Monday, December 9, 2013

WEEK 15: All assignments due in class this week

Motion Studies - your blended cycles are due
Game Dev - your final animation is due

Hooray, you're done! 

Happy holidays to all my students! This is one of the funniest Christmas toons from one of my favorite studios: BirdBox. Their stuff is the epitome of simple, snappy timing and loads of appeal. 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

WEEK 14: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 4 due next week!

One week left to go!
Please let me know if you have any questions about your marks for your last assignment.

By now many of you have figured out how to animate a basic turntable in 3dsMax. I'm sure you know where to get great tutorials to help with lighting and rendering as well. In case you're still not sure, here are a few that might help:

http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/539-Beginners-Guide-to-3ds-Max
http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/858-Introduction-to-Lighting-in-3ds-Max
http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/348-Introduction-to-Rendering-in-3ds-Max

Models by Don Toledo, Silicon Knights

WEEK 14: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 5 roughs due today!

One week left to go!

I look forward to seeing your planning material for your last project which is due next week.

Here's some great advice from a Sony Imageworks animator, Matt Munn, on bridging the gap between being a student and being a professional.  Here are some of his key points:
  • remember you're not alone :)
  • get feedback - many senior people are willing to share their expertise with you
  • collaborate - work with your fellow team members to get the best performances
  • stay passionate about your work!

Here's a sampler of Matt's animation from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

WEEK 14: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 9: Blending: Due next week!


We're going to 'blend' our cycles together using the simplest tools in Maya. Blending between different actions may involve adding extra details between cycles. For example, a walk to a run requires a tricky middle action where the character gathers energy to move more quickly.
Assignment 9: Blending the Cycles
Playblast and Maya file
% of final grade: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Dec 3rd, 2013
Due: WEEK 15, Dec 10th at the end of class
*Late assignments are worth 0


Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB.
Blend together your cycles - idle to walk, walk to run, run to jump.
If you like you can try blending back to the run.

Please REFERENCE your rig into your shot (do not open the rig and start animating or import him.)

Filenames:
1136_a9_donovant_blend_001.ma
1136_a9_donovant_blend_001.mov


The timing (both frames per step and timing of secondary actions such as arm swings and head drag) should support the attitude and personality. The character should have a believable weight. The motion should be fluid and smooth without obvious pops or bumps. Body parts should be offset from one another a bit so every part of the action doesn't occur on the same frame.


We're also going to continue with our topic of the most subtle of the animation principles -- overlapping action, which is paramount to creating weight. We'll take lots of cues from the Pixar of Game Animation, Blur Studio in California.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

WEEK 13: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 4 due in 2 weeks

Last week a few of you mentioned you may not really know much about lighting. Fortunately, a little on info real-world lighting techniques can take you quite far. There are great tutorials out there but one of the best ones I've seen is from Marmoset Toolbag. Marmoset is a set of tools to create amazing lighting effects very quickly and easily. I don't suggest you skip learning lighting in 3dsMax but I do recommend you check out Marmoset's stunning results and their very thorough tutorials.

Their Character Lighting Tutorial contains a lot of the basic terminology and concepts you will need to light your gun or anything, really. Key, Fill, and Rim lights are standard terms you should know as well as some ideas about how to place them properly. There is also a list of links to inspiring photography portfolios that show what a difference great lighting makes. http://www.marmoset.co/toolbag/learn/character-lighting



I would seriously recommend you steer clear of Photometric lights in 3dsMax and stick with the Standard lights. 

There's another awesome site you should know about: James Gurney's blog "Gurney Jouney" and his book, "Color and Light" will teach you everything you need to know about colour, light and shadow.
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.ca/2010/02/light-and-form-part-1_15.html

If you need help setting up your lighting or your animation just let me know!

WEEK 13: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 4 final animation due today!

Milestone 4 is due today!

Please also let me know what your plans are for your final assignment. You only have 2 weeks for this one so I want to make sure everyone's on the right track.

