Script Tests

Here area a couple of quick presentations that I put together as pitches for our major project.  The first one wasn't that good as it wasn't my idea and I was going off what i could envisage from the previous days pitches.

Figure1: Start

So this story went like this. A man traveling to see his newborn son, crash lands on an unknown planet and as he comes too he flips open a holographic watch which has his wife and child in it.

Figure2: Middle

The world he lands in has different areas, beautiful forests and mountains, lakes and floating land masses.

Figure3: Middle cont.

Figure4: End

Somewhere in the middle of the story he learns that he has to become a bounty hunter to survive and earn enough moolah to get a new ship.

The second pitch that I made was much clearer and had a much better story line, though some of the characters were slightly biased.

Figure5: Start/Precursor

 This story was about a women who is a noble of standing and part of a separatist movement trying to eliminate the founders of the imperial reign.  She gave herself to science and became a human bio weapon.  Something went wrong in their plans and she had to be sealed in a stasis pod.

Figure6: Start

 She was taken away but the Imperial forces shot down the craft.  The pilot only just managing to eject her pod before impacting on a strange planet.  The pilot looks around and sees the pods direction of travel before disappearing behind some trees.  The imperials meanwhile couldn't bring their big ship down straight away so they sent in their drones to secure the pod.

Figure7: add stakes

  The pilot gathers his things and heads in the direction of the pod. As he does so he startles a dog-like beast but manages to wound it and heads into the forest

Figure8: Overcome and add more stakes

 The pilot enters a clearing and sees the drones racing towards the pod he shots them down with the limited ammo at his disposal.  As the last ones downs and crashes a huge roar echoes behind him. Fade to black.

Figure9: End/ Cliffhanger

The roar echoes through the valley and into a deep cave  Here we see the pod and a underground creature is looking at it. It wipes away the frozen crust of the glass and then suddenly the womens eyes open.

The end

Old sword I made

Totally forgot that I had made this. Made last year and inserted into a Vue scene to be a monumental landmark.

Figure1: The sword

Figure2: The sword2

Figure3: The sword3

 The sword scaled down so I could fit it simply on the ground plane.

Figure4: Orthographic view of Sword

I had Sarah help me make this as i had never used Maya before.  I think I could do a much fancier one now. I basically told her how I wanted the sword to look and we created it together.

Figure5: Ice and snow

Figure6: Ice and Snow2

The final render of the sword in the scene that i created using Vue.

Environment- desert

Just some experiments using Vue, Photoshop and photo-bashing.

Figure1: From original script- crash scene

Quick 10min concept from photo-bashing and over painting. Added a dutch tilt to give the feel that the man has landed on an alien planet.The idea here was that he lost both his son and wife in the crash.

Figure2: the Basilisk

 Another quick concept using Vue, the materials weren't working so everything is sort of the same dune colour.  Here a shadowy figure watches as a man gets himself up from the crash.

Figure3: spaceship graveyard

 Quick concept over-painting onto Vue scene.  Tried to show a bit of a spaceship junkyard.

Figure4: Dunes

 Just trying to work out space between the viewer and the ship, how much of the environment should I show and how big is the ship.

Figure5: Dunes2

This is the original image used in figure 3.

Here are also some of my last years work that we could use for this project.

Figure6: Central Spire

Figure7: Cathedral of the unknown

Figure8: Construction of the Central spire

Space Ship Test

Just mucking around using the skills that i learnt when making my aeroplane.  I made a small spaceship to crash into a Vue scene.  I used the same squre box base as my other plane and simply extruded from there.

Slightly looks like it has a smiling face though.

Figure1: top view

Figure2: front view

Figure3: side view

This side view shows the stasis pod hatches opened, as part of the story before the ship crashes the pilot managed to get the pods ejected before impact.

Figure4: back view

I wanted the design to be fairly fluid and not so strict with having a perfectly formed body, more noticeable in the tail of the ship.  I also wanted to have the wings face forward rather than back as I think it provides more dynamics to the ship.  It gives it attitude.

Figure5: ship in 3D

 The front of the ship, though looking like a dolphin or duck face was meant to be the control room.  The small eliptical impressions on the surface were the glass canopy and the 'mouth' was another glass area that housed the captains quarters.

Figure6: hatches open

Figure7: the ships grin

In figure 7 the ship totally looks like it is grinning,  not what I intended but it did the job.

