WEEK 3: Motion Studies - Animation Blocking

Your storyboards and thumbnails will be on display today as we take them into the next phase of production: Blocking Animation. We'll look at some examples of blocking to make it clear how it relates to the final phase of animation.

If we can we'll shoot some live action reference but we have a lot of other things planned...

Many of you may be a little rusty in Maya ;o)  If you need a refresher, I highly recommend the course 12 Principles of Animation in Maya on Digital Tutors.

We'll start the blocking process in 3D. I'll show you how to set up cameras, follow the rules of creating strong posing, and talk about some common methods for timing animation blocking.

A typical progression sequence from Monsters Inc

We'll go over the basics of creating good playblasts or previews - here's a post that describes the how-to's:

Here's a reminder of how to preview animation:
http://tarateach.blogspot.ca/2011/01/previewing-animation-in-maya.html#more

I also want to show you how basic constraints work so you can have props in your scenes.

From blocking to rough posing to final animation you have 3 weeks to complete this next assignment.

ADIR1136 Assignment 2: Animating a simple sequence of between 5-10 seconds 
% of final grade: 25%
Assigned: Friday, Sep 21st
Due: Friday, Oct 12th before class
Description:
Animate a short sequence using storyboards and thumbnails. The sequence should be planned around actions on the list of 100 Animation Exercises. The  character may interact with simple props or a basic environment.  Animation should show all 12 principles of animation, especially strong posing, weight, and overlapping action.

Please submit all work to our shared DropBox folder using the following naming conventions and settings:

Filenames:
tdonovan_anim_001.ma
tdonovan_anim_001.mov

File Format: QT
Encoding: H.264
Quality: 100
Image Size: Custom
Width: 560
Height: 316



Rubric:

Exemplary - Highly polished piece showing  mastery of the principles of animation. Fluid motion, strong posing and timing, and lots of appeal.
Excellent - Well animated piece with strong grasp of the principles of animation. Motion is mostly smooth with very good posing and timing.
Acceptable - Good animation with most of the principles of animation. Motion may have a few areas that need improvement but the overall timing is good and the posing clear.
Not Acceptable - Animation has many problems in timing and posing showing a lack of control of tools or knowledge of the animation principles.

CASO's "Visionary Lunches" series presents Daniel Gregoire, CEO and Previsualization Director for HALON Entertainment LLC.

Toronto Animators: Previs Supervisor from Star Wars, John Carter, Cowboys & Aliens will be talking about the creative process.
Next Thursday, Sept 27th, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Daniel Gregoire, CEO and Previsualization Director for HALON Entertainment LLC. 
$15 for GBC students - Lunch is included!
Reserve your spot: http://bit.ly/UrRmVk

http://www.casont.ca/news_items/689-visionary-lunches-v13

WEEK 3: 2D Digital Art 1 - Comic Book Art in Photoshop

Working in Photoshop, we'll ink and colour some penciled comic-book art.
We'll start with just the black & white inking process for now. 
Over the next couple of weeks we'll cover creating custom brushes to create that splattered ink effect, and adding the colour.

Click here to download the materials for this class.

ASSIGNMENT 2 BRIEF:

INK IN THE IMAGE WITH PHOTOSHOP USING THE PAINT BRUSH, LASSO TOOL AND FILLS
DELIVERABLES: 
PSD FILE 10 inches (W) x 15inches (H) dpi - 400 COLOR MODE - RGB
AI SOURCE FILE WITH AN ART BOX OF 1920px x 1080px
FILENAME EXAMPLE: (last name first initial) donovant_comic_000.psd
DUE DATE: WEEK 6, Oct 11 - BEFORE BEGINNING OF CLASS
HAND-IN TO OUR SHARED DROPBOX FOLDER, IN "ASSIGNMENT 2"
VALUE - 15%
HOW IT’S GRADED:
Followed Brief - 3
Render (Colour balance) - 3
Line work (Ink effect) - 3
Layers - 3
Depth (Creating mold to the character) - 3