Milestone 5:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation.
Value: Total 20%. See breakdown below.
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
The following are due in class:
5% WEEK 14: planning & rough posing
15% WEEK 15 final animation


FILE NAMING:
3010_ m5_lastnamefirstinitial_001
ex:
3010_m5_donovant_001.mov
3010_m5_donovant_001.jpg

Images: JPGS only, 72 dpi, 1200px along longest edge,
Videos: Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB

Playbasts only, please. Do not render these assignments. You do not have time.

Your final animation should have a different number than the rough posing but otherwise please follow the identical naming convention.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: Planning animation - 
A few of you still seem a bit unclear about what is meant by rough animation. Here's a podcast you can listen to from one of the all-time greats - another animator to get to know: James Baxter. Does his name sound familiar? Then you must be a fan of Adventure Time where he helped create a horse character who neighs his own name! Hilarious as it is, don't get too sidetracked by this recent silly turn because James Baxter is a well-known animation heavyweight with some of the biggest blockbuster feature credits you can imagine - Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King to name just 2. 

Here he is speaking about animation planning. If you're super keen check out the episodes before and after it: http://animationpodcast.com/archives/2008/03/02/james-baxter-part-two/
James Baxter's masterful drawings of Rafiki's hands from the Lion King

Monday, November 25, 2013

WEEK 13: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 8: Jump Cycles: Due next week!

Next cycle -- Jumps!
EVH can do it, so can you
We'll take a look at some different styles of jumping, leaping, hopping, bounding characters and study live action for inspiration. Jumping characters exhibit lost of secondary and overlapping action, and anticipation.

Showing the effort characters take to move their own weight is paramount to creating believable animation of any style.

It's one thing to make the up and down motion read as 'heavy' and affected by gravity. It's quite another to master the mechanics of looping overlapping/secondary action with the character's arms, legs and other details such as tails or capes.

If ever the devil were in any details.. it's animating secondary on a looping action!

Your jump cycles should be usable for avoiding ground pitfalls or traveling forward.
The mechanics of the body in the jump should work well before tackling the secondary action

Remember you will be blending this cycle from and back to the run so you might want to export the start pose from a run position to help it transition smoothly.

Assignment 8: Jump Cycle
Playblast and Maya file
% of final grade: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013
Due: WEEK 14, Dec 3rd at the end of class
*Late assignments are worth 0


Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB.
Animate your character jumping on the spot in a treadmill cycle. It should be a loop about 1-2 seconds long. Animation should show all 12 principles of animation, especially strong posing, weight, and overlapping action. The character should have believable weight, a clear personality, and move with fluidity and clarity.

Please REFERENCE your rig into your shot (do not open the rig and start animating or import him.)

Filenames:
1136_a8_donovant_jump_001.ma
1136_a8_donovant_jump_001.mov

The jump should clearly show the personality and attitude of the character. The timing (both frames per step and timing of secondary actions such as arm swings and head drag) should support the attitude and personality. The character should have a believable weight. Steps should be symmetrical (apparently if not mathematically) and the motion should be fluid and smooth without obvious pops or bumps. Body parts should be offset from one another a bit so every part of the action doesn't occur on the same frame.


Monday, November 18, 2013

WEEK 12: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 3 Due today

Assignment 4 -
NEW BERETTA 3D Model: 15 Marks
DUE DATE: WEEK 15 December 12th
@ BEGINNING OF CLASS on Blackboard
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
Assignment 4 is to set up the model on a turntable for presentation.
Animate the gun in a 360 degree rotation and apply a lighting solution (ie, 3 point light set-up)
Once the model is lit and animated, render out as an AVI or an MOV.

Recommended settings:
Quicktime (MOV)

Compression H.264
1280 x 720
3 x 360 degree rotations - about 8 seconds
check your frame rate matches your output (24fps or 30 fps)

FILENAME:
ASSIGN4_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_YOURNAME.AVI (or MOV)
ASSIGN4_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_YOURNAME.MAX

ex -
ASSIGN4_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_TARADONOVAN.MOV
ASSIGN4_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_TARADONOVAN.MAX

Here are some examples of turntables: 
Blaster Gun Game Model Turntable
Gun - Peacemaker 3D Turntable
Weapon Model Turntable


I added another Digital Tutors course for you in Modeling Basics called  Introduction to Camera Animation in 3ds Max. There is a specific unit called Creating Turntable Animation that you might find especially useful.


