#second image is from a (hopefully) upcoming animatic!!

[aimer-arts]

s...super mystery dungeon...

[laikaanimationtamara]

BAW2.3 Individual Progress Report

Since the BAW2.2 Report, I have been focusing on the creation of 3D Assets and Camera Shot Design in the Previsualization stage which I also wrote about as a development tool in my BAR13.2 Revised Lit Review. This is for my Worldbuilding and Visual Effects Major.

I continued work on the Internal Frame Model until it was finished for this stage, I will return to it during Production and add the final detailing and shaping. I have fixed components I thought looked awful and awkward, added more detailing and shaping to pieces of the framing, and connected parts so they would be more distinct functional components. I then gave it to Scarlett with the scaled Laika model included so she could place it in her scene and continue building the exterior rocket shell with it in place.

My BAW01.1 Essay was focused on camera angles which is at the core of the Camera Shot Design I’ve been working on. Test 1 was of a Veronika storyboard panel with Laika looking at sparrows flying past the capsule. I created three model variants, set up four different lighting styles, took the render that focused on Edge Lighting which fit the Noir/Hitchcock style we want and did a lighting focused Photoshop paint-over, taking cues from my BAW01.2 essay research. I then did a complete paint-over in Photoshop with oil paint brushes which I think was really successful.

Test 2 was of a Mark storyboard panel with the launch countdown timer. I followed a digital clock in Maya tutorial but made my own “font” for it in Illustrator so it belonged to me and was tweaked to my liking. It allowed for manually changing each number in the countdown in case we wanted more than what Mark storyboarded. I tried to bake the textures and then Alembic cache the models based on tutorials Rachel provided after the first render took 8 hours but that didn’t work and broke the attribute rig on the numbers making it so it just showed the 8 and nothing else. I did manage to decrease the render settings to make it take less time for the second render I did however, after offering the timer images to Veronika to use for the second animatic. 

Test 3 is of a Levi storyboard panel with Laika and other dogs running through a street, this is what I’m currently working on. Recreating this shot has included researching lampposts, modelling an American/Australian style lamppost before finding Russian ones and remodelling it so it would be as accurate as possible. My main focus for this shot is a lighting test, creating the Noir lighting entirely in Maya as opposed to Test 1 where I painted over it. I have done a small rigging test on my Laika model based on a tutorial as well but will be trying a different, better one very soon so I can properly pose the dog models in the scene. Creating the extra dog models is another thing I will be focusing on in the upcoming week or so, taking in the feedback Rachel gave me on the Laika model to try and make them as good as I can and we planned to base them on our real dogs. I tried using particle effects to add a 3D galaxy to the background as I haven’t really gotten to play around with VFX like Scarlett and Holly have but was unable to see it in the renderer so I will try and bring this into my next Test shot with Rachel’s sublime help where I think it’ll really add depth. For this shot though, I do want to add fog clouds of some description to help the road fade into the background which will allow me to play with creating VFX.

With all three of these tests I’ve done so far I’ve clarified and checked details with the person who drew the original panel to try and make sure I was bringing through what they’d originally envisioned. Additionally, I also gave Levi a UV Map of my Laika model for them to start doing texturing tests which I applied back onto the model for them to check against. Making the UV Map was good practice for later on, I will come back to this soon so a texture can be applied to it for the 3D Animatic.

I will be continuing to research, create assets and recreate shots for the 3D Animatic due at the start of June and investigate Real-Time Rendering, particularly with the Unreal game engine so we can begin testing that as well. Hopefully, the work I’ve been doing will give the group a head start on assembling the 3D Animatic.

[cobrienba1b]

Weekly Summary 10 - (15/2)

Narratology

I have finished my first draft of the essay this week, I have also proofread it a couple times and got extra eyes to look at the essay.  I feel like the second half of the essay went especially quick, although I found it extremely difficult at the start because I had no idea as to what I wanted to do. I chose to do a paragraph per day so I could come back to it with a fresh mindset as I feel that made it easier as well. I feel like by the end there was so much more I wanted to mention but I had come up to the word count and had to remove some words so I could fit the main point of the essay in.  Pros: I have just completed the first draft of the essay and I am very happy with it, I have made some really good points and made sure the essay flows as well as possible.  Cons: I have struggled to start and there is a good chance that my essay isn’t completely done very well, the deadline is coming up and I wanted to get another iteration done so I will need to try and find the time to do that.  Overall, I am happy that I am finally done with this essay, although it’s not completely over as I need to send it off to some people to check my work, as well as this I need to make another draft and add in some quotes from the hoodwinked commentary.

