WEEK 15: Final Week! Good Luck!

For my returning students - have a great summer!

For my graduating students - best of luck!

Keep filling your sketchbooks - drawing skills never go out of style. :)

Artist Adventures from Olivia Huynh on Vimeo.

WEEK 14: Asset Dev DESN1086: Assignment 5: Low poly model due next week!

This is your last week for your final assignment! I'm here to help.

Here are a couple of great articles about optimizing your models:

http://blog.digitaltutors.com/modeling-quads-triangles-use/

http://blog.digitaltutors.com/whats-the-difference-a-comparison-of-modeling-for-games-and-modeling-for-movies/

WEEK 13: Asset Dev DESN1086: Assignment 4 due

ASSIGNMENT 4 due today in class.

Last project of the year!

ASSIGNMENT 5 –

3D PROP 20%

DUE DATE: in class on BlackBoard WEEK 15 April 17th
*ZERO marks for late submissions

In 3D Studio Max, build a prop model that accompanies your character design from Assignment 1. For example, if the character was a retro spaceman then the 3D prop model could be his ray gun or helmet.

Polycount range: 2500 – 5000

When working be sure to keep in mind protocol and methodologies learned in Term 1 modeling class.

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
A) 3D prop model (.max or .fbx)
B) Reference material (sketches, photos etc. - jpg files)
C) Screenshots (front, side, back and ¾ view - .jpg files)

REQUIREMENTS:

Filenames:

1086_A5_YOUR-NAME_prop.max or fbx
1086_A5_YOUR-NAME_prop.jpg
1086_A5_YOUR-NAME_propref01.jpg
Ex - 1086_A5_BEIBER-JUSTIN_prop.max (last name first, please!)


FORMATS:
3D Studio Max
jpgs 1280w x 800h (pixels)

It's been a while since you guys did any modeling. If you need a refresher, here are some Digital Tutors tutorials to get you back up to speed:
CG101: Modeling
Beginner's Guide to Modeling in 3ds Max
10 Ways to Improve Your Modeling in 3ds Max
Modeling Game Props in 3ds Max
Hard Surface Modeling Workflows in 3ds Max

WEEK 12: Asset Dev DESN1086: Assignment 4 due Next Week

Assignment 4 - action -  due next week!
Today is a work period - bring your questions & I'll have a look at your work in progress.

Make sure you put lots of time into the planning stages - thumbnailing animation is a really important skill. There's a lot of documentation on how to create nice thumbs online and on this blog. Remember to make the drawings readable in sillhouette. Think CLEAR not clean.  The thumbs below are low-detail but very very clear.

WEEK 11: Asset Dev DESN1086: Assignment 4 due in 2 Weeks

This class is for you to work on your character action. By the end of this class you should have animated your scene in rough.  Please check with me if you don't understand your marks or my notes from the last assignment.

Be sure to double check your naming conventions and formatting.

Street Fighter

Super Meat Boy

Braid

WEEK 10: Asset Dev DESN1086: Assignment 3 DUE, Assignment 4 starts today!

Assignment 3 due today!

Assignment 4 hand-out today -

CHARACTER ACTION ANIMATION



DUE DATE: WEEK 13 (in-class) April 3rd
20 Marks
*ZERO marks for late submissions

Develop an action animation (side-scrolling) for the character you designed in Assignment 1. The animation should be consistent with your character’s design and personality as shown in previous assignments.

Use thumbnails and rough sketches to explore your ideas. Establish your key poses first (minimum 6 frames). Any additional in-between frames are more to support the main action found in your key poses.

Action can be some form of attack (kick, punch, sword slash etc) or other suitable action (evade/dodge, ground roll etc).

In the examples from Limbo the character runs, jumps, climbs, and hangs from objects. What do the characters do in your favorite side scrollers that your character might do?

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
A) Thumbnail sketches – minimum 6 key poses
B) Line-test animation – preliminary animation
C) Final animation – polished B&W or Colour

Filename:
1086_A4_YOUR-NAME_actionthumbs.jpg
1086_A4_YOUR-NAME_actionlinetest.mov or .gif
1086_A4_YOUR-NAME_actionfinal.mov or .gif
Ex - 1086_A4_BEIBER-JUSTIN_actionthumbs.jpg (last name first, please!)
Thumbnails should be no more than 1200 px wide
Animation should be no more than 640 px along longest edge.
Mov files should be compressed using H.264 or other standard codec using Adobe Media Encoder, Handbrake or QT pro.

WEEK 9: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 3: Jump Due Next Week!

Jumping... continued!

By now your thumbnail studies should be done and your rough animation should be ready to start.
The final artwork is due next week in class!

