Finishing up

Rendering the individual scenes, using the view from different cameras. This was a process that unkown to myself that takes a lot of computing power to complete.

Rendering the animation was a dificult part of the process. Mainly because you need an amazing computing power and many hours of time to wait for each scene to render. I had to reduce the quality of the final animation, also remove the trees, plants and water high detailed effects, also reduce the quality of the lighting system which was very disapointing. My computer took 22 minutes to render one frame, considering my animation is made up of 1500 frames that is a very long time. Reducing the quality of the lighting drastically effected the quality of my animation, along with the reduced output quality, but it there after rendered at 30sec per frame. This disapointed me no end, as I was initialy very happy with the still renders of the scene, but the final outcome has not impressed me.

If I was to approach this module again, I would have learnt alot more about the rendering capabilitys of certain computers, before modeling and animation all my work on them. As different versions of the 3Ds max software are not compatible when importing animation, only objects such as still meshes. I wold aslo have spent less time modelling, and more time animating, as I have never approached it before i did not understand the huge indertakning of it, and the time and patience that it requires.

Cameras

I positioned cameras in the scene where i wanted to film angles from. The target of the camera can be moved, and animated to follow a path, this creates a panning shot which renders really smooth, and doesnt increase render time.

Animating my eagle

This eagle was made from standard objects, and turned into editable polys. Each one I moved individualy craeting the flying motion. I moved the pivot point from the middle of the wings to the end near the body, creating an acurate wing motion when pivoting.

Still images render

Here is a render of the scene, using the Daylight system as the lighting.

Lighting

Here is the lighting system that i used for my fable. It is called a DayLight System, it can be found on the in the drop down menu along the top of the software, not in the usual location for the loghting.

It is a very detailed lighting system that tales alot of rendering power to process properly. The shadows and atmosphere is very good with this apporach.

Using SKIN modifier to move a mesh with bones

I used the Skin modifier tool to turn the mesh into an animatable state, where it behaves under the rules of the bones you apply to it. This can be a tricky job if your mesh is not correct or clean enough. Simple is best, and the use of leaving lines of the mesh on joints, making the bending and flexing more realistic.

The image shows the skin modifier open in the side pannel, and the bones in the scene with the skin hidden.

Here I have applied material to individual polygons of the model, as this is a childrens cartoon animation this aproach works well for good results and limited rendering time.


The image above shows the see-through model skin of the man, and underneath is the bones which I have allined and assignend to his skin. These bones will be used to animate the model, and make it move accross the stage.

Loosing all your work

My entire 3DS max file for the fable animation will no longer open. Five minutes after using it previously, then loading it back up again it brings up a file error and wont open it any longer. So wise words to other animators on this course, duplicate your file on your computer, or save it externally. Or you may have to start all over again from the beginning, at week 8 like me.

This is me;

Mood boards

I have produced some moodboards for each character in my faeble, the eagle, man and snake.

Snake



Man



Eagle

Modelling for animation

After some confusion and lots of modelling I realised that it is easier to model the object or character in one mesh. Not made up from lots of little one, as the way the bones minipulate the mesh will create a good realistic motion unlike that with tweened seperate objects.

Here are some screen shots of my progress modelling my man, not ready for bones just yet but that shouldnt take long to produce some facial features and the rest of the body.

Making my models suitable for animating

Here is my update of my models,  and the basic layout of my backdrop and scene. I started breaking each part down into separate parts and aligning them together ready for the bones to be applied, which is my next step. I am going to produce some suitable textures in Photoshop for each character, but still keep a level of basic colour. I will also create a backdrop and sky to apply to the plane behind the mountains.  

Bones

Bones are used to act as joints and bones of your structure, they can be fixed to one another and work together to create lifelike movement. The bones can be fixed to objects and move simultaneously with them. I have been looking through guides on the web to help my knowledge and proper use of them.

Modeling my characters

I have started to model my characters and I am happy with how they turned out. I feel I have a achieved a slight cartoon look to them, to be suitable for children. After researching into the stages of animating objects I learn that it is easIER to use separate parts for each limb. After this I had to almost start again in the modeling and to chop up the parts and make them individual.

Modelling my characters

To keep the modeling simpler I have decided to aim for a cartoon design to the characters. This assignment is more about the quality of the animation, and accuracy of achieving lifelike motion. As for the rendering I will keep it to block colours as this will be an important part of the fable being directed at children.

Storyboarding my animation

This is my basic storyboard to my animation of the eagle and the serpent. I tried to also include different camera angles, ones in which would benefit my animation in the key scenes etc. I kept the storyboard fairly short as i have little knowledge with animating using 3Ds MAX, and I am leaving room for experimenting and learning as I go!