WEEK 12: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 4 posing due today!

Looking forward to seeing your rough posing today!
Due next week:
10% WEEK 13: final animation (polished, fluid, full animation)

This week is the 85th anniversary of one of the most pivotal milestones in animation history: Walt Disney's 1st Mickey Mouse cartoon and one of the earliest cartoons with sound. 1928's "Steamboat Willie" helped make Walt Disney a household name and boosted the career of pioneering animator Ub Iwerks.

What's remarkable to note is that this cartoon predates "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" by just 9 years! A lot can happen in a decade.

WEEK 12: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 7: Run Cycles: Due next week!

This week: run cycles.

There are so many kinds of running -- sprinting and long-distance running, jogging, barefoot running, and all sorts of speeds (spm) and styles, including cartoony. We'll look at some video analysis of running and talk about the major keys.

We'll start dealing with blending cycles together so you can practice in preparation for the last assignment. Think about how you'd go from walking to running. Slap on those runners, hit some pavement or a treadmill and feel the difference between the two gaits. Make sure it's obvious in your animation that you understand a new action requires an anticipation.  Does your COG drop a bit lower before it springs higher? Do you need to lean forward? Do you take one big walking step before your first running step? Exaggerating things like this to make the audience appreciate your analysis.

Read up on runs:
Richard Williams' "Animator's Survival Kit" pgs 176 - 200

Please do NOT use bad reference from the Internet such as Preston Blair or AngryAnimator or Anime. Only source information from battle-tested, quality animators with high-end experience. 90% of the information online on animation is not usable at this level.

Digital Tutors has a great tutorial on runs but I will caution you it veers into territory you do not want to focus on for this cycle such as character sets, scripting for mirroring poses, and editing rotation order. You can learn these if you want but I want you to focus on just animating great poses with great timing using great reference.
http://www.digitaltutors.com/lesson/25052-Introduction-and-project-overview

Assignment 7: Run Cycle
Playblast and Maya file
% of final grade: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013
Due: WEEK 13, Nov 26th at the end of class
*Late assignments are worth 0


Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB.
Animate your character running on the spot in a treadmill cycle. It should be a loop about 1-2 seconds long. Animation should show all 12 principles of animation, especially strong posing, weight, and overlapping action. The character should have believable weight, a clear personality, and move with fluidity and clarity. 

Please REFERENCE your rig into your shot (do not open the rig and start animating or import him.)

Filenames:
1136_a7_donovant_run_001.ma
1136_a7_donovant_run_001.mov


The run should clearly show the personality and attitude of the character. The timing (both frames per step and timing of secondary actions such as arm swings and head drag) should support the attitude and personality. The character should have a believable weight. Steps should be symmetrical (apparently if not mathematically) and the motion should be fluid and smooth without obvious pops or bumps. Body parts should be offset from one another a bit so every part of the action doesn't occur on the same frame.


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

WEEK 11: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 3 Due next week! (November 21st)

Hey, there - you guys seem to be doing great with your gun models. Many of you are learning as you go so it could be wise to take a step back from time to time and assess the basic silhouette of your weapon - is it as good as it could be? The instant read of your model is the most important thing - the first thing observers see is the shape. So don't get too deep into the details until the basic contours are working.

Here's a great article from 3DArtist magazine all about topology -

http://www.vertheim.com/uploads/1/0/1/1/10114322/topology.pdf


Don't be afraid to ask for help. Peer tutors are available now. Share your knowledge if you have extra to share :o)  and remember, helpful people deserve your thanks and maybe a small gesture like a cookie or a coffee. But usually what goes around comes around -- for every helpful gesture another usually comes back to you in ways you might not expect.

Looking forward to seeing your models next week!




WEEK 11: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 4 planning due today!

Today I'll have a look at your submissions for planning the 4th assignment which may include storyboards, thumbnails, video reference, blocking, or other planning methods of your choice.