WEEK 3: Texturing & Shading 1 - Diffuse Map Painting

I'll be your model for this assignment :D

We'll pick up where we left off last week with editing the UV's for a simple low-res game model: the exciting "No Parking" sign.  If you were able to correctly UV the model and render a UV snapshot, you can get set to paint up in Photoshop any way you like.  We'll keep things simple with some photo textures from the internet... for now! But don't get stuck there. We're moving into Photoshop to doctor up our texture map and apply it to our models. If your first crack at UV'ing did not go too well (I can advise you in class) you will be given another option to use a pre-UV'd sign.

This class will be all about diffuse map painting.  We'll also talk about using photos in our textures and where to source good textures. 

Here are the videos we're using for this class. Sound will be added later :oD

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1617070/sign_diffuse_painting1.3gp

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1617070/sign_diffuse_painting2.3gp

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1617070/sign_diffuse_painting3.3gp

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1617070/sign_diffuse_painting4.3gp

Next week we'll add two more features to our sign: a bump map and alpha maps to add grass around the base of the sign. For this week, just focus on the diffuse (colour) map.

Some examples of signs from last term

Assignment 3: 10% Sign Textured
Click here for the rubric for this assignment
Assigned: Wednesday, Sept 19th, 2012
Due: October 3rd uploaded to the shared DropBox Assignment 3 folder before class
SAVE your work uncompressed (PSDs recommended)
SEND me only PNG's.
Maximum resolution: 2048x2048

Please do NOT put your files inside a folder.
Please do NOT zip your files.
Please follow the naming conventions exactly as given:

tdonovan_sign.max
tdonovan_sign_diff.png

tdonovan_sign_bump.png

tdonovan_sign_grass_001.png (or tiff) (*you may have more than one grass file)
tdonovan_sign_alpha_001.png (or tiff) (*you will need an alpha for each grass file)

WEEK 3: Character Acting 1: Quiz + Applying Mocap Data

(no, not really)

Quiz time!
Assignment 1: 10%
Quiz on basic anatomy and the XSens motion capture system
You'll have an hour to write it.
The link will appear here:  http://bit.ly/OvA8Ux

Next up:
Applying Motion Capture Data to a Rig
Dan Maendel is going to show us the basics of MVN's proprietary tools for cleaning up raw data. Next we'll export the files to Motion Builder for further editing. Finally, we'll export FBX's to Maya to finesse the animation.
I strongly recommend the 55 min Digital Tutors course "Introduction to Motion Capture in MotionBuilder".

Assignment 2: 20% 

Animate 2 contrasted actions using Motion Capture

Due Sunday, October 21st before midnight <--new extended deadline

Now it's time for you to record and clean up some of your own data. Using the pipeline established in class (MVN->Motion Builder->Maya) create a polished piece of animation. Animation should consist of 2 contrasted actions (ex, push/pull, reach up/down, catch/throw)

Motion capture data should be used as the basis for the performance. 

You may create the mocap data yourself or have someone else record it for you. You may also download mocap data from the internet. Please credit all sources. 

Recording short sequences using mocap and, ideally, live action video

Export and edit data in Motion Builder
Utilize live action reference to augment mocap data
Combine actions seamlessly

Apply all animation principles to create fluid, well-timed movement with lots of weight, clean arcs, and strong overlapping action.

Please book a time with Dan to record your actions.

Please submit all work to our shared DropBox folder using the following naming conventions and settings:

Filenames: 
tdonovan_mocap_001.ma
tdonovan_mocap_001.mov

File Format: QT
Encoding: H.264
Quality: 100
Image Size: Custom
Width: 560
Height: 316 


Rubric:

Exemplary - Highly polished piece showing  mastery of the principles of animation. Fluid motion, strong posing and timing, and lots of appeal.
Excellent - Well animated piece with strong grasp of the principles of animation. Motion is mostly smooth with very good posing and timing.
Acceptable - Good animation with most of the principles of animation. Motion may have a few areas that need improvement but the overall timing is good and the posing clear.
Not Acceptable - Animation has many problems in timing and posing showing a lack of control of tools or knowledge of the animation principles.

