Friday, September 29, 2017

BFA 3D Animation Class 4 9/28/2017

Topics covered in class:

Creating a maya project
-Where to save you animation files.
Maya Help

Animating a Pendulum swing
-Began by moving the UFO back and forth. Demonstrated arcs, and anticipation.
-Animated the top of the chain first.
-Copied animation keys from the top of the chain on the next 2 segments.
-Offset those keys, and used that as a starting point to refine the animation.

Showed various ways to move keyframes for retiming animation.
-Select and drag keys in the graph editor. Make sure to hold shift so you can lock the values as you are sliding the mouse
-Use the dope sheet to only view the timing of keyframes
-Use the timeline by shift selecting one or many keyframes, and using the middle mouse to drag it back and forth to wherever you need it.

Graph Editor
-Hold Shift+Alt along with Middle+Left Mouse button to scale your view in the graph editor.

Motion Trails
-If your motion trails don't update, it's a glitch. Delete and create a new one.

Auto Key
-When activate, will automatically set a keyframe whenever you change anything in the animation scene.

Tutorials and Reference Videos:

Videos I showed in Class:

Full ANL from Aardman Nathan Love on Vimeo.

HOMEWORK
Complete one pendulum swinging animation using the rig I sent you. You can do back and forth, just as I demonstrated in class, or you can try something else. The point is, I want to see you all work on you overlapping animation. Please email your quicktimes to me before class begins.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

BFA 3D Animation Class 3 9/20/2017

Listed below are the topics I covered during the third class. Please use this and the last blog post to get information about ball bounces. Watch the tutorial videos, and seek out more to supplement the your knowledge of animating a ball bounce.

Render Globals
This is where you set the resolution of your animation. I also touched on the use of your resolution gate, which displays the area you are rendering from. Each viewport has a resolution gate button that you can toggle on and off.

Playblasting
Make sure to set your playblast settings to qt (quicktime) and h.264 (compression).

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya-lt/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/MayaLT/files/GUID-2D865271-2873-4EDB-82C4-7FB9D7B311E7-htm.html

Referencing
We reference our assets into the scene, so we can use them without breaking or deleting their parts. Also Referencing is useful in case we want to update out asset separately without affecting the animation file.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-685DE9F6-0C38-46C2-A20B-63BCD17DE492-htm.html

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-B17150CB-3EF1-49FD-947D-278582F00C8D-htm.html

Copy and Pasting Animation
First I showed you how to copy your animation from the old ball, to the new ball with a tail.

Your original ball bounces had forward (positive) movement on Translate Z. We need to change that movement to Translate X. I showed you how to right click on the channel control and then copy/paste keys from Z to X. Once you do that you can delete the Keys on Z, or you can just 0 out the curve in the graph editor.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-44139924-FB4F-45AC-BD7A-DB6BABA5B968-htm.html

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Maya/files/GUID-03369332-484B-4930-B8C5-FBC1A455F7F3-htm.html

Squash and Stretch
I showed you how to take your existing animation and to add squash and stretch to it.

Tail and Overlapping animation

I briefly showed you I would animate the tail with the ball bounce animation we have. At this point you should use your artistic eye to determine how the tail should move, instead of relying on the graph editor. Use the motion trail to help you figure out where to point the tail

HOMEWORK

Please animate your ball bounce with squash and stretch added. Please also try animating the tail offsetting. I would like you to email a quicktime to me, at either 1920x1080, or 960x540. Make sure to have your resolution gate turned off.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

BFA 3D Animation Class 2 9/13/2017

Hello!

During our second class, we took a quick look at your drawings, and will save them for later when we pose a 3D character in Maya.

I continued to talk about maya animation tools while also demonstrating my approach to animating a ball bounce. First I animated the ball bouncing up and down, and than added some forward movement. I was not able to get to squash and stretch, but we can cover that during the next class.

When animating the ball, the main controls you will be using is the move (blue), and rotate (red). Remember that the Master (yellow) control is only used to place the ball.

