Digital Layout and Character Animation

Digital Layout Work

Week 1

The short story I decided to go with is called, 'The peculiar life of a lonely postman'. A recent story I read and enjoyed a lot. I decided that I would use a particular page of the book for this project. 

For this week we were asked to create a storyboard with 4 drawings of events that take place in the environment that's described.

-The first event that takes place in this room is when Bilido, the main character walks in with the      Land Lady and is shocked over the obviously Japanese inspired furniture.

-He then accidentally knocks over a small table that he recognises instantly.

-He asks the Land Lady what she plans to do with the now deceased man's furniture.

-Finally he discovers a bunch of letters he had hoped to find when he entered the room.

We were then asked to choose a scene to take the room from and draw up a layout for it. This is the first layout drawing I did.

I decided that I didn't really like the composition in this layout and re-drew the image how I wanted it down below.

It is set in modern times but the resident of the room has re styled the entire place themed on a traditional Japanese house. So I drew some props in to make this evident.

Week 2

For this week we were told to do a colour version of our layout so that we can get the idea of colours, time of day and what the props will be like.

I've decided that from what I have read from the story I imagine it is set at the evening just at sun down so I plan to have a very orange colour scheme for the lighting.

I'm happy with my use of colour here, this is the kind of colours I'd like to use in the final texturing stage.

Week 5

For this week we are starting our modelling stage. I made my own folder full of reference images that are Japanese furniture, props and decoration ready for modelling.

I started off easy with some lanterns that will be turned off lights in the room. The main work for this model is going to be in the texturing stage, trying to get the paper effect of the lanterns.

I then started modelling a big Dresser. It has drawers coming out from it that I tried to recreate.

However I tried this twice and it somehow messed up to the point where I couldn't really go any further with it or I would just make it difficult for myself when it comes to UV mapping the object.

So I decided to try again and leave out any of the drawers, and instead just make it look like they are there with the textures in Photoshop.

Here is my new version of the Dresser:

I'm much happier with the shape of this object. And am ready to start modelling the desk. 

I thought it would be much easier to model the desk separately, in parts so that the UV mapping and texturing would be easier. This is the finished model without mapping.

Today I started building a side table for the scene. I'm really happy with the shape of it. Like the dresser I'm going to leave the drawers until I start texturing.

I also started to have a go at modelling a cushion. In Japan they sit on cushions at the table instead of chairs, so I wanted to have some cushions next to the centre table. To model the cushions I saw a video on modelling with ncloth for things like pillows and beds and curtains, so I wanted to try incorporate that into my cushions. I had to do this a few times because I didn't realise I would have to UV map the model before using ncloth. I am pleased with the result though.

Since I had to Map this and texture it before using ncloth, I already have the finished model here.

I'm really happy with this, I used a wool texture on top to give it a more realistic look and I think it's good.

Today I started modelling some vases for the room. I thought it would be good to texture them later with some traditional Japanese artwork. I modelled two different vases, and this is them finished:

I also started modelling the main table to go in the middle of the room. In the story it says that the table was really low down, so it's a short table the right size to go with the cushion I made. After researching into Japanese furniture so much I decided to try style this table the same way, and I'm actually really happy with the look.

After finding a really cool reference picture of this Japanese stool, I really thought it'd be perfect for my scene, since in the story the resident of the place collects Japanese artefacts, so it's like a cool ornamental stool to go in the corner of the room. This stool was one of the most difficult things for me to model as I really struggled with the legs of the stool, and UV mapping it's structure too. Here is the finished model.

Week 6

For this week we are beginning to add textures to our models, so I went back in order that I modelled them and started from there.

So for my first model it's the lantern, and I really wanted to get the right paper texture and how it overlaps on lanterns, and I think I did a good job of it.

I used a paper texture from google images and created the pattern and colours myself in photoshop to get this. I think it looks especially good from a distance in the scene.

I then added a texture to my dresser. I spent a long time on this to try my best to make the drawers look real. I also added some traditional Japanese artwork onto the doors, like I had seen on a reference image, which I think works really well with it. There is a slight distortion at the bottom but when it's placed in my scene it won't be noticeable.

This is the final result.

While I was at it I decided to do a very similar texture on the small side desk, because I thought it'd look even better if the furniture matched a little bit. I also found another reference image that looked really similar so I did a similar design. I spent a long time on this texture to achieve the same thing as on the dresser and I'm really happy with how it looks now.

