For the second character, I want to do something whimsical that looks totally not from the world. In this way I can present the connection between two different species.
I made a moodboard first as usual then sketch the character. With the design and moodboard, I have a guide for the next few process(texturing, scuplting etc). I used ZBrush to sculpt the high poly model and then move it to maya to do the retopology and UV. Finally, I set up camera and scene in Blender.
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.
From past weeks of learning, I really gained a lot understanding about rigging.
I learned that Rigging is composed of three parts: geometry, curves, and joints. Geometry is controlled by joints. Joints are controlled by Controllers. Organization in Rigging is essential. Something that’s named wrongly, something that’s not properly aligned, or something that’s not in the right place all of those things will break the rig.
Introduction:use different constrain to rig the mechanical arm.
Use aim constrain to create control between locator and the pipe.(1) Then use point constrain to create the popping animation between the pipes. At last, create parent constrain between the top axis and top locator(2)
Nick went through what he taught last term this class, which is animating with Set Driven Key. It is a relatively new way for me to animate, but I think it is very useful in lots of situations. It’s very clean and not so hard to set up. Use Set Driven Key can be a very nice workflow when comes to animating.
aim constrain—-control the rotation
point constrain—-control the translation
parent constrain—both the translation and rotation
1.Place the locator (Nick’s explanation)
(2)(Nick’s explanation)
tip1: holding ctrl while mouth right click=extra bar
Creating the characters was quite challenging because it was hard to achieve the characteristic we wanted initially. Because we have sculptures as main characters, the model initially didn’t look cartoonish enough. So I exported the model to different software and played with the decimation setting to find the ideal amount of polygons we needed. After getting the suitable polygons, I modified the model’s shape to make them look alive.
This I worked on both the virtual classroom model and concept for the character.
Approximate design: Half-minute realistic scene (3D): Shot 1-Shot 2 scene shots: about 8-16 seconds to show the sketch classroom scene.
Shot 3: Scan the drawings (about 3) (illustrated by 2d animator)
Rough shot3 ideas
Shot 4: Switching angles to show drawings being scanned and zooming in. Lens 5: The painting changes from 3D to 2D (because it is scanned). Lens 6: Zoom out to show the virtual scene. Shot 7-8: Change the camera to show 2D virtual studio. Shot 9: Plaster sculptures are discussing about drawings.
For personalized design of plaster, 2D designer can refer to these following ideas: (For example, when David speaks, he compares the student’s works with his creator Michelangelo’s. Maybe adding the Italian hand gesture to the chatting bubbles)
Face animation: The animation should be about one and a half minutes. There are 3-4 plaster casts. Current plaster candidates: David, Voltaire, The unknown lady, Venus, eyes, mouth, nose(lying on the side).
Possible interactions: Make headless sculptures hold someone else’s head. or: David argues with his own eye. or: There are pencil marks on the face of the sculpture. The eraser kicks away the naughty pen, and erases the mark. or: The unknow lady rolls her eyes.
