Category: Project 1: Skeleton Dance

Finished Project

Below is the finished result of the 10 weeks of production, and features two different versions of the short film. The first is my initial plans for the black and white movie aesthetic, which feature post-production editing such as flickering and vignettes to try and emanate the feel of a real 1930s production.

Colour Version

I have also published a coloured version to accentuate and make clearer the actions and lighting aspects of the rigging and highlight elements that may have been missed within the black and white edit.

Showreel

Below is a showreel of the different steps and elements of the pipeline which has led to this finished overall result and indicates the building block and steps involved. During this, I summarise the key modelling elements, and preproduction areas such as the animatic, musical development, previsualization and animation.

Miro Board

In a similar vein to the collaborative module, I decided to use miro to visually track my pipeline and progress as the project went on, so I could get a clear understanding of where I was at each point within production and what my next key step was.

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVO1Kk5S4=/?share_link_id=247663101177

Critical Reflection

Upon the 10 weeks of production in which I created this project, I would largely say that it was successful in the amount of work produced in the given time period. I think pushing myself to do an unconventional animation style has helped me understand and explore various aspects of keyframing I had not considered when utilising Maya’s interpolative systems that benefit from transitioning between frames. This being said, I think various elements of my project fall flat due to the animation, and it loses its aesthetic consistency at times that can look jarring and slightly rushed. As I have assessed earlier, I wished to add more time contextual dances to my film to create more direct references, however, failed to plan my film effectively around this to incorporate it. I think if I was able to extend my time on the project, I would spend a lot more of my process on the animation section of the pipeline, to create a more consistent stylisation.

I also feel that my limited knowledge of rendering and lighting at times causes issues due to the excessive noise at some parts of my render. While this works stylistically with my piece due to its ‘outdated’ technological context, I feel going forward I will allow myself more contingency time with rendering, as I found I had to settle for certain lower-quality renders due to time constraints. When it came to the rigging process, I was happy with what I achieved, as I was able to create and understand exactly how to make a detachable rig using parent contains. However, In order to push me in the future, I wish to learn more about IK/FK switches as non of my rigs have this included to date. I think this will be an incredibly useful rigging tool later on.

Another key area I want to push in future projects is texturing. As I stated in one of my earlier blog posts in research, I stated how I wanted to explore the incorporation of German Expressionist painted background into my scene. Due to time constraints, I was not able to allocate efficient time to this cause, but I think learning to paint textures onto 2D models will help immensely with projects and the future, and push myself to create a more independent visual identity in my work. To look further into this idea, In the following months, I am going to explore 3D painting within software such as Nomad and Procreate, as well as photoshop, to get a clearer understanding of this style of texturing. This may also extend to learning how to use Z-brush for sculpting purposes.

Considering my main focus of this film was animation, modelling and 3D, I am happy with the soundscape I was able to create with my own abilities. While I had intended to reach out to musicians to help compose the sound design for the film, I, unfortunately, was not able to, and had to primarily make do with freesound.org and my own composition in Garageband. In future, I think I will continue to utilise this tool to help myself audibly communicate ideas with sound students/ composers.

Extended Reading in Relevant Areas

.3ds Max Projects: a Detailed Guide to Modelling, Texturing, Rigging, Animation and Lighting. (2014). 3D total Publishing. Worcester:3dtotal Publishing.

.3D Animation Essentials. (2012) Andy Beane. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley and Sons.

. Principles of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation: Modeling, Rendering and Animating with 3D Computer Graphics. (1998). Michael O’Rourke. New York: W.W. Norton.

. Character Animation Fundamentals: Developing Skills for 2D and 3D Character Animation. (2011) Steve Roberts. Oxford: CRC Press.

.3D Art Essentials: The Fundamentals of 3D Modeling, Texturing and Animation. (2011) Ami Chopine. Amsterdam; Focal Press.

.Norman McLaren: Between the Frames. (2019) Nichola Dobson. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

.The Film Work of Norman McLaren. (2006) Terence Dobson. Eastleigh: John Libbey Publishing.

Relevant Blog Post

• Week 1: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/01/22/project-idea-generation/
• Week 2: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/01/project-1-development/
• Week 3: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/09/week-3-storyboarding/
• Week 4: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/17/week-4-animatic/
• Week 5: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/25/week-5-rubberhose-animation-and-1920s-disney-animation/
• Week 6: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/02/skeleton-project-sound-development/
• Week 7: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/11/week-7-title-card-development/
• Week 8: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/24/week-9-storyboarding/
• Week 9: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/28/week-9-animatic/
• Week 10: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/09/week-10-animatic-and-planning/
• Week 11: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/18/skeleton-project-character-modelling/
• Week 12: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/30/week-2-asset-and-environment-modelling/
• Week 13: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/07/week-3-environment-modelling-simulation-and-editing/
• Week 14: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/17/week-4-lighting-rendering-and-rigging-processes/
• Week 15: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/18/week-5-character-rigging/
• Week 16: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/24/week-16-pre-visualisation-and-environment-planning/
• Week 17: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/03/week-17-scene-animation/
• Week 18: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/09/week-8-shot-animation/
• Week 19: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/15/week-19-animation-rendering-and-editing/

The last shot I need to complete for this week is shot 9, which technically confronts me with more issues than before. Due to the fact that this will be the most ‘skilful’ performance I will be animating, I had many thoughts and considerations about how I would display this.

