Dialog Assignment

In this assignment we had to animate to a previously selected voice track, and had to keep in mind the intonation and emotion of the voices.  It was quite a tricky piece of dialog since the main actor speaks incredibly quickly.

Pantomime and Lighting

An early assignment of this year, which had to feature a single character who ate or drank the wrong thing.  Specifically it had to include a change in emotion for the character.

The idea here is that he's a real thirsty Gold Digger but with standards, being immediately disgusted by the cheap quality of the spirits in this here saloon.

We also learned how to light and render a scene in Maya.

Third Semester Showreel

A summary of all my work from my third semester at the Animation Workshop.

Specific Trailer Shots

These here are the specific shots tha I animated for the Trailer Project.  Rendering and compositing done by others in the group.

Midway Exam 2011

My exam animation from December of last year.

Trailer Project Finished!

Well, its finally finished!  I'll upload my specific scenes later, but this is the entire trailer that we have worked on for quite some time.  Props to the CG students who managed to pump every frame full of awesomeness in postproduction!

Action Animation

Here's a weeks and a day's worth of work.  It was a difficult assigment involving many different things, including cinematography.  One thing I really enjoyed was to use a primitive shape to block out all the action and timing in the beginning.  That allowed for a good start.

Lift Animation

This was a tough assignment.  Having to constantly keep track of the weight and such of the box as well as getting believable motion as the character picks it up was quite the challenge.

We had to create a backstory and personality for the character in order to create a unique performance for the character.  I chose to have a character who'se primary emotion was anger.  The idea would be that this man would have had a lot of misfortune placed upon him in a short span of time that he eventually snaps, letting his frustrations out on the closest thing he can find.

A note on the animation, since it takes place in such a simplified environment, is that the box is bolted to the ground, and that is why there is that moment where he tears it and is partially off the ground for a little bit before being completely torn off.

Run Cycle Compilation

This is a generic run cycle feautring Hogan.  This was tricky due to the shorter cycle a run has than a walk, so it's difficult to time the poses just right.

Character Walk Compilation

This was an exercise in mechanics as well as acting.  The model had to perform a unique walk cycle, so I made him have a stomach ache as he moved, writhing in pain.

Generic Walk Cycle

This was a five day long assignment, being taught the mechanics of a walk in great detail.  One is surprised to learn how much happens in a generic and even lazy walk of sorts.  The motion of the arms. the distance a foot rises above the ground, the movement of hips and shoulders.  We move much more than I would ever think necessary.

Bow

This was a weeklong assignment, so I figured I would show the steps up to the final animation.

Part of the assignment was to create a backstory and personality for the character in order to give a more unique and specific performance.

In my case the character is a selfish king who it has come to his attention someone close to him will attempt to assassinate him. Worried for his life he sees a servant who is a dead ringer for himself, so he orders him to switch places with him temporarily. His plan is to catch the assassin in the act, not caring for the well being of the servant, thus not telling him of the murder plot. The scene in the animation takes place just after they have switched clothes, and the servant now king orders him to bow before him, his first taste of power. The real king immediately refuses, but notices some people walking into the throne room and forces himself to bow in order to not blow his cover.

Hogan

Hogan is our most advanced model yet, mimicking the human body the closest, not being particularly limited in the traditional sense.  He has a fully adjustable face and human limbs that can move, so human acting is perfectly possible, though one notices difficulties at times with certain poses and mannerisms.

Our first assignment involved learning how to pose the character, so we were told to set him up in seven different poses.

The second assignment involved an understanding of weight, so we had to have him subtly shift his weight from one leg to the other.

And thirdly we had to animate him performing a more extreme motion, in this case I chose a kick.

Floursack

This week we have been working with a new rig, one resembling a floursack.  It has been the most complicated thing to animate yet, with alot more points of control and joints, meaning alot more to keep track of.

The first scene involves a simple drop from a height.

The second scene consists of a jump cycle.

The third scene is my favorite, as it features the floursack invoking a personality and mood, in this case an old man.

3 Balls to Music

Our last assignment this week involved us animating to music, something that I always felt was enjoyable.  It had to be an 8 second track and feature 3 spheres dancing/moving to the music.  After some consideration I chose the fan made re imagining of Banjo Kazooie's Rusty Bucket Bay level's theme from youtube as my track, mostly due to the very different sounds being played at the same time and thus being able to cast each ball to one of them.  The whole song can be heard here.

Luxo Lamp Jr

This week we were given a more complex character than a simple sphere.  Luxo Lamp Jr seems to be the the equivalent of the flour sack exercise in 2D animation, where you have a simplified character that can do basic pantomime and give you a chance to experiment with the tools given.


The first exercise required a simple hop cycle featuring the lamp, but the second one involved it reacting to something and having a 'take'.



And below is the original Luxo Lamp Jr short, the one that inspired every CG animator since to practice with a similar model.

Bouncing Balls

This is my proper introduction to the world of computer animation.  I have to say, I'm really seeing the possibilities and the appeal of such software.

The first ball in the video is a redundant bouncy ball that bounces indefinitely.  The second segment features three balls, each composed of a different material which are in the order from left to right: rubber ball, bowling ball, beach ball.  In the third and final sequence it invokes acting by the ball, thus living, and has him be rudely awakened by his alarm clock.  The sound effects were not present in the proper dailies.

Looking forward to delve into the software more in the coming months.

Final Exam

This is my final exam of the first year of Character Animation.  This will be the last piece of animation I do with TV Paint as an assignment until the Bachelor project, though that's not guaranteed either.

Either way, looking back at all the posts and such, I have to say I'm genuinely satisfied with my results, and can't wait for the summer to be over so I can take a crack at 3D animation!

First Maya Animation

This was my first attempt at animating in Maya.  We animated a bit unorthodox like, by moving separate shapes around instead of manipulating a character model with a rig.  All in all these little assignments have made me appreciate the software and removed any fears or preconceptions I mimght have had.

Flash Week Results

Here are the resulting exercises that weren't just shapes moving about on screen.

I have always had a soft spot for Flash, but have never managed to animate it professionally.  Now I finally had the chance to properly animate with Libraries, though I still have a long way to go.