3D Character Animation 08

NAME: Joanne Teo (FAS00001OH)

PROJECT: Rigging & Animation Project (Summative)

DATE: 11/11/2015

CLASS: BAR06 3D Foundations

RATIONALE

Parodies are not a new invention but since the introduction of social media they have grown exponentially in popularity; there will hardly ever be a day without some mention of a meme that have become so integral in today’s pop culture conversations. That said, it’s easy to reimagine scenes from one medium to fit into the genre of another which is where Emelyn, a bright but struggling student trying to make ends meet by picking up the odd job here and there, comes in.

My development process included brainstorming different scenes to fit a genre shift and it wasn’t long before I settled for the iconic alien popping out of a person’s stomach and twisted it from a sci-fi horror into a dark comedy instead. I went through different ideas and peer consultations before settling on a girl jumping out of a cake prop, mostly due to the enthusiastic replies of my classmates.

I wasn’t aiming for realism when I designed Emelyn and was intent on using flat colours without any textures involved for a “doll” look but Keat suggested a texture for her clothes, skin, hair and even her bunny ears. UV texturing became a problem but the end result was rewarding although it did lend a bit of an uncanny feeling to the model which took a couple of days to warm up and get used to.

The coffin prop was a last minute addition as well as the cross on the wall, the former of which was a request from Keat. They added an extra appeal to the scene rather than the use of a flat 2D background. The coffin was originally roughly the same size as Emelyn but it kept disappearing behind the cake prop so I enlarged it until it was visible throughout the scene. It would be large enough to fit two Emelyn’s in there but in this case, artistic licensing was used to make the shots look nicer. I didn’t have enough time to include two flower pots so they were disregarded in the end for a higher priority.

I had originally planned to keep the animation as close to the storyboard as possible but consultations with Keat showed me a better way to go about animating certain scenes. I’d previously meant for the cake to shake before Emelyn jumps out of it but since the cake prop has a control for opening and closing, it looked better to make the lid rattle than to move the whole prop. This gave the scene a more appealing look and it allowed me to use the control on the cake to its full potential.

Her animation requires her to fling her arms out after she pops out of the cake and the original idea had her throw her arms upwards but I wanted her to spread her arms out horizontally in line to the cross on the wall behind her instead. I attempted this but the animation didn’t feel or look quite as appealing as what was drawn in the storyboard, and I also felt it might cross the line towards insensitive instead, considering that the setting is in a funeral home. This is the case where the original beats a different attempt. There was also a jump and settle of her body after she appears out of the cake which was a suggestion made by a peer. It gave her the look of stretching and bending her knees despite that the IK rigs on her legs were not used.

Lighting had its own difficulties to deal with but the inclusion of it made me reconsider the application of certain materials on the model. I changed the blinn texture meant to emulate silk and turned it into a lambert instead due to the plastic-look and unappealing way it shone under the spotlights. The matte appearance fitted better in the overall scene.

In regards to audio done in After Effects, I was only going to use the original audio from the chestburster scene but decided the silence leading up and after that felt too unnatural so I decided to use audio from freesounds.org to fill in the quiet parts with a murmur at the beginning followed the a rattle for the cake lid, the original audio mixed with a gasp and an outraged mumbling in the background. All in alI, I’m very happy with how the entire animation turned out in the end.

3D Character Animation 07

Week 8 - Day 4

I've done my editing! That is to say, I've added some audio to go with the video. It was pretty awkward at the beginning without any sound until we hit the chestburster audio but it was easily fixed with some crowd murmuring in the background mixed in with a gasp here and an outraged chatter there. Woohoo~ After Effects crashed every time I tried to render out a RAM version which sucked because I had to second-guess a lot of where the rattle had to go and I think I missed one little bit with the timing but the constant crashing kind of...got me frustrated. I fixed it as best as I could and on the whole, it's a pretty minor detail to pick up on unless you're like me and kind of pedantic and you know where to listen...Huehehehe...

