Though compare to body mechanical I’m more interested in other aspects of a 3d animation such as concept design, environment animating, texturing and VFX, it is still nice to have the basic knowledge about body mechanicals.
Points about body mechanicals:
I think have an understanding about physical limitations, anatomy, and principles of motion is very important when it comes to the creation of convincing and natural animation.
Personally, I think 3d animating has more limitation compare to 2d animation, which made traditional 2D animation look more interesting. I think that is perhaps why most people in the industry nowadays choose to make it blend more with vfx and 2d animated effects. Maybe in the future as the development of 3D software there will be more possibility in 3D animation.
Retopology if the process of creating a new and clean topology for a 3D model which allow the mesh to perform in lower polygon count while preserving the overall shape and details. Also with lower polygon is easier to do the UV unwrapping.
I prefer to use Maya for retopology. Normally, I define the major edgy loop and connect them all together. In the end, I use smooth to smooth the topology. Also it is necessary to check if there’s any bad topology in the end.
▶UV and texturing
▶MOODBOARD FOR TEXTURING
I think about crystal when I was texturing the character. I want to have a similar visual on the character.
At this stage, I proceed to refine the features of the character and start with the sculpting of the body.
I did two variations of the character and choose the last one in the end as my final design for this work. I think the first outcome looks too cyberpunk, the second one fits in better with the fantasy background I want to have for this project.
Blocking plus in 3d animation is the stage that follows the first blocking stage. After finishing the key poses in the initial blocking stage, by doing blocking plus will help with the accuracy of the animation. Generally speaking, blocking plus is a process which includes more detail and subtle movements.
I review my blocking first then refine the key poses. I went to each key poses and refine each of them. It is necessary to pay attention to the shape and proportions of the poses. After the blocking plus, the animation looks more polished.
I try to pay attention to the timing between poses, just so I can be sure that the animation feels more natural.
This week I prepared my foliage cards in Maya. First I create a new plan and apply the texture. Then I separate each foliage and position the plan. Also I need to duplicate each card to create a larger quantity of foliage so they appear more appealing.
▶Fern
▶Flower
▶Branch
▶Character
Blocking face
I start blocking the feature of this character’s face at this stage. Like foliage sculpting, I use brushes like Clay Buildup mostly to build the major forms of the feature. Because I want to make a stylized character, it is necessary for me to focus on the balance of the overall proportions.
Blocking starts with creating key poses/keyframes following my previous reference and sketch. These poses is the key poses that define the main positions and actions in my practice. By doing block with rough poses will give a good control over the animation I’m gonna do.
For this project, I want to every assests myself. which means I want to go through every process…
Notes on creating rock in ZBrush:
First use clip curve to shape a cube into rock. One of the golden rules of sculpting rocks is to make sure that there is a sense of non-uniformaity.
▶Foliage reference list:
bristlecone pine southern live oak
•Some Shrubs for Shade. Boxwoods. Yews. Rhododendrons. …
•Some Perennials for Shade. Lady’s Mantle. Astilbe. Ligularia. …
•Bulbs to Plant in Shade. Daffodils. Snowdrops. Crocus.
•Ground Covers for Heavy Shade. Ajuga or Bugle Weed. Silver or Yellow Archangel
REFERENCE:
▶Sculpting in ZBrush
I sculpted every foliage asset in Zbrush. For more complicated shape like branches I start by creating a base mesh using a zsphere tools. For small asset such as leaf and flower I usually star with a sphere or a cube. Because I have a reference it work as a guide for me during the sculpting process. Then I use sculpting brushes like Clay Buildup, Move and Dam Standard shape the base mesh and add more detail, giving the mesh the desired look.
Baking is the process where the information from a high poly mesh is transferred to a lower poly mesh. In this way, it saves a lot resources when place the mesh in the engine. Normally, there 4 types of maps being bakes. There are normal map, ambient occlusion map, roughness map and colour map. Normal map captures the high resolution details which allow the low poly model to appear with more detail without high polygon counts. Ambient occlusion maps are used to simulate the shadowing effects caused by indirect lighting.
Baking in 3D refers to a process where the information from one object or surface is transferred or “baked” onto another object or surface. It involves capturing various attributes such as colors, textures, lighting, or other details from a high-resolution object and transferring them onto a low-resolution object or a texture map.
A girl pretending to do a cactus reference for an animation about a moving plants. She sits on the chair and trying to stay balance.
personality: positive, extrovert
Reference & Sketch
I use my old record from three years ago as an reference for the animating reference.
Doing sketches is very helpful when it comes to animating.
It is important to use reference to create a storyboard or animatic for a 3d animated video. Breaking down the key actions, poses and timing of my animation is like a guide for me to animate.
For this project, I decided to make a short demo in different render engines(such as redshift/unreal engine/cycle) around an original worldview of my own. The story revolves around the encounter between two different creatures in fantasy world. I want to show the moment when they connect to each other. That is why I name it Sincerely for You.
▶Storyboard:
This project is not going to be too much character animation. It is more about building an atmosphere, so I will probably focus more on the special effect for the environment. I will still rig the character because I want the character to do a suitable pose for the set.
▶Research:
For the art style, I get my inspiration from The Southern Reach Trilogy. The story has a very detailed description of the decay of man-made architecture and the growth of nature. It is very close to the atmosphere I want.
▶Milestones:
What are the challenges?
This is the first time I’m going to rig a character and render the project in a new engine such as redshift/unreal engine/cycle(blender), and there are a lot of new things to learn.
What to do next?
Next, I will finish sculpting the model and do the retopology and texture.
Also, I will process the environment following the layout I have. I need to do around the process as I do for the character, which is to sculpt first and then bake it for the texture. Then finally, move it to the engine to render.
