May 27th, 2006 Ahmad Al-Mahir
We had our mid-term crit session on Thursday to showcase our progress and obtain feedback. I presented the character designs, 2d animatic, 3d block test, Mr. Knox’s and Kid’s 3d models, and a short rig cum cloth test for Kid. As I expected, most in the audience weren’t too impressed with how Kid’s model turned out. After reviewing my original designs and taking into account a couple of suggestions, I dived back into XSI and started tweaking. I created a newer, simpler set of hair, enlarged the head and eyes, and adjusted his overall proportions to make him look younger.I believe it’s a significant improvement over the old model. What do you think?
I’ll quickly re-do the rig and cloth test on him and I’ll post up a clip soon. I’m hoping the next set of tasks (rigging Mr. Knox) will be an easier affair. Unfortunately, this weekend will mostly be taken up by the research project. I’m scheduled to deliver a presentation to an audience of tutors and fellow students on Thursday. Wish me luck!
Posted in "Wait Mister!" 3D Film Plog | 6 Comments »
May 21st, 2006 Ahmad Al-Mahir
I’ve almost finished Kid’s 3d model. I used Mr. Knox’s base models and tweaked them considerably to get the final result. I figured it might be easier and more consistent than starting from scratch. Again I’m not focusing on the textures at this stage. I haven’t even decided on the eye colour (although I did get some nods for this shade of blue on him so maybe I’ll give Knox a different set of eyes). I’m also considering whether to use cloth simulation for his shirt or just hand animate it if at all. Might be more hassle than it’s worth. We’ll see when I get round to doing some tests on it.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve done so far:
Gotta find some time now for my other project - the personal research presentation. It’s due in a couple of weeks!
See ya!
Posted in "Wait Mister!" 3D Film Plog | 2 Comments »
May 18th, 2006 Ahmad Al-Mahir
I was slogging over the animatic and the block test over the past couple of weeks which caused the delay in my update. I’ve managed to refine the previous animatic and began work on the block test last Thursday. That took me about 3 days to complete. I also continued working on Mr. Knox’s head and body which were expected at this week’s tutorial session. I cut down the animation further (it’s now 1 minute 20 seconds in duration) and apart from a couple of shots that needed changing, the block test went over quite well with my tutor. Here’s a shot from the animatic and corresponding block test:
I pulled the camera back slightly because I felt the longer shot made for a better composition. At the very least it looked more balanced to me. There’s quite a few of these tweaks that you only find out when you go from 2d panels to 3d space in the blocking stage. Anyway, I’m putting off refining the block test for the moment while I focus on getting both my characters modelled, rigged and animation tested. That should take up the next few weeks.
Here is Mr. Knox fully modelled without textures:
I’m off to start work on the kid next. There’s a mid-term presentation scheduled for next Thursday for us to show our progress so far and I need to get both characters ready by then. In fact, according to my planned schedule, I should be rigging either Mr. Knox or Kid next week! Expect some sleepless nights for me!
Posted in "Wait Mister!" 3D Film Plog | No Comments »
May 7th, 2006 Ahmad Al-Mahir
I’ve managed to piece together a 2d animatic from the storyboards and after some suggestions from my supervisor, managed to cut the animation down from almost 2 minutes to 1 minute 30seconds. Of course this is a rough estimate. I’ll have a better idea when I get round to the 3d block test. In the meantime, some shuffling around of shots and changes in camera angles and pacing are in order.
I’ve more or less finalised the design of my characters (the kid proved especially difficult) and came up with a basic colour palette for the scene, and tests for Mr. Knox and Kid:
I noticed quite a number of my fellow students have already started modelling their characters, so I decided it’s time to brush up my extremely rusty modelling skills. I’ve been practicing for the past couple of days on Mr. Knox’s head. I’ve drafted up a simple action plan (schedule of tasks) which I’ll be presenting at this coming tutorial session. The next version of the animatic should also be ready then. Hopefully I’ll be able to move on to the block test right after. And I’ll probably continue working on Mr. Knox.
See ya soon!
Posted in "Wait Mister!" 3D Film Plog | No Comments »