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

Assignment 3: 10% Drop-In Acting Class

Find out what this idea means at Improv!

Due: October 31st 

By popular demand, here is a better description of the "Drop-In Acting Class" assignment:

Attend at least 1 drop-in class in Improv Acting or equivalent such as a Stage Combat class at Rapier Wit. 

Venues like the Black Swan, Bad Dog, Impatient Theatre, Second City, and many more venues have drop-in classes as well as courses. 

Write or present a brief summary of your experience including the following details:

The location, teacher's name, date, time, and duration. 

Did you go by yourself or bring friends? 

How many people were there, what kind of a mix was it (all guys, young, old?), how much did it cost? 

What was the structure of the class? Describe a couple of the activities such as games, exercises.

How did you like it? Would you go back? Do you think it could help your animation?

If you are so inclined, it would be awesome to share some of the skills you've learned with the class.

*We COULD get a bunch of people together some night and maybe have a drink after, jus' sayin' ??

WEEK 2: Motion Studies - Storyboarding and Thumbnail posing

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?

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

Part 2 of your 1st assignment consists of "thumbnails of your action". Thumbnails, thumbnailing, thumbnail posing... in animation these terms get tossed around a fair bit. They all refer to drawing quick, small gestures in planning animation.

Thumbnail examples from Animation Mentor

Drawing is the premier means of visual communication and it's absolutely essential in collaborating with other artists.  Drawing is a learned skill that comes more easily to some than others -- but make no mistake, a few hours of dedicated study can make all the difference. Animators have to draw so darned many drawings that they've spent a century developing a list of tricks to streamline the process.

Thumbnail translated to 3D

This week I'll give you some of the most important tricks I've learned to help you get your gestures down quickly to convey maximum information in a minimum of lines.

Click here for more information: 
Animation Mentor article "Animation Tips & Tricks: THUMBNAILS"

WEEK 2: 2D Digital Art 1 - Illustrator basics, part 2

Hopefully you've all figured out how to complete the linework for your character and we'll be all ready for adding colour.

We'll learn some more of Illustrator's basic tools including creating compound paths, the pathfinder panel, and creating different types of fills.

Remember, this is due before class next week! Have a quick look back at the brief from week 1 to make sure you're following instructions correctly.

If you're looking for more information about Illustrator, Digital Tutors has a ton of helpful tutorials.
http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/training_search.php?searchString=illustrator

Cheat sheets are great for learning hot keys - here are a couple for Illustrator :







http://www.bigstockphoto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/shortcutsPC_2.pdf

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/shortcutsMAC.pdf

WEEK 2: Texturing & Shading 1 - Basic UV-ing

We'll make sure everyone is up to speed with Photoshop basics - we start painting textures today!
Hopefully eveyone now understands the basics of linking textures and has successfully completed the vehicle from last week.
We'll discuss the article you were given last week, "Texturing for Dummies" by Leigh Van der Byl.

UV basics:
This class we'll delve into the shallow end of UV'ing.  By the end of this class you should have a basic grasp of UV'ing and working with the UV editor.

For more information, try the excellent Digital Tutors content such as,
UV Mapping Workflows in 3ds Max

See also the video tutorial we covered in class, "UVW Basics: Unwrapping the Sign" 

Click here to download the materials for the first assignment.

Assignment 2: 5% Stop Sign UV's
Click here for the rubric for this assignment
Due: Wed, Sept 19th uploaded to the shared DropBox Assignment 2 folder before class
SAVE your work uncompressed (PSDs recommended)
SEND me only PNG's.
Maximum resolution: 2048x2048

Please do NOT put your files inside a folder.
Please do NOT zip your files.
Please follow the naming conventions exactly as given:

tdonovan_sign.max
tdonovan_sign_uvs.png

Click here for a note about Creating UV Templates

WEEK 2: Character Acting 1 - Mocap setup & Anatomy Review

Today we'll be splitting into groups to practice setting up the mocap system. We will be working in teams to collect measurements and set up the suits and begin capturing data. In class we'll be learning more about the system as well as doing some basic anatomy review. 

