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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques George's Class Term 3

Week 1: Adv&Exp [George’s Class]

Class Content

George went over the work we will be doing with him this term, including how it can be incorporated in our FMP and with Serra’s side of the Adv&Exp unit.

We will be doing two animations with George, an advanced body mechanics shot and an acting shot. For the advanced body mechanics, we will be also covering some acting on top.

What is pantomime?

  • Dramatic or dancing performances with expressive body or face movements to convey the story.

Acting with the body: Creating clear, full body expressions. To fully convey this, staging needs to be set up first for the shot which includes:

  • Elements: Characters/Props/Sets
  • Camera: Placement/Angles
  • Action: What is happening in this shot?
  • Idea: Keep it to one idea at a time to not overwhelm the viewer
  • Point of the shot: What purpose does this shot have? Why include it? Make sure that is clear

Workflow Checklists:

George showed us some workflow checklist examples, aka ways to approach working on an animated shot. Workflow checklists are especially useful when starting out, later they become second nature but shouldn’t be forgotten. These checklists should include:

  • Planning: Thumbnails/Reference/Layout/Staging/Composition
  • Blocking: Stepped keyposes/Fundamentals /Timing/Arcs/Weight
  • Splining: Inbetweens/Arcs/Timing
  • Polish: Details

Additionally, it is important to consider the order of working with different parts of the character’s body. The example given to us was: hips > spine > head > arms > fingers > legs > feet

You don’t want to do clean up work on the arms and legs only to then change the hip placement and have to go back again to adjust the arms and legs. Work on the core first, then work outwards. This will change slightly if you have a specific shot where a different part of the body is leading everything else in place of the hips, so adjust accordingly.

This week’s assignment:

  1. Rough planning drawing
  2. Reference (video/filmed reference)
  3. Shot thumbnails
  4. Maya layout would be good, but not a requirement

Keep the shot to 5-10 seconds AT MOST (aim for 5 second range though, George would rather us have a nicer, more polished shot that is shorter than an unfinished longer shot)

Try to add a bit of humour in the shot

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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Submission Post: Adv&Exp – Previs

Previs Development:

Same as last week, mostly small fixes. I did swap out the tall guy with the main character in Shot 0110/0120/0125, and adjusted the animation accordingly. While there’s a lot of things I want to fix/improve on/add to my previs, I did really enjoy this project and it feels good to already have a good visual plan for my FMP. I do wish I had delved more into previsualising transitions between shots and such, but I’m planning to do this once I am able to come back to the development of the previs along with adding additional shots I didn’t have time for.

Previs Feedback:

  • In opening shots, the main character’s pose is too visually boring. Have hips and shoulders angled, head tilted, elbow more out, etc
  • Consider cutting Shot 0060, and have previous and next shot meld together instead (camera just getting closer). Something to play around with
  • Lots of character in Shot 0120. If buff guy was more stoic it would feel like a power struggle between him and the main character, with hyper kid just on the side doing his own thing. Instead there’s a nice contrast between stoic main character and hyper kid, with the buff guy acting as the big friendly giant trope bringing everyone together. These character’s feel like a team
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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Week 9: Previs

Previs Development:

This week was mainly small adjustments and fixes, with the bulk of the work going into adding another character to Shot 0120 and replacing the wolf with the wolfdog in Shot 0130. I do like how the previs is coming together, but I would have liked a few more shots in there. I don’t think I’ll have time to add the additional shots for this submission next week, but hopefully I will be able to do so next term. If not, I can always add them at the beginning of summer before I start doing full animation work.

Previs Feedback:

  • With Shot 0020/0040/0060, instead of changing the camera angle try instead having the camera zoom in more and more on the wolf with each shot, mirroring the zoom in on the main character. Could even add a reflection of the main character in the eye of the wolf, and have Shot 0060 be a super close up on the eye
  • The main character’s body and head should be turned a lot more towards the camera in Shot 0070
  • In Shot 0120, the main character (smaller female rig) should be in the middle. This might make the tall guy coming out from behind her a little difficult due to his height, but try it anyway and see if there’s a way around that issue
  • In the following shot (0125) have the characters spaced out in a more visually appealing way
  • For Shot 0130, don’t have the camera go quite completely side on, have a big of an angle on the wolf instead
  • Have the wolf pounce at the camera just before the cut in Shot 0170
  • Add more personality to the slouched guy front left and the muscly guy back right in Shot 0090 (table scene, now towards end). Can have the slouched guy’s head leaning back more as if he’s bored/tired. Muscly guy can be curled over eating, less focused on surroundings (if for example I want him to be the foodie guy, can be something else, just add more to his vibe)
  • Instead of barking, could try having the wolf tilt head back and howl in Shot 0200
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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Week 8: Previs

Previs Development:

While working on my previs this week, I was considering what sort of things I could fill the empty space with in the opening shots of the main character (Shot 0010/0030/0050/0070), and I remembered the striking visuals in the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners opening. I wanted to attempt recreating this in 3D to see if I could potentially develop my own version of it later for my FMP.

