Harry's Short Animation Rants!

Faster Rendering in Command Line

2009-06-22T00:47:00.003+01:00

Using command line rendering is a faster alternative to rendering within maya. The result will be up to about 50% faster. The reason for this is you are rendering without maya open which frees up the computers resources that can be used for rendering calculations. I have used this while helping to render out the scenes. In a production of a larger scale a renderfarm will be the best alternative.

Child Solider Animating Test

2009-06-12T19:29:00.011+01:00

While I was animating the child solider I could not make the child hold the gun with his two hands without doing unusual deformations. However I decide that he should hold the gun with one arm and the other to balance himself.

The child is walking slowly sidewards shooting randomly. Plus it is in a cycle so he can go on for longer than 3 seconds if you wanted. If there was rotation in the shoulders and hips the animation can be improved.

AK 47 - Rapid fire reference

2009-06-12T19:19:00.003+01:00

Moe has given me a rig of a child soldier for me to animate. He will be shooting and moving sidewards. This will give me a quick idea of how to go about it.

Walking in the Market

2009-06-12T16:35:00.008+01:00

I have taken into account the market scene needed to be busy with people walking around which seems to be like a ghost town at the moment. So I told Moe I was going to make a simple slow walk cycle that he can speed up and down with the timings. With these variations you can multiply the cycle to other characters without having a complete duplicate which the viewers will notice.

Heres what I have done. Same rig as before no rotations of hip and shoulders

Heat wave effects

2009-06-10T20:14:00.008+01:00

What I have done here is added a heatwave effect to the scenes to show how arid the place is without water. I did a test on a single frame for faster test results to see what it will look like. I followed this tutorial http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=34773-2 to create the heatwave but changed it to suit the films look. It gives additional movement to the scene which will look appealing to the viewer.

I have tried uploading a video on the blog but the video seems to be too small to notice any difference.

Carara Aspect Ratio

2009-06-09T19:15:00.003+01:00

In this film we will be using a CinemaScope aspect ratio. Why? The reason is that at the moment the television screens are currently using 16:9 ratio as a standard and some cinemas are screening movies in 2.35:1 ratio aka CinemaScope. Recently there were announcements from top television manufacturers that in the future 2.34:1 will replace 16:9 in homes. The experience is a super wide vision of the movie which gives more information to the viewer. For these reasons we went with CinemaScope to be in touch with the possible future.

Cover run playbast

2009-05-30T15:38:00.006+01:00

Animated a run covering his head. This will show that he is trying to avoid the danger behind him. Again the shoulders and hips can not be animated as the rig limits this.

Run cycles for crowd animation - References

2009-05-30T14:08:00.003+01:00

I have been given a task to animate the crowd running by doing different cycles. Best reference for making run cycles is simply from marathons

Clothes to Model

2009-05-28T21:59:00.003+01:00

Clothes to Model - references

2009-05-28T21:44:00.006+01:00

Moe has given me a task to model some clothes for the adult women that will be animated and walking around. These are the references of the clothes that he wants.

More shots to digitise

2009-05-25T21:59:00.004+01:00

This shot is pain stakingly to do as I had to rub out all the construction lines that were scanned in with the final lines. It is the best I can do quickly without going through drawing everyframe with the pen tool myself.

Animation playblasts

2009-05-25T20:55:00.013+01:00

First try of animation which is not my strength. The person is shot from the front and falls backwards onto the ground. I figured out that the animation is less than 1sec and a little over 0.5sec based on the references. It is very quick and snappy.

This is edited further on improving the secondary animation to make falling backwards flow better

I did a quick run cycle with the same rig used previously. It looks ok however there were some limitations such as making rotations of the hips and shoulders which the rig does not have which will make the animation more fluid.

The previous video was running pretty slow. So I have redone the playblast. basically the cycle is hlaf the time as the previous

I then incorporated a gun shot in the back while running.

Gathered references of people getting shot

2009-05-18T21:16:00.006+01:00

Shoot em Up. The most stupidest gun film ive ever seen. Anyways theres lots of people getting shot.

Well known Charles Bronson

Cant forget James Bond

The film shooter has great references that we can incorporate in the film. Like the guys driving a truck and crowd sequences.

Animating task

2009-05-18T19:59:00.005+01:00

I have been assigned to animate people getting shot for Carara project. Need to gather some references first before I get started.

More Digitizing!

2009-05-13T19:52:00.004+01:00

More shots im doing. In this one I didnt really know how to do properly as some frames were missing the Professors and Morts body. Also the I did not know what colour the cup was. I have finished all the long and hard part and given this to Simon to finish off as he is in charge of it all.

