Final thoughts

The animation is now complete! I never thought I'd see the end to this project! I will admit, it proved much more challenging than I originally anticipated. In fact my head was close to splitting!!

But its all worth it! I have learnt a lot from this project. Of course there is lot more to Maya that I came across but did not use in this case (e.g. dynamics,character animation and rigging). It would have been great to use this function and I will be spending the summer getting even better acquainted with Maya!

My biggest issue with the project was the lack of ideas I had at the start. This really slowed me down! As I was a novice I felt I didn't want to create anything over complicated but still wanted some originality. I was tempted to throw everything away at one point and create a simple animation just using dominoes and marbles. However, as I built the scene for the kitchen, things started to come together.

As I said before I was eager to use the dynamics as this is what I had experimented with over most of the Easter holidays. But the geometry of the surfaces simply wouldn't allow the results I was aiming for, with objects falling through tables and floors. It seemed the only way to fix this would be to start again. But at this point I had come to far to even consider it.

So instead, I took the oppurtunity to experiment more with the key frame functions. I found this was actually much quicker than trying to achieve the same results with dynamics. I was able to make the objects collide in the way I wanted and also exaggerate some actions (e.g. the fruit flying out the bowl) which I wouldn't have achieved with the dynamics.

This was made easier as I could use the principles I already new about animation, such as timing and spacing on falling objects, as well as secondary and follow through actions. The great thing about Maya as an animation tool is that you can add key frames and Maya will fill in the in-betweens for you. Some tweaking was needed but all in all it made the process a lot quicker!

I would have liked to add little extras to the animation, including water in the sink and maybe a dripping tap and effects on the glass to make it shatter. However I was running out of time and decided in this case to keep things as simple as possible. Also, I would have made the whole scene a lot neater by smoothing the objects and surfaces. However, when I looked into this, the time it would have taken to render would have taken too much of what little time I had left! The main goal was to have a finished animation.

I adjusted the perspective view to get an idea of what camera angles I would use and then created cameras and applied these accordingly. I was then able to create my storyboard using stills from Maya and working out how many frames and what part of the animation each camera should render.

Some cameras were attached to motion paths and specifying at what frame the camera action should start! The camera action at the start of the animation (slow pan around the kitchen) was accidental. I liked the effect that was achieved, however for the future I will be looking more into camera work in Maya so that I can achieve the exact results I want each time (and knowing how I did it!)

I'm really interested in using Maya to create levels and environments for games and will be going into depth on this. Although I didn't really touch on character building and this is something I would definitely like to understand the basics of atleast! I was also interested in using the script editor and creating my own MEL commands. I experimented with this when creating the dominoes and found it could sometimes be quicker and more effective than using the interface itself!

I know that there is a lot I could do to improve this animation. But as the project itself goes I think it was a good one. I have explored Maya and got to grips with its basics. And I feel I will better understand how to improve what I have learnt and develop my understanding further. I have many projects to get on with other the summer but this project has really helped me to kick start my learning!

Editing and Music

Once the animation had been rendered in Maya as a sequence, I used Fcheck to see that it all played out correctly. When I was happy with this I imported the sequences into Adobe After Effects. The animation itself played out very quickly, so I used After Effects to stretch the time of the second clip.

From after effects I exported the sequences as a movie. I found a piece of music that I wanted to add into the animation. For this I chose a jazz piece. I liked the erratic style of the music and found it would fit quite nicely with the animation, with some editing. Using Windows movie maker I was able to cut the music and place it so that it accented the animation. Then I saved the new music clip. 

All the final editing was carried out using Adobe Premiere Pro! Here I could place the animation with music.

I could also use this programme to create rolling credits and titles with effects! I wanted the credits to pause at the end. I did this by exporting the last frame in the credits and using the image file at the end so that the last frame appeared to freeze and then fade out.

Once the video was finally edited I adjusted the settings and saved it out as a quicktime movie!

Building the scene

I used basic polygon shapes to build the kitchen surfaces and utilities first. I started smoothing the objects but

ended up with geometry that was overly busy and took forever to render! So I used an old save to start again and keep it simple. As the scene grew I used new projects to create the objects (e.g. the microwave) then export them as .objs. This way I could import the objects into scene. However this inly imports the geometry of the object, so any parenting or textures used did not apply to the .obj!

Most textures were simple to apply, however some needed quite a lot of tweaking to get it right! One example is the cereal boxes. I used Photoshop to create separate image files of the box using an image of the cereal box laid out (see below). 

By selecting the face I wanted to apply the texture to I could add the front, back and sides to turn a simple cuboid into a cereal box! The textures did not always apply right the first time. By normalizing the texture this set the image correctly on the polygon face!

I used the UVs to create all the objects in this way, adding labels and skin textures (to the fruit). 

For objects such as the glasses I used the hypershade to create a glass effect using this tutorial http://www.spafi.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=468&Itemid=29

However with this method I couldn't achieve the effect I wanted, with the glass looking dull and not very glass like. So instead I used the Blinn material and raised the transparency to achieve a glass effect.

Now I have all my objects I can go about setting up the objects so they collide and connect to create the domino effect animation!. I started by trying to apply dynamics to the surfaces and objects. However this had many problems.

First the geometry of the kitchen top, where the objects would sit, was all wrong. There was no way (I could see) to fix this, so objects kept falling through the table. The problem was apparently due to the lack of vertices that the dynamics could be applied to.

The next problem was that this slowed the computer right down. So I was completely unable to see the animation play out!

And finally, the results generated by the dynamics did not play out in the way I had hoped. In the end, I gave up using the dynamics section for this animation and resorted to key framing the objects. This way I was able to animate the objects and get them to collide and move in specific ways!