Your jump must fit into the style of your piece just as do these brilliant pixel art frames from local studio Spooky Squid Games' "They Bleed Pixels": 

The art style really fits the action of this game - here's a sample:

Think about the physics of jumping - the power comes from a weight shift in the centre of gravity and the extension of the legs. Anyone who wants to challenge the idea that legs must straighten before they contract in a landing is welcome to demonstrate that for us all :D

The 12 Principles of animation are probably familiar by now but we'll quickly review one for the jump. As Disney giant Bill Tytla said,

"There are only three things in animation

ANTICIPATION, ACTION, and REACTION

and these imply the rest.

Learn to do these things well

and you can animate well."

There's a ton of great information on jumps in Richard Williams' The Animator's Survival Kit from 212-216 and on anticipation from 273-284. Buy this book! It takes several readings to get it to sink in.

Week 8: Have a Great Break!

Hope you can rest up over the break!

Here are the keys that make up Erick Oh's fantastic little fox run from The Dam Keeper I showed in class. Click to view larger. 

WEEK 7: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 2: Walk/Run Due Today!

You have today's class to finish up your walk/run cycles.

Here's a cute example of the same sort of run cycle you've been working on - a little fox from the short "The Dam Keeper" currently doing the festival rounds. 
Assignment 3: Jump

DUE DATE: WEEK 10, March 13th (in-class) – 20 Marks
*ZERO marks for late submissions

Develop a jump (side-scrolling) for the character you designed in Assignment 1. The animation should be consistent with your character in terms of the overall design, game type, platform etc., similar considerations that were approached in the initial character design assignment.

Use thumbnails and rough sketches to explore your ideas. Establish your key poses first (minimum 6 frames). Any additional in-between frames are more to support the main action found in your key poses.

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
A) Thumbnail sketches – minimum 6 key poses
B) Line-test animation – preliminary animation
C) Final animation – polished B&W or Colour

FILE NAMING:
1086_A3_YOUR-NAME_jumpthumbs.jpg
1086_A3_YOUR-NAME_jumplinetest.mov or .gif
1086_A3_YOUR-NAME_jumpfinal.mov or .gif

Ex - 1086_A3_BEIBER-JUSTIN_jumpthumbs.jpg (last name first, please!)

Format:
Traditional (ie pencil, ink, markers, paints etc)
Digital 2D art (Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Flash, Illustrator etc.)
Filetypes: movie clip ( mov) or animated GIF
Please compress all images and videos to keep them small using the following guidelines:

Videos:
Quicktimes, 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 for all submissions:
http://www.11secondclub.com/helpful_hints/encoding

Images:
JPGs between 500-1200 pixels along longest edge, 72-300 dpi/ppi, max 5MB. You can use a variety of tools such as Photoshop, Gimp, and online programs to compress files.

Enjoy your break! See you in 2 weeks.

WEEK 6: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 2: Walk/Run Due in next week

Having fun with your animated cycles? Please ask if you need any help.

While drawing away in your various softwares it's wise to remember the one advantage of hand-drawn animation: freedom. It's easy to paint ourselves into a restrictive corner without realizing, when every now and then you see something that makes you stop and see that when it comes to creative 2D animation cycles, the sky's the limit. I had one of those moments when I first saw this:

Evolution from Mehdi Alibeygi on Vimeo.

WEEK 5: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 2: Walk/Run Due in 2 Weeks

I'm happy to look at your work in progress today. Just ask!

Here's a cool timing tool - tap to get the beats per minute or frames per second:
http://www.all8.com/tools/fpb.htm

Here are a couple of great spots to find live-action reference:
Treadmill Walk: Dude

"Endless Reference"'s You Tube channel (also see sidebar link -->)

This is a little nsfw (not really) but it's so amazing it really belongs here. Felix Sputnik has absolutely nailed the style and timing of animated runs. Lots to learn from here. :D


Animated walks and runs from Felix Sputnik on Vimeo.

There are lots more great examples of hand-drawn cartoon walks here:

WALK CYCLE DEPOT

WEEK 4: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 1: Character Concept Due Today!

Your Character Concept drawings are due today during class on BlackBoard.
Please be sure you follow all the instructions carefully and double-check your naming conventions, file sizes and types. Also be sure you hand in all the parts of your assignment.

Your next assignment is....

CHARACTER WALK CYCLE (runs are ok too!)

DUE DATE: WEEK 7, Feb 20th (in-class) – 20 Marks
*ZERO marks for late submissions

Develop a walk cycle (side-scrolling) for the character you designed in Assignment 1.
The animation should be consistent with your character in terms of the overall design, game type, platform etc. Similar considerations that were approached in the initial character design assignment.