Figure8: The crashed ship

Week4 Bunker

Over the last few sessions we have been using multiple images to create scenes.  We have been UV unwrapping these and applying these through Photoshop. We have saved a colour and a bump version of each image, Ill explain more about why later.

Unfortunately I had to restart this project because I didn't set it correctly, So take two, at least I had all the reference images though.

Figure1: Source images

 We used only a few of these images, which were a bit on the low side of quality.

Figure2: Corner of bunker

Last lesson we used the images to create the floor walls and boxes, Looking back I realised i haven't textured the concrete that the boiler sits on, something for another day.

Figure3: Showing the texture on Boiler

We created a bump version of each of our colour ones, this simply meant that we turned the coloured ones to black and white with the process being that when we placed them in Maya it would pick the tones as layers creating a bit of basic texture. White lines would slightly protrude and Black ones would recede in.

Figure4: Corner of Bunker

This simple texturing method that we have been using is not too bad but as you get in closer you noticed that I had the bump scale up too high. (-.200)  so a few plays would sort this issue out.

Figure5: Texture of objects

Figure6: the fuse-box

 I missed the part where we did the fuse-box as I was sorting out the bump on one of my images.  So I created my own fuse-box, using the skills learnt previously.  This took a few goes to get correct especially when I UV unwrapped this object.  I had to do it as two separate objects, the box and the door.  I used Photoshop to join some of the source images together to get a unique look.

Figure7: The bunker

Week4 T-shirt

This week following on from the poncho we created a t-shirt and did a quick jump animation looking at how clothes sit and fall on the character.  We used a new pre rigged model.

Figure1: Pre-Rigged model

 Unfortunately I played around with the character to see the movements that i could do and I forgot to set him back to default stance so when i modeled my clothes and animated him he was slightly skewed which didn't help matters any.

Figure2: Playing with movement

It was here that I first went wrong by not correctly going back to default with my character. He had a slight twist in his body which progressively got worse as i went on in this project.

Figure3: duplication of model

 In figure3 we duplicated the model and selected the area of the t-shirt by deleting a band around the areas of his arms, waist and neck.  Then we separated the character and deleted everything but the shirt.

Figure4: T-shirt back on character

After that we changed the colour of the shirt area, so when we placed it back onto the character we could see if it sat right and also could see if any parts were poking through.

Figure5: Shirt

 Here is were it was more noticeable that my character was a bit skewed, his nipples poked through his shirt.

Figure6: sleeves

 His arms also overlapped with his skin so adding some edge loops around the cuffs and giving them a bit more volume helped to keep the clothes attached to his body correctly.

Figure7: The oops jump animation

 As I mentioned earlier my model was incorrect at the start and got worse well, haha, when I was animating my jump cycle I couldn't get my character to leave the ground and only bend his knees.  This was after I realised that i had broken the rig on my model and Rachel had to fix him.  Even so his eyes were left behind as he dropped down and came back inside his head when he came back up. Morale of this lesson. Leave the rig alone.

Assignment1 3D animation

Eyes of Clay

Animation Proposal by John Mellor

Figure1: Jack Wilson

Logline:

Jack Wilson, an aspiring sculptor, creates a perfect artwork but at a great cost

Treatment

Jack is sitting down at a table in a workshop, trying to sculpt a face with a fast, air drying clay.  The workshop is a bit dusty and clay packets are strewn across the table. A few sketch books are also on the table with drawings of characters in them.  Jack has the base of the face sculpted and details of the face in place.  The head is scratched, ready for the hair to be attached.

 Jack is having trouble making the hair, after a few variations he gets really frustrated and slumps down in defeat. His hand rests upon a sketch book which he absentmindedly flicks through and seeing a medusa head stops and light bulb appears. He quickly creates a medusa head.  

Jack then paints the work a stone grey colour reflecting the nature of the gorgon race. Thinking that this is not enough he paints the eyes a reddish colour, as he paints the last part of the eye the eyes glow and widen turning jacks’ horrified figure to stone.

Jacks stone figure is exhibited in a gallery with lots of people clapping wowed by the realistic piece of artwork.