I started by roughly copying the pose of the main character, David, from the Edgerunners opening using the Minerva rig by Ramon Arango. I then used toon shaders and toon outlines to essentially create masks I could later use for the photography montages. If I do develop this technique for my FMP, it would be much simpler to use Nuke, but for this experiment I wanted to use the tools I already had access to for a quick test.

Next, I took a playblast PNG and brought that into DaVinci Resolve, where I used the separate colours as masks combined with various photo montages (with each image at 2 frames, again to match the Edgerunners opening as closely as possible for now).

For the photos themselves, I used stock images that I then took into Photoshop and edited to have the same posterised, comic look to them, along with the same colour scheme. I chose nature photos to go within the character, signifying her home and her culture, and then city photos for the background to represent the city she is in during the show and how much this contrasts against her core values.

I wanted to add in some of the bold yellow seen in the original opening, so I used a Paper Effect keyed to expand outwards as a replacement for this.

I really like the results, and I’m looking forward to developing the technique to be more personalised for my FMP. I also made sure throughout the process that everything I was doing would be the same if the character was animated, so if I have time in the coming weeks I would like to try the same technique on an animated character. While the character isn’t animated, I still used an image sequence playblast to ensure I was testing that it would work the same.

As for the main previs itself, the updates were mostly to Shot 0020, 0060, and 0180. I added backgrounds to Shot 0020 and 0060, and also adjusted the pose for Shot 0060. I really like the idea of the wolf slowly pacing through a city, with the city being miniature compared to the wolf. I would want to make sure there are enough visual elements to avoid the city looking like a miniature set with a normal sized wolf verses a to scale city with a giant wolf. I also adjusted the poses on shot 0180 and added in the viewport FX slash to the weapon. I think the arm should be lagging behind even more than it already is, so I want to push that more next time.

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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Week 7: Previs

Previs Development:

While I struggled a bit to get all of the remaining shots blocked out in 3D, I managed to do so and I was also able to get 2 shots to blocked animation, which I’m happy with. With Shot 0120, I like how much personality the smaller male character has, but it does mean the lack of which in the middle character is more distracting. I really like how Shot 0180 came out, but I do want to improve on the posing and pacing a lot more when it comes to fully animating that shot.

Previs Feedback:

  • For Shot 0020, the background needs to be more populated, even if its just boxes for now
  • Shot 0010/0030/0050/0070 have the same problem where the background is too plain. Something needs to be going on around the character, otherwise it feels too dull (especially with the earlier shots where the camera is so far back most of the screen is empty space)
  • These Shots also should be of the main character stand in rig (the smaller female one)
  • In Shot 0120, add in the main character or someone else walking on other side of sword guy. Have their movement/personality contrast with hyperactive guy on the right
  • For the same shot and for the following shot [this isn’t in the storyboard, but file for this shot names it as Shot 0125] have the middle guy turn his head and react to the hyperactive guy coming into his view, as currently its weird that he doesn’t react at all
  • As the hammer impacts with the ground in Shot 0130, have the camera shake and pan downwards a little bit as if the viewer is feeling the impact. This will also allow for nicer framing at the wolf runs out of the smoke
  • For Shot 0170, have the wolf do much more of a dramatic turn as it enters, as if it can barely control itself with how fast it is moving. Follow this with more of a body swing as it impacts the wall rather than all of the body hitting at once
  • Work on the posing in Shot 0180. The body should be a lot more tilted back before the character swings her weapon, and the arm should lag behind more as her body twists into the swinging motion. Again, try experimenting with the Maya viewport FX pack to add some nice motion lines to the weapon swing
  • In Shot 0200, have the wolf’s head/body turned a little so it isn’t completely side on. It will feel more dynamic

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Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Week 6: Previs

Previs Development:

I wasn’t in classes this week, but George still gave me some feedback through syncsketch which was super helpful. I also made extra use of something I try to do a bit usually, where I write my own feedback after not looking at the work for a day or two so I have a fresher take on it. This also proved helpful, since even though I will think these things to myself having them written down allows me to remember and consider my own reflections more.

Some of my own feedback I noted down:

  • I tried moving table scene (Shot 0090 and 0100) right the the end, but feels a bit too slice of life-ish compared to the gritty/janky/punk vibe I was going for. Character animation could help with this though. For now I have instead placed it just before Shot 0190, as I feel this retains the fast paced janky vibe I prefer.
  • Shot 0120 feels a bit dull, so I would like to add something more to that.
  • I also decided that I’ll remove Shot 0150 + 0160 as these shots feel out of place and for me they break the immersion due to that.
  • For Shot 0180, the punch action feels a bit dull also, but I would still like a hype action shot in its place. I’m considering a shot of the main character swinging their weapon (a Falx, a traditional Dacian weapon) towards the camera instead.
  • Finally, the dance at the end feels too slow compared to the fast paced, hype vibe to the rest of the opening, so I would like to change the dance at some point. The shot still works for timing and transition concept purposes, so changing the dance is something I’m considering lower priority for now.

