At the start of this unit, we
learnt the basics of 3D animation and how a 3D character is created and
controlled. Through a series of different tests and model rigs, we were able to
animate a variety of different movements on a character, such as walking, sneaking
and changing emotions. While working with existing rigs and testing out their
controls, this helped us learn to develop our own character model and create a
rig ourselves to control the necessary parts of the mesh. While that was being
worked on as our character design project, we were also given a group task to
produce a 3D animated film, running for approximately less than five minutes,
and using a character rig of our choice.
Any additional objects in the scenes would have to be modelled, and also simple
to make more time and focus on the character.
As part of a team of three people,
we discussed on a few possible ideas for a short animation. The final idea we
chose would be about a couple friends playing football. Character A would
demonstrate the game to her friend, Character B, and how to kick the ball.
Character B would then try it herself but accidentally sends the ball flying
over the goal. The football heads towards an old person, a retired football
player who is painting a masterpiece on his canvas, until the ball hits his
canvas and destroys all of his work. Reacting to the man’s anger, the girls
start running away, only to receive the ball being kicked back and knocking
them over to the ground. The man realises how far the ball went, and is
impressed by how his ability is still inside him.
For the animation, we split the
characters to one rig each. We agreed that I and one partner would work on the
two main characters, while our other team partner worked on the old man.
Finding a rig meant that it had to be free to use, while also compatible for
Autodesk Maya. The rig I chose was called the Morpheus Rig, created by Josh
Burton, as it had been a rig I was already aware of, and had experience with
using the controls before. The Morpheus rig enables me to easily adjust the
gender features of the character, while also changing any other facial features
instantly, including eyebrows, hairstyles, nose size, etc. The controls were fully functional, thereby
having no trouble of moving the arms and legs of the character. However, seeing
as the original rig had not clothing at all, I needed to follow some
instructions of how to make a separate mesh of the clothes, and combine them
with the body, so the controls take effect on them altogether. But this was
another simple process to follow, and was easy to make in a short amount of
time. During the process, we would check on each other, to see if our
characters were moving correctly, and if we made any errors that could be
adjusted. Once we made a full video, compiling our tests, we noticed that my
character was moving at a slow pace, in comparison to the speed of every other
character. I easily decreased the amount of frames on the timeline, to increase
the speed of the animation. Aside from the characters, we also worked on a few
quickly modelled objects for the story. One of our teammates worked on the
ground, with grass texture, and I modelled and textured a football. I also
modelled and textured an art canvas, but the team member working on the old man
scene already had a canvas model to work with.
Everyone did a great job and chose
some interesting rigs to animate their character with. They each had a unique
design for the characters, especially the look of the old man rig, and the team
knew how to work the rigging controls. As for the animation on my part, it was
mostly approved. Some issues were the timing and movements being slightly off,
but there was some character movement at least. There were some moments where I
did think the leg movements were thrown off with the hips. I may have to
consider this later on, to look at the movement structure of the person and
improve on the animation with this bit of information. As for the teamwork, we
were all helpful to one another and were able to communicate frequently,
exchanging elements for our animation references. The one thing I tried to do
with give the football a bump map, highlight the ridges on the texture pattern.
But the reference could not recognise the map, and therefore it was left as a
plain texture on the ball. The background
was very useful, and had a nice bumped texture for the ground. The sky was a
little bland, but had the right colour texture and lighting. While the
animation on my part was complete, I have yet to see the final outcome,
combining all 3 of our rendered characters.
Working as a team was pretty hard,
but we gave some good advice and feedback on our progress, which was useful for
me when working on the project. As for the rig, it was very functional and easy
to animate with, and would consider using again in any later projects, while
also understanding how the rigs are made and how they are connected. 3D
character animation is generally easy at the start, but it does become a
challenge to get the right movement going on your character, depending on how
you want it to move. Using an already-made rig can be simple to use in its own
form of methods, but the additional tools help adjust the character style much
more than just one basic design. However, if I was not already experienced, I reckon
the rig would already be easy to use for newcomers as well, as opposed to
modelling and rigging your own created character would be more of an
achievement once you have a working rig, and can use it in your animation.
