3D Chair Project

Re-designed the chair and made a foot stool, some cushions and a mug.

Some parts of the training so far have not sunk in yet, but when I finally got to play around on Maya I did really enjoy the programme. It is fantastic to see something from all perspectives as a real model would allow you to do. I think I would be able to learn this 3D stuff quite well but for all the other stuff that has to be learnt at the same time. I tend to like to spend time learning one thing at a time, so I will have to work out what is important to me long term.

Had a few problems getting to grips with the lighting and needed to refer to Jame's notes, and the camera angles need some time spent getting use to them.

But overall, fascinating stuff!

In answer to your questions Andy, I designed the chair around the original because I just wanted to use the same template, bit cowardly I hear you thinking! but I always design within the time parameters I have available to me, and making the footstool to match along with the other bits gave me some more experience. How this process differs from what I am use to is strange because I know I am not going to make this product and have to perfect it in real space and materials, I also don't have to cost it. But the main difference is that you do not use hand to eye co-ordination in the same way and you do not handle the various materials I am used to experiencing, and of course no tools.

Visual Research Project

I know we don't have to write about this subject but I thought I would just comment briefly as it took so much time to do and so much emotional energy.

Although it was a lot of hard work and it took all my courage to stand in front of people and deliver a presentation, I did actually enjoy most of the project. That is, the work side of it and putting the document together. I made work for myself in editing the video but in the end I learnt a lot.

It did take energy and time to do but I am proud of myself for getting through the presentation, it has always been a fear for me and still is, but I did survive! I didn't get everything said that I wanted to say, but it went better than I had hoped.

I really enjoyed the topic and I am now a confirmed Halas and Batchelor fan.

Modelling 3rd Session

The 3rd session was hard work for me, but more so from mental and emotional tiredness from the Monday's presentation than the work on Maya.

I couldn't give my full concerntration to the day and it was getting more complex, my head hurt by the end of the day. We managed to get the chair finished and rendered, but it was a long drawn out process. Unfortunately if you go wrong somewhere it takes ages to get it back to what it should be. I did seem to make a lot of mistakes, but hopefully with more practice it will start to stay in my head.

The rendering process is very difficult to get my head round, I don't think we have spent enough time looking at this area. It seems like it could be a learning session on it's own.
I am looking forward to changing the chair and creating a new design, but I may regret saying that when I get stuck!

I can think in 3D and hope that I can get hang of this programme, if I can't it will be because there is too much I want to do elsewhere on the course and without the time to concerntrate on a programme like this you can't get very far. I am going to work on my chair design over the next two weeks.

3D Modelling 2nd Session

The second session was interesting to try to progress from the first, but I think the enormity of the size of the programme is beginning to sink in. After the initial excitement of the first lesson the more there is to learn the more there seems to be to learn. It is always difficult to learn something so complex on only one day a week and to not have the continuity of the following day to progress. So my mind was trying to remember last weeks actions before moving on to next. But that can't be helped and everyone is in the same situation.

Building the chair I think was supposed to be done in one day, but it was clear half way through that it was going to take longer than one day before we got to start to change the chair into our own design. This is because it is sometimes difficult to follow what James has said if you are looking at your own screen and having to turn round or if you are sitting far away from the screen.

One wrong move at some point, which you haven't noticed and you don't find out till much later when it matters, and sudddenly it is all wrong! I kept duplicating more sections than I needed and then later found that sections wouldn't knit together. James teaches using alot of keyboard instructions for actions and because I haven't been using a computer more than two years and am not used to these I find it confusing. I tend to use the menu bar icons and drop down lists instead and will probably stick to these where I can.

The rendering section seems a huge section to understand and I am not sure I get this bit yet. The lighting is very complex, and I know that I have never quite understood lighting in rooms anyway. Ambient, natural, low, light bulbs, ..... there is an enormous amount to learn about in creating the atmosphere of your scene.
I do hope it starts to sink in soon! But it is fun.

3D Modelling 1st Session

First installment of 4 week block for 3D modelling course.
I have never done any 3D modelling before on a computer, so using this for the first time was a bit scary but although the software programme looks huge to learn in full I found it relavtively user friendly. I really enjoyed the first session, I only hope I can keep up!
I thought james White taught well considering it was his first teaching session, he made it easy to follow.
The programme is very sensitive to use and alot of things are required to remember just to navigate the object into different viewing angles. Once you can remember these then you can start to think more about the shape you are working on, because being able to move around your object to check it from all angles is going to give you the object you want more acurately.
Having worked as a designer on a 3D product and enjoying working on other forms of model making I really enjoyed working on a shape in 3D, I think my brain works in 3D naturally so I really enjoyed it.
I am looking forward to next session but as always nervous of the unknown, so I hope it goes OK.