Shot 9

A key part of this shot again was the limbs detaching in the air and re-attaching upon landing. I also had to plan exactly what dance inspiration I wanted for the rest of the shot, as it had to display the most technical skill narratively. Looking further into ballet dance, I thought that a key associative dance move was the pirouette.

Watching the reference video below, I tried to recreate this with my character, however, came across several difficulties. The main issue I had was getting the timing of the spin correct which also coincided with my stylised animated method. The second issue was that It did not allow for dynamic staging, and I struggled to plan the motion around and ‘trapdoor’. This leads me to consider things similar to ballet that demonstrate associations with flexibility and skill, and I began researching gymnastics.

In order to get this look of flexibility, I decided that for staging and comedic purposes, I thought it would be good to make the character do the splits over the trapdoor, and fall in, allowing time for anticipation and comedic initial defiance of gravity (much like in looney tunes). Looking at the image below, I noticed that gymnastics athletes fall into this position with very gracefully and well-controlled steps, so translating this onto my animation I tried to exaggerate the finger-pointing and chin lift to demonstrate that he is proud of his technical ability. However, Trying to keep the comedic element to the piece, I tried to include the earlier ‘Saturday night fever’ reference.

Below showcases my finalised animation for this shot in which I really tried to push for frame rate experimentation, as I animated on 1s to accentuate character fluidity, which is why this shot is my most ‘polished’ piece of animation. I used the same technique at the end to disassemble his body as I had previously in shot 8, however, had a more preconceived understanding of how it would work, which I believe made the process a lot fast and smoother. While technically I can pinpoint several issues with the animation itself, such as

Credit Song

Since I really wish to emanate an animated television show with my film, I decided to compose an end-credit song to coincide with the opening music. Since the film is over, I wanted to add a calmer toned-down piece, which is why the number of musical instruments is stripped. I used the same key and musical theme that has been present throughout the entire film, but slowed the tempo and added a glockenspiel, to give it a nursery rhyme association that is remensient of children’s bedtime stories, bidding the viewer fairwell.

Editing

During the stages of editing, I wanted to add extra text that references the fine print at the bottom of film trailers in the present day, but parody this by adding text such as ‘the skeleton men present’ to almost making fun of the format due to the obvious lack of studio presence in my work.

Initial Edit

Below indicated my first initial edit for the film (excluding the title card and end credits) and indicated several areas of improvement going forward. First is that I need to find a way to apply the black and white film filter options as previously explored, to the whole feature while retaining as much of the render quality and contrast as possible. I intend to do this but upping the temperature and tint, as it will bring forward the colours and contrast, making them more apparent with the black and white filter. Secondarily, I need to complete the start and end credits and add them alongside the film itself. I intend to make two copies of the film, one if black and white and one in colour so that the render quality can be retained in one and visual technologically contextual settings can be played with in the other.

For this week, I have updated my animation and rendering progress on the shotlist below, indicating my work for this week will be focused on shot 8. Due to the technical aspects of the rig connecting and disconnecting within this shot, I have allowed myself the week to experiment and gauge the best method for achieving the finalised look.

Shot 8

Due to my primary dance influence deriving from ballet, I initially started out researching and watching videos of ballet dancers on youtube to watch how they point and transition between different poses. Due to my more ‘staccato’ animation stylisation, I aimed to take key poses from these videos and translate them in a way that does not require excessive keyframes to make kinetic sense.

This was particularly challenging when facing jumps, as the timing and poses had to be very specific to appear convincing on landings while maintaining the poise and elegance of ballet dancers. However, in order to get a better conveyance of weight within the jumps, I animated more frames specifically leading into and out of jumps working as a ‘slow in’ and ‘slow out’ function with the limited animation.

The most challenging part of the shot proved to be the last section, where skeleton b’s body falls to pieces into the hole. Due to the way I rigged the character, I could only detach certain limbs such as the arms/ forearms and hands, as the IK placement make it very difficult for me to make the legs detachable. Due to this, I eventually decided that it would be much more effective to place an unrigged model into the scene, and swap them at the frame the skeleton starts to disassemble. in order to get this to look convincing, I had to ensure that the model was in the exact same position as the rig.

The next challenge was making the different bones of the skeleton fall convincingly. In my initial attempts, the timing seemed very off, as I was animating on 2’s and the sense of gravity seemed inconsistent with that of the rest of the scene. Improving upon this, I began to animate the different sections on 1’s, as this created a fluency and sense of weight that did not draw attention to itself.

In order to get a rough idea of how these bones will fall, I took a handful of pens and pencils and filmed me dropping them in slow motion, to get an idea of how they fall. The main thing I noticed was how they rotate sightly but all in the same direction. With the longer limbs such as the arms and the legs, the motion will be very similar and it made the application of this to my animation a lot clearer.