Monday, September 11, 2017

BFA 3D Animation Class 1 9/6/2017

Hey guys! Welcome to the class blog. This entry covers what we talked about during the first class. I have the principles of animation here, and then below some resources on maya animating and the graph editor. This is here for you to review. The assignment is at the very bottom.

1) Principles of Animation

1. SQUASH AND STRETCH

This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element you will be required to master and will be used often.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/69173621355/disneys-the-fox-and-the-hound

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/60752307391/turner-entertainments-cats-dont-dance

2. ANTICIPATION

This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a characters personality.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/113164333745/pixars-the-incredibles

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/63555568003/samurai-champloo-by-manglobe

3. STAGING

A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. Staging directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told. Care must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/109394431893/studio-ghiblis-ponyo

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/90556132484/studio-la-cachettes-kairos-promo

4. STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION

Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation.

5. FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION

When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these follow the path of action). Nothing stops all at once. This is follow through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his clothes in the new direction. "DRAG," in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and the overlapping action.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/97887609908/disneys-the-little-mermaid

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/93308181161/disneys-the-jungle-book

6. SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN

As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the scene.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/85913460915/cartoon-networks-tales-of-metropolis

7. ARCS

All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/112696403405/disneys-the-hunchback-of-notre-dame

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/98306981210/disneys-hercules

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/14309621514/blue-sky-studios-rio

8. SECONDARY ACTION

This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.

9. TIMING

Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time, and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a great way to learn from the others.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/80574428877/disneys-peter-pan
http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/122765817105/wit-studios-rolling-girls

10. EXAGGERATION

Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural. The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and excessively animated.

http://framexframe.tumblr.com/post/52626303785/disneys-peter-pan

11. SOLID DRAWING

The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You transform these into color and movement giving the characters the illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.

12. APPEAL

A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience's interest. Early cartoons were basically a series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for story continuity, character development and a higher quality of artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.

(This can be the major theme of this class)

2) Maya Animation

Below I will add some maya hotkeys and a link to info about the Graph Editor. I will also list the topics I talked about in class. I won't go into to detail, but I will list them so you can google them or research them on youtube to gain more information.

Maya

Alt Left Mouse rotates view

Alt Middle Mouse pans the view

Alt Left + Middle Mouse zooms in and out

Create Shape (Sphere, Box, Plane, etc)

X Y Z

Translate Rotate Scale

- and + to change manipulator size

Channel editor and their values

Perp and orthographic window view

Space bar switches between them

Shading

Right Click, assign new material

Shaders (Lambert, Blinn, Phong, etc)

Change Color in shader attribute editor

Maya Windows we will use

Graph Editor

Shows animation curve

Outliner

Attribute Editor

Ctrl+A

Animation

S for setting KeyFrames

Time slider

Range Slider

Moving Keyframes to change timing

Keyframe tangents

Spline, Flat, Linear, Stepped

Unified and broken tangents

Maya 2016 Hot Keys: Some of these I did not show in class, but will talk about later on.

Animation Operations
	s	Animate > Set Key
	i	Insert Keys Tool (for Graph Editor) (press and release)
Shift	S	With left mouse button for Keyframe marking menu
Shift	S	With middle mouse button for Tangent marking menu
Shift	E	Set key for Rotate
Shift	R	Set key for Scale
Shift	W	Set key for Translate
Alt	j	Toggle Multicolor Feedback

Playback Control
Alt	.	Move forward one frame in time
Alt	,	Move backward one frame in time
	.	Go to Next key
	,	Go to Previous key
Alt	v	Turn Playback on or off
Alt+Shift	V	Go to Min Frame
	k	With middle mouse button for virtual Time Slider mode (press and hold and scrub timeline)

LINK:Maya Graph Editor Reference

3) Youtube Tutorials

Please please I urge you to watch these videos when you can. I realize they are long, but if you can sit through these, they will benefit you greatly for this class.