Fantasy Olympics: 500 Word Evaluation

The second of my project’s for the Design Practise 3 module of this year was to think of a futuristic sport and to design an appropriate character or characters to compete within that sport. I also had to think of the location the sport was to be set and the environment that the location would be situated in. However, the software we were to use was one that I had never used before to produce an animation ‘Adobe After Effects.’ The style was to be 2D characters and environment in a 3D world, which took a while for me to get my head around.

At first I found this entire project a bit confusing because of the style but after an example given to us by my lecturer I knew what I was aiming for. It took a while for me to come up with a good futuristic style, which I could creatively pursue. I started with ‘Jet Powered Canoe Lacrosse’ and after a number of trials I alternatively went for ‘Hover Tennis,’ which was to be set in space. I did a number of sketches for different character ideas, including a human, squirrel and beaver. I developed the beaver and squirrel until I was happy with my sketches; I then scanned them into ‘Adobe Photoshop’ and continued developing them. The next stage was the environment where I included a number of planets including the Sun, Saturn and Pluto. There were stands for alien crowds, a clubhouse and commentary box as well as a Referee and scoreboard.

Once I was happy with all the different parts to my animation necessary the next stage was to import it into ‘After Effects’ and position each piece where I wanted them and then to animate. I found the animation side quite difficult as all the keys aren’t on the same timeline but after a few trial runs I started to get the hang of it and was soon able to use the different layers I had created in ‘Photoshop’ for the characters to their full advantage giving them movement in their arms and legs as well as multiple facial expressions giving them a sense of their own personality. I did most this by using the puppet tool and the timeline effectively. I also gave the referee and scoreboard some floating movement making it seem as if they were both hovering just like the characters were. There is tool within the effects panel called ‘Distort’ I used this on the alien crowd and increased the ‘Turbulent Displacement’ so that the crowd waved around also giving them some movement without having to move each one individually.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this project as I have never properly used ‘Adobe After Effects’ before, therefore I was able to explore and learn to effects that I can apply to future animations whether it be of a similar style or even an animation I have produced and then imported from 3DS Max. I feel that learning this software is vital for my future career especially when it comes to compositing, which I am very excited about learning next term. I feel that this project has pushed my skills far beyond what they were before and has therefore has possibly opened a new door for me to consider about my career.

Fantasy Sport Animation - With Sound

Fantasy Sport First Render - No Sound

Here is my first render, it is slightly different to the image shown in my previous post but i think it works well, I just need to add sound now.

Fantasy Sport

Recently, I have been developing my environment in After Effects for my Hover Tennis Olympic Sport, I have gone for a futuristic tennis court with neon lines, which hovers. I have simply then created a clubhouse and spectator stands matching the colours of each player. I have also included a tree and planets for an extra scenery effect. 


I have still yet to include a scoreboard, referee, and alien spectators to further develop the futuristic aspect to the advert. I will then animate it and render it out, I hope to have this all done by the end of the weekend. 

Project 2: Fantasy Sport Test 1

This image below is a quick test of me putting the different 2D images I have produced to produce a 3D world. I decided to go for a futuristic neon glow for my idea 'Hovering Tennis' played within a bubble in space. This image is to give you a sense of what my idea is, however I have a long way to go before this will be complete... I have to add crowds, tennis rackets, balls, hover boards, referee, planets and the bubble before I can even animate so I best get cracking... feedback please? 

Project 2: Fantasy Sport Characters

After a lot of development and sketches which I will upload shortly I have finally design both my characters that will be the face of my olympic sport. The sport however I am still trying to identify exactly what sport I want to do but the characters will fit nicely into the sport. At the moment I am thinking of something along the line of hover tennis or hover lacrosse, or hover basketball but I am not sure of which one I want to pursue. I hope you like my characters, any feedback would be amazing!

The Chess Player: 500 Word Evaluation

The first project I was set this term was to produce a short animation that was at least thirty seconds where a conflicted self-defeating chess playing machine takes place.


At first this project seemed extremely daunting as I felt that I lacked the skills that were required to produce such an animation but over the last six weeks, I have learnt about hierarchy, environmental design e.g. lighting and texturing, as well as the importance of camera angles and sound. It took me a while to get to grips with the rigging of the robotic arm so that it worked exactly like a human arm but after a number of attempts I vastly improved and managed to produce a simple arm with three different types of joints. I included eyes on both my characters as I felt it gave them more of a carton feel and directed the audience’s attention to certain parts within the animation and it gave it a humorous feel. I found the actual modeling of the arm quite simple to put together, using the different tools within 3DS Max allowed me to recreate the arm in 3D to the one I designed on paper.


