Maya Tutorials: Intro to Pre-Viz - Camera Part 2 - Pan Shot

Maya Tutorials: Anticipation and Follow Through - Can Snatch

Maya Tutorials: Squash and Stretch - Jumping

Maya Tutorials: Secondary Action and Overlap - Hanging Chain

Maya Tutorials: Settle & Rest - Pendulum

Maya Tutorials: Animation Part 3 - Using MEL

Maya Tutorials: Animation Part 2 - Using Motion Paths

Maya Tutorials: Animation Part 1 - Using Rigs

From Script to Screen: Online Greenlight Review

OGR Jan 13 

Like for Like Storyboard - Toy Story

I chose a 30 second clip from the film 'Toy Story'

                             

Sorry for the poor quality, I will reload when I have access to a scanner.

From Script to Screen: More Ideas

After feedback from Phil, I decided that I would quite like to have a non-human protagonist, and with the suggestion of a rubber chicken, I had a new script idea; 

Set in a 'Toy Story'-like joke shop, where things come to life when no-one is around, a rubber chicken has made a nest on the top shelf. One day a customer pulls the chicken off the shelf, plays with it then drops it on a lower shelf. When the lights turn off at the end of the day (although I imagine that while the chicken lays perfectly still, her eyes darts about nervously while the lights are still on), the chicken jumps up and looks around in panic for it's nest. Due to the rubber material she is made from, she can bend and stretch - like a contortionist. Using her bending abilities and with the help of other items in the shop (for example using a whoopee cushion like a trampoline), she climbs up to the top shelf to get back to her nest. Finally, she reaches the shelf and reveals a nest made of things from around the shop with three eggs laying in the middle. She lays down on top of the nest and falls asleep, relaxed now that her eggs are safe.

Influences:

My main influence for this idea is Scrat the squirrel from Ice Age. In all of the Ice Age films, Scrat endeavours to save his acorn from a multitude of different obstacles. I like the idea of my rubber chicken having some of the skittish characteristics of Scrat, built from the desperation to reach a goal. I also feel that chickens have a nervous, jittery quality that could help to shape my character.

Another key influence for this idea is Pixar's 'Toy Story'. I picture items such as a jack-in-box and fun snaps coming alive, some things helping and others hindering the chicken's journey.

Maya Tutorials: Digital Set

Part One: Modelling

Part Two: UV Layouts and Texturing Preparation

Part Three: Lighting

Part Four, Five and Six: Colour, Bump, Specular and Dirt Maps and Final Render

From Script to Screen: Script Ideas

Environment: Joke Shop

Character: Contortionist

Prop: Egg

Idea 1. A man lives above an old joke shop. One day he wakes up and goes downstairs, stepping on a misplaced whoopee cushion on the way, and notices a large box outside his window. Intrigued, he brings the box inside, struggling with it's weight, and opens it to find a huge egg. After many attempts to crack the egg with various items found in his joke shop, he finally takes a running swing with a giant pencil and manages to break the shell. He falls to the floor and watches as the shell breaks away to reveal a contortionist hidden inside the egg. The contortionist unfolds and quickly runs out of the shop, leaving the man confused on the floor.

Idea 2. A man who owns a failing joke shop stages a competition. He claims to have a magical golden egg which he will give to the greatest performer. Many different types of performers arrive, hoping to win the magical item, and amongst them is a young girl who is practiced in the art of contortion. After all of the performers are finished, the contortionist is announced the winner and given the golden egg.

Idea 3. A child visits the circus with his parents and is amazed by all of the unusual people he meets there, including a contortionist. He then enters the circus gift/joke shop. He looks around at all of the items for sale and finds a box of rubber eggs emblazoned with the warning - extremely bouncy. Ignoring the warning, he picks up an egg and throws it to the ground. It bounces around knocking everything over, resulting in chaos. Eventually the egg disappears and the child is left surrounded by a destroyed shop and disgruntled circus performers.

Life Drawing 08.01.13

We started with a series of two minute warm up sketches, which I chose to draw in charcoal. The focus of the lesson was the emotion of the figure. First was nervous, followed by two different sketches of sorrow.

                   

                  

Maya Tutorials: Bouncing Ball with Travel and Rotation

Maya Tutorials: Bouncing Ball On the Spot

CG Artist's Toolkit: Animation - Zoetrope

To create my zoetrope strip, I divided my long strip of paper into 24 frames. I then used pencil to draw my animation frame by frame. I originally wanted to use watercolour to give a soft finish but then decided to use Photoshop to create a similar effect. To do this I scanned my strip in sections and used the images as a guide to paint the animation.

This is the finished strip on Photoshop. I then printed the images and stuck them to my original strip.

Storytelling and Commission: Project 1 - From Script to Screen

Through the development of an original three-act story idea for a one minute animation (from initial premise to computer-generated pre-vizualisation via storyboarding), this unit requires you to engage creatively - and efficiently - with the challenges of crafting successful time-based narratives.

As part of the briefing for this project, we all selected three words randomly to give an environment, character and prop for our 1 minute animation.

My words:

Environment: Joke Shop

Character: Contortionist

Prop: Egg

My initial thoughts when receiving these words were that my animation will either be quite dark or a comedy. I feel that my prop is probably going to end up being a prank object in the joke shop.