During the fall, however, I wanted to make sure that the head was one of the last things to fall out of frame, to stay focused on the character and his expression.

Film Reel Editing

To add further authentication to the time contextual setting, I wanted to create an introductory film reel roll, to give artistic reference to old film projectors. In order to make this as convincing as possible, I went online and found the sound of a film projector warming up, and laid this with edited effects in da vinic resolve to create a film reel look. Once edited into black and white, with noise grain added, I feel this may look convincing and sets the tone immediately for the film’s aesthetic reference.

Next week’s goals:

Going forward with this technique I will utilise and reference what I have learned from this week’s animation and create a faster and more effective piece in the following week.

. In the next week, I wish to finish shot 9, therefore completing the animation of the film.

. I need to set up and finish at least half of the film renders

Following last week’s shot list creation, I have indicated all of the shots I plan and intend to work on for this week. The shots I will be focusing on are shot 3, 4 and 10, as it will be important to finish and plan both the introductory and final scene of the film so I can get a key understanding of staging, placement and lighting.

Style

As used in my previous test animations, I feel that using a style reminiscent of pix-elation will help add stylized and comedic value to my work and suits the overall theme of my film. This also will help me set attainable goals and reduce the amount of time spent in the animation process, making the minute-long film more achievable. A big stylistic inspiration for this is neighbours, as it uses elements of stop motion animation in a different context that adds blunt humour that live-action cannot inherently produce with the same effect. As stated in Norman McLaren: Between the Frames Neighbours led to the creation of “his pioneering stop-motion live-action technique” which is called ‘Pixilation’ to utilise this (Yang, 2020,pp. 167).

I think the ‘staccato’ style to it works really well in creating a particularly visual identity to the piece that does not blend into the world of live-action, drawing attention to itself as a performance due to its inherent abandonment of real-world physics. I wish to create a similar effect that dramatises and differentiates movement in a different way from what is typically expected from CGI animation. I also think a key part of this is due to the control McLaren has over the timing and relationship with the music, and I feel this will be effective in the creation of my own work going forward.

In the video Experimental Film Artist: Norman McLaren (1970), McLaren discusses when working on the film Neighbours, that his use of sound he created animated frames of soundwaves which create different pitches, which are controlled per frame and matched with the film exactly (1970). I think this accentuates that the use of sound with this animated technique is imperative for stylistic endurance.

Another recent piece of animation I noticed takes a similar style is the animated documentary ‘Flee’ which largely seems to have a more limited animation despite its more detailed drawn 2D appearance. There are fewer animated frames that create pauses in movement and facial expressions that minimise movement but do not sacrifice emotional conveyance.

Scene Set-Ups

An important part of the 3D animation pipeline is setting up all of the scenes so that the staging, placement and render settings etc, are consistent between each scene. So my initial starting point was creating a base Maya file for every shot on the shotlist. Going forward, I am aware that doing this process can cause breaks and inconsistencies in a scene where the animation relies on the previous files’ last position, so with that mindset I will ensure that there are different cameras, and files that are saved from the previous shot’s and keyed at the last position.

The key element required for every scene is a central, locked camera with the staging measurements in the centre so that everything is in consistent line with each other. The main prop or asset that is required is the ‘trap door’ or black hole in the floor. The key placement of this ‘door’ in shots 3 and shot 10 will be important going forward as they are the start and end frames of movement and points of reference.

Render Set Up

Across all of these scene files, I also tried to make sure the render settings were the same and placed all of the different assets onto different layers that could be combined and manipulated at the end of the post-production compositing stage.

Shots 3 and 5

An idea I have conceptualised is using my N cloth simulation tests to create a curtain opening sequence that adds a further ‘theatrical’ aspect to my project and makes more direct reference to the theatrical setting as well as helping me apply and develop my simulation abilities. By having the curtains drawn open at the camera it introduces the scene in a way that forces its performative status on viewers immediately and slightly breaks the fourth wall by using a curtain to introduce a stage.

Due to the nature of the scene, a Key aspect that I needed to take into account was animating the area lights that acted as spotlights alongside the character. This initially proved difficult as even in IRP render viewports It look a lot of time to understand where it was at each point. In order to attempt to try and match the timing of the animation as much as possible, I keyframed in a stepped stylisation the movement of the lights in the same beat as the skeletal figure to try and ensure it is always illuminated.

Below shows a playblast of the finished shot. My main aim with this shot was to understand and adapt how the skeleton’s rig will fall apart and come together under the applications of gravity. For this, I intend to always be aware going forward of the character performance ‘jumps’ as a certain section of the limbs will fall apart and come together. I wish to do this to pay homage to The Skeleton Dance, and also the historic comedic effect of reanimated skeletons that do not have the muscle to hold them together. I also experimented with the idea of varying animated keyframes when I wish to draw the audience’s attention to a certain character. When the character is animated on 1s and 2s, there is normally weight conveyance needed to sell the shots plausibility, and also to draw viewers to the movement. This is why, when skeleton B is dancing in the below shot, Skeleton A is almost stagnant. I think this reflects the work of McLaren on Neighbours, as a similar variation of frame rate is used for different actions.