I then started the texture for my big writing desk. I found a really good reference image for this and tried my best to recreate the wood pattern on it. I used some wood textures from google images and changed the colours and added a lot of effects to get it perfect. This is one of my favourite parts of the room I think it looks really good with the texture.

For the vases I decided to duplicate and shrink one so that it could be used as a little ornament to sit on top of the dresser. For this I needed to make 3 different textures with nice oriental patterns on them. These are how the three turned out.

I'm pleased with how they look and the different patterns add some diversity.

I then  went onto doing the texture for The centre table. This was probably the quickest and easiest to texture, using a nice wooden texture that I found on google images, it's a nice dark wood that looks really good with the rest of the furniture.

Finally I went onto texturing my stool. I used one large light wood texture to get a nice diversity that wouldn't clash with the table too much, and I think it fits the stool really well. There are some parts that are distorted but not easily noticeable at all.

Week 8

I now started to model the room itself. I probably should have done this before modelling the props but for me it's easier this way around. I used simple polygon planes for the walls, the floor and the ceiling. Then a plane for the sliding Japanese doors, as well as a few tweaks to get the shape of it's frame.

This is how the room itself looks like with it's textures on too.

I was really happy with this set-up, adding the ceiling back in and then adding some details likes books and a coffee mug, and I'll be ready to start lighting.

Today I started working on the lighting. I first added the area light near the doors, because the sliding doors are going to be open in the scene.

I then added in the artificial sun set, and also some shadows to the scene.

I then added some highlights.

Finally I just spent a few hours messing around with the settings rendering it, and trying to find something I was happy with. 

This is my final rendered room scene that I'm extremely happy with, it's a huge step up for me being able to do this so i'm very happy with how it looks. There were a few problems like the cushions have some problems when rendered that I couldn't figure out and there was an overall effect that makes the image look grainy. I'm really pleased with it though.

Final Render

Character Animation Work

To start this animation project we were all given an audio track different to each other and had to start off with drawing out source material for reference. For me the best way to do this was to write out each line or phrase and do a sketch to go with it. That way it plans out best what each pose will look like to go with the speech. I especially wanted to focus on the face expressions because, my audio track is just a really casual conversation between two people and I really couldn't imagine the characters doing much while they were talking.

These are picture of those source material that I drew out for each line of speech.

After receiving feedback on this, I realised that it's a bit over acted and needs to be more natural. We also noticed that one of the characters is eating something on the audio, most likely an apple. I needed to focus more on the poses too so I went back tried to fix some things like making him look a lot more sheepish as he's calling and re-drawing some poses ready to start putting it in 3D. I also decided to have them holding onto the banisters of the stairs. The second character would be leaning against something.

We started doing our key poses in maya in 3D, I did really struggle with this because I find it really difficult trying to adjust to a new program. I was learning a lot of new skills at the same time, but these poses didn't feel right for me so I had to go back and change them a lot.

I wanted to in particular change the poses towards the end so i went back and worked into them more.

I also went back and fixed the parts that looked the worst to me. I wanted the poses to look more natural so I looked at a lot of reference and tried to act it out myself to get a better result.

Adding a second character

I then started looking at the key poses for the second character. The second character is the more calm one in the conversation and doesn't seem too interested in what's going on. We also noticed that he's eating something like an apple, so I needed to make sure I include that in too.

By this point I was ready to go back in a start the inbetweens. I tried really hard to treat it the same as 2D but I still found it really difficult. By the end of it I think I have a good amount of inbetweens, enough at least to work with the audio, so people can tell what's happening whilst they watch it.

Lip Syncing

When it came to lip syncing, it's the first time i've ever tried it so I spent a really really long time trying to get somewhere with it. I used this http://i.imgur.com/MFvTKQU.jpg as reference for the mouth movements and another one too and went back through all of the poses trying to lip sync it as best I could. The images below show my attempts at it.

It's probably not done to what's expected of me, but I think I did pretty well with it for the first time. I found it a lot more difficult than I thought.

Final Render

This is my final version of the animation. I really found this project difficult, and I am pleased with the progress I've made personally I've definitely learned a lot from this project. I have the basic skills from it now, so I think I could improve this with practise in the future, I just think it's taken me a lot longer then it should have done.