Research

For the visual style of this film I have been inspired by 2D animations and 3D films done in a 2D look. A number of films and games use this technique but some have a darker, grittier feel which is not the intended style for my animation. Some examples of this are: Appleseed (Anime), Angel Beats ep1. 19 min in (The Band scene), Berserk (movies), Howl's Moving Castle (The Castle is in 3D), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (anime), The Iron Giant (anime, the giant is in 3D), Valkyria Chronicles (anime), Black Rock Shooter (anime) and Full Metal alchemist Brotherhood ep25. 16 min in and 21min in. (Envy is in 3D)

These show a variety of styles but the following have been more influential in regards to intended style and character design. 

RWBY.

Created by Mounty Oum

RWBY has won a 2014 IAWTV award as best animated series and also has won two Streamy Awards; best Animated Series and best Original Score both in 2014. Mounty Oum has only recently passed away at the age of 33 after suffering a severe allergic reaction during a simple medical procedure that left him in a coma, from which he didn’t awaken.

 

Figure2: Ruby VS werewolves

RWBY is stylistically similar to what I would like my animation to look like.    The colour scheme is really well portrayed in this series; the characters are strong and vibrant and the background scenes as well as other characters are just simple silhouettes. The Grimm in RWBY are silhouettes, with minimal colours.

 

Figure3: RWBY extras

The extra characters in RWBY are very basic, plain greys enhance the main characters and focuses the attention on them.

Figure4: Ruby's hood

Ruby with her red hood.  The hood which I have taken and used in my own design, though Ruby’s hood is in the form of her cape and mine is in the fashion of a hoodie.

Ruby and the rest of the RWBY characters have very basic face shapes.  Their emotions are seen throughout the series especially in action shots such as in figure 5 above.

Figure6: circle of blood

The story behind RWBY takes place in the world of Remnant, which is filled with supernatural forces and shadowy creatures known as the Grimm. Prior to the events of the series, mankind waged a battle of survival against the Grimm before discovering the power of a mysterious element called Dust, which allowed them to fight back against the monsters. In the present day, Dust is used to power magical abilities and weapons. Those who use these abilities to battle the Grimm are known as Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Figure7: Concept art of RWBY

The series focuses on four girls, each with their own unique weapon and powers. Together, they form a team at Beacon Academy in the city of Vale, where they are trained to become Huntresses.  The name RWBY comes from the first letter of each of the four girls names; Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang.

 

 

Figure8:  Team RWBY

Probably one of the best things that I like in this series is the humour, something that I’d like my animation to have.  You can see the trailer of RWBY at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE-zt1K560U

Sanzoku no Musume Ronja

Studio Ghibli are the creators of this TV series, an adaptation of a book by Astrid Lindgren. “Sanzoku no Musume Ronja”, or “Ronja the Robber’s Daughter”.  It is a coproduction with 3DCG studio Polygon Pictures (known for animating some of Ghost in the Shell, among others), directed by Goro Miyazaki.

Figure9: Ronja the Robbers Daughter

While I will not be having amazingly detailed backgrounds as seen above, the very simple design of the character is pushed forward by this.

Figure10: Clean lines of characters

The actions of the characters are very fluid and very believable.

 

Figure11: Ronja with bow

Characters are all in 3D made to look like 2D.  The environments are a combination of 3D and mattes.

Figure12:  Drawings of a child Ronja

The story is of a little girl named Ronja, the daughter of a colourful robber chieftain who lives in a castle high on a rock in a dark pine forest. She gets to know the creatures of the forest, meets another kid like herself, and questions her father’s life of robbery.  The above picture shows an initial sketch of the baby Ronja.  It is this ‘chubby cheek’ look that I will bring into my animation. You can see the trailer of Ronja the Robbers Daughter at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taVjOeA4o3g

 

Child of light

Child of light is a PC game produced by Patrick Plourde of Ubisoft Montreal Studios. It is an RPG inspired by fairy tales. This game also has amazing matte backgrounds and colour, just as Ronja the Robbers Daughter.  Child of light follows the female character Aurora a princess who is in a deep sleep and explores the mystical land of Lemuria in an attempt to get back to her father.  She encounters other creatures, from spirits of the forest to talking mice to wicked witches and evil sea serpents.

 

Figure13: Child of Light

Child of Light is another example of 3D characters made to look like 2D.

Figure14: Hand painted storyboards

The way the game is played is in a 2D ‘sidescroller’ with the story being told as though it is from a storybook. This goes really well with the way in which the game is drawn, by hand.

Figure15: The dark woods of Lemuria

The Backgrounds and characters while sometimes appear almost murky due to the watercolour approach have defining black outlines.