Shot 4

Shot 4 deals with the only extreme close-ups within my film, therefore requiring the most emotional expression. Due to the fact, that the main characterizing difference between my characters is eyebrow emotional conveyance, I wanted to use this time to stress the difference between the two personalities. Skeleton A is shy and concerned about the upcoming ‘battle’, while Skeleton B is determined and ready to ‘fight’.

An editing style I wish to use for this section is derived from old western movies, In which the camera uses extreme close-ups to garner characters facial expressions when they are about to duel. An example of this is from the movie The Quick and The Dead (Raimi, 1995). A key point of reference here is the 180-degree rule within the film which underlines the importance of staging and direction, as the position of the skeletons on stage needs to be dictated by the direction they face. I want to accentuate this effect by creating a split-screen, that will exit the screen on the corresponding side of each character. I could potentially use this opportunity to create an “elliptical Cut” which is a “culturally conditioned film convention ” that allows a large jump in action between shots that still works with screen continuity (Brown, 2011, pp.77).

Shot 10

This shot is the last shot of the film and contains the largest camera move in the whole film. Due to this, I had to ensure that the underground environment was fully modelled. An early issue I had was considering the way I was going to model and build an environmental depth without making the scene too mesh-heavy, making my computer and rendering process crash.

What I found worked for this process was getting the different ‘piles’ of bodies, and duplicating them within a specific viewport so they gave the appearance of being far away from each other, expanding the environment and accentuating the scale of failed ‘dance battle’ attempts.

Below is the play-blasted, unrendered shot which I will begin rendering tonight, which will provide me with key points in lighting, render time and camera movements, as I have considerations of adding post-production motion blur to my piece.

Next week’s focus will be predominantly on Shot 8, as it involves a lot more intensive movement and animation than these previous shots.

Reference

. Experimental Film Artist. (1970). Mclaren, N and Sloan, W. Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Contemporary Arts Media.

.Brown, B. (2011). Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image-making for Cinematographers and Directors. Oxford: Focal press.

.YANG, D. Norman McLaren: Between the Frames. Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Fall2020, vol. 29 issue 2. Pp. 165-168. DOI: 10.3138/cjfs-2020-0027

A key part of my film is the secondary environment of the inground ‘grave yard’ which involved a lot of skeletal mesh. I initially had a lot of considerations to go through when starting this environment, as my first idea was to create the world as a separate Maya scene which I would model and cut to in post-production. However, I found that this process would prove very difficult in selling an effective pan-down shot, and decided to model this environment directly below my stage so that they are part of the same scene file.

For this final shot, The lighting set-up proved to be much simpler than the former, as there only really needed to be two lights to convey visually what I wanted the audience to see. Using a primary, frontal key light with the same intensity as one of the stage settings, and a stronger focused spotlight on the hand, allow for a dark and eerie setting with only one focal point.

Previs

As stated in the book 3D Animation Essentials, “Pre-visualization is a technique used in film and television that utilizes 3D animation to plan the pacing, cuts, and camera angles of a sequence. ” ( Beane, 2012, pp. 114). This step is essential as part of the 3D animation pipeline, as in a typical production it will save a lot of time and money planning out the entire movie without the extended quality and effort. This planning felt particularly useful for my film, not necessarily in the different camera angles due to its flatter, less dynamic camera action, but in planning the timing and spacing of the dance movements for my characters to the sound and music.

Beane also stressed that the pre-vis stage of production is also a key time to understand where you are directing the audience’s eye, and Instead of using camera angles, I have used lights to pinpoint very clearly where the audience should be focusing (2012).

During the process of creating this pre-visualization, I came across several issues which will need addressing in order to fix the finalised look of the film. The main issues I wish to address as the scaling and staging issues, as the skeletons appear much too large on the stage, to the point where several of their movements are hidden behind the curtain. In the next week, I will ensure that my character rig is scaleable so I can resolve this issue without having to make any drastic environmental changes.

The second key issue I wish to fix is the overall look of the ‘underground’ area as I feel it looks a bit flat at present and lacks the environmental depth that will add drama and effect to the piece.

Going forward, I need to ensure my rig is finalised and functioning, making sure there are no issues regarding the parent constraints which allow detachable limbs. And the last improvement consideration will be my main source of stylistic inspiration when it comes to dancing, as I feel the motions highlighted in the previs did not have a clear enough contextual stance.

Animation Test

Looking more time contextually at dance moves heavily related and associated with the 1920s/ 1930’s contexts. Watching the video From Ballroom to Broadway (1980) I was able to gain a further and more contextual understanding of the Charlestons’ historic relationship to theatrics and the theatre, and how the two dancers move and react with each other on stage. Applying this to my characters and timing it to the music had a kind of comedic effect which I enjoyed, especially the idea of mirror image dancing between them. However, this dance has a certain level of complexity and I am not sure how or if I will be able to fluently fit this within my animated piece, especially due to the fact they are avoiding an obstacle throughout the motions.