Two extra shots!

2009-05-13T16:22:00.006+01:00

After I have done digitising the two shots that I had. Simon gave me two more shots to do and here is the finished product. Same process as the first but these have more unclean lines as all the blue drawn lines were grey scaled and line trace were picking them up. I have mentioned this to Darryl who scans them in to not grey scale them.

Taking out midtones for better result.

2009-05-05T21:14:00.007+01:00

When using the livetrace in illustrator I realised that the live trace picks up everything on the frames. This makes the lines more fuzzy and unclean which has to be tidied up in flash. However before starting the livetrace in illustrator the frames should be taken to photoshop. You can take away the midtones using the level adjustments and bring up the darkness which are causing the defects. Then you continue the process through illustrator and flash. The result is that you will have cleaner lines.

Since there are lots of frames I created an action that will automatically go through all the frame removing the midtones. If you want a copy of the action file give me a message

Improvements to the Backgrounds

2009-05-05T19:49:00.005+01:00

Darryl sent me an email last night that the set walls needed to be extended upwards and some sort of girders above the set to hold the 'floating lights'. The problem with the girders are its unwanted shadows. Their shadows will be casted onto the set causing problems. BUT this can be ruled out as in render options you can turn off its shadows.

Here's the results.

Digitize progress

2009-05-04T23:17:00.003+01:00

So fars its going quite well. I did have teething problems at first when things wasnt working the way I wanted to. Its a process that took longer than expected indiviually working on every single frame.

Flash settings

2009-05-04T22:37:00.004+01:00

These are the settings that should be used when digitising the frames in flash. it is the PAL size and frame rate.

Frames, Frames, Frames... Frames

2009-05-04T13:32:00.003+01:00

Apparently Simon who is digitalising all of darryls hand drawn frames has alot off work to do individually converting them in illustrator, moving it in flash, adjusting them and colouring every single frame. He needed help and asked me to help him in the process. I am then assigned to two shots. They are the Fascinating and Starting shots.

Personal website

2009-05-04T13:16:00.004+01:00

At the moment I have purchased a webhost for intention of my future website which will present my 3D portfolio and showreel. You can access it at www.harriko.co.cc a free domain. After I will purchase www.harrisonly.co.uk domain.

Finalised truck

2009-05-04T13:04:00.005+01:00

This is the final look of the truck. I have added a simple dark red vynal along the sides and textured the wheels. Moe has rigged the car wheels as you can see the non renderble lines. The reason for the dark red colour chosen is that the colour represents anger, leadership and wrath. Which works for the terrorists in the film.

Onto Texturing the Truck

2009-05-04T12:52:00.005+01:00

With the changes made. These are the first look of the truck being textured. I have done the underside of the car incase of the truck being turned over. I hand painted everything based on the pictures of the car.

To give the truck the stylist look the film is going to be I tried filters like cutout onto the textures I made. It removed quite alot of detail so I changed it.

The changes were changing the filter to dry brush and manually adjusting the setting to the style I want.

Halt! Changes needed!

2009-05-04T12:44:00.003+01:00

Moe has informed me that windows and doors should be modelled on the truck. It is pretty frustrating as it is not the first time changes has happened. However its good practise as I can expect this will happen in the industry. From now I need to go back a few steps model in the doors and windows. Then alter the UV maps again.

UV Mapping the Truck

2009-05-04T12:31:00.004+01:00

To Uv the terrorist truck I prefer to use UVLayout. How I this is I export the truck from Maya as an .obj format and then load the file into UVlayout. From here I determined where the cuts are made (shown in the screenshot) and then it was placed into a UV grid. The magic of the program is the unfolding of the shapes. It flattens the objects and tries to reduce the stretching as much as possible. After the truck is saved again as a .obj file and loaded back into Maya. Here I make the final adjustments in the UV editor before I begin texturing.

Early Modeled Truck

2009-05-04T12:17:00.005+01:00

These are screenshots of the truck while I was working on the modeling. I have added side mirrors as all vechcles have it. The side mirrors were not present in the blueprints for me to work from but then I modelled them by eye from image references.

However Moe have told me the mirrors were not needed as they were often broken off in Somalia.

Terrorist Truck References

2009-05-04T12:04:00.004+01:00

Before I start modeling I need to see references of the truck. This will help me on visualising the general look of the vehicle figuring out where curves occur and then planning the process of modeling.

Terrorist Truck

2009-05-03T22:11:00.003+01:00

Moe have given me a job to model the terrorist truck that will be animated throughout the film. He sent me a blue print of the truck to be modeled. It was based on a Toyota Hilux manufactured before 1995. I was told to keep the model low poly also doors and windows are kept attached to the model. Therefore, instead of modeling in the details it will be drawn onto the texture.

