Katie: First house WIP

since my last update I have been modelling the simple and wacky versions of the first house. This has presented some challenges, as I will be using blend shapes and therefore the topology for each version must be the same. I've had to think strategically when placing edge loops and in some places use multiple meshes where I would have instinctively only used one. I also found out, a bit too late, that the simple version must be completely finished before I model the wacky as if I need to change topology, or if I freeze transformations, the blend shape will not work properly.

 So far, I have completely finished the simple house and am working on the wacky version.

Poppy update - topology

I've finally given Poppy topology that I think should work in animation. There should be enough edge loops around the joints and I spent a good deal of time working on the topology of the hands to try and ensure she can yo-yo correctly.

I sought out some advise from a lecturer as to how best to model the skirt since it is required to move when the wind blows and when she walks etc. The lecturer said that cloth could be an option but as it's a pleated skirt I do feel it would be difficult to maintain the shape of the pleats as precisely as needed. Another lecturer advised against cloth and so simply running some joints along the skirt seems a viable way of rigging it. I feel the current topology should be fine for purpose but I guess we'll see in the rigging stage.

I finished the bag and decided to make some areas of the trim as separate pieces as the topology was awful when all part of one mesh and caused pinching. I will go on to create normal maps for the clothing and the bag as well as the hair to create an extra level of detail to the character. 

The hair is still to model as it needs to look stylised and sculptural but also be riggable so that each section of hair can be animated. I will try modelling each section so that it has thickness and back faces and I will attempt to sculpt in Zbrush both sides of the strands so that when the wind flips them up there will still be sculptural detail on the other side. This is different to my initial approach which was to have a mass of geometry that has extruded sections that hang lose.

Poppy does have a mouth cavity and a throat but she will also need teeth. We will keep these stylised in fitting with the character. She does not require a tongue. I have also realised she will need ears which weren't in the initial concept but when the wind blows her hair they will be seen.

Hopefully the shoes can remain as separate pieces without any problems but if it is difficult to rig or deforms strangely then I can bake the pieces onto one simplified piece.

Lastly, I made the lashes with geometry rather than individually or using alpha. This fits the stylised look of Poppy better. I made a version that aligns with the original concept drawing and a smaller version. I feel the smaller version looks nicer in 3D but I need feedback from the group.

Jack - FinalSmoke

Here is our final look for the smoke then gang. All happy?

Arianna: Rigging Update

This is a quick rigging update on Poppy's rig as well as research for the giraffe's rig, which is going to present a couple of interesting challenges.

For Poppy's rig, I tried to make the controls as animator friendly as possible, by making them intuitive as well as using lock and hide on attributes such as scaling and translation which could get in the way of a believable animation.

 

  As for the giraffe, I have been looking at skeletons as well as they way they walk.

"Walking is done by moving the legs on one side of the body at the same time, then doing the same on the other side. With each step, the animal swings its head."

Below is a rough sketch of what the joints would look like:

Ruby: More storyboards and animatics..... + base colour palette

Did more thorough and understandable storyboards and made an animatic which demonstrates timing and camera angles. Cinematogrpahy from a lighting and probably angles perspective needs work or tweaking but at least the base is more established now.

Katie: Balloon update and asset descriptions

I've added 2 more features to my script so that the balloons appear at random times, within a given range, and they are now set a random colour from a list of given values. The next step will be to replace the spheres with balloons and a string; I will use nHair to generate the strings so that they realistically follow the balloon's movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGQsJTNMbnQ&feature=youtu.be

Additionally this week I made a list of reasons for each asset and wrote out the girl's personality to help us keep on track throughout the production:
Reasons for each asset:
Girl- Main character identifies with target audience. Children symbolise curiosity and imagination.

fox- playful+fun, a common animal used in children's motifs, tv and games (fantastic mr fox), introduces us to the scene.

giraffe- another common animal used in children's motifs, tv and games. Height creates variety in the scene.

plane - A common aspect used in children's motifs, films and games. Size/movement style creates variety. Used as a cinematic tool for the camera to follow.

robot - A common aspect used in children's motifs, films and games. Size/movement style creates variety. Used to create interest in the background of shots and enhance 'busy' atmosphere

balloons- A common aspect used in children's motifs, films and games (children's parties). Creates interest in the sky, so that the action is not only focused in one area of the shot.

houses- Creates the setting for the bump. Common suburbian street style than many children will identify with. The transition to wacky houses will feel reminiscent of the cartoons that children watch, familiar and likable.

yoyo- A common children's toy (often used only when children are bored). Used to trigger the transition from grey to colour.

smoke- A mysterious substance often seen in fantasy/magical films, tv and games. Used to represent the force changing the street from grey to colour.

The girl's personality:
A happy and charismatic child who can always think up some game to play. She is very curious and imaginative; when she grows up she wants to leave her small town to travel across the whole world, discovering new places and finding lost treasures.

Where have all the pixies gone?

Have a look at what I have  came up with. All parameters i.e. amount of particles, smoke density etc. can all be changed as well as the colour obviously very quickly! But hey, what do you think?

Newest version of pixie dust.

I reckon we turn down the glow intensity and reduce the number of particles, wrap around some smoke and we're on our way to what we want to achieve! Obviously the colours can change. Tell me what you think.

Pixie smoke preview

It's coming along even if just a little angry...

Let me know what you think!

Ruby: Animatic 2, initial environment work

Second version of the scruffy animatic! Slowly making alterations to the flow and camera work. Still needs refining and to work on the timing though.

Some initial environment concept sketches, working on shapes through silhouettes.

Bonus old animal designs from when we were going with a different theme. Obviously we've moved on since then but I do like the shape of the fox and will probably base the final version off this.

Pixie Dust and Curves!

Here's what I have this morning on creating glowing elements that follow along a predefined path. Now just to make the smoke interlace and wrap it all around our houses and creatures and voila! Easy huh? ...