(108) How to do the Charleston Dance 1930s – YouTube

Shot List

In order to efficiently plan my animation and rendering over the next 4 weeks, I created a shot list in which I can track and break down the different shots I need to produce and finish this 1-minute animated work. I have already made good progress with the introductory title card, and it is completed and rendered. I have also rendered the shots regarding the hamlet reference (as highlighted in previous weeks) and they are ready for editing.

For the next week, I have already started shot 3, and aim to have shots 3, 4 and 5 within the next week.

References

.Beane, A. (2012) 3D Animation Essentials. Indianapolis, Ind: J Wiley and Sons.

.From Ballroom to Broadway. (1980). Publisher: Footscray, victoria, Australia: Contemporary Arts Media.

Render Tests

After my initial render test, I found that it appeared flat and the lighting did not showcase any of the modelled backgrounds, without any clear accentuation of the character and the skull. In the initial storyboard, I have drawn a dramatic spotlight that falls onto the skull. Trying to translate this into 3D, I was able to create a much more effective and cleaner shot by researching and testing Arnold’s renderer sampling.

Rigging

In previous weeks, I had begun to place the joints within the skeleton rig, however, after attending a workshop which explained the process of joint placement in a cleaner and more professional manner, I decided to start the process from scratch. This included first of all addressing issues of my model, to make the skin binding process less problematic later on.

Model Cleanup

The first issue I encountered was separating the fingers from the hand mesh so that they could rotate independently which, due to the nature of the model, works with a ‘floaty’ and disconnected aesthetic due to the obvious lack of muscle.

The secondary aspect I needed to fix was the mesh grouping and overall mesh hierarchies so that they move and function together as they would within a real human body. Due to the numerous issues that I faced and encountered during the collaborative module with the seagull models and rigs, I was able to learn and adapt from these mistakes (such as incorrect transformations) with a better understanding of rigging preparation.

Freeze Transformation Issue

When setting the freeze transformations on all the different sections of the mesh, I had some issues in which some of the parts of the toes would enlarge considerably and realised it was related to the mesh group’s history.

In order to fix these issues, I removed all the relevant mesh from the group and deleted the group in the outliner. Then I selected each individual piece of mesh and deleted its history and froze the transformations. When regrouped this removed the issue, and functioned correctly.

Before beginning the rigging process, I ensure that all of the mesh worked hierarchically and, and was connected and cleaned correctly so there would be minimal issues later down the line. This is uniquely important to my project especially, as I have plans to use the unrigged model to potentially animate the different limbs falling down a hole. In order for this to happen in a sensical way, I feel as though the main attaching joints that will work hierarchically in the rig should also work hierarchically in the mesh groups.

Joint Placement

Starting the joint placement process of my character rig, I started with the spinal area, which is the central point of the joint hierarchy in the pelvic area. From here I manipulated from the front and side viewports, the rough exact placement of each point, but only by rotating the different joints hierarchically to avoid messy translations.

By placing locators at the various joint placement areas, there is a clearer idea and indication of where the joints should be created and rotated, so I completed this process on both the arms and the legs and began to place the joints in a similar fashion as to that above.

A Key point we learned in class was to create clusters so that the central point of the mesh could be snapped to, enabling more accurate joint placement within the inner folds of the joints within the fingers and toes. This was an extremely useful tool that I will always consider during the rigging process going forward.

Technical Issues and Solutions

one of the key elements that I had already pre-planned contingency time to figure out was the creation of a detachable rig. Initially, I had issues with considering how I was going to go about it. My first idea was to create a separated rigged leg and attach it to the same group as the rest of the body. However, in doing so, all that happens is the joints join the rest of the rigged hierarchy. Since this was not the intended outcome, I explored the use of different parent constraints that would allow the joints to follow the main hierarchal joint without being inherently attached to it. This way I could skin weight the mesh to the joint, and have it detach from the model with the same control.

I also repeated this parenting process with the upper arms, so that they could be detached in a similar fashion, and once all the joints were functioning correctly hierarchically, I was able to start thinking about IK handles.

IK Controls

A Key issue I found early on in the process of creating the Leg IKs is that it limited how detachable I could make the rig, as the lower legs would not have the same individual control as previously. However, The leg itself where it was joined at the hip could still be detached, and I viewed that as successful due to the fact it would not be highly necessary for a vast majority of the film.

when creating the foot rig, we learned in a class workshop that by layering different groups together and designing with different functions, you could create options such as toe taps and foot rolls. Applying this to my rig will prove useful long term, as a lot of my planned dances for the characters derive heavy influence from ballet, which required the toes to be expendable for animating purposes.

Issues and Solutions with Legs

One of the initial issues I encountered with the IKs in the leg was the exploration of using two joints instead of one, in an attempt to make them detachable. My initial theory was that, if I created two joints at the knee, I could skin weight the surrounding mesh of the femur and Tibia (and Consequenctly the fibia) to have 100% influence on each. while they functioned in FK mode, Within IK it caused several issues with the knee, as the use of several joints caused an unnatural and strange bend that would not have worked. Fixing this, I decided to focus on the upper leg is detachable, while the rest of the leg functioned like a normal IK System.

