Major - Animation Progression Part 07 and Rendering Progression

Having caught Covid again this week, progression in terms of animation had slowed down but has allowed me to concentrate a little more on rendering (meaning I can rest a little more and let the computer do the work).

For the renders, I used a render layers to separate any moving components from the background, making rending much faster and giving me more control via compositing, using AO layers  helped to cement it all together. 

Lighting has been quite a challenge due to it being moon lighting, but using layers will allow me to make any needed tweaks later and with reduced rendering times. For some of the more crowded scenes, I am debating placing a bit of blurring in the background so to help direct the viewer's eye.

The tutotal led to some amazing advice that I aim to try and introduce once more animation and rendering is placed. 

Major - Animation Progression Part 06

Working alongside the animation, I have tried to do a little rendering. At present, I have done scenes 06, 07 and 09 as I feel quite confident with the timings. 

To help create a bit more depth, I rendered out AO passes and placed them as liner burn at 30 - 20% within After Effects. Looking at them, they seem a little dark. I'm not sure if my screen is calibrated at a brighter setting but I will more likely make alterations in Premiere once they have all been placed together.

Animating is still working out to be a long process due to the difficulties that come with having only FK arms, but I am making some progress and am quite proud of the outcome so far. Currently I have the layout for scene 29 but this again, is working out to be a real challenge.

I am aware there is quite a few changes in term of shots/animation compared to the animatic. This is mainly due to my confidence around animating and the limitations of the rig. I am acutely aware of the amount of time I have left compared to the amount of stuff  that still needs doing, but I will try to get as much done as possible.  

 

 

 

Major - Animation Progression Part 05

 Starting back with scene 20, I removed the odd jarring to the walk as it felt unnatural. Lucky, I was able to utilise the progressive walk cycle when walking up to the stool for the scene after. There was more to this scene but it was making it far to complicated so I removed that also.

When animating the pushing of the stool, it was proving to be a real challenge due to the arms only having FK controls and sadly I am unable to place IK on the model. Using locators to try and pin the wrist controls was creating some strange results and twisting the rig, so I had to settle with the arms moving around when walking. I aim to try and do a little more research to see if there is a method I have missed and then go back to this scene as I am not overall happy with it. Originally I wanted the hand flat but due to the limitations of the rig, I had to place the hands on the sides.

Scene 25 is currently in "stepped" animation as I this is the next scene I want to work on but I wanted to show how it was progressing. The overall timing for the animation still needs some fine tuning and is a area I will revisit once the main bulk is completed. 

Major - Animation Progression Pt 04

Returning back to Scene 11 and undergoing some further research, I have managed to create a progressive walk cycle that allows for the "Stealer" to keep walking without using the world control. Although this was quite a challenge to get right and is not quite perfect, I'm quite happy with how it turned it. The shorter legs for this model means there is some over-stretching in the stride but this does add a little character. 

With a progressive walk all done, I aim to transfer this model into over scenes that require so to not have to do it all again.

For the head and to reduce wobbling when walking in the scene, I used a orient constraint between the neck control and a cube. For the render, I removed the contraint but may re-add it at a later date .

Major - Animation Progression Pt 03

 Working on scenes 17 - 20, I wanted to give a little child-like persona to the "Stealer" when it realises the paper doesn't taste very good after biting into it. As with the previous parts, some refinement will be needed.