Due next week: 
5% WEEK 12: rough posing (all key poses including facial expressions and hands)

This means your animation must be finished in rough form by next class. :D

Please triple check your hand-in parameters to make sure they conform to all requirements for size, aspect, file type, naming, etc. Help each other avoid common mistakes! 

From the info I gathered in last week's quiz it looks like you might want to start stuffing your head with more animation history and start to recognize the work of some influential animators of your time. This is one of the best sites on the internet to brush up your animation knowledge. There's a heap of documentaries so you can get to know some of the true pioneers of your industry.
http://livlily.blogspot.ca/



Monday, November 11, 2013

WEEK 11: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 6: Treadmill Walk Cycles: Due next week!

Now that you've worked out the bugs of handling a new rig and using all the cycling and timing tools in Maya it's time for a whole new level of picky: walk cycles.

There are 2 ways to animate a walk cycle  - straight-ahead, which is often called "walking off the coin" meaning you leave the main controller or god node behind as the character walks forward as you would in real life. In order to turn this into a cycle, the coin slides back in perfect sync with each step so that the character does not move forward on the screen. The other way is to 'treadmill' it by having the coin remain in place and have the feet slide backwards, just like on a treadmill at the gym. The coin can be animated moving forward at the same speed as the feet slide backward to make the character travel forward. Different animators and studios have their preferred method so it is wise to know about them both. We will be working with treadmill walks for this class. 

One common pitfall to avoid is creating a 'vanilla walk' with the intent of altering it later. Please don't fall into this trap. Animators animate characters walking, not generic walk cycles. I will be teaching you a pose-to-pose method of animating walk cycles that should start with an apparent personality from the very start. There are some tutorials online that use a 'layered' approach to creating walks starting with feet sliding back and forth like on a Nordic track ski machine and then adding each detail one at a time. Ok, no. Just no to that. Please do not let me see you doing that. It was the method I was taught too but it is not industry standard and it focuses entirely on mechanics and not on personality, which is the way an animator should be thinking and working.

When animating complex motions like walks it's a very good idea to study live action reference, or even create your own.

Walk Reference:
Treadmill Walk: Dude
"Endless Reference"'s You Tube channel (also see sidebar link -->)
Monster's Inc
Iron Giant

Digital Tutors has a comprehensive tutorial on walk cycles using this this method.
http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/354-Creating-Walk-Cycles-in-Maya

Getting good at cycles requires patience and practice. You should try a few different ones so you get faster at setting them up. It's always better to work from reference. Shooting your own reference can be invaluable so you understand the mechanics.

If we get all the way through the walk cycle instruction I can show you how to import and export animation into other files so you can work on combining them. Until you understand how to combine animation, work on your walks in a completely brand-new file.

DESN1136 Assignment 6: Walk Cycle
Playblast and Maya file
% of final grade: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Nov 12, 2013
Due: WEEK 12, Nov 19th at the end of class
*Late assignments are worth 0


Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB.
Animate your character walking on the spot in a treadmill cycle. It should be a loop about 1-2 seconds long. Animation should show all 12 principles of animation, especially strong posing, weight, and overlapping action. The character should have believable weight, a clear personality, and move with fluidity and clarity.

Please REFERENCE your rig into your shot (do not open the rig and start animating or import him.)

Filenames:
1136_a6_donovant_walk_001.ma
1136_a6_donovant_walk_001.mov




Wednesday, November 6, 2013

WEEK 10: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 3 Due in 2 weeks! (November 21st)

Hey, everybody.
How are those models going?

I just found another helpful course for you on Digital Tutors specific to your assignment. I started a new modeling playlist as it's a bit too in-depth to be included under Modeling Basics.

Modeling in 3DS Max and Zbrush - 
http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/my_playlists.php?pid=218611


There's also a detailed tutorial specifically for modeling a Beretta at 3DM3:
http://www.3dm3.com/tutorials/beretta/


WEEK 10: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 3 due today!

Milestone 3 is due today!