Tutorial: Rigging an IK Arm in Maya – YouTube

In a similar light, I began to have the same issues with the arm Iks. The initial problem I seemed to be having was that the arm IK would not bend when manipulated. My initial thoughts were that perhaps I had used a single-chain resolver. However, This did not appear to be the case. Looking at the tutorial linked above, I found that with the addition of an extra joint in the forearm, I was able to connect an IK handle to the joints from the upper arm to the new joint and it would bend in the correct way. However, It is imperative to change the centre point of the Ik handle to the wrist joint, so it is easily manipulatable.

The Iks within the arm though however, did not allow me to be able to detach the joints effectively, and even with an IK/FK switch I realised that the task would be time-consuming and was not necessarily needed, as the arms do not make contact with the ground or objects that really require IKs. In this respect, I made a list of videos that will be useful for this pursuit when I find it necessary to learn and try.

Skin Weighting

Initial issues in which normal skin binging options did not effectively apply to my skeleton character, as the influence needed to be directly affecting each joint 100% in order to act and move effectively like real bones rather than skin. In order to do this, I selected each joint and added a weight flood to the areas (especially the detachable ones) in order to get the correct impression of movement.

Since I had initial issues in which the ribs were moving independently from the spine, I attached the influence to the part of the spine that connects with the clavicle and arms so that they can twist and move as a unit when it comes to placing constrain controllers.

Below highlights the skin weighting and how it functions with twists in the spine, as it was the only part of the mesh I did not apply 100% influence, to allow space for mesh twisting and bending.

The skin weighting methods proved effective, particularly when creating detachable arms and legs, and I was eventually happy with the outcome and the result of my trial and error.

Constrains/ Controllers

The last step I had to cover was creating the join controllers, as I had to ensure that they were attached correctly in order to manipulate the detachable elements without disturbing the skin weight painting.

When adding controllers, I feel an important step as a rigger Is to consider the transform and rotation limitations so that animators do not break the rig. In this respect, I added several limitations to the hip controller primarily so that the legs would not start reacting incorrectly regarding volume.

In spite of the issues I had with the leg control, I found I eventually had to opposite problem with the arms, as the extra join that separated the upper arm (humerus) and the lower arm (Radius and Ulna) was required for correct skin weighting in order to make them detachable. This part was essential for my shot animation, so after the addition of this, I committed to FK animation in the upper body.

In the end, I was able to create a fully functioning rig that was capable of detaching itself the best I could manage to get it within the time contains. While it is not perfect and could be explored much further in terms of IK/FK switches and More extensive facial controls, I feel the rig will suit just fine for the animation and animation style I intend to create going forward. Next week I will finally begin the animation process and will create some animation tests to push the rigs limitations.

Lighting Tests

Trying to achieve dramatic spotlight light sources to enhance my performative drives for the short sequence. Due to my personal lack of experience with using the Arnold renderer and lighting in general, I decided to follow a tutorial regarding the utilisation, intensity and spread of the Arnold area light.

Following the above tutorial I was able to create a ‘spotlight’ look with the Arnold area light, however, did not direct the viewer’s attention to any one character due to the larger spread of the light.

By Adjusting the attributes associated with the spread and normalising features, a spotlight effect can be created with an Arnold area light which exemplified the character figure in a better light.

Utilising this by adding three area lights into the scene to create a 3-dimensional lighting set-up, I also used a Key frontal light to act as the main primary source light. As stated in the book Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting (Lanier, 2015) “In the standard 3-point lighting scheme, a strong key is placed to one side of a subject” and in doing this ” a fill light is placed on the opposite side and is at least half the intensity of the key” then “A rim light is placed behind the subject so that it grazes the subject’s edge” (2015, pp. 11). Applying this to the below images created the effect I wished to make the character under the spotlight effectively stand out.

The image above highlights the finalised rendered look that I intend to complete the film with going forward. While the increased number of lighting set-ups within the scene may increase the render time, I will try to effectively plan my render timing so that I can complete everything to the highest quality I am able to.

Visual Tests

One of the initial things I did once the environment and lighting were set up, was to re-create frames of my storyboard within 3D to really start pushing for my finalised look development. In the below render tests the images had a much lower exposure than in the Arnold render view, however, I took this opportunity to play with editing to see how the look can be manipulated in post-production.

Taking these test renders into Da Vinci Resolve, I was able to play around with different colour correction settings to figure out the best exposure, gain and lift settings would be to make the black and white edit look effective while retaining image detail. While this looks ‘old’ and creates a ‘vintage’ effect, I still feel that the image appears quite flat, and there is not enough lighting at the back of the stage to create an effective depth of field. Going forward with my renders I will add an additional area light on a lower intensity that will light the stage enough to leave the impression of the mesh that is further back.

Video Tests

Due to the fact, that my project is very music reliant, I took some of my tests renders and moved the skeletons in key poses to time with the beat of the music used within my animatic to get a sense of motion and timing later on during the animation process. I also utilised this time to test the ‘vintage film’ effect tutorial within Da-Vinci which emanates the effect of film rolling, that has slight scratches and dust over the lens. I think this editing style is effective, however, the quality of the initial render will need to be improved for further image clarity.