The next stage of producing my animation was to model the chess pieces. All I knew before was to model them using the ‘Lathe’ tool but after a lecture on modeling I had a better understanding of a new and more advanced technique to produce higher quality pieces, which in the end improved my overall outcome dramatically. I also included eyes on my horses to continue the sense of humor and their own personality.


Another vital part to my animation was the environment. For my animation I wanted to keep it quite simple so that all the attention was focused on the board and the characters, therefore I used an Omni light to act like a spotlight over the game. The texturing I used was to have a classic look for the board and pieces, so therefore I used a marble and polished concrete bitmap to obtain this effect which I believe worked well. As for the arms, I gave one a rusty bitmap with red eyes to represent old and evil and the other a shiny metal bitmap with blue eyes to represent new and good. Both of which I would say are clearly evident for the audiences perspective. I used a number of camera angles, including panning, close-ups and still improved the quality of the animation further and keeps the audiences interested. For the sound I didn’t use much as I felt it was not necessary throughout the animation, however I did include a few which I think enhanced the storyline.


Overall, my skills have improved greatly over the last six weeks and I am exceptionally pleased with the final outcome. I feel the storyline is obvious to the audiences as well as having a comedy twist. I have learnt many things from hierarchy and rigging to modeling and lighting. All of these are vital for the vocation I wish to follow in animated films and advertising as these projects allowed me to gain a better understanding of character and environment design all of which will be relevant for my future career.

The Chess Player - Final Version

Here is my final version of my animation for the project. 'The Chess Player', Enjoy!

The Chess Player: First Render

This is my first render for 'The Chess Player'. I need to add sound and make a few edits in Adobe Premiere Pro until this project is complete, I am not far off though. I hope you get the concept, any feedback would be fantastic!

Animated Robot Arm Test

I have added eyes to my robot arm to give it more character. Here is a quick animation I did to get an idea of what the eyes look like and to get a feel on how to animate the arm. There are a few issues I believe, one of which is I need to produce a smoother animation and the other is the light reflecting from the eyes. Take a look and see what you think, any feedback would be fantastic. 

Chess Pieces and Board

I have spent a lot of time over the design of the board and the pieces. I couldnt make my mind up on whether I wanted to go for a modern unique style or an old antique style. As seen in the image below I decided to go for more of a traditional style as chess is an old game and it just seemed to fit better with the theme I am going for. Here is a render of one of the arms mid-move. Now I have to sort out the texturing, the lighting and then animate. I better draw uo my storyboard first however.

Robot Arm

Here is my final robotic arm, I changed the robotic claw to a hand as I decided I wanted to the arm to be more cartoony. I also felt I could give this hand more character than a claw making my arm more life like.  Although it looks quite simple I think it looks quite effective and it works well. What do you think?

My chess Board Arm

I havent blogged in a while now, I have just been very busy with my up coming Context 2 assignment. I have also been learning how to rig my robotic arm, I had a few problems along the way but I can now proudly say I know how to rig an arm in 3DS Max. I had an idea of how I would like my arm to look so I did a few sketches which allowed me to develop my arm. Here a few of the sketches...

My main idea was to use a claw like the ones you would find in an arcade. I also did some research to of current robotic arms which allowed me to produce this design.

Project 4: Context 2

For this project I have to research and write a report discussing my place in multimedia in terms of my network and companies that I identify, that can be connected to the the network and I am interested in working with.

So far I have researched nine different Animation studios and sent messages to them asking about what work they do and whether they offer work placements for students like me, fingers crossed I will get positive responses.

The report I have to write is between 2000 and 3000 words, which is a lot more than I have ever written I think, so I am going to do little by little each week to make the amount of work seem a lot smaller as essay writing isn't my strong point. Wish me luck!!!

Project 3: Still Life

My 3rd project is a Still Life project, I thought I'd never have to do Still Life again when I left school but apparently that is not the case. 

The brief to this project is...

'Still life can show us new ways of seeing at ordinary objects and it is one of the major genres of Western art. Principally, the subject matter is anything that does not move or is dead. So a still life includes a small grouping of all kinds of man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, game etc. 

For this project you will need to design, model and render 4 Still life scenes using at least 6 objects that you have collected or found. Research and study various still life paintings and photographs and think about the concept you would like to convey in your scene. Consider the design elements such as the, colour, symmetry, pattern, shape, lighting, shadows and the mood with in the pictorial composition. 