Milestone 4:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation.
Value: Total 20%. See breakdown below.
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
For the final 2 assignments I'm allotting marks for work in progress. 
The following are due in class:
5% WEEK 11: planning (may include storyboards, thumbnails, video reference, blocking)
5% WEEK 12: rough posing (all key poses including facial expressions and hands)
10% WEEK 13: final animation (polished, fluid, full animation)

FILE NAMING:
3010_ m4_lastnamefirstinitial_001
ex:
3010_m4_donovant_001.mov
3010_m4_donovant_001.jpg

Images: JPGS only, 72 dpi, 1200px along longest edge,
Videos: Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB

Playbasts only, please. Do not render these assignments. You do not have time.

Your final animation should have a different number than the rough posing but otherwise please follow the identical naming convention.

Please note that no marks will be given for conforming to requirements. Only projects that conform to hand-in parameters will be graded.

First up: Planning!  Due next week! Do not skip this part it es muy importante!
Here is master animator, Carlos Baena bringing it all to a quick sequence from The Incredibles:
http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/resource_tips_planning.html








Monday, November 4, 2013

WEEK 10: Motion Studies DESN1136 Idle, continued! Transitioning into Walk Cycles

Today we'll continue with the idle adding refinements to the overall action such as overlapping action and tweaking the curves in the graph editor to make sure everything is smooth.  If you're happy with your idle, try another one from scratch in a contrasted pose. Perhaps you could make an 'extended idle' that transitions from one idle to another.
The Digital Tutors tutorial "Animating Game Characters in Maya" takes you through the creation of a character-specific game idle. Starting from a strong character pose, the animator sets up a simple keep-alive idle with overlapping action and uses the graph editor to alter and refine the action. 

I'll go over how to set up your playblasts so you can hand them in next week. 

There seemed to be some confusion with the difference between IK and FK last week so we can do an exercise to clarify that concept a bit more. Here's a link I sent out to a 1-pg explanation of IK and FK Demystified for Animators

If we have time I'll lead into walk cycles by working on the transition from idle to the first step forward - this takes quite a bit of finessing and if you can figure it out you'll be that much further ahead when we officially start walks next week. 

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

WEEK 9: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 3 Due in 3 weeks! (November 21st)

Happy Hallowe'en!

Well, your next assignment isn't due for another few weeks but don't let that kill your momentum! Better to press on with as much energy as you can and get it done early than leave it to the last minute. You're still pretty new to modeling, most of you, anyway, so I made a beginner modeling playlist for you with about 19 hours of instruction. This takes you through everything from basic theory to creating simple props to professional workflows to ways to improve your existing models. You should have everything you need to get you started and maximize your skills no matter what your level. If you're struggling, there should be a peer tutor available for you every day in the lab. If not, do remind Jean-Paul that you need some extra help and one should be available soon.  Failing that, share your resources - no one's good at everything and if you get someone to help you, you can always help them with something in return or at least get them a sandwich.
What goes around truly does come around!



WEEK 9: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 3 due next week!

Happy Hallowe'en! Would it scare you if I reminded you that next class is your deadline for Milestone 3? Moohahahahaaaa!!!!!

Tonight Pixar is releasing a new short 'Toy Story of Terror!' that looks like lots of fun.
Here's some behind-the scenes progression information about the many stages of production they went through on this short:

http://www.tv.com/news/toy-story-of-terror-sneak-peek-see-the-evolution-of-a-single-frame-of-footage-from-abcs-new-special-from-story-to-final-product-photos-138138516864/





Monday, October 28, 2013

WEEK 9: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 5: Idle

Ready for your term of Maya animation cycles? You are going to create a set of cycles that will seamlessly blend together - idle, walk, run, and jump.

We are going to be using exclusively the new free rig from Animation Mentor, Stewart.

Get your own copy here rather than just getting it from a friend. Sign up for their newsletter, trust me, it's worth it. 
http://www.animationmentor.com/free-maya-rig/
He has more functionality than Buckid and less troublesome detail than Eleven.

First up: Idle no more! (hehe)..
Greeks gave the world souvlaki
 and contrapposto
The humble idle is the Rubic's cube of cycles. How your character behaves when he's just waiting around conveys a lot of attitude. You'll need a lot of subtle control to keep a character alive. Too little movement and they'll just look dead, too much and they'll appear to be having a seizure. :o)


I must warn you that as simple as it may seem to make a character 'do nothing', it is most diabolical! With great subtlety you must add some movement to every part of the character. Nothing should bump or pop, everything should have a nice smooth arc and you should not really be able to pick out where the cycle starts and stops

The key to idles is mastering 'Overlapping Action'. Show how movement flows from the main muscle groups of the body out to the extremities using the 'wave principle'.

