Just a very short post today to show the first video of my new quadruped animation.
The first video is a reminder of what I want my animation to look like...
And here is the first stage of blocking...
28 October 2012
26 October 2012
HDR Image Test
For a while now I've been looking into purchasing a digital SLR camera and have been researching the specs of all the Canon's that are always talked about; 650D, 7D and 5D MK II and III.
One thing I really want to do with the DSLR is take HDR images. So yesterday I borrowed a friends camera and took these three photos, however I forgot to shoot in RAW and use a tripod!..
Using an image compiling software, the photos were automatically aligned and blended together.
I'm going to try again with tripod and shooting in RAW soon and will hopefully have an even better result.
Soundtrack: John Scofield - I Brake 4 Monster Booty
One thing I really want to do with the DSLR is take HDR images. So yesterday I borrowed a friends camera and took these three photos, however I forgot to shoot in RAW and use a tripod!..
 |
| High Exposure |
 |
| Mid Exposure |
 |
| Low Exposure |
Using an image compiling software, the photos were automatically aligned and blended together.
 |
| HDR result |
I'm going to try again with tripod and shooting in RAW soon and will hopefully have an even better result.
Soundtrack: John Scofield - I Brake 4 Monster Booty
16 October 2012
AM Masterclass Assignment 3
I've had a brilliant third week on the A&C program! Starting with Brian Mendenhall's lecture on Advanced Quadruped Walks, which was epic and then I was really inspired by my peers working on this assignment. After seeing how detailed some students have been planning and sketching their assignment, the first thing I decided to do was step my game up with my planning and sketching.
One part of this weeks assignment was to plan a 4-6 second quadruped animation piece that I will be working on over the next 4 weeks. I've planned something really simple to look at, but has plenty of animation to think about. Here is the sketch I made to plan, analyse and note the important parts of this upcoming piece.
The reference I found and cut together videos clips that really shows a lot of the mechanics and the small intricacies that I will be adding at the polishing stage, such as ear flicks, tongue licks and breathing. So I think it's going to be very helpful now and during the production. Here is my Quadruped Walk Cycle revision. It's still not great, but I think it passes and I know that the next time it will be even better because I have learnt SO much from doing this one: The feedback this week from Leigh was really indepth...
- Ear flicks will happen when they hear something, they tune in the sound. Or it can happen when they want to flick away bugs.
- You can feel the weight from the shudder when the tiger stops.
- Communicating through body language; think about eye, (but can be broken down to...) head, shoulder and hip direction, where they are all focused on an object, but when something happens else where, one can stay focused on the object while the other turns or looks away. Each part amounts to how much attention the character is giving to the object.
- It can be one thing if a Lion looks at you, but if he puts his foot down in your direction you know he's going to come for you.
- Get into the habit of including the cadence of the piece and time out beats so that you're aware of how many frames you'll be using and how long an action will take.
- Pick out/find a moment in each shot that speaks louder than everything else in the shot. That will keep the audience interested and coming back for more! In this piece, sell the moment where he stops and stomps his foot down and looks around.
- The roll of the feet in the revision still isn't quite working and needs some attention and the scapula is punching a little bit high.
- I could losen the jaw a little bit to look like he's breathing.
- The toes could be spread further as the paws land.
Animal joke of the week:
I really should be animating cows, because they are the only animal that go to the moovies!
Thanks for reading this week and as always feel free to leave me comments!
Adiós!!
Soundtrack: Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Induku Zethu
One part of this weeks assignment was to plan a 4-6 second quadruped animation piece that I will be working on over the next 4 weeks. I've planned something really simple to look at, but has plenty of animation to think about. Here is the sketch I made to plan, analyse and note the important parts of this upcoming piece.
The reference I found and cut together videos clips that really shows a lot of the mechanics and the small intricacies that I will be adding at the polishing stage, such as ear flicks, tongue licks and breathing. So I think it's going to be very helpful now and during the production. Here is my Quadruped Walk Cycle revision. It's still not great, but I think it passes and I know that the next time it will be even better because I have learnt SO much from doing this one: The feedback this week from Leigh was really indepth...
- Ear flicks will happen when they hear something, they tune in the sound. Or it can happen when they want to flick away bugs.
- You can feel the weight from the shudder when the tiger stops.
- Communicating through body language; think about eye, (but can be broken down to...) head, shoulder and hip direction, where they are all focused on an object, but when something happens else where, one can stay focused on the object while the other turns or looks away. Each part amounts to how much attention the character is giving to the object.