Sketchbook

I haven’t done too much in my sketchbook since last week, however, I have started to do some research of other sketchbook artists that would give me a good idea of what I want to do in my own sketchbook. I feel like I have needed to do much more research earlier in the project because observing other people’s sketchbooks and analyzing them is quite good, especially when I need improvement in some areas.  Pros: I have started to make some research posts which will be beneficial for my sketchbook. I have also done some work on my sketchbook, I can use what I have learned from the other sketchbooks to improve my own.  Cons: I haven’t done a lot of sketchbook work this week, I would like to try and get more done in the next week in my spare time. I also only researched a couple of artists when I should be researching lots more to maximize the amount of inspiration I can obtain.  Overall, it was good doing something different this week as opposed to the usual nonstop sketching. Researching is helping a lot, so when I can I am going to try and find some more sketchbooks that will help me out. 

Animation Principles

I have done a lot of blog posts this week in my animation principle analysis tasks, I have yet to keep working on my morph animation.  I feel like this project is very quickly nearing its end as I am coming up to the 10th blog post now, however, I do not wish to stop there, I would like to try and do a couple more this week. Pros: I have made a massive advancement on the blog posts and am close to finishing.  Cons: I haven’t completely finished my morph animation and need to do the tweaking to ensure that it is completely finished. Overall I am going to try and finish the rest of the blog posts early this week, then try and get the morph finished, then go ahead to make more blog posts. 

Digital 3D 

I haven’t done anything in digital 3D this week mainly due to the closing deadline of the other projects, all of my attention has been shifted to them. I will try and do some research on how to make some nice rendered images. I am going to be selecting CG for the mystery box projects so I am going to be doing much more practice and research in this field as opposed to stop-motion. 

Stop Motion

I haven’t done anything in stop motion this week, this was mainly due to the closing deadline for the other projects. I haven’t chosen stop motion for my mystery box exercise so I won’t be doing as much research as I would for CG.

Mystery Box

This week in the mystery box project, I have already gotten off to a good start. I have the plan all laid out for my animation, with the live action reference and a storyboard. I feel like this project is starting really well, I have chosen CG for it as I am much more comfortable with working on a computer, as well as this, CG is going to be used for the following project so it would be good to get that head start. I think the rules for the project are quite challenging but I’m sure I will be able to work with it.  Pros: The project is off to a good start, I am making good progress, I have an idea that I am completely happy with and have even analysed my own footage to see on how I can improve, hopefully with iterations. I also am proud of the improved storyboard as I now have the knowledge needed to create a decent one.  Cons: There isn’t many cons yet, however I could do with giving the project a lot more thought and research, I haven’t yet but it is definitely something I need to do if I am going to get a good amount of inspiration and knowledge. The rules that come with the project are quite challenging, this is going to restrict the work I put out a lot, but I will work with it and see how it turns out. Overall I am liking this project so far, next is the animatic so I am looking forward to that, I just need to make another iteration of my storyboard so I am completely ready for the upcoming workshop. 

[leac92]

Journal #2 01/20/2019

Approach

For this weeks journal, a couple things occurred; We began developing ideas for out memory short with a reference sheet, technical analysis of how we are to use light, and a storyboard which shows how the camera and use of light were to be used in the story. But that’s just part of what happen this week. I had a talk with Professor Palazzi about some ideas for a potential thesis topic. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as I planned, and to be honest, I agreed with most of what she told me. I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t know exactly what a thesis is, but my thought of it was building on an ongoing topic with to create more discussion. I had a talk with Zach Winegardner about his thesis topic. He stated his topic was a way to allow the audience to view works of art in a more complex way though digital exploration. He also stated he had struggles his second year with finding a topic and through that, he lost focus his love for what he was doing. He didn’t know exactly what his professors wanted from him, and that’s where I’m at in regard to the topic. Hearing that from him made me feel better because I’m not the only one going through it, or have gone through it. As for the animation itself, the story of the film has been an idea I’ve had in mind before I started the program, it’s how I’m coming about the film that has changed (integrating 3D animation with 2D animation). However I knew this would occur, as I stated in my statement of intent, I wanted to learn more about 3D animation. I guess for now, I want to experiment a bit more and strengthen my skills in 3D software and re-evaluate some of my decisions in approaching my work so I may find that love for animation again.