Start with a nice pose. Work in a little contrapposto if you can.
woah, that's a little too
 much contrapposto

Get the attitude working before you move on to animation. Create a slightly different pose in the middle and then some breakdowns in between. This looks not too bad, but the movement will all be happening on the same keyframes. Get into the details by offsetting the joints. All changes of direction must use lots of slow ins & outs. Use your infinity/cycle views and check for smoothly flowing curves in that Graph Editor.

DESN1136 Assignment 5: Idle Cycle
% of final grade: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013
Due: WEEK 11, Nov 12th at the end of class
Playblast and Maya file
*Late assignments are worth 0


Animate your character in a typical (not generic) pose, idling. It should be a loop about 1-2 seconds long. The QT should be set up to cycle on a loop so be sure your 1st and last frame are not repeated.

Quicktimes only, 560 pixels by 316 pixels, H.264 codec, max 10MB. You can use a variety of tools such as Handbrake, Adobe Media Encoder, Quicktime Pro and more to format your videos. I use the 11-second club guidelines: http://www.11secondclub.com/helpful_hints/encoding

Please REFERENCE your rig into your shot (do not open the rig and start animating or import him.)

Filenames:
1136_a5_donovant_idle_001.ma
1136_a5_donovant_idle_001.mov


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

License-Free Maya Rig Testing **Update 2013**

Rigs, rigs, rigs....
They're all similar but oh, so different.
A great way to get ready for rigging your own characters is to try a LOT of rigs.  Learn what you like and don't like. Peek into the Outliner and see how organized it is (or not!). Check out how usable it is for animation.  Then you'll be ready to borrow ideas for your own rigs.

Please note if you use any of these rigs they are not for commercial use and must be properly credited!

3 sites with lots of rigs for you to try:
Animation Buffet


FLOUR SACK:
Beautifully made flour sack rig (at last!) Created for Maya 2013 by Joe Daniels - check out his cool video clip as well!

ELEVEN:
Created as a group collaboration project by members of the 11SC community!
I love the look of this super cute girl/guy rig!
It looks like a lovely rig so far. Very teensy compared to some other rigs. Fast, easy to use. Nice rig. We use this rig a lot at school.
http://elevenrig.blogspot.com/



NORMAN:
by Leif Jeffers, Morgan Loomis, Peter Starostin, and Neal Thibodeaux

This rig isn't much to look at but it's packed with features -- maybe too many? He's even got 'bend bows' for arcing limbs, sweet! The GUI is totally customizable and you really ought to be able to do anything with this rig.
Only a couple of problems -- the head CTRL -- you know, the one you might need to grab like 1000 times a day, is on the BACK of his head ??? So, unless you love working in XRAY mode or wireframe, you have to do a little tumbling every time you want to grab it.

People have customized Norman into all SORTS of amazing models. Check them out!
https://sites.google.com/site/normanrig/

MORPHEUS:
by Josh Burton 
Wow. Just wow. This is a very distinctive.. and unique GUI.  Is this a good thing? I'm not sure. I find it distracting.  Good news -- it's just to customize the rig into all sorts of different 'looks'. Then you can hide that sucker.

The rig is very slick and there are more ctrls than you can shake a stick at.
http://www.joshburton.com/projects/morpheus.asp

MOOM:
by Ramtin Ahmadi

This ugly-on-purpose rig has a very slick GUI and it's easy to find your way around right out of the box. *NOTE* - one of the arms was IK and the other FK (perhaps purposefully?) but the switch turned out to be not that hard to find (on the ground).  My favorite so far for ease of use.
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/moom-v4-0-3-by-ramtin


