April 2012
1 post
Finished Environments
Animation has been coming along nicely, another sample or two will be uploaded soon. However, in the meantime here are the finished environmments. To each of them I have improved some of the landscape, particularly with the mountains to give the final modelled look.
Texturing took up most of the time with the environments, for the physical objects I had to unwrap the UVs and then find a texture...
March 2012
12 posts
WatchHere is an animation example from the mountain scene.
Texturing Meryl
In my last animation, I did little texturing with UV maps, instead I just applied blanket metrials of the right colour and material. With the more realistic approach of this animation however, I need to use a different method called UV mapping.
With the mesh selected this is the map I am given in the texture editor.
This view is what i apply a texture to, and clearly I cant make an effective...
The Hair
For the hair I could have simply made a mesh on her head as seen below:
However, it wouldnt look as compelling as it wouldnt move with her body movements and stay in a constant unrealistic shape. Maya however, has a built-in hair simulator that I can use for Meryl:
I created a scalp mesh and created hair to come of out of it. This is what it looked like when it first came out:
I then need...
The eyes and mouth
I have handled the eyes and mouth differently to the rest of the rig. The eyes and blinking mechanisam were created seperate from the mesh. First I created a simple sphere and designed and texture to go around it.
I then made the eyelids and set up a set driven key so that close. I assigned the set driven key to a Blink attribute I set up on some eye controllers. When I raise this attribute...
Blendshapes
Blendshapes are duplicates of a shape that have been changed. They are used for various uses but in this case they will drive the facial animation.
Meryl will need several mouth and eye movements as part of her animation. To do this I need to duplicate the original mesh. On this new mesh I will change it to give her single facial movement, for example, angry eyes.
I then select the duplicate...
Rigging - Part 3
With the environments done all I need to complete the rigging so I can start animating.
Below is the completed skeleton. The shapes around it are the controls. With these I can assign them to joints and program in some controls, so instead of selecting joints and handles directly, I can select the controls and keyframe all the movements I need for that part of the body. For example the arrows on...
Environments (untextured)
The Cell
The Lobby
Sanctum
The Mountains
The Ruins
Modelling the Ruins
The most complex environment is the ruins. This are will be a fairly large but varied and interesting area with broken structures, pillars and rubble. Below are some images from the construction of the ruins.
Pillars
Courtyard
Arches
Ruins
Modelling the Lobby
The Lobby is a simple area comprising of an infinite white space and several doors dotted around, the idea being that each door leads to a different part of her mind.
Below is the process of creating the doors for the space.
The last environment to construct is the ruins.
Modelling the Mountains
My concept art and idea included the peak of a mountain in a mountain range. Below is the process I took to construct this area.
I started with modelling the basic mountain shape:
I then extended it to make it a peak, and gave it a flat platform where the characters will stand:
I then added a few more details to give it more shape:
I then took a larger plain and gave it enough polygons...
Modelling Sanctum
Sanctum is the name of the machine Meryl is plugged into. As said before it needed redesigning. The new look is a lot better and looks more sci-fi than before.
First I mapped out a few basic objects:
I then added a few details so that the focal point of the room was complete:
Next I constructed the rest of the machine. It has a much more interesting look and bigger presence in the room.
...
Modelling the Cell - Part 2
I added a few more objects to the cell to give it more character. I then constructed the walls, window and doorway. Below are images of the finished cell (but with no materials yet applied.
February 2012
14 posts
Modelling the Cell - Part 1
One of the scenes in the animation is of a small cell in which Meryl is bouncing a ball against the wall. This will consist of a small room with a few objects in. Overall to create the look of a dark, dank and uncomfortable cell.
Below are some objects to start it off:
This bed will look a lot more scruffy and unwelcoming when I come to texture it.
These boxes look a bit too clean at the...
Rigging - Part 2
The next part of the skeleton is the spine. The spine is one of the most flexible parts of the body so I need to create more joints to simulate it effectively. With these joints in place I use a different Kinematic tool called the Spline IK, this creates a curve that aligns with the selected joints. This method fits in better with the natural curve of the spine.
In the above picture, you can...
Rigging - Part 1
Now that I have the completed model, I need to prepare it for animating. To do this, I need to build a working skeleton and attach it to the model. A skeleton in Maya works very much the same way as real one, with a hierachy of joints that move certain parts of the body in certain ways.
First of all, i’ll start with the legs. The joints need to go in places where the body bends, so for the...
Completed Meryl Model
Below is the completed Meryl model (minus hair and eyes) following what I constructed in the previous Character Development posts. Details may still be added before moving on to rigging.
Character Development - Part 3
Clothing
To complete the model for Meryl I needed to define the clothing so you can tell by looking at the mesh what kind of clothes she is wearing. I started with the tank-top I designed her to be wearing. To do this, I split the polygons on the existing mesh to outline the shape of the tank-top. I then selected the faces and extruded them to give the 3D presence of the clothing. (See ...
Character Development - Part 2
The Hands
So far I have created the basic curved shape of Meryl. To continue developing the character I need to move onto creating the other body parts whilst defining and adding detail to her overall shape.
First of all is the hands. To start I used the following drawing to map out a basic shape for the fingers.
When I had created one finger I copied it and scaled it to fit the other fingers...
The Script
Storyboarding for a trailer is trickier than for a standalone animation. Trailers have a lot of brief clips rather than full scenes meaning I cant really storyboard until I Have a script for the piece. Below is a rough draft I typed up, from this I can not only produce some better storyboards but map out what exactly I need to make the animation.
Inner Demons Script
Music fades in.
Scene fades...
Character Development - Part 1
Whilst I think of a clearer structure for the trailer and scene, I can move on to creating Meryl. When creating a character there are several stages of development and several ways of going about it. The way i’ve always gone about character development is to start simple and build on it bit by bit. In this case, i’ll start with blocking out the basic shape of Meryl
First of all, I...
The Story
Inner Demons is set in a facility in the near future where people can go to overcome their fears, phobias and any bad experiences they want to move on from. They do this by using technology that creates a physical environment in their minds that they can go into to directly confront what they want to overcome. (See it as a kind of dreamworld they can explore)
For example, if someone wants to...
Introduction
Hello! This is my new blog documenting my progress for my Semester B Digital Media project.
For my this animation I have gone with an idea named Inner Demons. It is a short animation piece in the format of a theatrical trailer with an additional short scene to accompany it. As with my previous piece I will create it in Autodesk Maya in the form of a 3D animation. (Above is my previous piece:...