3D Artefacts

Colour Theories

Starting this term we were told to write down the meanings behind colours, what we feel from colours or what we interoperate from colours. We were told to find if other cultures have different meanings behind the colours and if they symbolise or represent anything. These are my descriptions for each.

Red-

The colour red is mostly associated as being a warm colour and is put together with passion or sexuality. As most colours do, red has a positive and negative side of it; Being positive, red can stimulate passionate emotions like love, but to put it negatively, it can be a sign of anger or revenge. The colour red is associated mostly with sexuality and lust, which is confused with the colour pink that associates with love and innocence. Other cultures have different views on the colour, for example in China it's seen as the colour of good luck and fortune, but in India it can symbolise purity making it a nice choice for weddings. I find that red here is mostly used to promote Valentine's Day.

Blue -

The colour Blue is mostly used to symbolise loyalty and trust, being sincere it's a colour used a lot on the "Hero" character or protagonist in films or games. It's associated with being reliable and responsibility, it has a need for restoring peace and getting through hard times. It's considered idealistic, and gives off the aura of wisdom. The colour blue is a 'safe' colour, and so it doesn't vary much between cultures making it the most universally liked colour.

Green -

The colour green is associated with peace and harmony, and is an emotionally positive colour.

It's all about balance, and has the sense of right or wrong, taking the moral stand. A lot of people associate the colour green with a love of nature, animals, and peace. On the other side, a lot of people relate the colour with stability and endurance. Green, because of it's peaceful nature is used a lot of the time for the business world, in particular property and real estate. It's that feeling of safety.

Purple - 

When I think of the colour purple, I usually associate it with spirituality, inspiration and imagination. Purple helps those who seek fulfilment, and is used in psychology. A lot of people find that purple symbolises the future, our dreams and prospects which calms the emotions spiritually. Others argue that it relates to a fantasy world, and escapism from everyday life; Essentially that it's a daydreamer that's trying to escape from reality.

Yellow -

Yellow is associated with being illuminating and uplifting. It relates to knowledge and intelligence, being creative from a mental aspect and helping us find new ways of doing things. It's normally the best colour for boosting enthusiasm, and keeping people optimistic. 

One argues that yellow helps us with decision making and helps us focus and recall information. Others say that it's anxiety producing, and non-emotional coming from the mind instead of the heart.

Orange - 

Orange radiates the warmth from the colour red whilst keeping up with the cheerfulness and optimism of yellow. It's and uplifting colour and relates to a gut feeling or reaction, keeping away from the physical reaction of red and the mental reaction of yellow. Orange brings a positive outlook on life and is the perfect colour to use to get through a rough time. The colour orange relates to socialising and simulating a conversation between two. It's a warm inviting colour, that gets people talking and thinking.

Pink -

The colour pink represents love, compassion and nurture. It's the colour to show unconditional love and understanding. Pink is feminine, romantic, affectionate and intimate. Not to be confused with the lust of the colour red. Pink shows tenderness and sensitivity, which is why it's associated as being very feminine. The colour pink gets us in touch with our personal and nurturing side of ourselves. On the other hand, it can be associated a lot with being over-emotional or having emotional neediness, which comes off immature.

White -

White is purity, innocence, wholeness and perfection. White is associated with being the colour of new beginnings, and the saying "wiping the slate clean" is in reference to white being so pure and being a 'blank canvas'. The colour white is most commonly associated with cleanliness and purity, being the reason behind the white wedding tradition and doctors/nurses wearing white coats. There's a sense of comfort with the colour white, that gets rid of any doubt or intimidation. On the negative side, too much white can be cold, isolating and empty. This leads to the feeling of detachment or sterility. Other cultures see white traditionally as being related to mourning or death.

Black -

Black relates to being secretive or hidden. It creates an air of mystery and 'fear of the unknown'. It creates a barrier between itself and the outside world, which provides comfort whilst keeping it's feelings protected. Black is mostly related to the absence of light, which leads it to have mostly negative connotations; Like for example, depression, isolation, vulnerability and fear. It is intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable because of how much power it has on us. It mostly gives people fear, because black is associated with darkness which the fear of the dark is a very common phobia. It is the opposite of white.

