Class:
Morning class:
For this morning class Alec wanted to cover:
– how to set up Maya for animation
– forward and inverse kinematics
– blocking animations
– some simple rigs
– more of the graph editor
We also went over the importance of timing and spacing in animation. Frame by frame animation can be implied to 3D animation and you shouldn’t always rely on Maya to animate for you. He also gave some general tips for animation in Maya which included; The graph editor helps to identify errors and clean up animation and the dope sheet can help with moving keys around the timeline.
A rig can be defined as a 3D characters ‘skeleton’ that allows them to move. The animator usually controls the rig that doesn’t alter the mesh of the model.
—Exercise 1: Ball Rig—
For this exercise we were tasked with using a rig and animating a ball bouncing and hitting off a wall.
I’m happy with the movements of the ball and the ways it squashes and stretches but it goes too quickly. I need to be more careful in the future with the timing of the animation.
Afternoon Class:
For the afternoon class we were split into our groups for Assignment 3. We discussed our story ideas further and eliminated some ideas that didn’t really work well with the time restraints.
After we chose the story that we all liked we went onto the next stage, fleshing out what actually happens in the story.
We all liked the simple and funny plot of the story so we started to look into different designs of ghosts from popular media and google images.
After this we looked for different references of kitchens and arranged the Miro board.
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Homework/Assignment 3:
For this week’s homework we were tasked with watching the rest of the exercise videos, following the tutorial for exercise three and working on assessment 3 with our groups.
—Exercise 2—
-Forward Kinematic and Inverse Kinematic animation systems-
In exercise 2 we were shown how forward and inverse kinetic works and what they are most commonly used for. Forward Kinematic is when the pieces above affect the pieces below it whereas Inverse Kinematic is when the pieces below affect the pieces above it.
Characters often use forward kinetic and inverse kinetic rigs. Forward kinetic rigs are often used for arms and inverse kinetic rigs are usually used for when a character is interacting with a table or a wall.
Forward kinetic rigs create nice arcs of action whereas inverse kinetic rigs create more diagonal movements like a robot. Inverse kinetic rigs can create arcs but it’s easier to create arcs with forward kinetic rigs. Legs almost always use inverse kinetic rigs but if the character is swimming or falling a forward kinetic rig is used.
—Exercise 3—
– Curious character jump –
To begin I placed some keyframes and enabled the ‘stepped preview’ mode which allowed me to focus more on the poses of the character. After I made all the poses I altered the timing of the animation, added inbetweens and offset the head.
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Assignment 3:
This week we had another meeting with our group on Sunday the 21st at 5 o’clock. Everyone arrived on time to the meeting except for Curtis who didn’t show up, we tried to contact him but to no avail so we began the meeting without him. During this meeting we discussed what roles we would be taking:
Amber: – Character Design
– Storyboards
Tori: – Character Design
Curtis: – Character Design
Danielle: – Environment Design
– Presentation Editor
Nicole: – Environment Design
– Presentation Designer
Progress:
Danielle and I designed some kitchen designs for the animation.
We received some feedback from Amber and Tori about our designs so we made the necessary adjustments and came up with an improved design. Danielle sketched and drew the new design and sent me the lineart to colour.
Tori and Amber designed some really cute ghost concepts.
—Tori’s Ghost Designs—
—Amber’s Ghost Designs—
I really like concept one for Tori and ghost number 2 for Amber.
Final Thoughts:
I am really happy with the progress that this group has made this week. I love the ghost concepts that Amber and Tori created and I really like the design and layout of the kitchen that Danielle and I designed.