Previs Feedback:

  • For Shot 0120, maybe instead of just walking his friends run past him and then he starts running?
  • Currently, the camera in Shot 0130 rotates as the wolf runs out of the smoke to be above the wolf, then it rotates again to be a side shot of the wolf. The amount of rotation in one shot feels weird, so try going straight from the first camera angle into the side shot instead
  • For Shot 0180, it could be good to experiment with some Maya viewport FX to make the shot more interesting
  • All shots should be at least blocked out in 3D by now, so have that done for next week

Categories
Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques Previs Term 2

Week 5: Previs

Previs Development:

Still behind schedule this week with a just under half the shots still being storyboard panels, and I think I focused too much on individual shots rather than having everything at least in 3D stills, but I am happy that I managed to get one of the longer shots (Shot 0130) roughly animated. I did unfortunately have some issues cycling the run animation for the wolf, I want to go back and see if I can fix the cycling with some graph cleanup and tweaking. George did also recommend me a different, simpler rig to use though, so unless fixing the current wolf is reasonably quick I might just use the other rig instead.

I’m still finding it a little difficult to get the camera angles I had in mind working in 3D, so once I’m done blocking all of the shots I want to go back and tweak a few of those.

I wanted to add a fast paced punky song to the previs as this is the kind of music I would like to use for the FMP, so I chose “Worms On Tarmac” by Soft Play (latest fav band). I am also planning to find the email address for their manager to give a shot at asking if I can use the song. I have other songs in mind from smaller artists that I could use, but while studying my BA I was able to get permission to use a Porter Robinson song at no cost (despite offering) and he was a much bigger artist than Soft Play at the time of my enquiry, so I think it’s worth asking. I would like to have some kind of style concept/work to send with the email before I ask though, so I’m planning on waiting until around the start of Term 3.

Previs Feedback

  • George recommended this Wolfdog rig as an alternative to the one I’m currently using (since I had some issues with it in Shot 0130)
  • For Shot 0170, try animating the camera slightly following the wolf’s movement with some lag as if a real person is filming it
  • For the transition between shot 0190 and 0200, could try something like the transition here
  • Try moving the table shots towards the end

Categories
3D Computer Animation Fundamentals Animation Term 1

Submission Post: Animation

I really enjoyed the animation assignments this semester. Even though I learnt most of the equivalent material while studying for a year on 2D Animation on my BA, I skipped over a lot of them when learning 3D animation because, at the time, I didn’t think I would need to relearn the fundamentals. Yet now I can look back at my animation work before coming to UAL and see where not having relearnt them held me back a lot. At the time, I might have had the knowledge from my time on 2D, but I wasn’t always applying it to my 3D work.

The feedback sessions were super helpful, both for getting feedback on my own work and seeing the work of my classmates.

I would like to do more of these exercises (such as the previously mentioned ball bounces with different weights), so I plan to do this in my own time as personal work.

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3D Computer Animation Fundamentals Animation Term 1

Extension Work: Animation

The main bulk of my work during my extension for animation was applying the feedback I received from George to the individual assignments he gave us. I also splined and cleaned-up the animation on my body mechanics shot.

For submission, I added some materials to the assets and tweaked the settings of the viewfinder in Maya so I could still playblast the animations but have them look nicer for the submission showreel.

If I had more time, I would have liked to do additional animations for some of the assignments. For example, I initially wanted to animate different ball bounces, giving each ball different weights. I do still plan to do this in my own time, but it would have been nice to have these for George to review and potentially give feedback for.

I really liked the week by week assignment set up of George’s classes, as it was helpful for me to stay on top of the work when I was essentially being held accountable each week to have work ready for review. I can see why this might not work for other projects, but for animation it was great to both get feedback on my own work each week, and to also see other people’s work and learn from their process and feedback.

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3D Computer Animation Fundamentals Animation Term 1

Week 11: Animation

This week we’ll be splining and cleaning up our Body Mechanics shot.

Body Mechanics Blocking feedback:

Feedback from George:

  • Arch back more in first few frames
  • Frame 14: Add in some asymmetry, make sure the silhouette is more readable. Give arms nicer arc
  • Frame 23: Hip placement feels weird, doesn’t really lift between here and the next frame, it just moves forward. Might be best to delete this pose entirely, or keep it until splined only to tighten graph curves before deleting keys on some of the controls later
  • Frame 29: Push the asymmetry, and make the silhouette readable
  • Frame 54: Add more scrunch to the pose, add anticipation before the pull up
  • Frame 63: More scrunch and curve to the back. Need to feel the effort of pulling himself up
  • Frame 70-76: Move elbow controllers. On 70, both should be pointing behind. On 76, screen left can be pointing more outwards. On 76 the screen left arm feels too straight and unreadable
  • Frame 84: The silhouette being unclear is a big thing here. Some unclarity is okay (eg it might be unavoidable to have screen right leg overlapping the screen right arm) but the rest should be as clear as possible
  • Frame 91: Try lifting the screen left arm. Not a necessity but it might help clear up the silhouette a bit
  • Frame 91-102: Have screen left arm more lifted in general, and more outwards/behind on frame 102

Next blog posts:

As mentioned in my previous Immersion blog post, I have an extension on the Animation Fundamentals unit and will be doing another blog post before the final submission post summing up what work I did between this week and submission.