Class 11 11/13/2015

Hi Gang, Here is what I covered in class:

We took your drawings, edited them into a sequence in after effects and exported them as an image sequence.  This was so we can bring in them into maya as a timing reference for your final.  Now that you have a timing reference, you can begin blocking out poses in maya.

Animatics;
-Import images into After Effects.
-Create 1920 x 1080 composition, and make sure it is the length of your animation.
-Add images to composition.
-Sequence and edit timing of each of your drawings in your composition.
-Ctrl M to open export options.
-export as jpg sequence.
-change name from (yourfile)_[####] to (yourfile).[####].
-export these files into your source images folder of your maya project.

Setting up your Maya file
-Create new animation scene.  Set the length to the amount of frames you rendered from After Effects.
-Create new camera.  Name it RenderCam.
-In the RenderCam view panel create imagePlane.
-When asked, navigate to the folder where you saved your images.  Select the first one.
-In the imagePlane options, check the box next to "Use Image Sequence".
-Scroll down the attribute editor for the imagePlane until you get to "placement".
-Next to size change the first value of "1.417" to something small like ".35"  This is will scale down -the imagePlane in your camera view.
-The go to offset and change the values so that your image is in the top right corner.  Start with "0.53" and ".26".  You may need to adjust but .01 here and there.  It doesn't have to be exact.  Just out of the way.
-You now have a timed reference in your maya file for posing.
-Import soundfile, if you are using one.  Remember Maya takes sounds files as .wav.

For both of these steps, if you have any specific questions, please email me.  Or you can use youtube or google to find great tutorials.

Jubi, for your scene, please become familiar with motion paths.  Here is a tutorial video you should watch:

Just follow this so that you know how motion paths work.  We will be putting your character on this path when he or she is flying.

REQUIRED!! REQUIRED!! REQUIRED!! REQUIRED!! REQUIRED!! REQUIRED!!

As you are posing our your characters for homework, please also watch the first four videos from this playlist:

Keith Lango's Animation Videos

Keith gives you a great amount to think about as you are posing out your animations.  The rest of the playlist will be good for when you are actually animating.

To get a sense of what I am looking for in your animation blocking, here are some examples:

Fernando, don't worry about posing the mouth shape for dialogue yet.  You can pose them for emotion.  If anything you should be able to communicate your idea with the body.  Try to get your poses strong enough first.

HOMEWORK

Watch Keith Lango's videos (first 4) which I linked above.

Block out your cameras and poses in Maya.  Use your drawings as reference.  Try to add more poses than what you may have drawn.  Heejung in your case if you pose every one of your drawings you should be fine.

One you have these poses time them to your animatic.  Email me a playblast of your first blocking pass so we can watch them at the beginning of next class.

On a side note, we have to make up a class, since we missed the first one.  Instead of coming to school and doing a demonstration, I suggest we watch an animated film.  I was thinking we watch the new Pixar movie "The Good Dinosaur" and have some drinks or coffee afterwards to chat about it.  How does this sound?  I was thinking first weekend of December.  Please think about it, and we can chat during the next class.

Class 10 11/05/2015

Class Review!

As you know, you guys have one more week to work on and revise your head turns.  I hope what I showed you in class will help.  If you don't have your maya files, let me know.

Finals:

Draw out your character within the frame.  Similar to this:

The quality of your drawing can still be what you had before, but I want to see your character in relation to the frame.  This will be important for later.  Draw within 1920 x 1080 frame or a 16:9 ratio.  This way you will know what kind of camera space you have for your animation.  If you are not sure what this would look like, you can open photoshop and start a new file with this ratio, or you can set it in maya with the render globals.

I will add some support material for each of you to plan.  This will include some research.  I will go over this a little bit during class, but I would like you to get start by looking at other animations.  I am going to back to Frame X Frame to find some gifs that could serve as inspiration for your projects.  Creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum!  If you have an idea, chances are someone has done it before.  It helps to see how it was done, learn from it, and incorporate what was successful, into your own work.  These are not to say you have to copy them.  No.  This is about establishing the feel of your project.  For example, Jubi has a character flying and then landing.  I will show some instances where characters have good landings and see what we can learn from them.

JUBI IS FLYING

Explore other poses you would like your character to be in while he flies.
You can always google flying characters like Peter Pan to get inspiration.  Look around.  You might find something you like, that you haven't thought of before.

FRAMEXFRAME REFERENCES FOR JUBI

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/128186142038/glen-keanes-duet

I like this because it shows how expressive the character can be while she is in the air.  She also has a

 very nice landing.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/108546840031/pixars-inside-out-teaser

This spinning motion can be fun in the air and very easy to animate.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/70898599692/disneys-the-rescuers-down-under

Bird has a nice path before landing.  A small dip before rising and then finally landing.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/64386541285/disneys-aladdin

Aladdin has a nice landing here.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/53194817689/koji-morimoto-studio-4-c-passion-music-video

Nice flying animation.

FERNANDO IS DRINKING

Create the key poses for your scene.  Breakdown your animation based on the dialogue.  I mentioned in class I think it would be around 5 main parts.  I found the dialogue online and I can suggest how I would approach this.

1) "Another year on this planet"
(Drunken gestures)

2) "I have I haven't"
(more emotional, confused, flailing hands)

3) "accomplished squat."
(perhaps slaps hand or fist onto bar)

4) FALLS
(falls from stool)

5) "Can't even drink myself to death."
(climbs back up, or maybe a hand comes up and gestues)

You don't have to pose exactly as I just wrote.  But I do want you to think about how to break this up into 5 main ideas.  Explore the poses.  What poses would best express each of these stages of the dialogue?  If you can figure this out, please draw a pose for each stage that I have laid out for you.  You had been drawing them in a storyboard frame.  Please continue to do that.

FRAMEXFRAME REFERENCES FOR FERNANDO

These are not specific examples of what you should do.  These are just examples of frustrated characters and how they move.  Keep poking through this site or others and see if you can find something you like.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/104844451082/pixars-the-incredibles

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/9626344471/kent-mansley-from-warner-bros-animations-the-iron

HEE JUNG IS DANCING

Heejung, you have great drawings and video reference for your idea.  Next thing I would like for you to do is to draw your character within the frame.

Also I don't have any specific gif inspiration for you, since you have a very good video reference.  We can play it by ear.  if you feel stuck or need new ideas, we can look around.

Let's wrap up this posting!

I would like to have all your key poses and moment drawn into the frame of the camera. I will take these and place them in after effects, so we can talk about timing your shots out.  So please email these to me before class begins.

An important thing to note, even though I am asking you to plan everything, that doesn't mean it is set in stone.  You might change a pose or two throughout the process.  That's ok.  I just want you to at least have something to start with instead of nothing.  So even if you don't feel strongly about some poses, I still want you to put something down on paper.  We can always make it better later on as you advance your project.

And remember!  I will give extra credit if you film yourself acting out these poses.  This can be a good time to try it out.  You may accidentally find something you like and would want to use.

Lastly, finalize you head turns! Use the feedback and tips I provided in class and get that sucker done!

One last thing....

I found a playlist of videos by Animator Keith Lango.  I found these very useful when I was a student.  I will go over them in class and we may watch a few.  However I would like to send them to you now because they are also relevant to your headturn animations, and your current assignment of posing for the final.  Enjoy!

Keith Lango Animation Tutorial Playlist