My next post will include a rationale for this entire venture. My thanks to you for reading and keeping up with me on this 3D journey, and also my thanks to my classmates for their encouragements and their help, my thanks to freesound.org as well and also to Keat for putting up with my whining and complaining and my crying.

Yes, I was totally pathetic but the laughs I've had along the way have been pretty worth it. (I'm going to erase my breakdown in the middle of the classroom...banish it from my thoughts...FOREVER...)

<3

3D Character Animation 06

Week 8 - Day 2

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOOOOWWWWNNNN!!!

So, I started doing some lighting yesterday...and total, I've got 5 light sources. 1x volume light and 4x spotlights. I originally only had 2 spot lights pointing at the cake but then I forgot about her popping out of said cake and this was what those two spotlights made her look like after rendering.

Can you hear it? MY HORROR. Like, what the actual eff.

This is better with the addition of twp extra spotlights but the blinn material I gave her looks horrible! SUCH HORRIBLE. Makes her look plasticky...

So I changed it into a lambert instead. Yay~

I almost changed the material on her eyes as well but the shine of it looks good - makes it look like she's on the verge of tears of ABSOLUTE DESPAIR AND EMBARRASSMENT AND SHAME. I like it.

Okay...moving onto...alpha channels. DX I AM THE ALPHA.

...

...

After talking with Keat I found out I don't really need to render out the scene into three separate pieces. PHEW! That's easier for me. I'm happy with the overall look of it and I wasn't even sure what I could do with them in After Effects anyway...

Now...to find me some free sound!! I'm thinking of a quiet murmuring for the background, people gasping, and the original audio from the movie file. This is gonna be cray.

3D Character Animation 06

Week 7 - Day 4

So...I managed to, more or less, get the animation to how I want it, which means...I get to move onto lighting, compositing and rendering for next week!! We're coming to the final round and I will WIN. I WILL BE THE CHAMPION!!!

(And cry while I'm at it, but whatever, I'll still win.)

...

I've already made the necessary changes so if all goes well I could be finished as early as Tuesday and spend the last two days to refine it before the final submission on Thursday.

It's not actually due on Thursday but I like to give myself early deadlines (and unneeded stress) so if I ever come across a particular snag, I can fix it before it's due. Woohoo~

I'm not too fussed about the weirdness of her smile, mostly because I can't figure out which vertices is making her chin look like that and trust me when I say I've tried fixing it to the best of my abilities. This is as good as it'll get. It's very, very, extremely likely the chin is behaving that way because the two face geos are aligned one on top of the other and they're affecting each other in a bad way. Ain't good, man, but meh. I'll know what not to try doing next time and possibly either try a different method or just do it the hard way instead.

...

P.S - I bought some ice cream. It's actually not ice cream? It's more like...crunchy shaved ice with pieces of red bean and mini mochi pieces. Uh...it's not good, man. I am not buying it again.

You know how you buy ice cream and you eat it within...let's say, 5 minutes because that's pretty much the optimal level of consumption but this cold treat...I've been eating it for over half an hour. It's that bad, and that unappetizing. Now, you might be asking, why don't you just throw it away? Good question. I don't know why. It just didn't occur to me. Maybe because I'm slow, or maybe because I'm not a fan of wasting food. Oh well.

P.P.S - (While looking away from the screen and keyboard...) jerwin is so weird, i don't evem know what's going om/ I could be typin g this all wrong.

3D Character Animation 05

Week 7 - Day 2

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Where has the last 4 weeks gone? I don't even know. I sure as heck ain't hiding it in my pockets, bro.

So, Keat gave me some more advice on camera movements, like how one shot had too long a pause and how the rattle of the cake lid should lead up to the POP rather than just abruptly stop. I mean, IN HINDSIGHT, this makes sense, but only in hindsight because I sure as heck didn't think about it. You can call me lazy but it's probably a combination of TOO MUCH STUFF ON MY PLATE and lack of foresight, sooooooo...

