₦airaland Forum

well, until i get more feedback- i think i will use this as my base walk cycle.
i am now going into his actions and gesticulations as he walks.

for some reason my storyboard isn't attaching (will keep trying tho)
my next clips show the character walking while bobbing to music (headfones will be attached later)
he waves to a couple of people as he walks by (maybe brushing a few specks from his shirt- if i have time)
i am trying to convey a yuppy fellow, (fancies himself to be irresistible) lol

my animation style for this project is comic, and very exaggerated!

and by the way, i am animating in layers.
it gives me more control over the key frames and keeps my timelines clear of multiple keys.

if i want to add more swing to the arms, i simply create a new layer, and apply my tweaks to it- that way i can turn the effect on or off.
for this project i am using motionbuilder, but i know its a feature all 3d apps have.

so, i have a layer for each arm swing, the head bob, hip sway, and the finer adjustments on the knees.
both leg movements are on the same layer, and by turning off a desired layer or adjusting the keys, i can switch from an arm swing to a different gesture while the character is still walking.

my only hassle is keeping track of all the layers and wot they control. lol
for the preview i've used 6 layers so far.

@ all
day 4 is round the corner guys. . .

@ kemji
good going.
pls post a movie clip, even if its at this preliminary stage.

@ zpixel
hurry up, the teams waiting.

did some experimental tweaking on the walk cycle.
trying to find an attitude that matches my character- am gunning for exaggerated exuberance.

putting a little more character in the steps and tweaking them so both sides arent exactly uniform.
this may not be the final motion i will use, am just trying to get comfortable with the character- get a feel for how he animates

gave him a bit of a head bob- if i was facial animating, he'd be whistling a ditty tune!

comments . . .

@ xothermik
now i am inspired.
Nice.clean method. I used about 6 poses to define my cycle- i will upload the pix later. Am outta d house @ d mo.
Great start! (nice commentary too)

@ all
please more activity.
This is day 3 of 14

@ zpixel
thanks man.
am just roughly blocking the motions, i will fine tune as i progress.
i get ur drift on the knee thing, i still have a load of tweaking to do.

good eye man!

a bit more hip sway.
i am trying to convey his light stature in the quickness of his gait, and the springiness of his steps.
his knees dont bend so much, that would be more appropriate for a heavier person.

i know its an early stage, but comments are welcome.

working on getting a fluid walk cycle.
am not bothering with the upper torso just yet, cos my character will be gesticulating a lot.
am trying to get an interesting gait.
will post developments as i tweak the walk cycle.

@ kemji
lol.
just consider it the creative calm b4 the storm!
most guys prolly have a full workload besides this.
just outline ur processes (like i did), its just 4 information not 4 professional assessment.

@ all
it would be nice to see proof of progress tho.
storyboards, anything . . .

@ xothermik
bullseye!

i am using the same Max rig xothermik suggested

storyboarding- the old fashioned way, ink & paper
rigging- Maya 2009
animating- Motionbuilder 6 Pro
rendering- Maya 2009
post processing- Adobe Premier pro CS3

i am not bothering with sound fx, textures, facial animation, or out-of-this world rendering.
i want to deliver the storyline with just my characters body language. other scene items will be basic primitives.

will upload my stickman storyboard later 2day.

@ all

OKX:
i propose a max time limit of two weeks for the challenge. (if the team okays)

consider it a rude awakening guys. lol
every animation studio works under deadline pressure! so this is good practice.

besides, i think it is better to have quick feedback and reviews, rather than give a longer period 4 assignments.
since this is a learning experience, by posting ur progress and methods- u might just get a helpful tip from a teammate that will cut ur production time dramatically.
i once saw a training dvd, where an animator created a cool walk cycle in real time- 30mins!
besides the 20secs is the max clip duration, u can creatively storyboard it for less.

@ aphek
yeah, u can use the rigs. there shouldn't be any licensing issues- but u can read any documentation that came with the dvd just to confirm.

okay, workflow please people. . .

let the games, BEGIN!!

