I started animating the character on wednesday. And worked on it until saturday. But today when i woke up and was supposed to finish the animation, i found that the file had been deleted!
So basicly i spent the day making a simpler and shorter animation.
The original was going to be the character walking very cocky. And pointing out as if to a crowd. Then he was supposed to flick his collar "cantona-style" and kick a football with extreme anticiation. Then he was supposed to flinch as if he heard some noise, and then turn around and gestigulate with his arms like footballers do when the referee has given them the whistle and they disagree, so they shrug their shoulders a lot and point with both arms to themself and stuff around.
Anyway.. the animation turned out good. But somehow i deleted the animation or some file... i dont know.
There isnt much to say about this last one i made though. I tried to focus on the timing, but i could have the running away bit in the end a bit faster. it looks like he isnt moving quite fast enough. Had some problems with the feet. The knees seem to suddnly pop out in the wrong direction.
And i wish i had made the strut walk more exagerated. He could be leaning back even more and the movement could be tweaked a bit.
Also the transformation between ball-in-face and sad turn around doesnt feel right. something wrong that i cant put my finger on. Maybe if he moved a bit faster as he turns? i dunno..
I figured out how to control the curves in the graph editor better and im cutting down on stupid mistakes.
Again im happy with the result. Though it could have been way better if only i didnt delete it!!
But what the hell i got good practise from it, so next time will be even better!
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Weight lifting character
The assignment was to animate a character lifting an object, and to make the object appear heavy.
While thinking of what key poses to use, what pace to aim for etc... i gave the 3d character a "thinking hard" pose to start off from. I thought it would be a good starting point to show character righ away.
I didnt care for originality in this one. I figured i would instead make him do a very standard procedure of lifting the thing, and focus on getting the animation itself really good.
I thought about the different steps of the action.
1: look scepticly at the thing. This would illustrate that he is thinking about how he should do it. Or if it is at all possible.
2: Show that he is ready with some handmovement like, rubbing hands, retracting sleeves or spit in hands then rub... I think this is also good for anticipation.
3: Engage the object in a swift move and then go straight into main pose (lifting).
4: The lifting. I figured he should give it a couple of tries. And have the main lift pose be a bit more exaggerated. Also spiced with some anticipation to show that THIS is it.
5: The overlapping of the lift. I basicly wanted him to do that thing where when you lift something to a certain point, the object kind of drops onto your lap... if that makes sense?
I started animating using character set in maya. I didnt like it.
And since i havent really tried that before, im sure i must have done every possible mistake to make it harder for myself.
I guess it takes practice, so ill probably try it again, but the thing i dont like about animating from key poses and then gradually filling in the inbetweens, is that you sort of keyframe the whole body... which makes it harder to go back and change the movements (graph editor) and secondary animation like arms, fingers, the head etc. in other words the good parts:P
I like to picture the animation in my head and then start animating the innermost "limb" and work my way out to the outer ones. meaning from torso to toes/ fingers:P
Anyway, i got so frustrated with the mess i made using key poses/ key frames, that i figured i might as well start the whole shebang over again and work one limb, one axis at a time...
I noticed right away how much better off i was. And doing it this way kept my graph editor nice and neat.
If one thing more than the others, i tried to get the timing good and varied. Especially with grabbing the object. That needed to be fast. To show that theres serious manpower needed for this action, but also to contrast from the struggling of the lift, which will be slow.
Here is the final animation:
Im actually pleased with both the poses and the timing. The best ive done so far.
But of course they could have been better.
I should have gone even extremer on the most importatnt poses (the anticipating grab, the lift itself and the very last bit where he balances the object).
And the "sumo steps" in the beginning could look more stomping. He seems too much relaxed.
The struggling of lifting the box could have been more characteristic. He just bobs back and forth for a bit. I should have had one try first, then a pause, then maybe two or three quick jerks. And then the anticipated main lift with, like i said, a strong and exaggerated pose.
I tried to position the camera so that it would capture as much of the poses as possible. But i didnt realise i should animate TO the camera. That is a thing im definately going to get better on the next one.
But apart from those things im happy with it.
While thinking of what key poses to use, what pace to aim for etc... i gave the 3d character a "thinking hard" pose to start off from. I thought it would be a good starting point to show character righ away.
I didnt care for originality in this one. I figured i would instead make him do a very standard procedure of lifting the thing, and focus on getting the animation itself really good.
I thought about the different steps of the action.
1: look scepticly at the thing. This would illustrate that he is thinking about how he should do it. Or if it is at all possible.
2: Show that he is ready with some handmovement like, rubbing hands, retracting sleeves or spit in hands then rub... I think this is also good for anticipation.
3: Engage the object in a swift move and then go straight into main pose (lifting).