Set the scene, choose the location i.e. table by window and the objects then model and texture them. Next arranging the objects until you find the most pleasing composition then add a camera and lights and render the scene. Rearrange the same objects and render scenes 2, 3 & 4.' 

The idea of this project is to think about texture, lighting,size, colouring as well as the layout of the objects, although this sound extremely boring to me, it will be important for future projects, including my current projects. 

Project 2: Fantasy Olympic Sport

The second project I have been set is to design and make up a fantasy sport for the olympics. I have to come up with an ident for the sport as well as a 30 second animation to show how the sport works.The word 'fantasy' in the title allows me to bend the rules of reality so we can make the impossible, possible in our own 3D world e.g. zero gravity games.


The brief to this project is...

'Rationale:

Branding and character design are important aspects of both animation and motion graphics,

helping to convey a mood, product or idea in a simple and engaging way. The multimedia industry is

rooted strongly in the commercial and advertising sectors and the working processes and pipelines within

producing adverts are essential to understand. This project typifies a standard request of an animator

when working with creative agencies.

Background:

After Effects is a fundamental tool within any motion graphics studio, both as a creation and post production

tool. Through looking at After Effects we shall explore and practice designing, modelling, texturing, lighting, camera

and animation techniques with a view to understanding the animation production pipeline.

In this project we will look at using it to rig and control your character, props and scenario design within After

Effect's 3D environment space, looking at the aspects needed to execute the project and the working methods that

bind it with both compositing and 3D animation software.'

At the moment I want to do something involving Kayaks but I am not really sure how I am going to make it 'futuristic' so to speak. I have done a few sketches but I am tempted to change the sport.


This project is going to be tough and will be a serious test of my skills but again I am excited about this project I just need to find a good idea so i can let my creative ideas flow.

Project 1: Self Defeating Chessboard Game

The first of the 4 projects I have been set this term is a 'Self Defeating Chessboard Game.' The brief say's this... 

'Use all your creative skills and media savyness to produce at least 30 seconds of animation to demonstrate a conflicted self-defeating Chess playing machine to extreme comic effect. The Machine should evidently wish to defeat itself during the animation without narration, think hand gestures and body language. When designing and animating think about articulation, timing, camera shots, compositing Foley [sound effects], mise en scène and lighting.

Through looking at Hierarchy and control then character and prop design we shall explore and practice designing modelling, rigging, camera and animation techniques with a view to understanding the animation production pipeline. We shall look at the work of big studio and independent animation auteur’s with a view to developing an understanding of the creative and professional context of this vocation.'

I have a few ideas floating around and I have done a few sketches which I will upload shortly I just need to improve them. I am excited about this project, it should allow me to develop my skills rapidly. Andy is a good and exciting lecturer making this project a whole lot easier to do but I have to remember that the deadline isn't very far away.

Year 2 - It's good to be back!!

I have been back at university for nearly two weeks now and I have already been set 4 projects. I have chosen the Virtual Environment pathway as I concluded at the end of last year. Over the summer I played around on 3Ds Max to improve my skills and keep the software fresh in my mind although I have nothing to show for this I felt it was important to do this and has worked to my advantage for the beginning of this new year.


I look forward to what else is to come this year and I hope by the end of this year my skills have improved dramatically. I also hope that you continue to enjoy the work I produce and continue to give me feedback as it is important for me to learn where I can improve my work in all areas. 

Moving Image: Dog - My Edit

After completing all the three projects I have decided to go back and edit my first project, moving image. I decided that our film was simply too long and needed to be shorter by at least half the time. The main aims that I wanted to achieve were:

• To see if I could keep the storyline the same or as similar as possible to the original storyline.
• To draw the audience in.
• Remove all uneccessary scences that do not develop the plot.

Here below is my edited version of our film, 'Dog'.

Visual Essay - I am choosing my Pathway because...?

This is my Visual Essay which was the 2nd of my two Context 1 Assignments set for me this year at Nottingham Trent University. The aim was to show which one of these 3 pathways , Interactive Media, Virtual Environments and Moving Image I will continue next year. The media I chose to do the essay on had to correspond with my decision.

Overall I feel that I have created a strong Visual Essay that clearly states which pathway I have chosen, with some help form the 5 practitioners that I chose. I think i could of my quite a few improvements but unfortunately either my skills or resources did not allow me to do so However, I would definitely would like to improve the voiceover and maybe I will do so in the future.

I hope you enjoy it and I would appreciate any feedback you may have. 

Visual Essay: With Sound...but does it need to be edited?

