Globalisation, sustainability and the media

Modelling my alien character

I started modelling my alien character about a week ago and I have now gotten to the stage where I am just adjusting the topology to ensure the lines flow correctly, this not only produces a cleaner model but it will also help the rigging, weight painting and animation stage. Modelling a quadruped was something new to me so I made sure I looked at reference a lot of the time to get a better understanding of the shape and build of an animal. I really benefited with the advice I got from my friend Jacob as I would send him images of my model and he would give me feedback of what I could improve. I also learnt a lot of new tools and techniques with the modelling workflow e.g. duplicating half of the model as an instance, this allows you to adjust one side of the model and it will do the same on the duplicated half. This is a good way to work as you can constantly see the transitions you make and don't need to keep mirroring and deleting faces. The sculpt tool in Maya is a really quick and useful tool which helps you even out the edges of your model, it makes it a lot cleaner, before I did this the mesh was quite messy and I would not have been able to take it much further without cleaning it up first.

You can see the stages of development from the pictures below and I'm quite happy with how it's turned out, it still needs tweaking here and there before I am able to move onto rigging. As you can see the tail was originally down but I was advised that for rigging purposes it would be easier if it was modelled straight. The one thing I could have done different is the way I attached the legs, ideally they would have been attached to the side of the body and the edge loops would have flown a lot better; but instead I connected them to the bottom of the body like I would with a biped character. Hopefully this shouldn't impact on it too much but I shall have to bare this in mind for next time.

Animation videos

Lately I have been watching a lot of animation tutorials and videos talking about workflow and the breakdown of an animators shots. This is something I'm trying to get into a habit of as by doing this I am learning how people within the industry work and certain techniques they use to better their work. It's one thing to read about tips and techniques in a book, it's another to hear it and see it in action, by seeing it you get a better understanding and it is more likely to stay in your mind.

The video below is from animator Joe Bowers who talks about his work on Disney's Tangled and Bolt. It's interesting to see how far he pushed the rig, to the point of breaking to get that exaggeration in and to really show the emphasis of the power of a certain action. Even for an animator working in the industry, there is still so much to learn and he took advice from Glen Keane to push it even further - "you forget how far you could and should push it sometimes..." 
Thumbnails are a really important part of the process as this gives you a basis to work off when animating, it gives you an idea of the key poses and you are also able to work on the line of action here too. When you think you have the pose, always know there is more, you can always push it more. Another interesting point brought up was the fact that even though there are a set of rules for a walk cycle and the body movements, but sometimes keeping things to a minimum is more beneficial to the shot and to sell overall character. Rules can be bent as long as the idea is there. It all depends on the scene and the character's personality, this will influence the way they walk and act.

Holding poses or just changing them slightly can really emphasise a certain action, you build up the momentum and power before it is all released in a short burst. This is very similar to what Glen Keane mentioned in a talk he gave at Calarts - it's what happens in between the start and end poses, it's the delivery, how good of a joke can you tell? It's the fun of holding back the punch line, the ending pose has to be earned. Some people say the poses are a key area, you character needs strong poses with a good line of action and the flow lines should lead you to the area you want the viewer to look at. You can have brilliant poses, extreme poses but at the end of the day it's what's in-between that will really catch the viewers attention or else it may be a forgettable performance.

There are so many things to consider and to try and work into any animation, so many different techniques and workflows. I need to find one that suits myself and this will involve trial and error, the more animations I do, a better understanding I will get, it's putting what I learn into real practice. Watching tutorials is so beneficial and there's nothing wrong with always learning that bit more, but there comes a point where unless you do it you won't know it fully. You can understand the theory but do you understand the practice?


JoeBowers Interview from Frame By Frame on Vimeo.

Compositing Test

To make my first shot more interesting I decided to add more than one spaceship into the scene. I began with masking out the foreground and background sections in order for me to be able to place the maya sequences in between the two. Our original footage, the sky was quite grey and bland so I thought it would be nicer if there was a blue sky, again this was just done by masking out the certain area and I used a sky texture from cgtextures.com. To begin with the sky was too vibrant so created a ramp and an adjustment layer to counteract this. I also had to do some colour correction on the actual shot itself for it to be more of a seamless integration.

