CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Development Week 2

CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Development 

Week 2

2/19/18

This week I focused on bringing all separate components of the box model at the time to a decent level of quality.  The side panels are each shaping up well, mainly remaining flat aside from a few extrusions.  The individual modules that fit inside and out of the crate are so far coming along well, not presenting many problems as far as holding their shape with beveling and fencing.  No big trouble thus far, aside from having to decide what method is best for forming the geometry between primitive and subdivision states.  The biggest issue so far is keeping proper measurements throughout every individual part, so that they fit together correctly later on.  Mirroring the finished quarters or halves of certain parts has worked out fairly well, and has certainly been a help to this process overall.

These will be the inner panels for three sides.  The left will go on opposing ends left and right, while the right will be used as the bottom panel.

These are the base models that were mirrored into the previous pictured panels.  The two halves of a button to the left will be integrated onto corresponding ends of each panel as further texturing.

These inner modules will be combined in mesh and bridges outward to fill the corresponding frame.  Beveling process is being undergone at the moment, and finalization will be necessary before the proposed combination and bridging.

This vent face will be used as the top panel.  Fairly simple beveling and mirroring, but there is room for improvement later on.  If more details come along, this shape is open to change.

These are the main outer frames that will be used for almost every side of the box.  These will soon be duplicated and combined with the corresponding inner panel; then they will be stitched together to give this crate and actual cubic shape.

I want to keep all the components separate just a little longer to allow for any last minute tweaks that could be dealt with easier as they are now.  The next step is formatting everything into an actual cube box form.

CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Development Week 1

CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Development 

Week 1

2/12/18

In the beginning process of this project, I started out by creating primitives and formatting the most basic shapes that will become the main components.  Among the most definitive aspects of the concepts I chose for this sci-fi crate are the main frame borders, the various notches and bordering panels, and the other differently shaped parts that will ultimately fit together as a cube.  Starting up this modeling process, nothing is quite shaped out completely.  Most primitives were carved out and molded to fit the description in the basic form.  Later down the line, as more essential parts come along, hopefully all parts will progress in quality together, so that in the end they come together cohesive and properly.

So far, I have worked off of planes, expanding out and adding or taking away polygons to get the shapes necessary.  The notches will be multiplied and connected as needed, and eventually will form the inner frames that will be bordered.  The line of three frames will also be multiplied and lined up to become the outermost shape of the box.  The raised panel with dips is inspired by the second reference, with belts overlapping on the outside.  The other panel with an inner square will become the base for the vent which can either go on the top or bottom of the crate, depending on final outcome.  The idea is to have this all come together like a modular, with each side being equally detailed, and fitting as one whole.

CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Concept

CAGD 330 Sci-Fi Crate Concept

2/4/2018

Potential references/concepts for the Sci-Fi Crate project.

This first one I found appealing because of the indentations and potential inlets that could be altered and multiplied.  The outer edge that holds the entire model also has small details that indicate the box has plenty of interlocking parts.  This model is simple enough to grasp in concept, and has enough detail that differentiates each side. While the base modeling for each side may be the same, each individual side from any point of view has it's own modifications.

The appeal of this second box is the various differences in depth on each side.  The individually modeled parts work as one, but at the same time, it can be seen how one area is elevated or depressed.  There are levels that indicate gaps, breaking the monotony of a smooth surface throughout.  This would require a lot of beveling and coordinating opposite ends of the model.

This model has a more complex prompt, with each side not necessarily being a copy of just one or two.  This would require a fair amount of work and attention on each section.  With that said, parts of this model could be integrated with another model to make things easier, or more balanced.

Alternates/Add-ons:

Based off of a Rubik's cube, this shape could work as a crate, and contains a fair amount of detail.  However, this model could be too simple, as a lot of the detailing is the same, and boils down to duplicating just a few sections.  This model would also work as an add-on for another model, or vice-versa.

Models with curves could prove problematic for a project like this.  However, taking simple aspects from these shapes could help when put onto a simpler box model.  The indentation of corners for "inner" face representation of the dice works for a solid object, but maybe not for a crate of sorts.  The runes of the cubes could be a nice touch, but are quite simple and would need much more detailing.

