End of term - Everything.

Experimental Animation!
I didn't really blog that much about my experimental animation, I kept most of it to my sketchbook and never really blogged about it. I changed my idea into the idea of plants and growth. I used the concept of a flower blooming into a giant plant, then the process continuing by a petal falling out of the plant into a tea cup then growing out of that.This version is the longer version which I created. I cut it down to the plant growing out of the tea cup and stopping there.


Maya Modelling

The final images are like this:

I got the lighting a bit wrong and made it look quite flushed out. I also found UV unwrapping a circle for the sticker quite difficult, so I left those out. I had a critique with Georg and he gave me a few pointers and tips on how I could improve it and using Planar Mapping for the circle image. 

Flash

I already uploaded my Flash animation. I'm pretty pleased with how that's turned out. I've enjoyed making that, and found it to be a challenge considering I haven't really used Flash before, only briefly during my Art Foundation year.


Drawing Project - Gulliver and Lilliput

I really enjoyed this project too, however I found that I did a lot of smaller drawings throughout my sketchbook. I focused more on smaller people as well rather than giants. I found smaller people just more interesting to draw as there's a lot of nooks and crannys and bizarre little places you could put them. However I did enjoy drawing a giant child using a wind turbine as a windmill.

Maya, so far so good.

I've been modelling, almost finished now...

Flash, Complete.

Finished Flash project! :)

Maya, Progress

 

Texturing has begun. I'm starting with the objects which have flat colour, such as my computer case, monitor screen, and webcam. The light and sockets are quite a bright white as well, so I'm trying to stick to that at the moment. Hopefully i'll be adding the wood texture to the desk later, the Pizza Hut stickers, the Dell logo the IBM logo to the mouse. Also as you can see the desk has been made too with it's curve. I also need to make the keyboard however I don't think this will take me long.

Other updates:

Flash is almost finished now, just trying to export it, unfortunately i've been having some trouble with the sound file. I've spoken to my tutor Andy about this and hopefully I'll get this sorted today.

My experimental animation is almost finished too. Today i'll hopefully be finishing it and editing it with sound in After Effects later on if all goes to plan. Otherwise it'll be done by Wednesday at the latest.

Sketchbook is also going well. I will try uploading my progress so far on to my blog soon as I haven't been keeping track with that project.  I'll also upload the photos from the Newquay Zoo trip and Maritime Museum.

Flash, LIP SYNC DONE

Lip sync is done! Now adding movements to eyes, blinks, arm movements and fin movements!

Flash, a few hours later...

It's getting there... :)

Flash;

Yay! Time to get animating...

Flash, Unforseen Consequences.

This blog post is a little late, sorry!
Okay, I re-recorded my Flash sound the other day (sorry Georg!) however I interviewed the proprietor at Swanpool beach rather than Gylly. I decided to change my background so it fits with the location. This is a photo I took at Swanpool a few weeks ago

I decided not to digitally paint the backgrounds like I practiced earlier. Instead I decided to stick with watercolours like I have used before. This is the background i'm using now:

I emphasised much brighter colours than what was on the photo and calmed the sea down, the photo makes Falmouth look miserable.
 The mermaid is going well. Today is animation day. I've got to convert most of her mouths, fin and arm into symbols then i'm ready to animate. The mermaid has had some changes, I'll only be animating the one arm, I gave her an arm with a Cornwall mug filled with tea. I'll animate this moving around, possibly tea spilling here and there.

Maya, Progression.

Okay, I've finished making the speakers, back wall switch and tv port. Here's how it's looking so far:

Yes flipping please!

 

Now you're thinking with Portals.

Happiness

Maya is my new best friend.

I'd been working on the speakers for a while, trying to get the curve right...I think i've cracked it. Just need to bevel the edges, a bit of tweaking here and there...

Also I was listening to this:

Because everyone loves Half Life 2

Inspiration, Gulliver & Lilliput sketchbook project

I stumbled upon an artist named Tessa Farmer recently. Her work is mostly 3D models, however I thought it tied in nicely to the recent Gulliver/Lilliput project we've been assigned. This project is mainly focusing on perspective, creating characters in a Borrower's-esque world where sewing needles could be used as swords, and everything is much larger than life. The other aspect is the giant size, creating a character abnormally larger than the average human and placing them in a scenario.

Tessa's work consists of using dead insects and taxidermied animals, with a twist. She adds in these small skeletal fairy-like creatures who are posed to either be attacking the animals, or using them, for example riding on a wasp for transport. I found her world very obscure, but indeed it was incredible to see these delicate objects created and placed into what could be a very normal scenario.
I viewed her work online, via her website;

http://www.tessafarmer.com/

I'll be posting up the drawings i've been doing asap. Along with photos from the various trips we've been on recently to the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro and The Maritime Museum, Falmouth. Soon we're heading up to Newquay for a visit to Newquay Zoo.

Here's a Story from North America...

An amazing and amusing animation by Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis.

Maya, Modelling - More Progress.

I know it's late (2.23 am infact) but i've been modelling and it's getting really addictive now (so much so I tried to scroll on Facebook by right clicking and holding ALT down...) I've added the grill inside my pc case, the power switch, 2 USB ports, a headphone port and a microphone port. With the monitor i've added another sticker. It still needs a bit of TLC here and there, i'm going to talk to Georg on Monday about rounding off certain edges which i'm not sure how to do. Tomorrow hopefully get the mouse and speakers finished and begin adding in the walls, sockets, desk and eventually textures! Hopefully by next week! (:

Flash, Animatic, Take 2.

Okay, after a critique with Andy and the donatello class today, I decided that rather that using Georg's voice, that I should go and record someone else. I wandered off the Swanpool beach, there I was lucky enough to talk to the proprietor of Swanpool. I spoke to him about the beaches and Falmouth and got some incredible footage from him. I came back and added in a bit of lip sync and more animations. Here's my animatic so far:

Flash, Animatic - Take 1.

This is my animatic so far. Haven't added the mouth movements in yet, simple arm and fin movements just so I know how the character will move in my final piece. I quickly sketched this up in Photoshop/Flash today just to demonstrate the movements, however my actual final piece is a drawn image which I will scan in and cut out in Photoshop and use that way rather than digitally draw it. I will however draw the background digitally which is what i'm working on at the moment.

Thanks to Georg Finches for being the voice of the Mermaid! 

Maya, Modelling - Progress.

I've been working on my modelling. The base of the computer is now curved, I finished the webcam off, began to add the stickers on the side of the monitor, added the Dell button on the case and cut out where the grill is on my computer.