Use thumbnails and rough sketches to explore your ideas. Establish your key poses first (minimum 6 frames). Any additional in-between frames are more to support the main action found in your key poses.

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:

A) Thumbnail sketches – minimum 6 key poses
B) Line-test animation – preliminary animation
C) Final animation – polished B&W or Colour

REQUIREMENTS:
Filename:

FILE NAMING:
1086_A2_YOUR-NAME_walkthumbs.jpg
1086_A2_YOUR-NAME_walklinetest.mov or .gif
1086_A2_YOUR-NAME_walkfinal.mov or .gif

Ex - 1086_A2_BEIBER-JUSTIN_thumbs.jpg (last name first, please!)

Format:
Traditional (ie pencil, ink, markers, paints etc)
Digital 2D art (Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, Flash, Illustrator etc.)
Filetypes: movie clip ( mov) or animated GIF
Please compress all images and videos to keep them small using the following guidelines:

Videos:
Quicktimes, 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 for all submissions:
http://www.11secondclub.com/helpful_hints/encoding

Images:
JPGs between 500-1200 pixels along longest edge, 72-300 dpi/ppi, max 5MB. You can use a variety of tools such as Photoshop, Gimp, and online programs to compress files.

Examples - 

Please use good reference - preferably your own - but also go straight to the source for good analysis: Richard Williams has the clearest explanations:

Marking rubric for all animation assignments:

Be Friends with Failure - we all need this reminder now and then

Dear everybody: 

Despite a lifetime of conquering challenge after challenge and reaching many of my goals, I finally had to face something that was holding me back: Fear of Failure.  It only dawned on me a couple of years ago that there is no possibility to succeed without failure. Failure is a prerequisite for success. Gymnasts train with pits of foam under the bars because they fall over and over again.  Learning the tricks means falling down a lot.

But as artists we like the tricks but not many of us like the falling part. It's annoying and it's embarrassing to fail again and again. But that's just your ego talking. It's not actually painful unless you attribute meaning to it that just isn't there. 

How many of us have had a crappy day at work with a looming deadline and thought something like, 

I will never figure this out

Now imagine the person sitting next to you saying that to you:

"You will never figure this out."

What would you call that type of person? A jerk? At the very least --a real a**hole and not someone you would trust to work with artists at a studio. That person would need a smack upside the head and a desk far away from humans.  If that voice is your own inner monologue, you need to silence it, now. 

2012 was my year to follow this motto: EMBRACE FAILURE. I came to grips with the idea that there's always progress being made even when it doesn't show up on the screen....yet. That was my other discovery. Adding 'yet' to defeatist statements gives them power and intent. ("I don't understand rigging..yet". See?)

In the gym we work 'to failure' meaning you lift a weight heavy enough that after a few reps you can't lift any more. Failure makes your muscles stronger. Progress takes months but it is guaranteed if you never give up.

At your desk it's the same thing - your brain responds to each new challenge by building new neural pathways. Every new task works out your brain and makes you a bit smarter, even though it takes a while to see it. Learning unfamiliar things feels like failure sometimes but really, painful as the process is, it's growth all the same.

On the long road to success, failure is not only an option, it is a requirement. Make peace with it. 

Here - this cartoon says it best:

http://doodlealley.com/2012/10/10/be-friends-with-failure/

WEEK 3: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 1: Character Concept Due Next Week

How are your character designs going?

I know this is a stretch for some of you but it's a good skill to develop.

If you're looking for reference this place has a huge collection:

http://www.pinterest.com/characterdesigh/

Don't let this happen, though.

(sorry I can't find the artist's name! I love this cartoon so much.)

WEEK 2: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 1: Character Concept Due Week 4

You still have a couple of weeks to complete your first milestone: Character Concept.
If I were you I would aim to have completed my bio and thumbnails by this week to give me another 2 weeks to complete the revised thumbs, and rough in the sketch for the final.

Bear in mind that you will be animating this character so be ready to simplify the detail.

Here are some great resources we looked at in class and a link to a general beginning course in Digital Tutors.

Happy sketching!

http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/1052-Beginners-Guide-to-Concept-Sketching

WEEK 1: Asset Dev 2 DESN1086 Milestone 1: Character Concept Due Week 4

Welcome to Asset Dev 2!
Please remember to sign in at each class.
This is a portfolio-building class in which you create your own character design and animate it in 2D! Also you will be building a simple 3D prop model for your character. Use your time productively so you don't fall behind or distract students around you. You will not be permitted to use this lab for gaming or web surfing except at designated breaks.

