Last Post

So this would be my last post for the project.

I figured that I had issues with Steve's rig. I put on the ikFk control switch, but it wasn't working fine. During my stress-testing, I was doing a simple animation of the arm which required me to switch from ik to fk and back. However, even after keyframing, the arm would 'snap' back to its previous position and orientation when I tried to switch. I don't know why that happened. So I had to remove the switch.

I also tried putting on some blendshapes, but I ran into issues again. Apparently after looking up the problem, I realized that I had my inputs in the wrong order, so I had to switch them. But by then, things were pretty much screwed up, so again I had to remove the blendshapes.

I figured I had no time to do UVs or texturing, hence I moved onto animation then, during which Maya crashed numerous amounts of time. Well, I managed to do a few shots, but pretty much unpolished.

Steve Model + Rig (no weight paints)

So I got started on my Steve model. Basically its a modification of Carl's model to preserve the consistency of style. I used a lattice deformer to achieve this effect.

Also, I moved onto rigging this guy. I was much faster at doing this compared to rigging Carl. I placed all the controls and the bones.

Since Steve is slightly taller than Carl, I added more bones and controls for the torso. I haven't added the squash and stretch to the arms as yet - would be doing so now.

Till then...

Carl Rig Update

So here goes...

I modeled Carl and had him rigged up. After doing numerous rigging at work and at my internship at GAMBIT, I feel I'm finally starting to get the hold of weight painting through component editor.

I decided to rig this guy differently to give me more control. All in all, I was trying to avoid the use of IKs for his spine because I want a lot of control over the way his body bends, especially since he has a lot of mass in the middle. Also, I plant to have an ik/fk switch to give maximum control over the animation.

I also implied my squash and stretch script that I had researched into before I left for internship. It works fine for the hand, I can't seem to get it right for the legs. Also, I don't quite no yet on how to set up a switch to turn on/off the squash and stretch attribute. Need to find that out too if time permits.

And here's a stress test. The controls are not yet properly parented to each other, but overall, the rig works fine. No distortions or anything of that sort.

Now, I'll probably start to model Steve and have him rigged before I model my kitchen set and start animating.

Squash and Stretch - Testing Stage

I've been working on for about five days now, trying to techniques on squashing and stretching in Maya. I borrowed a couple of books and DVDs from the library, but they gave very complex methods on rigging techniques - either through various multiply-divide nodes connecting into condition nodes and what not or through expressions which I did not understand.

While I was reading one of the books I borrowed, I came across this simple English statement which made sense to me:

"IF the length of the ik handle is longer than the length of the two joints combined, then scale the joints to match the length. ELSE if the length of the ik handle is shorter than the length of the two bones, then don't scale the joints."

Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging

by Eric Allen & Kelly L. Murdock

So based on that, I read up on some syntax notation on the if else statement formation and wrote out a short script, which worked fine as far as stretchy arm was concerned.

However, squash and stretch required me to preserve the volume of the object as it stretched or squashed. I did not know how to achieve this effect, so I asked Alan on some advise. He demonstrated this concept using a sphere and adding some expressions via a formula to create an accurate squashing and stretching ball.

I spent about half an hour before finally figuring out how to plug-in the formula Alan suggested into my mini script for my hand rig. And it worked:

I was at the top of the world. For the first time, I wrote out a MEL script which I understood. Of course without Alan's help, I wouldn't be able to tackle on the issue of retaining the volume of the object while it stretched. So thanks a million Alan! Really appreciate it! :)

I felt my motivation getting back. So what if I cant draw? I can at least do simple scripting :) Heh.. Anyway, I realised I could use this technique on my characters' legs as well. As for the body where the tummy area would be exaggerated, I plan to use a nurbs sphere with the squash and stretch expression tied in to act as an influence object. Or I could try doing it the bones way too. Depends which one will give me the desired result.

=D

My Absolutely "Beautiful" Drawings

Here are my beautiful drawings of my storyboards. Apparently, it frustrates me to draw these because whatever camera angle or movement I visualise, I can't draw it down. I feel that once I'm in the 3D world, then I can pre-visualise my camera angles. Oh well, here are the drawings for now...