In order to do this I will add the additional lights mentioned earlier, and test out what will be the lowest but best quality render sampling settings going forward.

(96) How To Create An Old Film Effect In DaVinci Resolve – YouTube

References

. Lanier, L. (2015) Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Incorporated.

Curtain Simulation

In order to add a further level of realism to my environment, and expand on passive animation further, I wish to make cloth simulations out of the theatre stage curtains that will rustle slightly in what would be a slight breeze caused by movement and general atmosphere. In order to achieve this, I need to make sure I effectively understand colliders and wind strength as well as constrain types for Ncloth simulations. If this is not achievable, I am considering creating an opening sequence in which the curtains open and introduce the audience to the scene.

Below is the first example test of the curtain opening simulation, however, there are several issues with the cloth weight and stiffness that feels unrealistic, despite the desired ‘heavy felt’ feel of the intended curtain models. This proved to be due to a lack of correct subdivisions that would provide better and more detailed deformation in the mesh.

Next, I wanted to test its collision with objects in place of the rope I intend to model and added a passive collider to a polygon torus to explore how the simulation would fall and settle. As seen in the example below, the mesh deformation does work however in order to improve this I will need to somehow get the cloth to be contained within both sides of the torus and use the actual rope mesh so that I can get an accurate idea of the shape in which it needs to fall within.

N Cloth Lessons and Considerations:

. The transform constraint works effectively and will prove useful in creating an animated curtain movement scene, and could very well be utilised to introduce the scene and characters going forward.

. The additional idea of creating passive animation in the curtains (if time and rendering allow) for an extra realistic touch to my project.

Rope Modelling

My initial rope models from the previous week felt very flat and not detailed enough to be hugely discernible as rope, so in order to fix this, I researched several different modelling techniques to try and recreate the ‘braiding’ effects present within real ropes.

My initial ideas were to create an editable curve trail to extrude four polygons around and apply a twist effect to it. However in practising and attempting this method (with the use of locators” the path followed made the rope look very square and deformed the mesh in an undesirable way.

Moving on from my initial method, I followed the referenced tutorial below to achieve the desired ‘twisted’ effect of rope within the model. I feel that this created a simple lower poly rope that worked with the overall aesthetic intentions of my simplistic stage model.

Step 1: The initial step was to create four polygons in a chain and multiply these upwards to create a long tube, ensuring to connect the vertices afterwards to create a smooth piece of mesh.

Step 2: The next step was to take the piece of mesh and apply a non-linear twist deformation to get the appearance of a braided piece of mesh.

Step 3: Next step was to create a CV curve, and after selecting to rope and the curve, create a curve warp so that the mesh adapts to the curve shape.

While not perfect and beautifully accurate, the effect will suit fine considering what I want to achieve within the time limit provided and looks a lot more effective and realistic than the former approach.

Applying this method directly to my modelled environment, I created a CV curve and used my previously created rope set-up to apply and deform around the specific shape.

In doing so, and by enlarging the rope, I was able to cover and create an effect that works well with the curtains and is ready to be tested as an N-cloth passive collider.

NCloth Application Tests

Considering passive animation testing, I then utilised one of my models and converted it to a Ncloth material while adjusting the present and thickness to match that of a heavy curtain.

Creating a spherical passive collider, I was able to test the reactivity and weight of the cloth and how it would react as a passive animated piece to accentuate the overall realism of my film. I feel the heaviness and weight of the cloth is correct, however, there is some clear mesh collision issue that implies the thickness of the curtain mesh is not wide enough. However, in the context of slight wind simulations, I think this would work effectively.

Material Test Render

The next essential step for the accuracy of the curtains is the texture. Exploring various Arnold shaders, I found a velvet preset that I blended at 75% with the aistandard surface and accentuated the weight and changed the specular colour to add a ‘purple’ sheen to contrast the highlights with the rest of the cloth and help add an exemplification of the cloth mesh deforms. This will assist the process later on when translated into black and white.

Considering colour theory in relation, in various black and white Hollywood films they used specific colours to accentuate and contrast versions of elements within the show. By having a red curtain and a purple or ‘violet’ sheen to them, the drapery will be more accentuated when edited in post-production.

To get an understanding of spatial considerations in my production, I have placed an updated version of my skeleton model within my complete environment to get an idea of the staging. As seen below, there is not enough space for both of the skeletons to dance and perform efficiently which leaves me with the options of scaling the environment up or creating a scalable rig.

Rigging

Beginning the rigging process, I have begun to place the joints within the skeleton mesh and think about various ideas on how I will create them in a way that detaches. Researching I found a forum on the Autodesk website which addresses exactly the method I could use to create this effect, which aligns well with my initial plans and ideas of execution. I will explore this rigging process further in the next week.

Detachable Rig Research

Solved: Detachable bones in Maya rig? – Autodesk Community – Maya

Detach and reattach to skeletons | Maya | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Character Model Issues

When cleaning up and structuring my character model I found several issues that could occur when I begin the rigging process. Firstly, the rotation of the feet and the toes were distorting when grouped together, Which I realised may have been due to mesh-related history issues. After separating the group and deleting the history on each join, and regrouping them again afterwards, i was able to resolve this issue rather quickly and efficiently.