As I will be using a shot as a image plane within Maya, (to line up the animation so I know what's going where and how fast it will be travelling across the screen) I placed just two coloured solids into the shot so I would get the basic layout of where I wanted the spaceships to be / their ending position. From here I rendered out one frame and attached it to a new camera in Maya. Using this image as reference I then animated a few spheres adding fur to one of them to get an idea of what it would look like. The lighting still needs some work, at the minute there is 3 point lighting on it but the intensities may need some adjusting, especially around the edges of the fur ball. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I had issues with making the fur dynamic, in the way that the fur would always pierce through the geometry even though a collider was set to it. Apparently this can't really be solved the only way around it is for the object to be moving really slowly which would reduce the risk of the fur going through the geo. It was suggested to me that a way I could possibly get around this is by setting out the animation how I would like it within Maya, then applying the fur, slowing it down to where the fur doesn't puncture the geometry and then try speeding it up within After Effects. In theory this should work but I would need to test it out first, speeding up clips can sometimes create interlacing in the footage, depending on how much you speed it up by.

Spaceship development

Trying to figure out a design for my spaceship ended up being a lot harder than I thought. I wanted something that would relate to my character yet the common sci-fi spaceships you see in movies would not fit the style I was going for. In the end I realised the main thing that would relate the spaceship to the character is fur, again a typical spaceship wouldn't really work with fur so even though it's very simple I thought just a sphere could work. By adding fur onto it it gives it another dimension and is different to what you would normally see. To make it more interesting I plan to add one large spaceship and a couple small ones flying about in the scene, hopefully I will be able to show the fur dynamics with this which will add to the performance. Another reason for keeping it just a polygon sphere is that it allows me to spend more time making sure the rig I create for my character is correct, without a decent rig my animation would be let down. As my character is a quadruped, the rigging setup is slightly different and I will have to pay close attention when it comes to painting the weights. Before all of this however I will have to make sure that my model has the correct topology, the flow of the lines are all correct and will be similar to how a real mammal would be constructed. 

In a previous post I have already been testing out different types of fur and adjusting the attributes. Now I have had more time with it you can see the images below with what I have come up with, something more different than just using the presets. It ended up being a lot of trial and error, sometimes the fur was clumped up too much or other times it was too thick. What's good about Maya Fur is that it allows you to save a setup within the fur that you have created so you are able to easily apply this to another object. Obviously I don't want the smaller spaceships to be an exact copy of the larger one so I adjusted the attributes of the main fur preset I created, I think I may also adjust the hues of the little ones within After Effects when it comes to compositing, as this will then show it's not just a copy and make it more interesting to the eye.

Censorship and 'Truth'

The saying that 'the camera never lies' is in actual fact not true at all, it does lie, in the form of manipulation e.g either changing the way someone looks on a magazine through digital manipulation or being shown a view of something that isn't a true representation of that object or person. Within games, censorship plays a big part due to the violence in games but also how female characters are represented within them. Obviously everyone will have their own views on the subject, what one person may deem as inappropriate, another may find acceptable. People tend to make preconceptions based on what they already know and past objects that have a similar trait. For the female characters within games, it can sometimes provide a false image and portray them in a negative way by being overtly dressed. This is not to say that all games are like this, but most are given the preconception that this is the case, especially when someone doesn't play many games, or have knowledge of the wider range than just the ones that have come into speculation because of these traits.

Abduction Tests

One of the elements to be included is our main actor being abducted onto the spaceship, there are many different ways you can do this, but for now I have just tried out a couple to see what is achievable in a short time. First of all, to make this shot possible we needed our actor infront of a green screen and also another shot as a back plate in which we would composite the two together. Keying out the green screen is a simple task using After Effects 'Keylight' - just select the colour you want the screen colour to be, in this case green and it will key it out for you. You then need to do some adjusting with the clip black and white to make it a cleaner comp and also adjusting the edges to fit the back plate. The more you do when filming the better really. We were lucky with the weather as no shadows were really cast at all which makes green screening easier.

