tools such as cut, sew and layout. After we cut out the UV’s we needed, we could then colour specific UV’s. By the end of the session I felt confident with UV’s and how to do so correctly to avoid problems. 

I really enjoyed our life drawing session this week. I have been keen to gather a greater, more comprehensive understanding for perspective drawing and vanishing points. I feel after this session, I understand how to correctly diagnose a vanishing point and how all lines lead to or come from the vanishing point(s). Upon reflection, I feel I was quite successful with this task. I concentrated my attention to the scale of the model against the plinth, and the model against the model as the model changed position. I feel I captured the composition correctly and that each particular sits cohesively with the other. 

Overall, I am happy with how the week progressed. In particular, I found the life drawing session really useful for my future practise. Technical drawing is something I’ve not quite understood in the past, however following this session, I feel I have adopted a well rounded understanding and appreciation of how to implement perspective into my drawings. I look forward to the potential compositions I can create in the future.

[thepowerofmovement]

Lip Sync - Research and Tips

I found this video very helpful with animating my lip sync. The key is to be decisive with the mouth shapes used and not to use too many as it looks scramble to an audience and hard to understand, as it look discombobulated. Acting out the scene helped me as I could physically feel my mouth taking the shapes of particular sounds. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Showreel Examples

The item above, I feel demonstrates both strong and weak characteristics of an animation show reel. In this piece, I like how a range of techniques are processes are presented. I like how there is a slight synergy between the lyrics and the opening scene, and I also like how the music fades and lowers when there is speech. I feel the length of the clips are quite long and could be cut and rearranged to keep the audience interested. I like how the area of each action feeds into the next, as one doesn’t have to look across the screen to see the area of action. 

Again, I feel the clips are too long at times in this show reel, however I do believe that at times the clips are also too short in areas too. I dislike how the clips don’t fulfil the wholes screen. The music isn’t in sync with the clips on screen. The titles between clips adopt different screen times which disrupts the fluidity at times. I feel overall more care could have been injected into this show reel as it is quite basically composed, I feel the show reel could feature better transitions and more attention given to typography and colour, although I feel most of the text isn’t needed. This show reel is quite dull, and I feel that the composer should have had more fun with it, I feel the key is to get the audience to share the enthusiasm, which this piece lacks.  

I believe this is a very successful show reel when compared with the earlier too. In this show reel a range of different material is presented (potentially due to the fact that this is a University show reel, rather than an individual students work), each piece of material is shown for good lengths of times. It is short, fast and exciting. The shorter the clip length the more questions follow, arousing the audiences attention to want to see more. The clips correlate really well with the music, the music itself is upbeat and funky and it matches the style of the presented animations. Akin to one of the previously analysed show reels, I like how the music volume lowers to make way to dialogue, as it helps to focus the attention and simply creates ease for the audience. 

This show reel contains a range of strong CG animations, and a matching piece of music to follow. The animations themselves have a sense of humour which resonates in the minds of the audience. There is no accreditation in this show reel which defeats it’s purpose. I feel the length of the clips could be shorter, although they show dynamic animations, they could have been shortened in areas. Overall I feel this is a strong show reel, apart from the lack of accreditation. 

[thepowerofmovement]

Story Board - Walk & Change Of Expression

The idea for this piece is to have my character enter frame miserably and sombrely as he eases into a halt in the centre of the frame. The character then turns towards the audience, before bowing over to inspect what is on the over side (of the lens). When the character realises that it is being watched, the change of expression occurs as he expresses his delight with a forceful and explosive wave, then speeds out briskly and joyfully. 

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Story Board - Character Picks Up The Box

This is my storyboard for my “character picks up a box” animation. In this animation, I want my protagonist to walk leisurely into frame until the box obstructs the path. The protagonist then looks down and pauses, before going down on one knee to examine the box. Once examined, the character tries to pick up the box with effort, upon lifting it, the momentum and weight of the box causes the protagonist to pivot on its right foot 90 degrees counter clockwise. The character holds the box up with his feet wide apart, before gently placing the box on the floor, as though the box magically became a 10th of it’s own weight. Once the box is placed onto the ground the protagonist sits on the box peacefully, observing his surroundings. I wanted to include an aspect of humour into this by playing with the principles of weight and effort, along with anticipation. 

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Lip Sync Tips

1. Timing - See it before you hear it. Sound comes slightly before. 2. Emphasis - Hand under the jaw and see when it opens. Jaw doesn’t more as much as one may think 3. Accent - Defining position first, then ease out (settle)  4. Vowels - mouth shapes in the spoken word why. mouth shapes consist within that spoken sound. 5. Anatomy - Top set of teeth do not move. 

1. Foundation: Know the audio, off by heart. Repeat saying in and in the same way as the character that is being animated.

2. Structure: Open and Closed, Wide and Narrow. Set the points of where the mouth is open or close and then wide or narrow. Technique - place jaw onto wrist, speak and feel where the mouth opens as your head is forced up. When finding the wide or narrow, place fingers on the corners of the mouth to see where it widens or not. Say it as the character would.

3. Details - Add emotion. Eyes and brows and eye gaze is key. Define the core shapes.

4. Polish - Add in the character, and present how they are. Inject the personality and raw emotions, plus micro expressions. 

I watched these two videos to help elevate my understanding for what constitutes towards a successful lip sync, and how I might avoid common mistakes. I found both videos extremely helpful. I particularly like the idea of placing my chin on my fist and then speaking, I noticed when my mouth was open as I could feel it, rather than thinking about it.