Seth Rogan mocaps for Paul

Skrillex does live mocap performance

Next Week! 

Assignment 1: Quiz on motion capture using the Xsens system 

Value: 10% 

Multiple-choice, one-hour, open-book quiz

Topics will include information covered in class on general specs of the Xsens system, how it is used including what types of applications and projects, its advantages or disadvantages over other types of mo-cap systems, set-up procedures and equipment

Pay special attention to these pages:

http://www.xsens.com/en/general/mvn

http://www.xsens.com/xsens-movies

The quiz will also include a review of basic anatomy including major bones and muscles, sections of the spine, important landmarks. Here are some good study diagrams:

http://bit.ly/RDQxfj

WEEK 1: Motion Studies (formerly Animation Direction 1)

Welcome to Motion Studies!

Please have a look at the outline for the course and familiarize yourself with the academic policies. Please sign in at every class - and if you can't make it, you can use this form to let me know.

Classes may need to be rescheduled from time to time - please fill out the survey at the bottom of this post so we can plan the best time for the most people.

We'll be doing a lot of drawing in this course so always bring sketchpads and pencils.  Later on we'll be shooting some video reference to guide the animation process so be ready to act in front of your peers.

story sketch from Limbo

Motion Studies gives you lots of practice at animating short sequences of human movement in 3D in preparation for working with more complex sequences using motion capture data.  

Choosing 2-3 brief actions from the list of 100 Animation Exercises, you're going to create  a short animated sequence using professional techniques like thumbnailing and storyboarding to plan the animation, then in 3D blocking, rough and finally clean animation. 

See if you can invent a backstory for your character to make the acting more believable. 

Storyboard pitch session Fairly Odd Parents

thumbnails from Ratatouille

We'll be exploring some of the key ways animation sequences are planned before ever opening a computer.

Story sketching, story boarding, and thumbnailing are all common methods of planning animation. We'll talk about the differences and see some examples of how they bring animated sequences to life.

ADIR1136 Assignment 1: Planning a simple animated sequence of between 5-10 seconds 
using storyboards and thumbnails

% of final grade: 15%
Assigned: Friday, Sept 7th
Due: Friday, Sept 21st before class

Please submit all work via DropBox (info to follow) SAVE your work uncompressed (PSDs recommended)

SEND me only JPGs

Please keep files under 2000 px wide, and use compression settings that will keep the file size under 2MB

Filenames:  

tdonovan_stbd_001.jpg

tdonovan_thumbs_001.jpg

Description: 

Plan a short animated sequence using storyboards and thumbails. The sequence should be planned around actions on the list of 100 Animation Exercises. The  character may interact with simple props or a basic environment. Drawings need not be clean but they should be clear, dynamic, and detailed.

Keep your ideas simple. The graphic style should be very easy to sketch.

(1) Storyboard sequence: Keep it brief -- 6 panels should be sufficient. Pick any section of the story you like and show the action graphically in clear, greyscale boards. Use text to further describe the action.
(2) Thumbnails: Draw some of the key poses for your actions. Keep the drawings loose and rough, in the style of the examples shown in class. Emphasize elements that help the action read well such as the line of action and the sillhouette.

Rubric:

Exemplary - Highly polished showing a unified style and an inventive premise showing a deep exploration of challenges presented by the original story. Detailed movement study of animation sequence showing all major actions with some personality.
Excellent - Detailed, well-organized presentation describing a clear and consistent design style well-suited to a creative premise. Simple study of most of the planned actions for the animated sequence.
Acceptable - Simple collection of required sketches showing key features and a solid premise.
Not Acceptable - Sparsely detailed and/or incomplete collection with an unclear concept. Contains only a few of the key poses of the animated sequence.