Both these tests still need work but it was just a quick composite to test out ideas. I followed a couple of tutorials e.g how to get the laser beam and smoke effect and adapted these to suit my taste. The first video is just using the standard scatter effect that is within After Effects, I then decided to add some smoke in to make it more interesting and I think it turned out quite well. With both I had to set keyframes for the opacity of my actress, so she would disappear at the correct time and for it to be believable. I also adjusted the timing of the back plate shot so the reactions of the extras would match the performance of my actress. The effects themselves still need work, timings with the smoke, maybe if I can make the laser beam react/move more it could add a bit more to the shot, basically these were just tests and there is still room for lots of improvement but at the minute I am happy with where these are going.

Blend Shape Tutorial

I had previously tried out using blend shapes during the summer break so I had a basic understanding of the process. With blend shapes you have to duplicate the master geometry and alter the duplicates by adjusting the vertices. There are many uses for blend shapes, the main one being a deformation, the other use is corrective blend shapes. This is useful to correct certain areas of the geometry, for example when you open your mouth, there are deformations that take place in the cheeks, so by using blend shapes you can put this in place to add more realism. They can also be used to alter any areas that aren't working correctly. You have to make sure that you don't delete the history or freeze the transformations of the duplicates of the geometry, if you do you the blend shapes will revert back to the original place of the master geometry. When selecting the blend shapes, always select them in the order you created them and then the master geometry last. From here you would create the blend shapes and add set driven keys to allow you to animate it.

I will be definitely be using blend shapes when it comes to my character, most likely in the form of expressions, I will have to make a note of all the expressions I want and duplicate the necessary amount of geometry needed.

Invasion Storyboard

So here is my storyboard for the Invasion shoot, we got given the first four shots, however I am going to be adding a few extra things such as extra spaceships when it comes to compositing. The basic idea though is that there is an alien invasion and the photographer gets abducted into the spaceship where it is up to us to decide what is going to happen to them. As you can see from my storyboards the photographer sees a large tree in the distance and something moving, this turns out to be the alien and while it appears cute and friendly, as soon as the photographer takes a picture of it, the alien gets really angry and pounces on them. An animatic will shortly follow as this needs to be sent off to John Waugh, the person who is going to be composing my music for me. I need to work out the timings of each shot so I know my time limits and also John knows what he has to work with and how long the changes are in between the main shots.

I think I'm being quite ambitious with this project, especially for the time scale of it. I need to learn how to rig a quadruped character, get the topology of my model correct, try and create my character with fur and as I want to specialise in animation, I really need to concentrate and look at a lot of reference videos and make sure I nail the timings and how my alien moves. If worst comes to worst and I do not have time to include fur onto my character, I will just apply a texture onto it. I will still be experimenting with it so I will have the research to back it up.

Green Screen Tutorial

The below video shows the final outcome of the green screen tutorial that I completed. This was my first time working with green screen footage but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Once you understand the process it's quite simple. With the green screen footage selected, I used KeyLight within After Effects to key it out. By selecting the colour of the green screen and adjusting the black and white values, along with masking out the rest of the footage (creating a garbage matte) you isolate the main footage and are able to drop a background image behind it.

For my first attempt I think it's turned out okay, but I know when it comes to keying out my own footage there will be adjustments I need to make and might have to create other masks. I also had to animate the mask path on this footage as he was moving about and his arms would have been cut off if I kept the original mask I created.

Communication Theory

We had a similar lecture last year on communication theory where we were introduced to the different areas and how they could be used within our own disciplines. This year it was expanded upon and what I took most from it was how branding has come to use communication theory. Brands create logos and other visual cues, not only to signify its usage but the status. Nike for example is such a well known brand now that when you see it you know that product is reliable and well used. An unknown brand may not fare as well. The same goes for movies, when people see Pixar and Disney logo they know they are going to see a really good movie, that tells a great story and you won't be let down by it. Other films from smaller and less known companies may not do as well in revenue because they don't have that following, that status that comes with the branding.