@ xothermik
good idea on the same rig thing. it does make for uniformity, however, we had earlier allowed for any rig/character to be used- i dunno if that can be revised at this stage. (wot do we think ?)
well, if not, this is just the first of what will hopefully be a long series of challenges, so we can improve/modify as the series develop.

password has been sent to your email addy

@ all
remember, tomorrow is officially the BLAST OFF day!

all artists should start by :
stating their workflow stages
stating the applications to be used for the various stages
uploading their storyboard/ any other relevant material, or links.

i propose a max time limit of two weeks for the challenge. (if the team okays)
the clip should not exceed 20seconds.

comments . . .

well, if u guys can swing soundfx- kool.
personally, i think sound detracts from focusing on the animation-
its easier to notice flaws or areas for improvement on a stark, soundless animation. (my opinion, mind)

aside from the character, i intend to use basic primitives for any other props in the scene.

on the judging/assessing thing, any and everyone qualifies. i'm with 9tLecturer on that one.
of course, some opinions will be more relevant than others. lol

@ zpixel
password sent

@ 9tLecturer
lol
super! ur rearing to go- thats the spirit!

i opened an email addy for the series:
animationteam1@yahoo.com

please post ur individual email addys so i can send u guys the password.

one day to go. . .

@ emekan
good to have u, man!

@ kemjisuper
welcome aboard dude!
sure u can use any models, BUT u CANNOT use any PREDEFINED MOTION DATA of any sort.
we create all the animations from scratch.

Kemjisuper:
It would be nice to whoop Xothermik's and Zpixel's butts for once _{*I wish*}.

i guess u were kidding. this is a personal challenge NOT a contest.
i wish to emphasize that fact, just in case it is keeping some other people from joining the challenge.

we are facing a challenging 3d animation to better our skills.

on the format for the finished animation, anything goes, as long as it is easily accessible.
yeah, we could post on youtube, i will also open a project email address for alternate uploading of WIP, clips or anything else.

so, thats eight so far:
ZPIXEL
XOTHERMIK
APHEK
9TLECTURER
RESICHILD
EMEKAN
KEMJISUPER
OKX

good going guys!

@ resichild
our very own 'prodigal son'.
great to have u aboard!

thats six, so far.
i was gunning for double digits, but we will roll with whoever we have onboard, by monday.

@ xothermik, aphek,9tLecturer
ur critique/approval of the storyline and proceedings so far will be appreciated.

thanks

@ all
still a couple more slots open!

okay guys
i think the general sentiment is :

we should feel free to download/build our rigged characters- no project time is allotted for this.
the animation style, whether 'realistic' or 'cartoony' is up to individual artists- as long as it follows the storyline.
the storyline is subject to artists interpretation (ie- we create our own storyboards from the storyline)

on the duration for the animation, i think the storyline will determine that, but i think it should be under 20 secs.
i like 9tLecturers beginning:

our character is walking down a street (the artist will portray personality through gait, posture, gestures etc)
he gets to an intersection
he looks both ways
he crosses the street
as he walks down the street he is distracted by something to his right or left
he walks on while looking in that direction
he walks into a street pole
he falls
we leave him sitting on the floor dazed

this is subject to review/modification and additional input
comments please . . . (non-animators inputs are equally welcome)

we intend to wrap up this stage before saturday
animation work proper commences from monday.
is that acceptable, people?

the headcount so far

ZPIXEL
XOTHERMIK
APHEK
9TLECTURER
OKX

thats 5 so far

on character choice/animation style- i think this will be a richer experience if we express ourselves freely, by each animating different characters to the agreed upon storyboard. that way, we may get a larger gamut of animation styles, from realistic to comic/ exaggerated.
just a thot, wot do we think?


GUIDELINES so far

NO MOCAP data
NO PRESET animation
artists should POST Work(s)InProgress
artists should SHARE knowledge/info on their workflow

this first session is experimental. let us not waste too much time on preliminaries- we can work out the kinks as they appear.

@ aphek
good points.

personally, i think we should rig the characters ourselves -both to eliminate possible cross-platform issues, and cos, most probably if u were given a character to animate, chances are, u would have to build the rig yourself (at least in Nigeria, i don't think we have a very specialized production pipeline yet)

besides, i think animating is more intuitive when its your own rig you are working with.
we could post a pre-rigged model though, as an alternative for those who don't want to bother with rigging.

i agree that lip synching or other detailed character animation is for a bit later (we will tackle it tho, down the road, if the series proves sustainable)

@ 9tlecturer
if we are decided, motionbuilder2009 has a generic rigged humanoid model (infact, it has quite a few) that we could utilize.
unless we are definitely going for something original, (subject to our final decision)

i just dont want a lot of debate over character choice, art style etc.
opinions please . . .

@ 9tlecturer
great to have u onboard!

yeah. artists are encouraged to post WIP, and explain their processes/technique as simplistically as possible.

@ xothermik
ok. friday it is!
i suggest we start work on modeling a low poly character in the interim, or do we just pull one from our individual stockpiles?
i propose we start off with a biped animation.

we can also start coming up with suggestions on a simple storyline that we can break down into simple takes.

ideas. . . ?