Updates on meetings

2009-04-21T22:43:00.003+01:00

I had a talk with Dan Dali at the start of the third term and have been told to update to blogs detailing group meetings rather than just updates on the work. Since alot of time have passed with many previous meetings unrecorded I will begin recording them onto this blog.

As it is the first day back a meeting was held at a pub. We discussed the overall story as the tutors did not approve where the story was going and reverted back to the original blockout. All work have not been lost however it still contributes till the final mark. Members were given tasks and a mini deadline to complete within to keep on track to finishing the shot film.

Gone Bananas!

2009-04-13T23:15:00.004+01:00

Darryl requested that he needed a banana modelled. First a one peeled half way and Second squashed.

Background Mosque tower

2009-04-05T20:17:00.005+01:00

This is a close up of the mosque tower that will be in the background of the film. It is in low polys and lack textures. I have used shaders for this building as the details will not be shown where it is positioned. I have given a hint of blue to the building which reflects the night scene. It may be shown as a silhouette in the end.

New neighbors!

2009-04-05T19:48:00.005+01:00

Final Tweaks for presentation!

2009-03-20T00:19:00.004Z

Should be the finished product. Darryl wanted a Banjo in the room and I did a quick model of one and created a swordfish for the wall.

Almost there

2009-03-18T19:39:00.004Z

Its almost done. I have re-lit the environment without making too many specular shades. So far flat toony look. also I changed the walls to wood for more of a hill billy cabin look.

Background colouring!

2009-03-12T21:30:00.003Z

Background Style

2009-03-12T19:31:00.005Z

Right with the backgrounds Darryl wanted a look that is similar to the Hanna Barbara cartoons and I noticed that The Jetsons the Movie had some 3D elements with their 2D animation. Therefore im going to try and imitate their style.

Quick Tutorial - Modeling a Column

2009-02-18T18:20:00.006Z

This is a quick tutorial I created with the very basics of modeling. The column will be in the Professor's room by the door.

http://uploaded.to/?id=rk2sii

The Professor's Comfort Room

2009-02-18T16:58:00.007Z

This is the progress so far for my part of the scene. It is a part of the stage where the professor enters into his homely area. What I wanted to recreate in the room is the art gallery feel or a library to set. A quiet peaceful area by comparision to the other side of the set. It would bring an insight to the professor itself.

I will need to add more furniture to the set.

The beginnings of the set

This is the set which I modelled for the final environment. I based it on the block out with the changes that Darryl needed to it. After this Elisha will have a copy of this and she will model the dentist side and I will have the professors homely side. The audience seats will be done by Elisha.

Some references that I based the room on.

Finished the building

2009-02-16T20:41:00.002Z

Small preview ;D

Texturing time!

2009-02-16T20:19:00.003Z

The progress of the texturing is going well for now

Back to the building!

2009-02-16T20:16:00.006Z

Just doing theUVs on this building. Its a long process and someones got to do it.

Final Finished sky

2009-02-16T20:14:00.005Z

Sample of the sky. Hope you like

Final sky problems

2009-02-16T20:09:00.006Z

While creating the sky from scratch it is going to end up as a hdr dome image. Only problem was the streching in the UVs making the moon distorted. I tried editing the UVs and the size of the moon itself but still comes out distorted. My only solution to this is to render the scene without the sky and add it in post.

Test Images

2009-02-16T19:57:00.004Z

Just some tests I have done while recreating the whole sky in photoshop.

Buildings Under Construction

2009-01-15T20:37:00.005Z

Quick building I have modelled based on the references that I have found. At the moment is all in peices so I need to go over it and give it more detail. Plus a few texture maps like diffuse, bump, normals, specular.

Improvement notes for a final sky

2009-01-15T20:33:00.003Z

I have made some notes on the sky that I used for the tests on the blockout. Alot needs to be done as it may be too dark to see anything so the sky needs to be lightened for the final one.

Buildings map test

2009-01-15T20:25:00.005Z

Based on a real layout of a town in Somalia most buildings are built in grids with alleyways and roads in between them. So this is an example which will be shown on video.

SKy Tests

2009-01-15T20:16:00.003Z

Here's some tests of the sky. Moe did like the night sky and we have decided to take this direction as he explains the Somalians are more busy in the evening time and the stars in the sky doesn't keep it bland.

Change of day!

