Smooth Preview of Retopologized Head (Arnold SS)Textured FaceUsing BlendShapes
We learned how to use Blendshapes and the animation editor to create different mouth shapes and expressions. We also learned how to constrain other parts of our model to different joints and manipulators. Additionally, we learned of Driven Keys, which are used to drive blendshapes from the movement of a joint. An issue I was repeatedly having using the Driven Keys was Maya crashing repeatedly due to invalid saves (which wasn’t the case), and also blendshapes resetting whenever I would attempt to edit the shape. Disabling cached playback resolved the issue some of the time, but not always.
Wireframe ViewWeight PaintingAdded Teeth
In this project we were tasked with retopologizing a human head using Maya’s Quad Draw and Live Mesh toolkit. Despite having done this a few times before (mainly in 3dCoat) it was still somewhat of a struggle to get a mesh prepared not only for texturing, but for animation as well. After 3 attempts this is the version I’m most happy with as the others became too dense and unmanageable.
Here is where I added the bridge rotoscope using trackers
For this project we were tasked with rotoscoping the bridge area of the short clip. By using trackers the rotoscope follows the minor camera movements and shakes, which would be very difficult to match with keyframed transforms.
Overall this went relatively well, yet a little time-consuming due to the amount of points in the rotoscope, but quicker than matching the movement of the running character, which necessitated changing the shape of the rotoscope for each frame.
Impossible Figures II, created in 2016, is an animated short film directed by Marta Pajek.
The film begins with a wide frame of a woman returning home with a bag of groceries. What becomes immediately apparent is the use of space in this animation, as she walks through a seemingly borderless world until she gets inside her house, which in itself sets it’s own borders with an aerial blueprint. The film creates a sense of a well-tread routine as the characters behaviour is coordinated and deliberate. Only at the point where the eggs roll out of the bag and smash on the floor below is where the routine becomes interrupted, and the desperate plight to protect this one egg from being broken becomes the womans primary purpose. Throughout the film, various patterns emerge and disappear, the sense of perception becomes increasingly warped, and the use of space and colour changes dramatically.
Categorisation: Surrealist Animation. The use of blending shapes and patterns, a synaesthetic dream sequence, and the visual storytelling created appear to fit within this category of short films.
Form & Function: How the film presents it’s narrative seems to rely heavily on the use of symbolism and interpretation, as the meaning behind several elements are not made apparently clear, even as the film draws to a close. The audience can interpret her character in several ways: one who yearns for the scenarios created in this sequence, one who has lived and lost these memories, or as a character who has put these human needs in the background as she prioritizes other objectives.
Process: The film relies on simplistic shapes and outlines with limited details. This process works well as the patterns and shapes blend between frames, and the illusion of depth is used effectively to convey the characters altered mental state. Seemingly straight planes become angled, furniture changes shape and size dramatically, and the striking imagery of an ever expanding and contracting house convey the characters mindset throughout.
Formal Elements: The main element which is utilized throughout the film is the use of space. How the woman finds herself in ever changing environments reflects her state of mind. When she is curiously searching for reason, the space expands and widens. When she becomes focused on a particular element, such as a husband and child, the space shrinks to a singular box. This use of space is thoroughly effective and allows for more surreal scenarios, such as opening the closet and discovering a room of several lifestyle scenarios which she may be longing for.
The film uses a very limited set of colours, mainly a mixture of reds and blues on the characters makeup and earrings. A dull green filter is applied during the characters dream sequence, which effectively removes the colour from the scene. This indicates to the audience that she is experiencing an altered state, perpetuated further by the constant forming of shapes into humans dancing and audio track.
The pacing of the film, at first, illustrates a fast-paced and determined character completing her usual routine. This pacing slows dramatically as the film progresses, spending more time in each shot with slower and more elaborate transitions. The pacing follows the mindset of the character as she makes her way through the house, inquisitively for some time, and becoming longer the more surreal the experience becomes. This combined with the synaesthetic dream sequence and changing environments and patterns around her assist in driving the story forwards.