Studying the walk cycle and animal movement

To create a realistic animation the most important part is accurate movement and tweens. The modeling can be fairly simple with a well done animation as the story is told by the activities the characters do, not the quality of the rendering. With this in mind I have been looking into walk cycles and motions which the human body use for certain activities. I have been using a mirror alot too for my modeling to get an accurate idea of motion in the limbs. I am trying to gather some clips of snakes and birds movements, to study and learn about their form in motion. 

Leanring how to animate emotions

In the lecture this week we learnt how too animate the features on a head, and combine this with animation to create a realistic emotion. Learning these techniques is crucial for my animation project and i can apply these skills to it.

Learning about cameras

In our second lecture we looked into animating cameras. How to create paths for cameras and other objects to follow in animation. From the modifier panel to the right there is a Object Shapes section which has the tool lines in it. Click and drag or click and move the tool around your environment to create a path on the X/Y plane, then right click to finish the path. This then can be linked to an object or camera by a Path constraint under the Animation drop down bar. The path acts like a time-line and you can add or take away frames to make the time an object travels on the path faster or slower. Here is a picture of my cityscape with a path linked to the target on my target camera.

Research for animating action

The Serpent and the Eagle

This is the fable that i have chose, looking to portray the moral of "one good turn deserves another".

I have been looking at images of the characters that i will need to animate, to get inspiration and ideas for the modeling.

Understanding Literature for children

Literature for children is aimed at 12 years and younger, it is made up of many different types including picture books, board books, fiction, non fiction, poetry and more.

In the education of children's literature there is many different approaches and styles including: (1) unknown authorship, (2) conventional introductions and conclusions, (3) vague settings, (4) stereotyped characters, (5) anthropomorphism, (6) cause and effect, (7) happy ending for the hero, (8) magic accepted as normal, (9) brief stories with simple and direct plots, and (10) repetition of action and verbal patterns.

Children's literature is often heavily illustrated, this often includes key points in the story which help the reader to comprehend the story. It also sets the scene and helps stimulate the imagination. This is great for an effective animation to bring a story into colour and life.

Choosing suitable fables

There are many interesting Fables which I have read from the list that I would like to animate, but what makes an interesting story doesn't always make for effective animating. So I am am taking a decision based on my own skill on which Fables I could animate and produce in a clear effective way. Here is an example of one which could be animated.

The Eagle and the Arrow

An Eagle was soaring through the air when suddenly it heard
the whizz of an Arrow, and felt itself wounded to death. Slowly
it fluttered down to the earth, with its life-blood pouring out of
it. Looking down upon the Arrow with which it had been pierced,
it found that the shaft of the Arrow had been feathered with one
of its own plumes. "Alas!" it cried, as it died,

Moral: "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction."

Yet this being simple and short that may be why I wouldn't choose this one, as I would prefer to animate something a little more complex. At the same time, its message may be less than understandable to children.

The following fable has a more understandable meaning and its moral is more suitable to be educated to children. This is my favorite so far, but I want to be right in my decision as there is a lot of modeling to do!

The Serpent and the Eagle


An Eagle swooped down upon a Serpent and seized it in his talons
with the intention of carrying it off and devouring it. But the
Serpent was too quick for him and had its coils round him in a moment;
and then there ensued a life-and-death struggle between the two. A
countryman, who was a witness of the encounter, came to the assistance
of the eagle, and succeeded in freeing him from the Serpent and
enabling him to escape. In revenge, the Serpent spat some of his
poison into the man's drinking-horn. Heated with his exertions, the
man was about to slake his thirst with a draught from the horn, when
the Eagle knocked it out of his hand, and spilled its contents upon
the ground.


"One good turn deserves another."

Why are the fables good for children?

The fables are entirely based on morality, and telling a meaningful story. Morality can be described as set of beliefs distinguishing between right and wrong. Which makes them a crucial part in a child's education, scientists believe that learning such things at a young age will reflect through in later life. The combination of animals in the story telling makes an interesting platform for an educational purpose.

About Aesops Fables

Aesop's Fables are short stories which have a very definitive meaning. Only constructed from one or maybe two paragraphs each one is based around an event which teaches the reader a certain moral. There are 655+ fables, each teaching you morals like "United we stand, divided we fall" and "Look before you leap". You may remember one of the most famous fables named "The hare and the tortoise" with the moral of "Slow and steady wins the race". These short stories are apparently almost as old as the Olympics, still holding values and meanings which we still very much believe and understand today.



There is also the "Boy Who cried wolf" and "The ant and the grasshopper" which are also some of the most well known fables ever written. They were wrote by a slave in Greece between 580-620BC, these Beast Fables are called such as all the stories characters consist of animals.

Aesops Fables

If you want to look at the Aesops Fables here is a link to the website.

http://www.aesopfables.com

First 3D Studio Max animation class

This is the second semester of my second year, and we are continuing our 3D Studio Max tutoring and Il be learning how to animate in the 3D software, not just model objects.

I have been given my brief already, and with in this semester I have to study Aesops Fables. If you have not heard of this, these are childrens storeys, and I will have to animate one of the storys in this program.