I edited my frowny eyebrows so they're a bit lower and more noticeable and less...hiding in the hairline. Why did I make her hair so big and poofy? I regret. Much regret. I'm also trying to figure out the blendshape to make her mouth bigger. I would show you an image but I didn't think about it and to be honest...it's pretty friggin' horrifying. X_X I mean, I won't subject you to that, man. I ain't cruel.

So, camera movements down. 1 change in blendshape done and another one to go. Plus!! I'll need to change the way Emelyn pops out of the cake to add a contrast of small to LARGE. Will probably get around to it tomorrow.

On a plus side, and totally irrelevant to 3D, I finished my comparative analysis essay! HUZZAH! I dread seeing how much of it I'll have to fix when I get the first draft back but ugh, needs must, and I wanna pass...

I WANNA PASS, DANG IT!

...

Here's a preview of a later attempt at making Emelyn smile...

Such creepy. Much fearsome.

It's...horrible looking from a distance but less creepy, so that's okay...

I might...try and refine it tomorrow? It depends on how much torture I'm willing to put myself through...

...

We shall see...

...

P.S - When Captain America throws his mighty shield. All those who chose to oppose his shield must yield!!

3D Character Animation 04

Week 6 - Day 4

I added two image planes to act as the wall for the background. It's nothing fancy since I doubt it'll be marked on but at least it's not an infinite canvas so that's all good. I also copied over the cross from the coffin and put that in the middle of the wall because, otherwise, it looks super empty. I mean, I don't need it...but it's nice to have something there. You know, just for the sake of aesthetics. I gave the coffin a booster, too, made it bigger so it's not completely hidden behind the cake. It was originally the same size as Emelyn, maybe slightly bigger just because I wanted it to be as authentic looking as possible, but it's now easily twice the size and could probably fit two of her in it...but hey, anything to make the scene look good, right?

The new scene!

So, previously, you couldn't see the coffin or the cross, mostly because the cross is a last minute addition and the coffin only just recently received a free up-size otherwise it would've just disappeared in the scene. Not literally, but it was too small to be seen behind the enormity of the cake.

This is what it now looks like from the new playblast.

Thank goodness for the scale tool.

Keat also gave me some advice on how to improve the scene outside of what my storyboard dictated. I was trying to be as loyal to it as possible but, hey, what's the point of doing test-runs if not to make it better, right?

So, there's a rattle scene now. Since the cake lid now has a control, WHY NOT USE IT?? Keat told me to give it a side camera view and show the lid shaking rather than the whole cake moving. I have to say, THIS IS A MUCH BETTER IDEA!! I'm not too fussed about this so it's all good. I also got rid of the pan because the new camera view already served the purpose of introducing a new shot. Woohoo~~

This is me done for the week. Next time, I'll be refining my animation; make it BETTER, and tackling composition and lighting...

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Wish me luck!!

P.S - I don't know why sometimes Maya lets you see the textures and sometimes it just doesn't. Maya is totally weird; never does what you want and chooses the most inconvenient moments to be totally useless. Thanks, Maya; you're awesome...

P.P.S - Bang, bang. bang!

3D Character Animation 03

Week 6 - Day 1

TWO MORE WEEKS TO GO BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR! WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?!??! I am simultaneously stressed as heck and relieved that it's almost over but...but, but, but...there's still so much to do?!? I mean, there's just the animating and figuring out the timing of everything left but UGH...

There's also the background and whether or not I'll do it all in 3D, entirely in simple shapes or...just go without because it's not the main focal point but...but, but, but...I don't know. -sobs-

So, last week we did some shot staging? Which, I think, was kind of like getting your shots to look exactly, or close enough to your storyboard? I think that went...fairly well. Or at least well enough that I didn't end up screwing something up and was reduced to another puddle of tears, grief and misery. This week is step blocking and I think that's more to do with timing and figuring out your keyframes to the best look. I'm not sure how well that'll go but fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan. My timing is horribly slow at the moment where she pops out of the cake but a bit of tweaking here and there ought to fix that.