3D Modelling

For this project, we were told to find vintage artefacts that we could then build in maya and put into an antique shop at the end of the term. To find some good artefacts our class got together and looked around some second hand shops, museums and artefact shops. We took photos with three different views of objects like pocket watches, jewellery boxes, vintage jewellery and weapons.

The first artefact I found was an old wrecked tin box used for cigarettes. 

Using this as reference, I built first base of the box in maya. I had a lot of problems with this; Maya isn't my strong point anyway and I really struggle to understand and get used to the program and the tools so the small details on the box and part of the shapes were really difficult for me. I had to get a lot of help from the lectures to fix mistakes I made when building this and try grasp some idea of what the tools do that i forgot from the first year.

Eventually I managed to end up with a shape mostly resembling the tin box from my reference photos. I ended up building only half of it, then duplicating and mirroring it onto the other side; this did however cause a lot of problems for me later when I was UV mapping the object.

After fixing the problems as best I could, I added the hypershade, and the checkered pattern onto the shape, which would help me to understand the UV mapping.

After this I started to build the lid for the box. This was much easier for me and i didn't have as many problems with this. Although it took me a while to figure out how I would attach them, and how they would fit together. This again caused me a lot of unnecessary problems for me when fixing the UV mapping. 

After finishing building the lid I again added the checkered pattern onto the object so that it would be easier for me. I was then ready to start UV mapping the object.

UV mapping this object gave me the most problems in the whole project. Because of something I had done while building the model in the early stages, the UV mapping had lots of issues and was like a puzzel to sort out. 

After finishing the mapping, I was able to put the lid together with the base and start texturing. I enjoyed creating the texture. Because the reference photos weren't at a good quality, I had to recreate most of it in Photoshop.

This is how the model looked finished without any texture on it. I'm very proud of the shape of the box as it was a really big challenge for me personally.

Because I had decided already from what angle I would use to render the image, I didn't need to worry too much about the base of the model or any small faults and distortions that were round the back of the model. I am however really happy with how it turned out with the texture on it, it wasn't easy for me to create so I'm impressed that I managed to remember a lot of the tools.

Here are the final renders of the model. 

For my second artefact I used some reference images of a pocket watch we found in one of the second hand shops, that was full of vintage clocks and pocket watches.

After getting a lot of help from the lecturer and a classmate, I managed to get the first half of the pocket watch modelled.

It took a lot help and attempts to get the indent in the middle of the model, but since it was the only detail on the pocket watch it was important to have it included.

I then duplicated the side and flipped it onto the other side for the other side of the pocket watch. A few tweaks and changes to the shape, and deleting the extra indent into the model was necessary to get to other half to look right. I was really happy with how it looked though.

After adding the checkered pattern, I started the UV mapping. This was especially difficult with this model as I had to do it in the cylindrical mapping instead of planar mapping. This was completely new to me which is why I struggled so much with it. 

I attempted at best I could to find a similar texture to what was on the pocket watch but I couldn't find anything similar. I added a few affects to a different texture and colour changes and tried my best to get a good texture. It's not perfect and I'm not too happy about it, but it's the best i could do.

Here are a few of the final renders.

For my third artefact, I decided to use my own vintage hand mirror to model. It had a lot of nice details and patterns on it, and I thought it would be a good challenge model for myself.

I started with the basic shape of the top. This was difficult again for me I had to get some help with modelling this part to get it the right shape at the front and the back.

I then started to drag down to the bottom and get that to a similar shape to the mirror, which wasn't as difficult and I managed to get a good enough shape with a few tweaks.

I also had to fix the back a few times to get the shape right when I smoothed it.

I was then ready to add the hypershade, and the checkered pattern on to start UV mapping the object. It was difficult trying to line them up properly so that they were straight and aligned.

UV mapping this object was much easier then the tin box surprisingly,  with not many sides and faces to join together. Below shows the object smoothed out.

My main issue and challenge with this object was getting the mirror effect on the object and getting the design to look like it's embedded into the object. After many attempts and fails I finally managed to get something that would mirror properly. I am really proud of how it turned out however, especially of all my objects I'm really pleased with this model.

These are the final renders of the object, which I'm very pleased with.

Overall I did really struggle with this project, and i'm not amazed by the final results. I did try my best and I'm really happy with the mirror especially. I think I still need to get very used to maya and practise a lot more to understand it better.