For this assignment we had to organise ourselves into groups of 4 and create a short animation based on an “adventure”.
I’m in a group with Rhys, EJ, Chloe and Lucy. We have decided on the story for the animation which is based on a snail assassin. The idea was originally planned by EJ and the group thought it was the best and most realistic.
Firstly we made a moodpboard to see what style, colour and theme we wanted to achieve in the animation. We used a website called “Miro.com” so we could find images together and make a moodpboard. This is what we came up with and what we wanted to achieve.
Next I created some concept sketches. I was in-charge of designing the log for the animation. This would what the building would look like from the outside. However in later production and discussion with group we decided to take this part out.
Next I created the first presentation for the group and Rhys edited it. It was just to show our progress with the story and concept art.
I made a log in Maya which was suppose to be used in a scene but later decided to change it. I used a cube to start off then added more edges to make it more round. When I was happy with the shape I used a wood texture I got online to see what it would look like. If I was continuing with the log I would of made my own texture in photoshop to make it more cartoony.
For the progress presentation I made the slides and got pictures and information from my team members. I made sure the slides were neat, tidy and understandable to an audience. I sent it over to Rhys and he edited it again.
After this presentation Chloe made each member of the group a list of what we needed to do. I was given the task of making the 2D backgrounds for the scenes and helping others in they needed help.
I got started on the backgrounds for the sky dome. I needed to make a night and day and join them so that they would connected in the sky dome. I made them both in Procreate and used more of a texture brush to achieve like a painted look. I though this would compliment the 3D assets.
This is a test I did using the sky dome to what it would look like. I was happy enough with it and it would be easy to animate it rotating. I then imported our groups low poly log and ground to see the overall look of the animation. We were happy enough and kept it for our animation.
Next I was in charge of the wanted poster fort the assassin snail and the victim snail photo. I went on google and did some research on old cowboy wanted posters. They had beige colours and vintage look to them. For the victim snail I made it look like an old polaroid image with a red writing sating”target” so it would be easier for the audience to read. I used procreate again to make both of them and the group will upload them onto a flat plane in maya.
When everyone was done with their 3D models it was time to start animating. I was in charge of the night to day transitions. I started off with rotating the sky some and making the victim snail slide slowly down the branch.
I then put in the victim snail into the scene next as he was not doing anything in the scene. The groups discussed about the grass as most of our maya were crashing with it in the scene. We decided to take it out and just have the ground with the bump mapping. I also took this time to add the textures to the scene so that when I’m done it would be ready to render.
I was finally happy with my animation and did a play-blast to show the group. Everyone was happy with it so I went ahead and made the final adjustments, textures and was happy enough to render.
And heres my part for the animation and the final animation.
Overall I found this project very difficult however my group made it enjoyable. Without a good group I would of found this animation very hard to achieve. Maya was very difficult to learn and to get my head around. I followed Alecs tutorial and did my best to fix things by myself. If I was stuck I had my group to help me and they were so helpful and gave me a hand and advice. Overall this was a very good learning curve and I learnt more about maya and other 3D modelling software. I was also surprised at how long the 3D modelling process is and how you need a lot of patients and planning. I feel like if I were to do it again I would plan a lot better in my own process and try to make things a better quality. I did however enjoy the 2D parts which were the texturing and making the images for the scene. The full project looks great and I’m proud of what i’ve achieved and I couldn’t of done it without my group.