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: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 5 Due Next Week!

Good luck with your projects! Make the most of your last week in college and get some constructive critiques from your advisers. Please let me know if you need any help.

Here's a great post by animator Kenny Music about using helpful tools in Maya to speed up his workflow:
http://www.kenmusicanimator.com/KennyMusicAnimator/MyAnimationBlog/Entries/2010/4/25_Animation_Workflow_Tips_and_Tricks.html

WEEK 13: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 5 Due in 2 Weeks

Here's another interesting feature workflow from a Shrek the 3rd animator Justin Barrett. He explains the details of his workflow with video examples from a scene he did on Puss In Boots.

http://www.justinanimator.com/animStages_puss.php

WEEK 12: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 4 Due

Final stretch! 

Just 3 weeks left.

Please sign in and let me know if there's anything I can help you with (animation, uv'ing, texturing, painting)

Please upload your assignments to Blackboard. 

Your last assignment is due on the final week of class. 

Milestone 5: ex 5-10 second piece of animation. Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 15 April 17th on BLACKBOARD
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.

It is recommended that you show work in progress each week. Aim to have everything animated by Week 14 so you can spend the following week on revisions and polish. Playbasts are fine. No rendering required.

FILE NAMING:
3012_ m5_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov
ex: 3012_m5_donovant.mov

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

As you approach the end of your program, here's a good question to start asking yourself?
'What is your workflow?'. The idea of WORKFLOW in animation is a very personal one.

Generally most animators will do at least most of the following:

• read the script/watch the leica/look at the storyboard
• draw some thumbnails for key actions
• act out the scene on video
• block the broad strokes of their shot using stepped keys or very pose-to-pose timing
• approval or peer review
• start breaking it down 
• approval or peer review
• add polish, layering, offsetting
• final approval
• revisions or retakes  

Some variations:
- key all controllers on each pose, adding all the detail needed to sell the posing
- key only the basic controllers on each pose and layer the complexity in subsequent passes
- work straight ahead keying only the main controls and adding finer detail in subsequent passes

.. and there are more where that came from.

With 3D, it's important to stay SIMPLE because of the complexity of fixing animation on several controllers moving on different frames. That said, you need to show the director what you're planning, and that means adding even expressions and finger controls from a very early stage.

What you don't want to do is randomly start working without any plan.  Think! Plan, then start animating. "Measure twice, cut once"

See this example of VFX workflow from John Carter from Animator Patrick Giusiano

WEEK 11: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 4 Due Next Week!

Morning, folks! Don't forget to sign in.

Your animation is due next week so I hope you have all your blocking done today so we can make any last-minute corrections in the final polishing phase. The polish pass is usually the most fun for animators - after all the hard work of blocking and posing, you finally get to finesse your shot and show everyone the lovely, fluid animation that's been playing in your head for days or weeks. :D

Digital Tutors recently released a really nice 1-hour tutorial on polishing techniques:

Animation Polishing Techniques in Maya

Many animators have documented their polishing process. Here's a really nice one from Malcolm Pierce who worked on Tangled and Ice Age 3:
“FINAL” thoughts on Refining and Polishing a shot.

WEEK 10: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 4 due in 2 Weeks

Please let me know if you have any WIP to show me. It's good to get some feedback before you get too deep into your work. You have a couple of weeks left so you should be into your blocking this week. Next week you should aim to have all your animation finished in rough so you can polish it in the last week.

Here's a great example of the blocking process from Disney's Zach Parrish. There's a full interview if you want more info. 

Animators Resource Interview - Zach Parrish on Blocking Animation Workflow from Animators Resource on Vimeo.

WEEK 9: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 3 due today!

Milestone 4: ex 5-10 second piece of animation. Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 12 March 27th @ BEGINNING OF CLASS on BLACKBOARD
* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.

It is recommended that you show work in progress each week. Aim to have everything animated by Week 11 so you can spend the following week on revisions and polish. Playbasts are fine. No rendering required.

FILE NAMING:
3012_ m4_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov
ex: 3012_m4_donovant.mov

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

Here's some Olaf dance animation from the Frozen game by Chase Shields at Binary Digital. Happy animating!

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: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 3 due in 2 weeks!

How is your 3rd milestone going? I'm happy to look at thumbnails and blocking today to help you make the most of your assignment. The week it's due is the one right after the break so this is your last class to get my feedback before handing it in.

Good luck!

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

Enjoy your break! See you on March 6th!

WEEK 6: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 2 due today!

Today is an in-class critique of Milestone 2 and a chance to talk about your ideas for Milestone 3. 

Milestone 3:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation
Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 9 March 6th @ 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:

3012_ m3_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov (mp4, m4v, etc)
ex: 3012_m3_donovant_001.mov

I'm really happy with the progress so far from last term to this term. You guys are keeping it simple, which is allowing you more time for polish. At this level what people expect is that you handle all the basics well, even with mastery. It's ok if it's simple. Better simple and great than complex and mediocre. Right?  Here's a great example of something simple and polished - check out the nice silhouettes and the way the animator leads your eye where he wants you to look:

WEEK 5: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Second Milestone 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 4: Game Dev 4 DESN3012 Second Milestone due in 2 weeks

2 weeks to go..