- It can be one thing if a Lion looks at you, but if he puts his foot down in your direction you know he's going to come for you.
- Get into the habit of including the cadence of the piece and time out beats so that you're aware of how many frames you'll be using and how long an action will take.
- Pick out/find a moment in each shot that speaks louder than everything else in the shot. That will keep the audience interested and coming back for more! In this piece, sell the moment where he stops and stomps his foot down and looks around.
- The roll of the feet in the revision still isn't quite working and needs some attention and the scapula is punching a little bit high.
- I could losen the jaw a little bit to look like he's breathing.
- The toes could be spread further as the paws land.
Animal joke of the week:
I really should be animating cows, because they are the only animal that go to the moovies!
Thanks for reading this week and as always feel free to leave me comments!
Adiós!!
Soundtrack: Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Induku Zethu
14 October 2012
Animal Locomotion: 10 Marvelous Means of Movement
Via WebEcoist.com
"Locomotion is a fascinating thing. Though we typically only think about swimming, walking or flying, there are over 30 different documented types of animal locomotion. From slithering snakes to rolling armadillos to moon-walking inch worms, check out these strange and fascinating facts about animal movement."
10 October 2012
AM Masterclass Assignment 2
My second assignment was really fun and interesting to do. I had to block out a vanilla walk cycle - an exercise to get a better understanding of the quadruped body mechanics. A vanilla walk is a term used to describe a walk exercise that explores the body mechanics without personality. They don't have to be on a treadmill, so next time i'd like to attempt animating a vanilla walk through space. After the first two attempts didn't go very well, the third time I found a workflow that worked for me.
I got an A- grade for this assignment, which i'm very happy with, but there are a few places that could make it better:
1) Move the scapula forward and backwards with the arms,
2) Lift the paw so that it flicks of first, then the wrist/palm, instead of breaking the wrist first,
3) The shape on the back paws needs to be pushed further in the flick off on f1,
4) The bend of the back right paw on f9 should only appear when the foot has landed,
5) Roll the front paw from the outside (in Z axis) as it places down on the ground.
In the planning and sketching stage, I hadn't quite grasped the pattern of the foot fall, as you can see in my first drawings...
Once I saw the problem I checked my reference videos over and over again and then sketched the walk cycle once again, this time leaving out the details of the body and just focusing on understanding the foot fall pattern. I left out some poses at the end because I felt confident enough with what I had and I was dying to just get into Maya and start working! Plus i'm not a big fan of lots of drawing.
Now that i've blocked the walk cycle and got my feedback, i'm going to add another layer of detail and start polishing it.
Check back soon for more updates!
I got an A- grade for this assignment, which i'm very happy with, but there are a few places that could make it better:
1) Move the scapula forward and backwards with the arms,
2) Lift the paw so that it flicks of first, then the wrist/palm, instead of breaking the wrist first,
3) The shape on the back paws needs to be pushed further in the flick off on f1,
4) The bend of the back right paw on f9 should only appear when the foot has landed,
5) Roll the front paw from the outside (in Z axis) as it places down on the ground.
In the planning and sketching stage, I hadn't quite grasped the pattern of the foot fall, as you can see in my first drawings...
Once I saw the problem I checked my reference videos over and over again and then sketched the walk cycle once again, this time leaving out the details of the body and just focusing on understanding the foot fall pattern. I left out some poses at the end because I felt confident enough with what I had and I was dying to just get into Maya and start working! Plus i'm not a big fan of lots of drawing.
Now that i've blocked the walk cycle and got my feedback, i'm going to add another layer of detail and start polishing it.
Check back soon for more updates!
03 October 2012
AM Master Class Assignment 1
For my sketches I went to Whipsnade Zoo but for some reason most of the quadrupeds that I was interested in (Tiger and Cheetah) were very docile and I didn't really get to see much of their anatomy. On top of that the fences blocking my view and distances from me also hindered my ability to study their anatomy. However, the internet was there to save the day. When I got back home I found a lot more references I could use.
The feedback I got from this was to make notes to try to understand what I was going for and that the sketches don't have to be perfect. I have taken these points on board for future sketching and thumbnailing. I can't draw very well anyway so it's probably a better practice for me to make notes!
Feedback from Pose 1 - Unfold the back paws
First week on the course has been a blast! This week i'm animating a vanilla/lateral walk cycle with the Cat rig and at the moment i'm planning my poses in thumb nails. Check back next week for more updates.
Adiós!
Soundtrack: The Mars Volta - Eunuch Provocateur
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)