Your grade will be the cumulative total of 5 assignments DUE IN CLASS, each worth 20%.
These assignments are due:
WEEK 4, 7, 10, 13, and 15

All the assignments are your own choice but must be approved by me to receive a grade.

Assignment 1:  Character Concept. Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 4 Jan 30th @ BEGINNING OF CLASS on BLACKBOARD

* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.

CLICK HERE for the PDF for this assignment
CLICK HERE for the PSD template

This is a 5-part assignment:

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:

A) Thumbnails – minimum 6 thumbnail sketches

B) Revised Thumbnails – minimum 3 revised thumbnail sketches

C) Revised Sketch – minimum 1 refined sketch

D) Final Concept – final render

E) Character Bio – A written summary of your character. Consider his/her backstory, motivation,

abilities, appearance etc.

FILE NAMING:

1086_A1_YOUR-NAME_thumbs.jpg

1086_A1_YOUR-NAME_revthumbs.jpg

1086_A1_YOUR-NAME_revsketch.jpg

1086_A1_YOUR-NAME_final.jpg

1086_A1_YOUR-NAME_bio.doc or .PDF

Ex - 1086_A1_BEIBER-JUSTIN_thumbs.jpg

Format:

Traditional (ie pen & ink, markers, paints etc)

Digital 2D art (Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter etc)

150 dpi, 800 pixels x 1200 pixels, .jpg

Landscape orientation

Character bio submitted as MS Word document or PDF.

When working digitally, work in a minimum resolution of 300dpi. Use of references such as

photographs and 3D models are encouraged but final art must be your own and must deviate

substantially from the references used to be considered original content.

Use the character template provided to present your artwork and include the following information:

Project Title

Artist: your name

Character’s name

Date: month, day, year of submission

Welcome back! Game Dev 4 3012, Asset Dev 2 1086, and Game Project Dev 2017

Welcome back!! 

Think of all the great 70's TV you millennials missed. 

I have 4 courses this term - all on Thursdays in 503 or 503 and one on Friday in 603 from 12-3. If you need to ask me a question, feel free to drop by.

My email is tdonovan@georgebrown.ca

Please include your email in the text of the message as I will only see your name and there may be a delay while I look up your address.

Please sign in at each class with your working email address. I track attendance and look forward to reading any comments you may have throughout the course.

All the outlines are linked off the Outlines tab.

The Help form is for urgent questions. These get forwarded to my email directly. 

Please familiarize yourself with all the hand-in parameters including file naming conventions, formats, and size limits. I am pretty strict on these things. All projects will be handed in to Blackboard this term. No late projects will be accepted without prior approval. Always ask BEFORE the deadline if you expect your project to be late due to serious unforeseen circumstances.  

Looking forward to our term! 

WEEK 15: Asset Dev DESN1086-A: Assignment 5: Low poly model due today in class!

All done!!  Assignments are due today in class!

Good luck with your final deadlines and have a great summer!

WEEK 14: Asset Dev DESN1086-A: Assignment 5: Low poly model due next week!

This is your last week for your final assignment! I'm here to help.

WEEK 13: Asset Dev DESN1086-A: Assignment 4 due! Assignment 5 handout

ASSIGNMENT 4 due today in class.

Last project of the year!

ASSIGNMENT 5 – 
3D PROP 15%
SKETCHBOOK 5%

DUE DATE: WEEK 15 April 18th 
(in-class) – 15 Marks
*ZERO marks for late submissions
In 3D Studio Max, build a prop model that accompanies your character design from Assignment 1. For example, if the character was a retro spaceman then the 3D prop model could be his ray gun or helmet.
Polycount range: 2500 – 5000
When working be sure to keep in mind protocol and methodologies learned in Term 1 modeling class.

SUBMIT ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
A) 3D prop model (.max or .fbx)
B) Reference material (sketches, photos etc. - jpg files)
C) Screenshots (front, side, back and ¾ view - .jpg files)
D) Sketchbook (I'll just view these in class and return them to you)

REQUIREMENTS:
Filenames:
DESN1086_Assign5_DONOVANT_prop.max
DESN1086_Assign5_DONOVANT_ref.jpg
DESN1086_Assign5_DONOVANT_prop.jpg

FORMATS:
3D Studio Max
jpgs 1280w x 800h (pixels)

It's been a while since you guys did any modeling. If you need a refresher, here are some Digital Tutors tutorials to get you back up to speed:
CG101: Modeling
Beginner's Guide to Modeling in 3ds Max
10 Ways to Improve Your Modeling in 3ds Max
Modeling Game Props in 3ds Max
Hard Surface Modeling Workflows in 3ds Max