In order to stay more organised with the modelling process going forward, I created a sheet in which I can keep track of all the different models I need to complete and their progress.
Contextually within the film’s interviewee subjects, the second (Marianna) was a resident of Canterbury during the coronavirus pandemic, and aesthetically I really wanted to encapsulate the architectural integrity of the local and add this to the design. Looking at different buildings within canterbury, many of the historic ones appeared to be very Tudor in external appearance, with dark, heavy wooden beams adding a lot of detail. Another thing I noticed when looking at the below images in detail is how imperfect and crooked the buildings are, with ‘layers’ and overhanging upper floors.
When adapting these images into an animated character, I tried to resemble the ‘crossbeam’ patterns associated with this particular style of building to add depth to the character I feel would translate well into 3D space. I also felt these beams would be a very interesting way to visually explore expression within the character design, such as eyebrow manipulation. The detail within this drawing, I feel, will also work very well with the toon shader as it will be outlined very distinctly against the move colourless, pale and simplistic base of the model.
Utilising the tutorial from last week, I felt it helped create a solid base more distinctly for this style of building, as the shape of Tudor buildings seems inherently ‘wonky’ and inconsistent. I also felt this tutorial’s use of the roof was exactly the sort of shape and style I wanted to accentuate within this model.
Completing this more detailed and layered roof, alongside a stronger ‘crossbeam’ pattern, I was able to make a more efficient method of layering the tiles so there was not as much mesh collision, which will lead to a much cleaner render overall. Especially with the application of the aitoon shader.
An important part of this model, in particular, was to preserve the detail in the tiles within the toon shader by applying a texture to them individually. This also allowed for specific individual control of colour shade and shadow/ specular contrast.
Similarly, with the last model, I wanted to ensure the ‘mouth’ or door would operate in a way that would effectively portray the ‘jaw bounce’ process of lip sync animation. Considering techniques for rigging this, later on, I will need to ensure that there is a clean pivotal translation that I can parent to a NURBS curve or circle that will have rotational control.
Fleshing and filling out the rest of the details, the eyes are a considerably essential aspect of the animation process, therefore felt important to design these carefully. As tudor-style windows traditionally have a central beam for support purposes, so I wanted to play with this to act as an ‘eyelid’. That way, facial animation can get a more heightened level of detail across.
The next important consideration was the legs; for this model, I wanted to create very small legs that would contrast with the overly detailed ones and add a humourous and stylistic element to them.
In an attempt to add further roof detailing that will mirror that of the previous models, I wanted to add a feature that could also accentuate secondary animation details to the movement to enhance the overall effect and believability of motion. In doing this, I created a weather vane as I felt that fit the overall design and time period contextual use.
Below presented the completed detailed model, which I feel proves much more successful than the last as it seems to encapsulate locational-specific aspects that help set the model and the character contextually. I also feel this fits stylistically very well with the overall aesthetic of the film. With the ‘overhanging’ layered aspect of the design, I also feel this fits the 3D animated form in a way that did not work as well as a 2D concept drawing. However, Improving upon this, I feel I could have added more details within the windows, as there is a very distinct wood detailing within Tudor-style windows. Especially windows that overhang outside the walls and also have more details around them.
Next Weeks Goals
- Design Character 3
- Model Character 3