 

Figure16: Chosen for colour palette

Figure17: Screenshot from game

I’m not entirely sure if I like the style or the character design more, but I believe that the story would not have worked so well without the other.  I do however enjoy in the trailer for Child of Light the way in which the layers are used to create z-depth. There is a warm innocent style to the work which ties in nicely with a more family orientated audience.

You can also see this in the way the story is told, the narration of the first 10 min (roughly) which uses a children’s poem. You can see the trailer for Child of light at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpqTiwfzqdo

Main Character Influences

A major factor is that my character needs to match the tone of the story. The animation that I am making is a family comedy and so my character has to be able to perform unrealistic actions and not look ridiculous doing it.  My character is roughly 3 heads high and is disproportioned, which adds to the comedic effect.   However I have drawn inspiration from a variety of different sources that don’t necessarily show this exact style.

Brave

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse after she makes a reckless choice. 

Figure18: Title of Brave

Set in Scotland in a rugged and mythical time, "Brave" features Merida, an aspiring archer and impetuous daughter of royalty.

Figure19: Terrible trio

It is the naughty but charming nature of this chubby cheeked trio that are one of the major sources of inspiration.  The faces of the characters drew you in through their personality and diminutive style.  These characters have oversized heads which match my own character’s style.

Figure20: Merida

I really like the colours in this image, the character stands out against the muted and pushed back background, and this is something that I could use when showing z-depth in my animation. You can see the trailer for brave at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M

Legend of Secret Pass

A 2010 animated film about a young boy’s journey as he fulfils the legend of secret pass as its guardian.  The 'Legend of Secret Pass' takes place in the mountains of the South West and involves Thunderbirds of Indian mythology and an animal refuge of mystical proportions. An unlikely troop of animals and humans are caught up in a clash of ageless magic. In this moment of crisis, the barest chance to avoid cataclysm falls into the hands of an Indian boy, Manu, the hero of the story.

Figure21: The Legend of Secret Pass

 

Figure22:  Close up of Manu

I really like the circular face, the base shape for my character.  I think that this shape is great for portraying emotions and it lends to the personality of the character. (Spoiler Alert) Manu can change into a thunderbird once he learned how and this transformation becomes much of his personality as his human form.

Figure23: the round face of Manu

Figure24: Spirit Mountain

The colour palette for this film works really well in depicting the different areas, such as the mountain in the scene below.

Figure25: The quirky lamb from Secret Pass

The characters and animals in this film are really funny. The lamb is particularly energetic which creates a good dialogue between the characters and contrasts with the sourly nature of the lizard. You can see the trailer for The Legend of Secret Pass at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPUJy2DYRZw

Environment

The setting of my story revolves around a work area where Jack Wilson can create his artwork.  Below are a few examples of work stations, influenced by light and texture.

Figure26: workshop environment

This is quite an immaculate work area and I was looking more at the natural light from the outside.

Figure27: Studio environment

The wooden floor and the wooden desks is a bit too much, the grungy floor is probably the redeeming factor.  This ties into my project as with this type of grungy or muted background style, will push my character forward in z-depth.

 

Figure28: Lighting for environment

This is another style but rather than the grungy look this is very clean.  It is more the light source that I was interested in.  My environment is in a classroom with large windows on two of its walls.

Medusa Story

My animation uses the age old fable of Medusa, in a contemporary way.  As with legends there are many versions of Medusa, so I have taken the basic denominators of the stories and used this as my basis for the medusa in my animation.  Medusa is a gorgon, a woman that had been cursed by the goddess Athena for making love to a man who was not her husband. Her hair was turned into a mass of writhing snakes; all who looked upon her and met her gaze were turned to stone.  There are so many examples of this legend that picking images to reference was pretty easy.  

 

Figure29: Medusa character

This image shows quite a stylised and cartoony Medusa which gives her an almost likeable charm.  I was more drawn to the eyes of this medusa, which like my character are very expressive and large.

 

Figure30: Medusa and optometrist

This is my favourite Medusa image.  I just love the irony in the posture and the composition of an optometrist working on a Medusa character.  The nose cracking shows the rock texture off well and this is something that I may use in my animation.

 

Figure31: Medusa head

Figure32: Medusa sketch

The above two images are a really good reference regarding how my medusas eyes could light up and they are both in a head (bust) position which is how my gorgon will be positioned.  They also show very definitive snakes whereas some of the other images that I have referenced are blurry and more stylised.

Storyboards