In regard to that, this kind of set my approach for this week and my thinking. For the beginning of the week, two things occurred; I began progressing my 3D modeling skills in 3D animation class with Mr. Steve Conroy. We are creating a face and upper body model. However, I decided to create a whole body instead. Why? To challenge myself and figure out how to solve questions about Maya without constantly asking my classmates all the time (sometimes I feel I’m letting them do the work for me when I ask them questions, but they say otherwise). Saturday I came into Accad and worked on modeling and ended up almost finishing the leg, without assistance from anyone, so hopefully when I rig it, it won’t have too many problems. Here are images of what the upper body should look like by the time I’m done in comparison wot what I have right now:

FINAL PIC

MY PROGRESS

Relevant Sources or Inspirations

Going Back to 6400 we develop a reference sheet and a storyboard for the memory short we are developing in class. For the reference sheet, We chose three images that would set as a base for the lighting, color, camera and temperature of that scene of the short. Here are my three images and why I chose them:

Photo credit: Tripadvisor.co.za

I chose this images as a reference for my first sequence because of the lighting and color

scheme. It relates to me memory because it reminds me of times where I would look outside my window and see the gloomy sky with a mix of the grey spectrum and the natural light of my room would be a somewhat jaded feeling. This lighting would be considered a low-key lighting in the room because it has low intensity in comparison to the outside lighting and the temperature is a cooler. A high-key and somewhat soft key-lighting for the outside because the intensity in contrast to the inside of the room is much brighter but the temperature still gives off a cool feeling. The direction of the light is above the windows but most of the direction of the light is aimed at the table and a little bit of the floor in front of the floor.

Photo credit: Zoomzoom.com

I chose this images as a reference to the second part of my sequence because of the intensity of the light after the rain has been lifted from the storm. It is high and low-key lighting because of the light beaming through one part of the window and most parts inside the room are a bit darker with less definition if it was direct lighting. The temperature for the image is warm and the direction of the light is an eye-level view.

Photo credit: Zastavki.com

I chose this as the image for the reference to the third part of the sequence because of its’ angle and color scheme. The intensity of the lighting is high from the point of the sun and on the blinds reflecting the light from the sun. This would be a mix of high, low and soft-key lighting because of the contrast between the light on the outside of the window and it almost being black on the inside of the window. The temperature is warm with a bit of cool around the water and a bit inside the room. The direction of the light is also eye-level.

Choices Made

Based on those images, I created a rough storyboard sketch of how I plan to animate the scene. I kept it on the gray scale to focus on the light aspect of the short since the main focus of the project is light. Each frame represents the time of day and where the light is because of the contrast in shadows around the room and the light outside the window. I also have a sun dial which shows where the light will be in the short:

After creating the storyboard, I created a timeline of where I am and what I plan to do in regard to the steps I will will take in creating this short film film. Here is my technical plan for the next 4 weeks or so:

Likely Next Steps

Experiential Storytelling: Technical Plan

Week

What to do?

Process

Week 1

Create idea for story

Writing poems stating the memory dealing with light:

Complete

Week 2

Create Animatic sequence based on storyboard and poem ideas

Drawing out images based on references used (includes photos, sketches, stories, etc.). After, begin drafting animation after the animatic. This is not the final work. Creating more than one ideation will help determine what I’m looking for.

Week 3

Drafting animation using applications such as TvPaint, Photoshop, and Maya

Maya is not my strong point, however, creating a multi-layered video of the 2D animation in a 3D space would be doable, but a good challenge for myself. For animating the 2D part, I want to create multiple layers; one layer would stand still, while the others stay in motion behind the static layer.

Week 4

Begin cleaning the final draft of the 2D animation. Begin fixing up the 3D animation a bit (color, texture, etc.)

While cleaning the animation, I will begin adding sound effects (rough most likely) to get a sense of how sound will enhance the film. To add music or not?

Week 5

Finish final touchups. Add into premiere or after effects

Making sure the sound and video are in proper order with no issues. Render out. Test, test, test.

I began creating an animatic for the short, though I will make some adjustments to the animatic this coming week and begin production on the short as well:

ANIMATIC 

For the upcoming week, I plan to continue developing the look for the short film, including the animatic with camera shots, lighting and color and make sure the timing of my voice matches up with the feel of the film, so I might have to re-record my voice this week. I plan to go into Accad before the start of the week and work on the 3D modeling for the 3D animation class so I may understand more concepts to help with 6400 if needed. I will also continue to experiment and re-evaluate my situation with my thesis topic, as well as the animation so I won’t feel behind on my work again.