CAGD 545 Animated Short Week 1-6

CAGD 545 Animated Short 

Rough Llama
Jan 26-Mar 2

Week 1-2

This new project started out with the basics of formatting a story and getting a group together.  For this animation, our group consists of six members, and will be called Rough Llama.  For the first couple of weeks, the main goal is to get a solid story set.  So far, we have an idea aiming for a comedic thriller.  This idea has the main character scared and on the run through a creepy location only to be surprised by a funny twist in the end.  The next step after brainstorming is to start storyboarding, and get an idea for how much modeling and assets will be needed.
Week 2 focused on prepping the initial story and getting ready for storyboards and setting up scenes.  So far, our story is pretty solid and has good potential for a final outcome.  We focused on what we need in terms of character models and scene location models.  Groundwork was set for both modeling and animating, which has gotten off to a good start.  We decided on potential rigs for the main characters, and hopefully they will serve the scene well when it comes to animating.  What matters most for this will be clear and concise gestures and expressions, since we are not using dialogue.  After this, the next step is finalizing the story with storyboards, beginning modeling of locations and items, and settling on character models to use.

Week 3-4

The next step in this project was formatting storyboards to get  a good base representation for what we are going for.  We set up the basis for shot numbers and the most important points for positioning cameras and characters.  In the meantime, I mainly got associated with the rigs we are very likely going to use.  The Camera Girl and Laughing Man rigs from the David O'Rielly pack are the main characters.  So far, I have gotten fairly warmed up to using the rigs, testing walk cycles and other motions.  There will definitely be some challenges in making sure they act as proposed and convey actions and expressions well in the actual animated shots.  Some points of potential issue are the skirt, camera, and heads.
The following week I personally focused on test scenes and trial runs of what the final product might look like.  I tried out animating part of the hallway scene, and so far things look good.  We are still getting down the final edit for the overall story, so there is still work to be done all around.  The assets are coming along nicely, so it won't be long before official animation scenes will get underway.

Week 5-6

Leading up to the first group project presentation, our group was still focusing on finalizing storyboards and setting things up.  Assets are well on their way, and in the coming weeks the scenes will be full enough to begin animation within them.  I personally continued work on test shots, taking reference from the storyboards and various movements and gestures.  Hopefully this practice with the rigs will pay off when animating the actual scenes.
Week 6 was the week of our first presentations.  In this first display of our project, we went over the work we've done so far, across storyboards, modeling, and animation.  Overall, there were good critiques and plenty of things to move forward with as things get more dialed in for the final product.

CAGD 445 Animated Short Week 15-17 + Final

CAGD 445 Animated Short 

Bad Anchor

Week 15-16

The final weeks were finalizing and prepping all scenes to be put together.  A lot of time was spent on editing the whole project, and waiting on group members to get in one newly edited scene after another.

Updated

Final Product

Here is the final result of the semester's work.  All group members had a hand in the final animation, and I was tasked with stitching everything together in the end.

For future reference, this project was overall a nice starter, a good way to get associated with the work flow and process that goes into a full project.  There were definitely parts that could be improved upon both inside and outside the product.  Within the group, there was good work ethic and teamwork, something that will certainly be useful in the future.  In the animation, there was a lot to be learned about balancing scenes and making them cohesive.  Assets and rigs and environments all needed to be kept in check and accounted for in order to get out the final cut.  Some things were unable to be integrated, but luckily those were meant to be additional content.  The bare minimum requirements were met, and then some.  Overall, this was a great experience, and I feel going through this process greatly improved my abilities in this field.

CAGD 445 Animated Short Week 7-14

CAGD 445 Animated Short 

Bad Anchor

Week 7-8

For week 7, there wasn't as much time to meet as a group.  Luckily, our main priority at this point was animating the scenes given out to us.  Throughout these two weeks, it was about the process of blocking, referencing, and overall formatting of good animated shots.A few things that needed to be kept in mind were the scene assets which needed to remain in the same spots throughout all shots to maintain consistency.  Another things was making sure the shot/camera angle was catered to by the animation.  Getting the smoothest animation doesn't matter if it doesn't convey properly from the camera's point of view.  My personal assigned shots are very short, consisting of simple gestures, head and joint turns, very minimal movement.