@ everyone else
this could be the beginning of a very enlightening, hands-on, learning session.
it is structured to help all-level animators and the best way to benefit is really by participating.

hi guys
do we roll with just the three of us, or do we wait for more people?

so far its:

ZPIXEL
XOTHERMIK
OKX

thanx

i wish we would all take an active stand at stamping out roaches!

@ xothermik
welcome aboard!
good point u raised, i totally share the view.
so its safe to say-
NO MOCAP DATA !
NO PRESET ANIMATIONS !

thats also why i want the participants to be the ones to collectively decide on what we are animating- to minimize 'cheating'. (altho why one would want to shortchange oneself beats me)
besides, this is meant to be a learning experience NOT a competition for the best animation.

so thats three, so far.
more participants, please. . .

@obinna
thanx 4 ur response.
Of course its 4 real. Why wouldnt it be?
We arent making lofty promises.

Well,u could start a modelling thread too,(we've had a few of those).this one is aimed at animators(we havent had one of that yet)-or wot do we think?

@zpixel
welcome aboard mate!
good suggestion.

Lets know everyone whos interested, then we can decide on what we are animating and the finer details.

so thats two,so far.
Please more responses people. . .

Thanks.

hi guys
wonder if any animation enthusiasts, (both beginners and advanced level practitioners) would be interested in an animation challenge.

there is NO direct monetary reward, but i am sure the trade of knowledge (which we would encourage) during the process,
and the possible attention/potential business that the process would draw/generate exceeds any immediate cash reward in importance.

if there are any takers, the process i would propose is as follows

we start with animating simple actions and gradually build-up on the complexity of the actions

since the emphasis is on animation skills, a pre-made model can be uploaded for the challenge(optional)
the artist rigs the character in a preferred software
the artist animates the character according to a simple storyline or action (agreed upon by the participants)
the artist posts the final rendered clip (again, emphasis is on animation, not render quality. playblasts are acceptable)

the artist(s) post WIP and share information/answer questions on their unique animation techniques
the use of motion capture data is discouraged

these are just my suggestions, i am open to alternative suggestions as to how the challenge can be made to be more beneficial to the general animation community.
so, comments are very welcome!

thanks for reading.

responses people . . .

guys, pls STOP encouraging this!
does it even matter if the person can actually drive, or understands road signs?

the unqualified driver u help get a license today, may be the same one that will run you (or a loved one) over tomorrow.

nuff said!

dude, u dont have to major in english to communicate properly.
if english is not your mother tongue, then get someone to edit ur posts.

i barely understood ur post- no offense meant, but i assume the aim of ur post is to convey clear, understandable info.

if u sound/write like this, chances are that any work u produce will be full of errors!

@ TomClancy
@ namzo

guys, i have a running project that i think is suited to ur particular skills. if u're mildly interested- call me on 08030910585, or drop ur number(s) so i can call u with the project specifics.

good work.

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@ skywalker

if these are ur card details, then sorry mate-
the only way u'll get ur system to play high end games
is to lower the specific games graphics (like kemji said)
i own one hp pavillion with the same card, i even upgraded to 4Gb-
without a significant improvement.

also check ur nvidia control panel, set the card to emphasize performance not quality.
if u understand the specific settings under the 3D settings tab,
tweaking them will also help ur performance.

consider getting a proper gaming machine, mate
these series are just glorified word processing machines: lol

incidentally, can u name some of the games u have issues with ? -that could help

guys, arent u all fed-up with this tired, overflogged discussion on which 3d software to start with.

anyone who TRULY seeks knowledge will naturally progress to the point where he/she is satisfied with the results he/she can get, and theres no set path leading to that point.
true, there may be popular paths but not better paths.

satisfaction or proficiency in 3d world doesnt depend on any ONE particular software- it depends primarily on the users determination and secondarily, on ANY software that generates the RESULT the user wants- (which mostly depends on his/her ability to manipulate it).

and guys, the results needed by users in this vast 3d universe vary radically !

for some, the desired results will be simple compositions (maybe at a level deemed elementary by others), for others, it will be more complex output (maybe at a level also deemed unnecessarily detailed by others). lol!

so, conclusion: different software for different folk!

just decide where u choose to specialize as a startoff point and start trucking!
as u outgrow/master ur challenges, u will advance in knowledge/software/technique until u either die, or decide to stop reading!
theres really no limit or set rules! and like i said, popular doesnt mean best,
discover what works for u!