Below is another version of my Visual Essay, I have added the voice overs but I still have some more sound to add. I am not too happy with the voice overs so i think I am going to have to re do some of them again. However, as you can see the essay is going well so far but I still have many improvements to make. I would be grateful for any feedback or changes that you think I could make.

Visual Essay: Animation With Some Sound

Below is the final render of the animation I will be using for my Visual Essay with some sound. I have added the voiceovers, at the moment I am not happy with them, I don't know whether it is because I don't like hearing my own voice played back to me or the quality of the recording. I think that I am going to re-record some of the voiceovers that I am unhappy with, any other feedback anybody may have, just comment I would be very grateful. 

Visual Essay Trial

Here is my fist trial render, although i haven't added lighting, sounds, textures, images and text, I just wanted to see what I had done so far so I know where to go next with the essay. As you can see it is coming together but still needs a lot of work doing to it.

Visual Essay: Update

Over the last few days, I have a great deal of time designing and preparing my Visual Essay; I have made considerable progress and am pleased with the work I have completed so far. I have designed every inanimate object that I will be using and I have started animating the camera. Furthermore, I have also started to collect a number of images that I will be using; however, I am still unsure whether I want to use a voice over or use text to portray the context of the essay? To conclude, I now have to complete the animating of all final objects, camera movement and add the materials. I will then have to render the animation which I think will take about a day. Finally, I will add all the images and text and/or voiceover using Adobe Premiere Pro. Below are a few images that I wish to share with you of my animation so far.

 Three doors which represent the three pathways, after entering the two I do not want to continue they are boarded up.

 Virtual Environments (My Bedroom)

 Virtual Environments (My Bedroom)

  Virtual Environments (My Bedroom)

 Virtual Environments (My Bedroom)

Interactive Media

 Interactive Media

Moving Image

 Moving Image

 Moving Image

 Moving Image

 Moving Image

Moving Image

Animation: Completed Haunted Ride

This is the final version with sound of my Haunted Ride.

My final project of the year was in Virtual Environment’s; the brief was to design and build a haunted ride with at least 3 scare scenes and suitable to fit within the Waverly Theatre. Initially, this project seemed daunting to me as I did not feel that I had enough understanding of the software (3DS Max) to be able to create a ride that would be effective as well as scary. However, after acquiring inspiration from the moodboard I produced and also sketching possible designs ideas, I began to gain confidence in my ability to utilise the software successfully and build an interesting haunted ride.

I intended to maintain the suggested them of a haunted mansion and graveyard. I began by drawing up designs of coffins, gravestones, a mansion, falling skeletons, swinging blades and a variety of cart ideas. I soon realised that my designs were far too complex and intricate for the limited skills that I have; however, I did not let this prevent me from attempting to create these designs. I started searching online for tutorials that would allow me to fulfil my visual ideas and I slowly began to piece together my ride. I found ‘trial and error’ played a large part in the project; many features I would liked to have included, such as rain, I simply did not have the knowledge to execute. Features that I did manage to include were fog, flames for the candles and flashing lights for lightening. I feel that I have progressed significantly since the beginning of the year and the ‘TV Ident’ project.

Overall, I am pleased with what I have achieved as I feel that I created 3 ‘scare scenes’ that are good quality, and also incorporate numerous textures to give my haunted ride a realistic atmosphere. The fog gives is intended as pathetic fallacy and to help enhance a cold and spooky experience; moreover, it aids to blur the audiences vision so you they do not know where the next scare is going to come from.  I am also satisfied with my cart design, as I believe the idea of using a coffin was unique and adds a sense of terror. I included my logo from Interactive Media as I felt that the name worked lucratively with the ride; the colours were adapted to fit with the theme.

I had number of issues with rendering and the length of time this process took, however, I persisted and I believe I  finally had a render that I could be proud of.  I found adding sound using Adobe Premiere Pro relatively undemanding and I feel that the sounds enrich the ride by appealing to the audiences senses. 

I have learnt a vast amount whilst completing this project. This has led me to confirm my decision to continue Virtual Environments next year and therefore to create a ‘Visual Essay’ based upon this pathway. I am now very excited and look forward to the next two years studying Virtual Environments.

Animation: Haunted Ride Final without audio

Below is the final render of my animation, I have taken into account most of the feedback I have received and made some changes. I have also included the logo that I used for my Interactive Media project and edited it to fit the theme for this animation. Hopefully you will agree with me that this version of the animation is a vast improvement from the first. Now all I have to do is add some sound, which I will post in my next blog. 