Once the key frames had been set and I was happy with it, I set up the cameras! I experimented with different angles and camera movements till I was able to create a digital storyboard that showed exactly how each scene should play out.

References and textures

Now I understand the basics of Maya, with its modelling tools and features, I needed a setting. I have been struggling with ideas so to get a scene built will help to move things along!

This is my kitchen at home. I set the first task to gather references and build my kitchen in Maya!

I was able to make photos and drawings that could be used in Maya as references to create objects and surfaces!

I started to gather images from Google and Bing to use as textures for the objects in the kitchen.

I only wanted a few select objects that will be used in the animation. I could fill up the kitchen with all utensils and boxes and cans. However due to the time scale and possible problems that might come with rendering all these objects, I decided to keep it fairly minimal!

The textures on the objects would be enough information to show what they are!

Getting to grips with Autodesk Maya

Clearly Maya is a massive programme. Already I've been pulling my hair out trying to grasp even the simplest tasks here. Using the VTC website and youtube for online tutorials has helped me get to grips with the basic tools and controls of Maya (e.g. moving, rotating and scaling objects).

So I understand a little now of how to create basic models and apply textures. But when it comes to animating to create a domino effect I found this site was the most helpful.

http://www.everything4maya.com/index.php?link=tutdynamics&tutname=domino2_001

The site also contains this video. It explains how to create the objects and apply the dynamics to them so that they can interact in the virtual space as real objects.

To start off I created a simple flat surface using the polygon tool and assigned a wooden texture for the surface. I now have my surface for the action to take place!

Next I once again use the polygon tool to create a small domino.

Using the dynamics menu we can give the objects some qualities that will cause them to react together in an animation! First the table needs to be solid, but resist any other objects. For this I assign a 'passive rigid body' to the table. 

Next the domino wants to sit on the table but it will react to the objects around it. So I assign 'active rigid body' and also assign a gravity field to it. When the dominoes are lined up then pushed, this should cause the dominoes to drop!

The domino must be placed close to the tables surface, but not actually touch it. This is important when applying rigid bodies and fields. Place it too close and dominoes could start falling through the table!

This short review explains a little about the use of dynamics within Autodesk Maya 2011.

Then duplicate and line up!

Next I create a ramp for the a ball to roll down and knock the dominoes. First a simple polygon is created to make bar. Its aligned so it points down towards the dominoes. Then duplicate and set up alongside the first half of the ramp. Select the two parts and create 'passive rigid body'.

Next we need a ball to go down the ramp and knock the dominoes over. This is placed at the top of the ramp so that it is just above it, but not touching. Then we can apply 'active rigid body' and 'gravity' to the ball.

I should now be able to see this as an animation. First, the count at the bottom right needs to be set so that it plays enough frames to see the entire animation.

Now we can see it in action!

But there is a problem. The ball simply bounces straight through the duplicated dominoes, only hitting the original domino. It seems the dynamics of the object wont copy for each duplicate and trying to add the dynamics again seems to not work either. So only option now is go back and create the dominoes again and apply the dynamics to them collectively! A template of the domino,without dynamics, can be kept on the side of the work area in case another duplicate is needed. 

The dynamics are a great feature in Maya. So I will be looking more into this once the scene is set!

Moodboards and ideas

The new task requires us to learn Maya, then create a 30-60 second animation based on a domino effect of reactions. These videos are good for refences on how this could be shown as well as images collected into a moodboard.



This video shows a different sort of chain reaction. The matches all light as one is lit in the corner. I like this video as the lighting effect is also very interesting as the matches burn (casting shadows as though it were a forest). Also as the fire dies out the remaining burned matches with the glowing embers is another really cool effect! It might be interesting to experiment with this in maya to create the same lighting effect!

This quick moodboard (created in photoshop) shows a few different variations on dominoes and how their design can be used! I love the stonehenge dominoes and it would be .fun to try to incorporate this idea into the animation somehow!








http://express.howstuffworks.com/autopsy-vending.htm

Then I started to think about other chain reactions that happen everyday in normal circumstances, such as a vending machine. The chain reaction would be from the moment of putting the coin in the machine right up until the item is dispensed from the machine. The link (above) gives a little insight into how a vending machine works. It explains the principles of a vending machine and how it works. This makes it easier to break each action down in understanding the chain reaction.




This video is quite amusing, simply showing how this particular machine works. Its quite interesting, but it only shows the front of the machine. I was hoping more to show the inner workings of the machine and the coins journey.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-a-Mechanical-Vending-Machine-Works&id=3459914

This link gives a useful account of the mechanics. This is what I was hoping to focus on.




This is the only video I could find the inner workings. Other than filming it myself (so far no one is willing to show me the in inside of their machines...hmmm) I have painstakingly studied this video so that I have enough information to recreate the chain reaction!

Digital!!

This new project has us looking at 3D software. In particular, we are looking at Maya. Maya is a massive programme, plus there are many other 3d programmes to choose from. The main aim is to learn the basoc principles for all 3D software.

http://www.autodesk.com/

Maya, 3DS Max and others are all programmes under autodesk. This short video gives a quick talk on how Danger Close studios used Maya and Mudbox for the most recent medal of honour game.



3D is clearly becoming a popular form of animation now. It is almost expected, and most animated films that have recently been released seem to choose this medium.



Some films use the medium to create typical animated characters, but the ability to use different textures and clean looking characters is easy to see why its so popular as it does look very appealing. However it is far from restricted to cartoons and 'legends of the guardians' show us how CG animation can be used for painstaking realism. Disney would be proud!