Ought to...

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I asked Mikayla for some tips on the timing of Emelyn's popping out of the cake and she told me to add a bit of exaggeration with her coming out and then settling back down again. That's some top advice, bro. She also helped me with the timing which is also pretty choice. I think I've got that part down pat. Woohoo~!

Some shot staging of Emelyn popping out of the cake. Complete with resolution gate!!

Next...uh...probably the facial expressions...although I'll probably come back to this tomorrow and see more things to fix. Nothing like a critically fresh set of eyes first thing in the morning. There will be a lot of moaning over the state of my animation.

(I sincerely miss 2D...I should try and draw some more and not limit it to just one a day...)

P.S - Quiet, quiet...

3D Character Animation 02

Week 5 - Day 2

Inherit transforms!! Are only good if you select each geo as opposed to all of it! This is what happened to mine...

Honey, I shrunk the rig!!

...I don't know how to explain this.

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Moving along, now.

A problem I faced earlier was that the cake pieces would not move TOGETHER - the lid refused to move with the base of the cake and that was pretty much because I forgot about a control-all nurb so they moved as a single unit as opposed to three separate pieces. PHEW. That fixed, I did the same thing with the coffin even though it ought to be good enough as just a group but meh. This is what the scene currently looks like.

It also helps that the control-all allows me to resize the cake together rather than fiddling around with different pieces and estimating where each piece goes...yay...

I reckon I could probably start with shot staging tomorrow?? Although I don't really have a clue what that is? I guess we'll see?

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P.S - I don't know where Mikayla is...

3D Character Animation 01

Week 5 - Day 1

Drum roll, please!!! We now get to the actual part of character animation!! Remember that storyboard I did way back when? In the beginning of August?? It's now mid October and we're coming to a close to our final term with just 3 more weeks to go. OH. MAH. GAH.

I'm feeling so bad...(but that might be from lunch...?)

Anyway, I need to put the two props (coffin and cake) together onto the same file as Emelyn. I'm hoping it won't overload Maya but I predict a lot of crashes in the future...

Also, coffin and cake?? I almost wrote COFFEE and cake but this is morbid in a weird sense. Your eyes doth not deceive you! Don't overthink it.

Here is Emelyn in the same scene as the cake. It's GREEN!! Like it belongs to something in Dr. Seuss' books. Would you like a slice here or there? I would not like them anywhere...

I enlarged the cake to fit the width of her hips but I might make it bigger again anyway...

I'm not sure how to go about shot staging but there's no better way to find out other than to JUST DO IT. So, do it, I will.

I also added the coffin into the scene next to the cake and resized to be able to fit Emelyn. BUT SHE'S NOT THE ONE GOING INSIDE OF IT, that'll be horrible.

The coffin is roughly about the same size as Emelyn.

But I don't know why the coffin and Emelyn have retained their UV colors and textures but the cake is GREEN. Why is this so??? It's horrible. DX

Keeeeeaaaat, help meeeeeeee...

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I got rid of the green by reassigning a new material over it. I wasn't able to get the original colors I wanted back but at this point it doesn't really matter. I need to prioritize the actual model over the prop so a base lambert will just have to do~! I also moved the cake so that it stood on the grid as opposed to being in the middle of it, but now it just means that Emelyn is stuck in the middle but I'll just have to add keys so she's moving around the cake rather than through it. Animation can only forgive so much and stupidity is not one of them. <3

...

Also, I have a feeling that the IK rig on the legs aren't going to be useful so I might have to do contraints for them like I did with the arms. That might work a little bit better with bend of her knees...

BUT! I might not even have to use them in the end? We'd hardly see her legs during the entire animation so it might just be okay. (Although my integrity might demand that I do better, which I will if time is more lenient towards me.)