Visual Essay: Storyboard

After writing up my plan for my Visual Essay I felt that it was important to draw up a storyboard so that I can get the image that I have in my head, down on to paper. They are only quick sketches and show very little detail but I feel that they show my vision and they will help me to stay organised as I work. I hope they give you an in sight into my idea and fingers crossed it will all come together nicely.

Animation: 2nd Haunted Ride Test Render

The feedback I have received has led me to make some changes; I have increased the density of the fog and slowed the flickering lights as they were flashing too fast for the audience to identify exactly movements and events. I have also received positive feedback about the scenery and the number of scares that I have included. Below is the updated version, however I still feel improvements can be made as I still intend to add the effects of thunder and lightening.

Animation: Haunted Ride Test Animation

I have completed a test render to see the effects of my animation so far; this will allow me to make amends to any problems that may be occurring. Below is the rendered animation, I would appreciate any feedback that anybody can give me so that I can improve my ride.

Animation: Haunted Ride Rendered Images

Below are four images of the rendered objects I have designed as well as adding materials to each object. I have tried my best to make each object look as realistic as possible by assigning the correct material.

The Cart.

Part of the Entrance.

The wooden planks after being pushed out of the way.

This Blade

Animation: Haunted Ride

For my animation, I have decided to create a haunted graveyard where the audience will come across a number of scares, such as a falling trees, blocked pathways, jumping zombies, falling blades and flashing lights. Some of the main objects included in the animation will be coffins and gravestones. Below are a few screenshots that I have taken whilst producing my Haunted Ride animation, these images are without any materials added.

This is a screenshot of 3Ds Max as I see it when designing my animation.

This is the cart I have designed, it is a coffin that I have adapted to look like a cart, I plan to add a wooden material to it.

Above is the blade that moves up and down quickly up and down. I plan to add a bloody material to it.

The above two images are a few of the gravestones I plan to place into my animation, each will have its own material, for example, marble, stone and wood. 

Visual Essay: Plan

Introduction

• Starts outside the room with one single door.
• The title of the essay ‘Visual Essay by George Pickles’ appears out of the wall.
• Enter through the first door, into the hall.
• Presented in front of you are 3 doors titled ‘Moving Image’, ‘Virtual Environments’ and ‘Interactive Media’.
• Text will appear that displays the question that I intend to answer by the end of the visual essay, ‘Which Pathway Will I Choose?’

Interactive Media Room

• As you enter this room you will see HTML in large font bouncing around the room.
• A computer will be placed on a desk in the middle of the room, along side a chair.
• The camera will zoom up to the computer screen, which will display information and images to do with Interactive Media and why I believe that it is not for me.
• The camera will zoom out of the screen and on to a keyboard, which will have all the keys missing apart from the letters that spell the word ‘Monotonous’.
• Leave the room and the door to this room will now be boarded up.

Moving Image Room

• Access the door to this room, in front of you will be placed a 3 tungsten lights, a camera and a pile of videotapes and a projector.
• The lights will be setup and the tapes will fall over.
• The camera will zoom up to the projector, which will provide my thoughts on ‘Moving Image’ as well images and my first practitioner.
•  Zoom away from the projector.
•  Leave the room and the door to this room will now be boarded up.

Virtual Environments Room

• As you enter this room the first noticeable thing you will realise is that there is more furniture, as it will be setup like my bedroom to show that, ‘Virtual Environments’ is for me.
• In this room there will be a desk, cupboard, bed and an Armchair. Placed in this room will also be an iPod, Laptop, T.V. and toy buildings.
• Zoom the camera onto the toy building blocks where information will be presented about ‘Archiform’, which is my 2^nd practitioner.
• Zoom out of the buildings on the iPod, where information and images will be provided about my 3rd practitioner I have chosen from the trip to London.
• Zoom out of the iPod on the laptop screen where my information and images will be shown about my 4^th and final practitioner as well as why I enjoy doing  Virtual Environments.

Evaluation

• Zoom out of the laptop screen on the T.V. where screenshots of my work that I have done throughout the year will be shown. I will also include a few sentences to conclude my decision.

I may also include a voice over and/or music tracks as well as a few sound effects.

Props

•        Doors
•       Window
•       Camera
•         Tungsten Lights 
•         Projector
•         Videotapes
•         Large Font
•         Computer
•         Desk 1
•         Chair
•         Keyboard with unique lettering
•         Bed
•         Cupboard
•         Desk 2
•         T.V.
•         iPod
•         Toy Buildings
•         Laptop