Monday, September 19, 2011

WEEK 3: Animation Direction 1

Storyboarding, continued..
We'll look deeper into story boarding techniques this week, expanding on the basic camera shots and their uses to include camera moves and scene transitions.  Through close examination of storyboards from many different project styles we'll talk about ways story artists have communicated not just the main points of the action but also mood and character.

Designing storyboards for nonlinear media like video games must also include the element of branching - what happens when the action could go more than one direction?

Level design is another topic we'll look into today.  How do you plan the environment to fit your action?

Next week we'll have an informal group critique of your WIP so we can tidy up any loose ends before your Oct 2nd deadline.

Character Acting -- 2nd Assignment:

Assignment 2:  Action Analysis
Assigned: Sept 21st
Due: October 30th <--NEW!
% of Final Grade: 30%
Please keep file sizes under 2MB
Filenames:
tdonovan_walking_001.jpg
tdonovan_running_001.jpg
tdonovan_combat_001.jpg
tdonovan_combat_002.jpg
tdonovan_combat_003.jpg
tdonovan_weight_001.jpg

Description:
In preparation for next term's 3D animation, we're doing in-depth analysis of several types of human motion. Through our acting study we'll aim to add character to our actions. Your research will involve acting, video analysis and drawing.

For this assignment you should present at least 6 seperate studies including walking, running, 3 combat actions, and weight. Draw a series of keyframes for each action that demonstrate your thorough understanding of the movement, weight, and timing. Draw motion from more than one angle, if possible, and/or include studies or note significant details of the action. Drawings need not be clean, but they should be dynamic and clear.
Dynamic, clear animation poses from Disney masters 

Rubric:
Exemplary - thorough study including many drawings of variations in character and/or perspective, specific details and convincing weight.

Excellent - clear drawings demonstrating a thorough understanding of each action including key positions and solid weight.

Acceptable - drawings of most key positions indicating a basic understanding of motion

Not Acceptable - some drawings of actions, but not enough to demonstrate a thorough study

All assignments to be handed in via FTP.

Any questions, just ask!

WEEK 3: Texturing & Shading 1

X-Men render and diffuse map
Wrapping up Assignment 1: part 1, "Stop sign"
Diffuse maps! That's what this class will cover from stem to stern.  As we discussed in Week 1, the diffuse is what give objects their basic colour information. We'll start with photographic textures as a base and refine them in Photoshop.   We'll get into other types of maps next week. 
All that's due this week is the UV's, the diffuse map and the Max file with the texture file applied.  

Wrapping up Assignment 2: "Entropy in the city."
We'll have a look at some WIP examples so you'll know if you're on the right track. If you have any questions, please ask them well before the deadline.  PLEASE read the rubric -- this isn't just a random series of 12 snapshots.  Overshoot and choose your best images to edit and refine so they are visually compelling. This project should inspire you to always bring a camera with you and always be building your collection of reference images.
Textures should show the effects of time and the elements.