And, here are my character designs. Trust me, it was a real pain for me to draw these (process work):

And here's a colored version of the Carl character.

Horrible...

Irritating Storyboards

ARRRRGGGHHH!!! DARN FRUSTRATING!!!

Can't draw for nuts! All the angles I visualize, I can't draw. I might not even follow the ugly storyboards I'm drawing at the moment to do my film. I wrote out a mini screenplay, describing what happens in every shot, with tiny details. Why must I die die do storyboards when I've a feeling it won't help me plan? Why can't I just rely on a script I wrote to plan my sequence?

Argh!

Style & Technique

I thought a lot about this. I want to adopt a cartoon style for this short film. Something very similar to that of Pixar's Presto. I think that short film differs from every other Pixar's short film in that it looks very traditional. The kind of music, the opening titles that say "A Pixar Animation Cartoon" instead of the usual titles, the snappy kind of animation where the character suddenly reacts fast and moves quickly. Very traditional Disney type of animation. I think that style may really appeal a lot to kids. I discussed this with Alan today, and he wished me Good Luck. And he meant it, because to achieve that kind of style is difficult. In the real world, there are many people working on that project. In my case, its just me.

Now here are the technical difficulties. First off, I need to build a squash and stretch rig. I can't do without it, simply because of the way my style is going to be. I want it to be exaggerated. It's a slapstick comedy, and nobody is going to enjoy it as an animation piece if its not exaggerated. That's my personal take on it. I can do without a squash and stretch rig, but I don't want to. I've read a little about it, and it seems very technical and confusing. I came across a book on rigging. I plan to borrow it and research on this squash and stretch rigging techniques in this week and the next, by when hopefully I should be well prepared for production.

My drawing is horrible, and having to do a really good animatic seems scary. But I need to rely heavily on it, for the animatics will determine the number of shots I need to animate, and the timing for each shot. Audio is another aspect of the production. Sound effects shouldn't be a problem - they are readily available at my fingertips. I'm worried about the background score.

As for my story progression, I thought a little bit about my ending after my discussion with Alan during consultation. Having cleared the fact that mine would be a slapstick comedy, Alan suggested that in such cases where two characters are fighting over something, neither of them would usually get it. And I was thinking about that too. I remembered a lot of fables where such things happen, and it made sense to apply this in my story as well. I was thinking, what if in the climatic sequence of fighting over the can of pork and beans, the can actually flies out of the kitchen window? Or it just spills over? Or a mouse comes out of a mouse-hole and drags the can over and eats the contents while the two men are still fighting? Lots of possibilities. I should be fixing on this soon, after which I will proceed with the middle part of the story, which is the build up to the climatic sequence. After that, I would move on to design the characters and then the storyboards probably.

Story Progression

I think I do have a slight idea of my story. It's beginning to form. Maybe I'll start off with a street of a town in Louisiana , USA with houses to establish the location. Then I'll move on to the interior of a house where the main story takes place - in the kitchen. This kitchen is real messy - as if it hasn't been cleaned for years. But I don't want it to look unused - I want it to look as if it is occupied by someone, but that someone doesn't really care about cleanliness and stuff. And then the two main characters walk into the kitchen. Both are really really hungry, but there's no food in the house, except for a can of pork and beans. Both start an argument over it on who deserves the can more, and end up fighting. This gets so aggressive that the younger brother stabs the elder one in the shoulder.

Now this is where I'm stuck - how do I go on about the ending. I was thinking both fight till they fall out of the kitchen window, but that may not be suitable for my target audience. I still have to figure this part out.

As for the style, I want it to be completely computer generated. Cartoony style of course, but at the same time, I want that depth to be apparent in the visual aspect of the film - meaning the lighting. I want to focus on the body language and performance of the characters to bring out the humor. I'm trying to avoid lip synching, just so that I could focus a lot more on the body performance.

Well, that's it for now.