MAX: (Maya or Max)
by Peter Starostin and James Hunt

Last but not least, this well-used rig has a lot to recommend it.
I liked how easy it was to find everything ... except one very important thing... the MAIN CTRL!
I'm used to seeing, 1, 2, or 3 big, obvious ctrls somewhere in the area of the character's feet.  I see a ROOT but it's in his middle and with IK legs, it only moves the middle. My apologies if it's staring me in the face and I just can't see it!
http://www.bockstyre.com/james/maxformaya/

HEAVY: from Team Fortress - might be some copyright infringement going on here but it's fun to play with.
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/heavy-character-rig


SQUIRRELY by Josh Burton:
This is a great opportunity to test out Anzovin's popular autorig, the "Setup Machine".  Very quick and easy to use, also the setup machine rig can be purchased and used with any of your own characters. 




Lovely rigs but not recommended for school:

STEWART: *NOT FOR SCHOOL USE :(
Meet Stewart, Animation Mentor's new rig from their "Tribe" family. It's a very versatile athletic rig with lots of bells and whistles like bend bows, stretchy everything, double gimbals, IK/FK switching and more.
Be sure to include their attribution for non-commercial use. Download it here: http://www.animationmentor.com/free-maya-rig/

MALCOLM: * NOT FOR SCHOOL USE :(
AnimSchool has a very cool rig up for grabs as well: Malcolm. Its only 2 negatives are that it is a fully-decked-out feature rig complete with 1000 ctrls and it might be a bit over the heads of students just learning Maya. The other negative is that it's the ONLY free feature-quality rig out there, imho, which makes it extremely popular. The 11-second club winners use it almost exclusively.
I am using it myself, but the female mod which looks a bit like this:
http://www.animschool.com/DownloadOffer.aspx

BUCKID: Buckid is a super simple Maya rig for people just starting out.  1 major flaw: lack of independent hips. The one hip CTRL drives all the ones above. That means if you use hip rotation in your walks, you will need to counter animate the upper spine and head. But aside from that it is a fun, snappy, simple rig with stretchy limbs and spine that is really fun to work with.
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/buckid


Conclusion:

Well, the jury's still out. People have certainly created some fantastic animation with all of these rigs.  
I'm looking for a simple interface like Moom that has a neater look like Eleven.

I'd have to vote for either ELEVEN or MOOM.
Morpheus is also worth another look if you don't mind that interface.

Try-em out for yourself and let me know what you think!

WEEK 7: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Milestone 2 Due Today!

Today is an in-class critique of Milestone 2 and hopefully we'll have time to talk about your ideas for Milestone 3. 

Please post your work to Trello so we can share ideas and accountability. :D

Milestone 3:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation
Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 10 Nov 7th @ BEGINNING OF CLASS
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
In-class you would want to show:
WEEK 7: thumbnails
WEEK 9: rough posing in 3D
WEEK 10: final animation - Playbasts are fine. No rendering required.
FILE NAMING:
3010_ m3_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov (mp4, m4v, etc)
ex: 3010_m3_donovant_001.mov


Here's something to think about over the break...



Enjoy your break! See you on Hallowe'en!

WEEK 7: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 2 Due Today! Assigment 3 begins..

examples of finished models
Assignment 3 -
NEW BERETTA 3D Model: 35 Marks
DUE DATE: WEEK 12 November 21st
@ BEGINNING OF CLASS
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.

Assignment 3 is to produce a high poly model (3D Studio Max) based on the final weapon concept you designed in Assignments 1 & 2.

Polygon limit: 5000

File Type: FBX, JPG (Screengrab OK)

FILENAME:
ASSIGN3_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_YOURNAME.FBX
ASSIGN3_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_YOURNAME.JPG

ex -
ASSIGN3_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_TARADONOVAN.FBX
ASSIGN3_NEWBERETTA_MODEL_TARADONOVAN.JPG

NEXT WEEK IS INTERCESSION WEEK - See you on Hallowe'en! 