4: The lifting. I figured he should give it a couple of tries. And have the main lift pose be a bit more exaggerated. Also spiced with some anticipation to show that THIS is it.
5: The overlapping of the lift. I basicly wanted him to do that thing where when you lift something to a certain point, the object kind of drops onto your lap... if that makes sense?
I started animating using character set in maya. I didnt like it.
And since i havent really tried that before, im sure i must have done every possible mistake to make it harder for myself.
I guess it takes practice, so ill probably try it again, but the thing i dont like about animating from key poses and then gradually filling in the inbetweens, is that you sort of keyframe the whole body... which makes it harder to go back and change the movements (graph editor) and secondary animation like arms, fingers, the head etc. in other words the good parts:P
I like to picture the animation in my head and then start animating the innermost "limb" and work my way out to the outer ones. meaning from torso to toes/ fingers:P
Anyway, i got so frustrated with the mess i made using key poses/ key frames, that i figured i might as well start the whole shebang over again and work one limb, one axis at a time...
I noticed right away how much better off i was. And doing it this way kept my graph editor nice and neat.
If one thing more than the others, i tried to get the timing good and varied. Especially with grabbing the object. That needed to be fast. To show that theres serious manpower needed for this action, but also to contrast from the struggling of the lift, which will be slow.
Here is the final animation:
Im actually pleased with both the poses and the timing. The best ive done so far.
But of course they could have been better.
I should have gone even extremer on the most importatnt poses (the anticipating grab, the lift itself and the very last bit where he balances the object).
And the "sumo steps" in the beginning could look more stomping. He seems too much relaxed.
The struggling of lifting the box could have been more characteristic. He just bobs back and forth for a bit. I should have had one try first, then a pause, then maybe two or three quick jerks. And then the anticipated main lift with, like i said, a strong and exaggerated pose.
I tried to position the camera so that it would capture as much of the poses as possible. But i didnt realise i should animate TO the camera. That is a thing im definately going to get better on the next one.
But apart from those things im happy with it.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
First walkcycle
Ok, i just did a walkcycle which i havent done in ages.
I chose to do it in 2d because i knew that would be one i would do worst:) I could probably spend 20min on a 3d rig, and make a pretty decent walk. But i think that a little bit of struggling would help me remember the mistakes along the process. If that makes sense:P
First i drew up a plane for the dude to walk on. And then a made 4 keyframes spread evenly across 12 frames. The keyframes only shows the guys head, torso and feet.
I then filled in the in-between frames to smothen the animation. Trying to keep in mind how the feet would react, which way they would go etc...
Then, i added hands. First on the keyframes, and followed the same process of adding inbetweens.
I tried to exaggerate the movements on both hands and feet.
The front hand seem to go too far out from the body, it looks tensed.
I added colors on one foot and one hand.
I think maybe i should have had a slower movement of the hands when they cross.
I chose to do it in 2d because i knew that would be one i would do worst:) I could probably spend 20min on a 3d rig, and make a pretty decent walk. But i think that a little bit of struggling would help me remember the mistakes along the process. If that makes sense:P
First i drew up a plane for the dude to walk on. And then a made 4 keyframes spread evenly across 12 frames. The keyframes only shows the guys head, torso and feet.
I then filled in the in-between frames to smothen the animation. Trying to keep in mind how the feet would react, which way they would go etc...
Then, i added hands. First on the keyframes, and followed the same process of adding inbetweens.
I tried to exaggerate the movements on both hands and feet.
The front hand seem to go too far out from the body, it looks tensed.
I added colors on one foot and one hand.
I think maybe i should have had a slower movement of the hands when they cross.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Back from summer vacation!!
Its good to be back in Faltown after a long, boring summer.
And now for something completely different,
here is my face :)
And now for something completely different,
here is my face :)
Friday, 12 June 2009
The final render
Well here it is. My final render of all the animations of my character required for our project.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Animating Dorothy
I figured out why my rig didnt work. It was simply a matter of freezing the transformation on some objects. So thankfully it was easily repaired.
Anyway, when the rig was finished i was ready to start animating, which i was really looking forward to. I think the animation itself if the most challenging as well as the best creative part of building a character.
In professional studios, i doubt that they have the same people modeling and rigging as animating.
Though i realy like that you kind of get the best bit last. And it gives you something to look forward to while doing boring ol´ modeling work:P
I started making simple walkcycles, wchich i would have been happy with, say 6months ago. But after looking at a LOT of animated movies and shorts to study techniques, i really wanted to make all my animations as good as possible (with the projects deadline in consideration).
Since this is my first ever proper animation production, i was very eager to make it look good.
With a coupe of different walk cycles in the box, i started adding the broom, the glass window etc.. wherever needed. And then made whatever animation needed for the scene or clip.