The audio maintains a somewhat industrial soundtrack, reminiscent of Inception (2010), creating a sense that things are not quite as they seem with shifting rooms accompanied by foley sounds, such as the scraping of bricks, and an ever present guitar grunge giving the sense of uncertainty. The audio changes tone once she enters the dream sequence, with a slow, romantic ballad replacing the distorted guitar and echoed sounds outside. As she leaves the dream sequence, and the film begins to draw to a close, the audio is replaced with the sound of chirping crickets in an outdoor space. This creates an unsettling atmosphere, and is quickly added to by the animalistic sounds of the creature revealed to be contained in the egg.
For this Nuke project we were tasked with rotoscoping someone running towards the camera. Here we used the Roto node and added curves and points to mask his figure throughout the short clip. This was the first time I have used any type of rotoscoping tool so understanding the process was new to me. I struggled slightly with the smaller shapes such as shoelaces because of the amount of points and interpolation but for the larger shapes I was more able to match his movements.
In this Word document I attempted to break down FIght Clubs narrative into the Eight Point Story Arc : Stasis, Trigger, The Quest, Surprise, Critical Choice, Climax, Reversal and Resolution. I chose to keep this project as a viewable document due to the large word count
“Mise-en-scene as a Visual Aid in Video Game Level Design“
For this topic I will be discussing how video game developers and 3D environment artists utilize elements of mise-en-scene to guide their audience through their levels and gameplay. In this report will be examples of games which have strongly implemented mise-en-scene into their titles such as: Journey, Metal Gear Solid, Limbo, and certain first-person video games. Also included will be research into areas of game development where mise-en-scene has not been employed sucessfully. Instead of impressing the audience, it takes away from the experience by either being too unrealistic (a simple yet unpassable barrier), or existing as a dead-end with no purpose for gameplay. In essence, I will be attempting to answer the question ‘How can mise-en-scene be used as a tool for game design?’
The main reason for my research into this topic are: my interest in creating game worlds, how lighting can be used effectively as a tool for interest and guidance, and understanding how to effectively utilize elements of mise-en-scene for game development.
Sources and Materials: Vrendenberg, B. (2017), Signposting, Mise-en-Scene, and Environmental Storytelling. The Netherlands: University of Utrecht.
Girina, I. (2013) ‘Video Game Mise-En-Scene Remediation of Cinematic Codes in Video Games’, in Koenitz, H., Sezen, T.I., Ferri, G., Haahr, M., Sezen, D., Catak, G. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. Switzerland: Springer, Cham
Modelling a gas valveEngine with mountsEngine Pipe LayoutFull engine with control box, supports and buffer tubesScaling using Unreal MannequinFull Render without TexturesBegan TexturingFuel Tank TexturedUpdated Basket ChainsNew Balloon Model (Around the World in 80 Days)Rope Texture Rusted Rope LinksTextured Sidebags360 Turntable
For this project we were tasked with modelling a hot air balloon for use in our Nuke class. The final project was titled “Balloon Festival”, so it was our job to incorporate this model into a Nuke composition. In this project I designed two hot air balloons, the first solely in Maya to demonstrate my modelling skillset, and the second was mainly in ZBrush because I feel I have a lot of artistic freedom and tools to create what I envision in a somewhat organic and intuitive way. The UV’s were created and adjusted in Maya however, because I find Maya’s UV toolset to be very powerful.
When it came to texturing, I brought the model and UV’s into Substance Painter and began to apply the textures. Using both materials imported from Quixel Megascans and flat planed textures such as the basket weave, I also textured in several wear and rust effects to the metal bars and rope links. One issue I had was the normal and displacement maps not appearing as they should in Maya, but after researching the AiNormapMap node and its functionality I was able to remedy this.
My thought process behind creating my first hot air balloon was to test some more tools in Maya, and create a realistic rendition of the concept. In doing this however, the polycount became unnecessarily high, ranging into the 100k range and the render time suffered massively as a result. As I was not that pleased with the final result anyway, I went back to the drawing board and tried to find a balloon concept that had some narrative interest.
My result of finding a new concept was settled as I remembered the film “Around the World in 80 Days”, a movie which centres around an explorer who embarks on a journey to circle the globe and return to his launch point within 80 days. I figured that this would carry more interest and personality to the concept rather than a typical balloon model. To this regard I gathered several references to the film’s balloon, and began modelling in Zbrush. I aimed to maintain a consistent silhouette and avoided making minor details to the model, such as engine levers and gas cylinders as I had previously done as these would be almost completely unnoticable in the final ‘Balloon Festival Project’.