2009-01-15T20:09:00.004Z

Moe has changed the time of day to an evening time instead of the bright sunlit scene. He has given me an example of the scene that inspired him. Taking this on I have made some quick tests on the blockout with the time of day.

Website domain!

2008-12-09T16:16:00.000Z

I have created a new domain for Carara it is www.berunning.com. I had some credits for a domain that I brought some time ago. so its now come to use for this project. In the future a website will be made. At the moment it is redirected to the blog.

Environment Improvements

2008-12-09T16:11:00.003Z

Here than made some notes based on Darryl'ssuggestions. These will be the changes that will be made in the final one

Colour Pallete

2008-12-05T03:16:00.004Z

This maybe the sort of colours that we will be using in the film. They are mostly desaturated colours to show the dry and arid of the desert.

Water test in Realflow

2008-12-05T02:36:00.003Z

For the water animation I did a simple water test in Realflow

Reference analysis 2

2008-12-05T02:07:00.004Z

Thinking of featuring a mosque in the background as its very tall and visable. Same as the last analysis. Circles!

Reference analysis 1

2008-12-05T01:57:00.005Z

I have gathered these images from google and circled the main areas that I wanted in the environment. Ive noticed its common to have images on the wall and researched that some people can not read so images are shown what shops they are.

Somalia from the top

2008-12-05T00:58:00.003Z

I have checked the area of somalia on google maps. I have found that all their houses are aligned in grids with lots of alleyways between them with some roads.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=somalia&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.093698,27.729492&ie=UTF8&ll=2.058785,45.32738&spn=0.009693,0.019312&t=h&z=16

Lighting for blockouts

2008-12-05T00:32:00.007Z

These are the lighting I have done for the blockout. I will be modeling the environment and lighting the project. I studied studio lighting quickly and applied it to maya to get this result.

I have added 3 Spot lights - one from each side and one in front at the satge facing towards the centre to make the stage a focus point. I have added shadows from each of the light to create an unrealistic lighting environment. For the audience I added a large area light to give a dim glow to show their existance but in the background. There is a good chance to I will be using the same setup for the final stage.

Black Hawk Down - Great for reference

2008-12-05T00:28:00.002Z

This film is actually set in somalia so this film should be my main reference points.

Battle for Haditha - Environments

2008-12-05T00:20:00.003Z

I watched this film before and the college had a screening of this movie watch reminded me of their environments that I can use for reference

Looking for famous quotes

2008-12-05T00:08:00.002Z

I have found and given these websites to Moe to help find wonderful quotes for the short film.

http://www.quotedb.com/
http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/

Rainbow Six Vegas - First Mission

2008-12-05T00:01:00.004Z

I remember playing this game when it came out for the xbox 360. This is the first part of the mission in the desert. I want to incorporate the dirty and grittiness of the environment into the movie.

Rubbish pile tests

2008-10-27T00:25:00.004Z

Some tests for populating the alleyway with rubbish. The rockets represents the rubbish as I used Realflow dynamics to quickly simulate the pile. I probably use this way as its easier than placing the objects individually and it avoids the intersection with the objects.

Environment Concept

2008-10-26T20:10:00.005Z

This is whats left of what I can save from the photoshop crash. Its a quick sketch working from the references and previous talks with Moe the directer on how the layout should be.

Same idea. Working in Vue

Water Pump References

2008-10-26T18:46:00.002Z

Some references for the water pump that the girl is going to pump from.

Frozenshop!

2008-10-26T18:36:00.004Z

Been working on the concept of the environment in photoshop and it crashed!

note: Save often!

Disney's Bolt

2008-10-26T15:44:00.005Z

I have seen this trailer and really like the style of the environment and renders. The characters were stylised and the setting was quite realistic. I have shown this to Mohammed and we may try to have this kind of quality into our short film.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i7NvsCSVKaY

Environmental Design

2008-10-26T15:27:00.003Z

I am in charge of the environmental design of Carara. Here's some of the references that I will be basing it on. My aim is to make the environment realistic so these images will gather my thoughts on how the atmosphere will be like and how the textures would look like.

Also I am planning to add dust and debris onto the ground to make the set look arid.

The BA Year has started

2008-10-16T21:40:00.002+01:00

Right, its the end of the second week of the first term. So far I have chosen a a dedicated group that I will do the most work on. If I have some other time I may be able to help other groups with their modeling and texturing.

The progress at the moment is starting the storyboards as we rewrote the script suggested by a guest lecturer David Bull. I thought that is input was very helpful to make the story more interesting and emotional than before. Im also surprised that, as he says, it maybe an award winning short film.

p.s The story is basically about a little girl who goes her own way in life and something tragic will happen.

So here we go!