Here is an example of one of the animations. This is when Dorothy is sweeping the roof, and falls through the window shes standing on.
Whenever i make something that i am happy with, it always makes up for the time and efort spent on it. I feel that these animations ive made for this project (considering theyre the first proper ones ive ever made) are what i was looking for. Not too much, and still "to the point".
I like them. and i am pleased with the result:)
Now we just have to patch all the different elements of the project together to make the final cut.
Anyway, when the rig was finished i was ready to start animating, which i was really looking forward to. I think the animation itself if the most challenging as well as the best creative part of building a character.
In professional studios, i doubt that they have the same people modeling and rigging as animating.
Though i realy like that you kind of get the best bit last. And it gives you something to look forward to while doing boring ol´ modeling work:P
I started making simple walkcycles, wchich i would have been happy with, say 6months ago. But after looking at a LOT of animated movies and shorts to study techniques, i really wanted to make all my animations as good as possible (with the projects deadline in consideration).
Since this is my first ever proper animation production, i was very eager to make it look good.
With a coupe of different walk cycles in the box, i started adding the broom, the glass window etc.. wherever needed. And then made whatever animation needed for the scene or clip.
Here is an example of one of the animations. This is when Dorothy is sweeping the roof, and falls through the window shes standing on.
Whenever i make something that i am happy with, it always makes up for the time and efort spent on it. I feel that these animations ive made for this project (considering theyre the first proper ones ive ever made) are what i was looking for. Not too much, and still "to the point".
I like them. and i am pleased with the result:)
Now we just have to patch all the different elements of the project together to make the final cut.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Rigging Dorothy
I dont really have any experience with chracter rigging, so i saw this as a way to push myself to learn it properly. Which is the case for all the other parts of making this character.
I know its kind of cheating, but for this ive used tutorial videos on how to set up a proper character rig. I decided to follow every step of it even though i probably wont need all the joints and handles etc. But i figured at least ill know how to make a proper rig.
This rig is more than we need, and its complexity has presented me with various problems that i am having a hard time fixing.
First of all, when i try to bind the mesh to the rig, it flips out and the bodyparts doesnt stick to the rig. Well some of them do, but other parts just sort of fly off. And this is a big problem for me as i am running out of time. This weekend was supposed to be when we made a proper test of everything that has to come together in post production. And with only 3 weeks left, we really need to get some clips processed and put into the post production machine called Jackson.
Anyway, back to the rig.
The purpose was, like i said, for me to learn how to make character rigs. I definately got the basics memorized. But there are alot of different constraints between objects, joint etc. and it is just impossible to remember all of them.
But if i can't figure out my problem by the end of the night, i am going to have to spend yet another day on this character just to get the rig right. Or maybe ill just build a new, simpler one...
I actually managed to rig the head up perfectly. I can control the jaw and eyes. And ive even created blendshapes for the face. Sublte expressions that might come in handy.
We probably wont need all the rigging for the face, (like the jaw opening and being able to rotate in z and y(?!)) but it was way easier than the rest of the body and didnt take very long.
And its better to be safe than sorry anyway!
Despite the errors and the exhaustingly long time this process takes, i really am glad i know so much more now.
And after a few adjustments (or even a totally new rig) i will be ready to start the most fun part of this project... the animating!
I know its kind of cheating, but for this ive used tutorial videos on how to set up a proper character rig. I decided to follow every step of it even though i probably wont need all the joints and handles etc. But i figured at least ill know how to make a proper rig.
This rig is more than we need, and its complexity has presented me with various problems that i am having a hard time fixing.
First of all, when i try to bind the mesh to the rig, it flips out and the bodyparts doesnt stick to the rig. Well some of them do, but other parts just sort of fly off. And this is a big problem for me as i am running out of time. This weekend was supposed to be when we made a proper test of everything that has to come together in post production. And with only 3 weeks left, we really need to get some clips processed and put into the post production machine called Jackson.
Anyway, back to the rig.
The purpose was, like i said, for me to learn how to make character rigs. I definately got the basics memorized. But there are alot of different constraints between objects, joint etc. and it is just impossible to remember all of them.
But if i can't figure out my problem by the end of the night, i am going to have to spend yet another day on this character just to get the rig right. Or maybe ill just build a new, simpler one...
I actually managed to rig the head up perfectly. I can control the jaw and eyes. And ive even created blendshapes for the face. Sublte expressions that might come in handy.
We probably wont need all the rigging for the face, (like the jaw opening and being able to rotate in z and y(?!)) but it was way easier than the rest of the body and didnt take very long.
And its better to be safe than sorry anyway!
Despite the errors and the exhaustingly long time this process takes, i really am glad i know so much more now.
And after a few adjustments (or even a totally new rig) i will be ready to start the most fun part of this project... the animating!
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