Monday, October 14, 2013

WEEK 7: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 3 Due Today! + QUIZ

Your cartoon anatomy studies are due today in class. It's ok if you need time to work on them in class. :o)


Please be ready to take our quiz which should only take about 30 min. Once you've handed in your assignment and taken the quiz you are welcome to leave or stay and work on other projects.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE QUIZ - responses closed until quiz is in progress


Anyone interested should attend tonight's storyboarding seminar:
The Art of Storyboarding with James Caswell - An Animatic T.O. Event
https://www.facebook.com/events/1414030428815095/

$10 (Cheap!)
@ The Victory Cafe - 581 Markham Street
(Bloor & Bathurst behind Honest Ed's)
Doors 7pm
Talk Starts 7:30pm

Enjoy your break!  See you on the 29th of October


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

WEEK 6: Game Project Development DESN 3010: Assignment 2 Due next week!

So you should be blocking now. A lot of animators use this method of stepped keys to block out their animation with solid posing and all the major details such as facial expressions, hand gestures, eye direction but NOT lip sync. They check and recheck for strong silhouettes and keep honing their timing until it seems perfect before moving forward.

Here's a great example of blocking from Kevin Webb.
He describes this video as the result of a day's work. I think you will agree that was a productive day indeed.


Animation scene blocking from Kevin Webb on Vimeo.

Here's the final result. Notice all the beautiful overlapping action - it's not just pose-to-pose, he's layered on texture in the timing and made everything fluid and lifelike. 14 seconds, no textures, no lighting, no background, no bs. Just great acting and great animation.


Zooey Lipsync from Kevin Webb on Vimeo.

WEEK 6: Asset Development 1 DESN1083: Assignment 2 Due Next Week in Class!

This week you should be starting to put the polish into your weapon concept art. It should have a clean silhouette that you can use as a mask for any finishing effects like gradient lighting. Start thinking about presentation. Here are two examples. 

The first image has blueprint-style images and a photo texture of some paper in the bg. It also has nice lettering and a strong sense of compositional balance. 

The second image is more loose in rendering style but again has a nice balance in terms of image placement and the use of gradients over a simple rough painted texture in the bg.

There's a lot of leeway in the presentation of this piece. Be sure to follow your hand-in parameters very carefully. Watch naming conventions, file sizes and compression guidelines.

Any questions, just ask.

Good luck!

Monday, October 7, 2013

WEEK 6: Motion Studies DESN1136 Assignment 2 Due Today!

Your second assignment is due today in class.

We do have one small topic to cover before we dive into 3D animation in Maya after the break:
cartoon characters have skeletons, right?
Anatomy! You've already covered anatomy in your drawing classes so this will be a review. We'll be using various tools to revisit terms you should have learned last year and start working on a specialized drawing based on your character design: an anatomical cartoon study. Next week we'll wrap up with a little 10-question quiz on everything you've studied.

DESN1136 Assignment 3 & 4: Anatomy Study + Quiz
% of final grade: 5% each, TOTAL: 10% 
Assigned: Tuesday, Oct 8, 2013
Due: 
WEEK 7, Oct 15th at the end of class
*Late assignments are worth 0
Quiz will also take place in the first hour of class. You may write it in either class period. Once your quiz and your assignment are handed in, you're free to go!


Max 1200 px along longest edge @ 72 dpi

Filenames:
1136_a3_donovant_anatomy_001.jpg

Description: 
Cartoon characters have skeletons, don't they? Of course they do. Draw what's under your
character's skin. This is great preparation for rigging as you consider the joint placement and proportions of anatomy that may need alterations to adapt it from the familiar human skeleton.  Don't just phone it in, make it a nice looking piece of art to go in your portfolio. Draw over the character in PS with the lower layer's opacity very low. Label if you want. And you're not limited to human skeletons - you might need animals, dinosaurs or other skeletons to help you.

Rubric:
Choose one image of your character in a pose and draw a cartoon study of its anatomy. Aim to make your drawing a portfolio piece that shows both your knowledge and your artistic skill.

Exemplary - thorough and well-drawn study of your character's skeleton that shows the skull and major bones of the skeleton adapted to your character's anatomical form and design, special limitations or extra capabilities
Excellent -  a good study of the character's skeleton including all the major landmarks 
Acceptable - a simple drawing that attempts to follow the skeletal form
Not Acceptable - a sparsely detailed or poorly constructed drawing that doesn't follow the character's form