Furthermore, in the favour of the model the final polycount was within the 30k range, and the Arnold render was much quicker. Whilst I typically aim for a polycount of around 10k, this was acceptable without the need for retopology and baked maps which were instead achievable in Substance Painter. Had this been a model required for a game engine, these needs would have to be addressed. but as a final beauty render a high polycount may bring certain lighting and texturing details lost to a texture bake, those of which I did not want to lose.
For this project, we were tasked with creating a short film based on the title “City Life”. To create this video, I ventured to several places in London which I found represented the city. One caveat of this project was to record the footage using a mobile phone, which brought with it certain limitations as my phone is not the most modern, so I tried to create more interest in the edit using Adobe Premiere. I travelled to Central London to get some views of the bustling city and its landmarks, as well as some night-time clips to develop a simple narrative. My final shot was recorded from Primrose Hill in North London, as I wanted to capture the city as a landscape, and Primrose Hill is perhaps one of the best locations to obtain such an image.
Although the final video was a bit longer than desired, I wanted the film to follow a simple narrative. The turning of a corner indicating the transition between a residential area and the busy roadways of Westminster Bridge leading to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I also wanted to show a short clip of the nightlife in Trafalgar Square and ending with a wide shot of London’s skyline. By progressing from a small, residential neighborhood to the expansive view of the city, I felt this showed how different London can be as one ventures to different zones. I also wanted to play with the idea of space and time with a short ‘boomerang’ clip, and a hastened drive through Chelsea to alter the pace of the film.
For this task, we were asked to go out and photographs images which capture the concept of “Time”. I attempted to capture a few different subjects, mostly relating to travel as we spend so much of our lives moving from place to place. I also wanted to refer to childhood playgrounds as a forgotten past-time. Finally I wanted to capture a small part of London which showed me the development of the city with electric car charging posts, while at the same time keeping the traditional red London postbox.
Whilst enjoying this task a fair amount, I had to quickly learn how to use a DSLR camera but I’m very glad to have done so as I don’t think I would have achieved the result that I did.
Here is where I modelled the main body of the cybertruck, I also added the UV’s and textures. The final image is the final result of the composition using an HDRI image for lighting and framing.
I enjoyed this project quite a lot because I’ve always liked to model and texture hard-surface objects. Baking normal maps and sculpting high-resolution details are processes which I’m always trying to improve on, and this project helped me recall some of those skills. Also I learned how to use the AiShadowMatte node for the first time in conjuction with an HDRI, as I was having issues using a flat image plane for composition.
High Poly Tire Tread and Details Baked Normal and Height Maps (wireframe)Another VariationFinal Result (low-poly bake)Normal Map in Maya
Here I sculpted some surface details into a subdivided mesh in order to bake normal and height maps. I also added a grainy rubber texture to the tyres. To achieve these looks, I used a high-poly mesh from Zbrush, as well as height layers in Substance Painter to imprint the details.
Modelling a Wine Glass in Maya
Rendered Using Arnold
We were tasked with modelling and adding textures to a wine glass created in Maya. Here we used the Revolve tool from a basic curve to create a NURBS object which I then converted to a polygonal mesh. I also modelled some “wine” to be placed inside the glass. I wanted to add some high-poly detailing so I created the UV’s and exported the low-poly model into ZBrush to add some designs and intricacies, I was also interested to see how the baked maps would look with the material. I then baked the textures inside Substance Painter and added just the normal map to the preset “Glass” inside Arnolds materials section and rendered in Maya using an HDRI image. I also created a basic table and added simple textures to have some shadows and realism.
Modelling a Lego Character in Maya
Modelling Lego Character in MayaPartly textured in Substance Painter – Rendered using Arnold
In this task we were asked to model a Lego character in Maya. We used several tools I’m very familar with, such as: extrude, curve extrude, multicut and inset edge loops, and the UV toolkit and texture application. There were some tools I learned about for the first time such as the circularize tool. I went a little bit further for this task as I brought the model into Substance Painter and began to give the character a face and some details onto his shirt, using alphas to outline the shapes and adding a small amount of hand-painted features.