I hope you're all digging into the planning stages for your next project. I suggest you draw at least basic thumbnails before diving into the 3D world. Remember the little Wall-E clip I showed you - before they started posing they drew thumbnails of their ideas and worked out potential poses in rough before taking it to the next level. You should aim to get your blocking done for this week and bring in all your rough animation by next week.

If you're doing an alternate to animation - such as particles, dynamics, etc. please make a real plan before even turning on the computer. I want a strong concept and not just a tech demo. You can do a lot with a little creativity. I'm happy to work with you to make your piece look great. We'll get you working with a mentor who's been through the process before. Keep an eye on the new advancements in real-time dynamics - there have been a lot of tech papers and demos released recently you'll want to know about, such as here:
http://physxinfo.com/news/

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: Game Project Dev 4 DESN3012 First Milestone Due Today

Your first assignment is due today at the start of class. We'll have a one-on-one critique to discuss the outcome and make a plan for your next milestone.

Remember that your project must be approved by me before proceeding. Please dig right into the planning process as soon as you can.

Here's the level of what's coming out of animation programs of just 8 months:
http://www.animationmentor.com/animation-program/animation-body-mechanics-advanced/

Spend some time looking at demo reels from around the world on Vimeo. You need to reach that target and that requires focus. Let animation be your focus & forget about all else for this class and dig into the details. Plan, test, and build your scene in layers and along the way seek feedback - it's what your tuition pays for :)

Milestone 2:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation

Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 6  Feb 13th @ BEGINNING OF CLASS

* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
Playbasts are fine. No rendering required.

FILE NAMING:

3012_ m2_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov (mp4, m4v, etc)
ex: 3012_m2_donovant.mov

Please read the post about file formats here.

WEEK 2: Game Project Dev 4 DESN3012 First Milestone Due Next Week!

Milestone 1 is due in class next week. Late projects will not be marked.
Please verify all naming conventions and formats so you don't lose marks for simple errors.

Progression from Horton Hears A Who -
from reference to blocking to animation to final

By today you should have finished all your rough animation so you can spend the last week adding details like facial animation, fingers and overlapping action.

Please check in with me so I can tell you where to focus your energy to get the best results for this assignment.

Please remember your project must be approved in order to receive a grade.

This is an excellent example of a scene progression from Blue Sky's Jeff Gabor:

Here's an idea for an upcoming project - a contest for aspiring animators - short animation ID's wanted for "Catsuka" is a bi-monthly French animation show. "...best new idents will be selected - 5 and 10 seconds maximum, 1920x1080 HD resolution, on white background" - check out details and examples. Some really great short actions: http://www.catsuka.com/nolife/habillage/

Here's one example but there are a ton more on their site:

Catsuka on Nolife TV channel - Ident by Merwan Chabane from Catsuka on Vimeo.

WEEK 1: Game Project Dev 4 DESN3012 Milestone 1 due Week 3

Welcome to Game Project Dev 4!
Please remember to sign in at each class.
This is a portfolio-building class that will give you time to complete your own pieces and to get feedback from industry pros. You could find yourself working on a game here at school or in the industry.
This class is strictly a work period and no lectures or formal instruction will be given aside from one-on-one critiques. 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 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15

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

Milestone 1:  ex 5-10 second piece of animation. Value: 20%
DUE DATE: WEEK 3 Jan 23rd @ BEGINNING OF CLASS on BLACKBOARD

* Late submissions will receive ZERO marks.
It is recommended that you show work in progress next week so you can spend the following week on revisions and polish. Playbasts are fine. No rendering required.

FILE NAMING:

3012_ m1_lastnamefirstinitial_001.mov 
ex: 3012_m1_donovant.mov

Please read my post about file sizes, aspect ratios and codecs. We will go over this in class.

What types of pieces should you create? Well, SHORT ONES. Keep it simple. You should animate 20-30 short pieces over the year or two if you can for practice and expand on the ones you like best. By the end of term you should have 5 pieces of 5-10 second of animation or concept work.

some great ideas to get you started. 

Think ahead to what you would like to put on your demo reel. What makes a good demo reel?
2 big things: brevity & quality.
Avoid obvious n00b mistakes like having obnoxious content or a style so niche that would only appeal to one tiny studio. The rest is common sense -
-keep it short 30-90 seconds MAX - <2 min if you're a professional.
-only show your best work - be ruthless and cut everything that doesn't quite work
-make each character unique in their movements and personality
-try to find new rigs
-show your range

More advice here:
http://www.animation-addicts.com/2012/12/17/the-perfect-reel/

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! 

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

Creative Crash Maya Rigs

22+ of the most fun rigs for maya

FLOUR SACK:

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

http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/jd-floursack

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. 

http://www.joshburton.com/projects/Squirrely.asp

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 15: Game Project Development 4 DESN3012 - Final Portfolio Review in 503

Last class!!  Please bring your portfolio material to 503 for your critique.

Can't believe you're graduating!!! Good luck, please stay in touch. 

WEEK 14: Game Project Development 4 DESN3012

1 week left!

Please sign in and let me know if there's anything I can help you with (animation, uv'ing, texturing, painting).


REMINDER: PORTFOLIO REVIEW NEXT CLASS