Week 9

In week 9, dailies started up, so animation was in full swing.  Critique was great for progressing into the next step of the project.  Some of the tips for my scenes in particular were more connected motions, and overall polishing up of how the scenes read with audiences.  As far as the whole group video went, the first round of stitching all scenes together along with audio seemed to work fairly decent.  For a first draft, it did accomplish some of the most important goals, but there was also plenty of room for improvement.  Some animation was just being blocked out, while other parts could have altered or different motions.  Overall, the flow seemed to match that of the animatic, and could benefit from some polishing.  Shots could be longer, or cut together differently to maximize effect on the audience in the final product, as suggested.

Week 10-11

This week was a follow-up to the previous week and the initial animation critiques.  A lot of the suggestions for the project overall were very helpful, and either have been or will be taken into account and changed or implemented into the shots.  This week's work was mainly about smoothing out edges within the animation.  Movements were made more concrete and fluid, while objects were referenced in closer to their final rendering.

Week 12-14

The second critique took place and the group put together the latest animation shots.  The new rendition of the project looked alright, but a lot of the comments were very helpful in getting new ideas and angles flowing.  There will definitely be some things to reshape and polish up even more before the final animation is due.  With only a few weeks left, it is very important to get everything down right.  My assigned shots needed a bit of work in terms of portraying movement in spline, and a few tweaks to the overall scene needed to be re-animated.  One shot with the Main character bear's initial reaction was changed from concerned and frightened to staring happy and creepily.  Other than that, a bit of smoothing out and the animation is coming along better than expected.  The rest of my work was allocated to helping out and working with the other group members, stringing together the final animatic with all the animation.  While everyone is still at work, now is the time to prepare.

CAGD 445 Animated Short Week 1-6

CAGD 445 Animated Short 

Bad Anchor

Week 1-2

The beginning weeks of the project largely consisted of getting the team together, formatting the story, and finding/creating assets as well as the scene base.  Our team consists of four members and we call ourselves Bad Anchor Productions.  We decided that the best time to meet outside of the three hours of class was on Monday afternoons.  If there is ever extra work to be done or things to be sorted out among the group, that would be the time.  We also decided that since most of the group was not as experienced with modeling and rigging, using the David O'Reily character rigs from the "The External World" pack would work just fine for our project.  The main rigs include the cute bear, the father, and the Ralph.

Week 3

After the first two weeks, we had a story draft written out, and storyboards were on the way.  By the third we, we moved onto creating a script and animatic.  In the meantime, we started setting up the scene in Maya, along with the many assets necessary.  Our set of extra meetings largely helped for settling on story beats.  They also helped with team-building, considering our group is newly formed and learning to work together.

Link to animatic v1: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4nqJGS1gZzWlNqTTg2VkEzVWM

Week 4

In week four, our group moved further along in refining the story and setting up the animation.  Assets were further developed, and we got a better idea of how the project overall would come together.  For my part of the job so far, I tweaked the animatic to better express the storyboard shots, and rearranged scenes according to feedback.  As a group, we discussed how voice-overs and sound effects could be factored in.  In addition, we decided up shots for each member to animate, which should hopefully work out ok.

Link to animatic v2: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4nqJGS1gZzdnQyX3BHaXdPT2M

Week 5

For week five, the group was focused on getting shots distributed and ready for animation.  Cameras need to be set up, and character rigs need to be ready for work.  Plans were also set for recording audio for the scene's dialogue.

Week 6

At this point, all shots were handed out for animators, and most of the focus was set on working in Maya.  There was a lot of back and forth about what the best course of action would be for setting cameras and getting the right shots for each scene.  Once established, it was a matter of testing and re-testing.  Given the amount of time overall, this part should hopefully go over smoothly.  Most of the models necessary for the scene were placed properly so the animation has a good start.