That one image as a logo can either reinforce you as an artist or not. It's something that should be taken into great consideration if someone were to go freelance and brand themselves. People will relate that image to yourself and your work, so you would want something appropriate yet memorable.

Fur Test

As I want my alien to have fur I thought it would be best to try it out within Maya first before I went too far. By doing this I will get a better understanding of what I will need to do when it comes to the final model. The images below are just using the presets given, there are a range of different types all of which you can combine with one another by blending or having the preset just on it's own. I have just used a polygon sphere to test it out, but when it comes to my alien I will have to be careful when it comes to UV mapping as this can affect the way the fur is placed. By selecting the specific geometry all you need to do is add a new fur descriptor. Within each fur descriptor there are many attributes which you can edit, all of which will change the way the fur is, for example length, density, colour, baldness, roll, curl and others. Again for the sake of testing it out, I have just used a preset fur description and only altered the length of the fur when it came to experimenting with dynamics.

Below are some of the other presets available within Maya, the last few I have either adjusted the length or blended a couple of preset furs together. At the moment the preset, Polar Bear is looking quite promising and I think I will develop on this further by adjusting certain attributes to see what effects I can achieve. I have also began to think about my spaceship and after seeing what fur looks like rendered, I'm liking the idea of the ship to just be a big fur ball. I have been having trouble trying to come up with an idea as there was nothing that really correlated between my alien and just a normal spaceship. There needed to be some resemblance and I think fur will be the best bet.

The videos below are tests of animating the fur dynamically. I followed a tutorial which I found online (HERE) and decided to give it a go to see what could be achieved. The first video is with a longer hair length, set at 2 whereas the one below is set at one. By following the tutorial I had to adjust a couple of attributes and created a hair system to my polygon sphere, by making collide the hair system and the sphere it should stop the hairs from going through the sphere, but as you can see in the tests this doesn't seem to be the case. I will need to look into this further and possibly try out a different technique, but for now I just wanted to test it all out and from here I can develop it further.

Cheshire Cat

An idea that was brought up to me was possibly having my alien move about like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. In the newest film, Tim Burton’s adaptation, he appears and disappears on screen with just the eyes viewable at some points. This adds a mysterious quality to the cat, which draws the viewer in, wanting to know more. Instead of walking, he floats yet he still moves his legs to suggest that there still needs to be force in order to float around. I like the idea of the way he slinks about and very slyly too, this adds character and emphasises personality traits of himself.

As I am still in the stages of coming up with the interior of the spaceship, I can’t be too certain of how my alien will move about, however I like the idea of it being shy and nervous and the movements it makes portraying this. By having a more elaborate (elaborate in the sense of not just white space, too much of a simplistic design) interior, with objects within that, I can have my alien interact with them and will create more personality if say it hides behind things or runs from one to another.

Life of Pi

I recently watched Life of Pi and it lived up to the expectations I had. It was visually stunning; unlike anything I had seen before and the story was something new. Based on the book by Yann Martel it has taken about 10 years for it to get onto the big screen, any time before this and I don’t think the technology would have done it any justice. The main thing I was interested about this film was the amount of visual effects used, all the animals, the ocean for the majority, the island, the ship – all were computer generated yet the integration within the film was seamless. Great visual effects are believable and even though the audience knows it’s not real, you forget that fact while you are immersed within the film. This was exactly how it was throughout Life of Pi.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my alien took inspiration from meerkats and what ended up being really useful was that they were a part of Life of Pi. It was interesting to see how they moved about and how they reacted with one another and the main character, Pi. Even though it would be good to animate from real reference, I feel that if it were based off a meerkat it would end up being too much of a mammal and not an alien at all. I will look at them for reference in the way they run, which foot is planted on the floor first and then which follows; however I will need to adapt this and act out certain parts to find out what is best for my alien. I will need to implement exaggeration and stylised movements so along with the videos I will act out; I will also draw out thumbnails in order to give me a better idea of what I want to achieve when it comes to animating.