Parenting Test

Parenting is a tool in Maya which allows the user to move an object with another object simultaneously. For this task, we were given a Maya file with Max and a ball. We then had to animate Max picking up the ball, using this parenting method. The object can be connected and disconnected anytime during the framing process.

I completed the task without any trouble so to make things more interesting, I created an animation which shows Max throwing a ball. To get the leg and arm poses right, I was recorded to act out the process, which helped me get a more realistic result.

Parenting Test

Ball from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.

Video Reference

20170323_163904 from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.

Green Screen Essentials

On Wednesday 22nd of March, I had a tutorial explaining the process of the green screen.

I learned that in order for the green screen to work, multiple lights, all in various places, need to be pointed at the green screen figure so that it lacks any unwanted shadows that will cause a mighty inconvenience when chroma-keying.

There was even a green light available for pointing at the green screen, so that also deflects any shadows. The disadvantage of this is that sometimes, the light could cast on the figure, giving it a green glow, which could cause a flaw in keylighting.

Since shadows are completely inevitable and thus cannot be completely eradicated, I could simply use adjustments in After Effects to remove the shadows. Though this could cause some color setbacks on the origami models.

Background transition

Using the same method as before to create the first background, I have created another background. I have done this so that I could make a transition test. This involves the cutouts moving on and off screen. I think this will make the animation more lively. Each background will be different for each animal in the animation. Each of the eight animals will have 3-4 seconds of screen time before the background and the origami animals change.

I also need to zoom in on the screen so that it only shows the necessary parts as right now, the edges of the background are conspicuous, making it seem inappropriate for the screening.


Transition Test from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.

An Animated Future for 3D
This article explains the relevance for 3D animation and how it's being distributed as a commercial success. It also explains how 3D holds elements to the animation industry with its eye-catching features to amaze the audience. In addition, it explains the future that holds for 3D as it may become more enhanced at some point in time.
I find this article relevant to my work because 3D plays a part in this video. For the background, I use shapes made in 3DS Max and then textured them with decent lighting to give a photorealistic look.

Source: https://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=405

Rationale Plan

The rationale will be approximately 2000 words long. It will be justifying why I have chosen the story I did and essentially anything relevant to The Creative Matrix. I will be explaining why I have chosen certain aspects in the story and how each aspect in the story is relevant to include in the story.

Update on Character Model

I have modelled clothes for the character. This was achieved by using the shape-merging modelling method. Each clothing started out as a standard default shape and then was merged into clothing using the image reference. This was first done with simple shapes, making it as basic as possible and using as little vertices as much as I could until the shape formed correctly. When I was happy with the result, I used the Insert Edge Loop tool to add more vertices, which made the clothing a lot smoother, more round and more fabric. It got rid of any bends in the clothing that appeared very unnatural.

Sound for Animation

Many acclaimed animations almost always have sound. It keeps the beat and satisfies the ears of the audience as well as the eyes. So I was thinking I could perhaps add some classical music to the animation because not only will it be lenient with copyright issues but I feel as though it will suit my animation.

Here are two examples of classical music I'm considering for this project.

Another Animation Test

I have done another animation test. This time, I tried to make the pacing a little more smoother to see if that would suit better. I think the result came out fine but I could still improve it a little. For example, the positioning seems to be all over the place. I will probably need to use the onion skinning to stabilise the origami while it folds.

Animation Test from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.