Characters Interacting - Animation Practice

Andy, in answer to your question: Yes, planning helps to take the pressure off the brain to let you dissect the whole project into smaller bite size pieces.

This new exercise was very interesting to do, but alot more difficult than the others, in having to work with action in more than one area at the same time. Pacing one characters movements against the other is hard to do. The most difficult thing is whilst working on one characters action thinking of what to do with the other characters movement. Having to work out the timing for one character for the anticipation whilst having to time the other characters movement to interact with it, whose actions are to react to the first characters actions. Complicated! And this is just dealing with square and rectangle figures. I felt intimidated by having only done about 20 frames whilst someone else had done 90 frames, talk about feeling slow, I know it's not a race but still.
One thing I did do better this time was take more time to think through the plan, before starting. I felt my storyboard helped me to plan the scene and meant that I could concerntrate more on the opening section of the scene. Also I think it is very important to only think about the small section you are working on and to try not to think about the whole scene, as that is just to big, and it is too easy to lose concerntration.
It helps to look at small sections in Stop Motion Pro at a time rather than doing all the frames at once and finishing the scene. Then you can make alterations as you go rather than finding out that some section doesn't work, by which time characters may not be in the right place to redeem the scene for the following action.
Finally, at this point in time it seems impossible to think about complicated scenes, complex character drawings and what is happening in the background, at the same time. Hopefully this fear will be overcome, miracuously, in the future.

Light Parcel - Stop Motion

I found this project harder than the 'light and heavy person' project, don't really know why though. Perhaps it was the inclusion of perspective, or the fact that some peoples versions were so much longer and much more adventurous than mine. The effect at the end seemed to work OK, it was just that through the middle of the drawings I seemed to lose my way of thinking about the end position for the character. I don't think my version was very interesting compared to some but it did flow.
These exercises are very good for getting you to think about movement.

Animation Issues in the Early Years

Some interesting issues raised about women working in the animation and film studios in America during the 30's 40's and 50's. Gender and race were a problem in society in general at the time so I suppose it is easy to see why these issues were a problem in the film subjects as well as the working enviroments. I am not surprised that women were only allowed the lesser rolls in working in the studios, persumably not many people of ethnic minority were employed either.
Ethnic people in America have never been supported in society and there is still a far greater divide than most places in the world. Considering that there is such a variety of races represented in America it is a great shame that it remains a huge issue today.
Back in the 40's nad 50's there were alot of social problems and issues that were brushed aside and not discussed openly. Being gay at that time was not discussed , violence against black people in the deep south was at fever pitch level and rising, and women were about to enter their most challenging time for equality in th 50's since the 1920's.
Creatively an amazing period but socially a challenge!

'Feet of Song' by Erica Russel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-S77OAxGt4

This is probably my favourite animation shown so far, along with some of the other abstract pieces. The film is full of life and vibrancy, movement is vital throughout the whole time. Music plays a huge part in creating atmosphere and the co-ordination between the animation and the beat of the music is aesthically brilliant. It shows a timeless quality that only true artists can achieve. This film is as watchable today as it was at the time of its making, and will remain entertaining for the future to anyone who enjoys abstract art and music.
There is something about art and creativity from the first half of the 20th century which was so amazing for original work and nothing seems to compare with it and for me it was so inspiring and still is.

Fantasia

The viewing of Fantasia was a long experience, very colourful and explosive, but quite long.

The sound effects section was more to my taste as it was abstract and more about patterns and textures. It is an incredible piece of work but not one I could view more than once.

Some of the scenes were very watchable but some are just too young. The themes seem to be quite mature in parts considering it is a cartoon and yet then there are some scenes purely aimed at children.

Disney on the whole for me is too cute.

Light and Heavy

I really enjoyed the animation practice session on Tuesday 23th, our first real animation task.
Trying to deal with the difference between light and heavy bodies jumping really does start the brain thinking about mass and volume, in a way you would not normally do.

I found it really difficult at first to think of how many frames would be required throughout the seqence, I wasn't so much surprised by how many it took, but terrified! I used 41 frames for the first one on heavy, but needed to use more for the anticipation on the second bounce from the spring board.

The end result was better than I thought for the heavy version.

At this point in time I am only half way through the light figure drawings, but I look forward to seeing the result. I plan to improve the heavy figure animation by adding in drawings at the anticipation stage.

First ever Blog!

It will take a very long time for me to get use to doing this blogging malarkey, next time I will try to think of something to say.