The 10 Questions

So, I've finally decided to write about these ten questions, but before that, let me explain my story again:

"GILLIAM, La. – A sheriff's deputy said a 54-year-old man stabbed his 63-year-old brother during an argument in their kitchen over a can of pork and beans. Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick said the suspect was booked Tuesday on one count of aggravated battery.

Chadwick said the brother was treated at a medical center for stab wounds in his left arm and shoulder blade.

Chadwick quoted Deputy Jairo Rivera as saying the two brothers had been drinking. Rivera said the suspect picked up a kitchen knife after his brother threw a punch at him but missed."

- Lifted from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/ap_on_fe_st/odd_pork_and_beans_shooting

So that's my weird story. I'm still in the process of thinking about how I should go on about telling it visually. But since I'm already late in posting this entry, I thought I'd just answer these ten questions. Of course the answers to these questions may change, but here goes:

1. Who are you telling the story for (primary audience)?

- teenagers of age eight to ten

2. What reaction do you want?

- laughter

3. Is the narrative omniscient (all seeing) or restrictive (viewed from a single perspective)?
(If the narrative is restrictive, whose viewpoint are you using?)

- omniscient

 

4. List the important events of the story.

- two brothers meet in the kitchen

- talk about pork and beans as it is the last can left

- they fight over it

- the younger brother stabs the elder one

5. Which aspects of the setting of the story are important (time of day… location… period of history…) and how do you intend to establish these important elements?

- time of day: 8 pm - through interior lighting

- location: Louisiana, US, kitchen - showing an American street with houses

6. What traits of the characters in your story are important and how do you intend to establish these traits?

- anger & stubbornness for both

7. In what order are the important events (step 4 above) covered? Is it a strictly linear sequence of events in time, or does the story contain any flashbacks or other interruptions to the sequence of events?

- tentative, but most probably linear

8. How does the story flow, does the pace change? Does it contain a surprise? Consider your answers to 1 and 2 above when making your response.

- pace goes at medium rate at first, then quickens as the tension builds

- yes, element of surprise is present

9. How will you use sound to help all your responses to 5-8 above?

- sound effects to help save animation time off screen

- witty dialogues to add the element of humour - tentative

10. Does your story need dialog? 

- tentative

Well that's it for now. I know this is really really rough. But I'm still thinking about how I should tell the story. Since the story is so emphasized upon and that it is the most important element in filmmaking, it's better to get the story nice and straightened out first instead of making rushed decisions and finding loopholes and issues halfway down the line. Enough was learnt from P2, and I don't wish to make the same mistake this time round and screw things up.

First

Hello,

This is meant as a documentation for my project 3. Most or all of my process will be documented here.

So anyway, we were told to find out three stories. I did find my three, but I wasn't quite happy with it. So I may look for more. From the three stories I chose, I liked the one where two men, both brothers, argued over a can of pork and beans and one of brothers ended up killing the other guy. Ridiculous, but it would be really funny if the script was well written and if I find a good voice talent.

Well, I was quite happy to hear that Alan mentioned something about the learning contract - write down what you wish to focus on, for eg, in 3D animation, lighting or texturing, then that would be looked upon heavily. Cool. That got me really excited. Finally a chance for me to exercise my skills on a actual production. Of course I would want to focus on lighting and rendering as that is what I eventually want to be - a lighting TD. Oh well...

What I am definitely afraid of is drawing storyboards. Well, I can't escape it. I'm not afraid that people will laugh at my drawing when I present. No. I've accepted the fact wayy long ago before I entered poly that my drawing is not up to the mark. And if anyone laughed at it, I would probably laugh along with them. But what I do fear is my grades for interim assessment. As Alan and Amanda always told me, draw to save your life. And I did try out drawing digitally using a tablet and Amanda said she was proud of me :) That did make me feel better and she advised me to keep a sketchbook. Feeling motivated, that's precisely what I'm doing now. Though I don't feel any confident drawing at all. Heh. Guess it'l come with practice.

That's for now. More later, when something later gets done :)