Scaling

An essential consideration going forward into the environmental modelling stage of the production will the the scaling in relation to that character and that of its placement. While i wish for the stage to appear ‘grandiose’ I also do not want the character to feel swallowed up in an environment that is more detailed and large that draws viewer attention away from the performance. Due to this, I have decided to strip back my former ideas of French inspired luxury stage theatrics and decided to create a very minimal stage that will match and accentuate the visual choices of my skeleton model.

Stage and Environment Modelling

Looking at how theatre curtains hang will help me understand how I can apply and model these in 3D space, I tried to model my stage and curtains with a similar drapery. Initially I modelled the curtains without utilising N cloth to keep the scene file from crashing and to get a general idea of the mesh and where it will be placed environmentally. From there this allowed me to go forward doing N cloth passive animation tests to ensure a more realistic result.

Initial Scene Test

Here is my Initial scene mockup, It makes clear to me where my next steps are in terms of modelling, lighting and general rendering improvements. Due to the stark contrast, I wish to create with spotlights to accentuate audience focus, I think it will be important to understand how the Arnold lighting setups work as they do not seem to render the traditional Maya spotlight in the same way as Hardware 2.0 does. Below I have attached a link which should help me improve and expand on how these lighting setups will work alongside some youtube tutorials.

Modelling intentions and improvements for next week

• Clean up and improve detail quality of curtains and ropes
• Finish wood panelling detail
• Add theatre seats (less urgent)
• Consider and explore texturing aspects

• Spot Light – Arnold for Maya User Guide – Arnold Renderer
• Lighting in Arnold for Maya | Lighting Tutorial – YouTube
• Maya: Spotlight, Filters and Arnold – YouTube

Post Editing Test

Exploring different noise and lighting effects in Photoshop, I wanted to see if I could create a mock-up version of what the final output could potentially look like regarding aesthetics. Since I was trying to achieve an ‘old film’ look, I intentionally pushed the level of noise, however, I feel this may not be the most effective method as it appears more like an ineffective render. I think in pursuing this further, the moving noise could make it more apparent it is aiming to be a replicator of the old film rather than portraying inexperience through computer-generated rendering.

Expanding on my initial hand-drawn character designs I wanted to achieve a further level of accuracy with my CG model by stylizing it in a simpler form for rigging and texturing purposes. During this process, I was aiming to keep the individual bones separate so that the process of creating and exploring a detachable rig serves easier in the long run when I work into the animation process. Looking at the initial Ideas of how this will function, my ideas revolve around potentially creating a set driven key or parent constraint that allows weight’ blending’ to be switched on and off from 100% to 0% to switch on and off parental controls.

Issue Area 1: Shoulder Blades

One of the essential parts of working on this model is gaining some form of anatomical accuracy without abstracting style and design from my initial concept drawing. In the book Anatomy: A complete Guide for Artists by Sheppard, He states how “The shoulder socket is made up of two bones: The Clavicle (Collarbone) in front and the Scapula (Shoulder bone)” (1993, pp.17). So considering this I needed to model two different areas that could meet rather than one large piece of mesh. In my initial drawing I have very accentuated collarbones, so I felt it relevant to really consider how the shoulder blade will rest on that back on the ‘pointier’ collarbone.

In order to keep up the aesthetic design from my drawings, I had to move the shoulder blade, clavicle and arm joint slightly further apart than considered accurately proportional to allow for arm movement and the drastic collar bones. I also created a slight point where they are joined so the shoulder blade is able to rest on it in a way that looks somewhat similar to real life.

Issue Area 2: Hips and Pelvis

One of the key issues that arose when modelling my character was trying to replicate the way the legs and the hips attach to with “ball-and-socket” joints that allow for the leg to “rotate in all directions” (1993,pp.91) , which creates a small circular dent within the pelvic bone.

In my initial model, there is no clear and defined way that the legs attach to the pelvis and appear to just be floating at the sides in a way that will animate rather unrealistically. Due to the fact my aesthetic choices regarding the model are more realistically inclined, I will have to try to get the ball-and-socket modelled to an extend that allows the leg to rotate without causing mesh collision or mesh detachment.

Below is the improved ball-and-socket area of the pelvis, as while not 100% anatomically accurate, it gives the impression of anatomical accuracy while retaining some element of unrealistic and ‘cartoony’ aesthetic design. The legs also are able to rotate in various directions which is the anatomical intention.

Issue 3: Leg Anatomy

The first issue here was my initial lower leg model, as there are two bones the ” Tibia and Fibula” (Sheppard, 1993, pp.118) I tried to model these in conjunction with each other. However it looks very amateurish and unrealistic in its formation, especially as after doing further the study, the two bones are not connected as much, but fit together due to muscle placement.

In order to improve this I decided to create an additional smaller bone (Tibia), and place it in a group with the bigger, primary bone (Fibula) so that they emanate the look of the bones placement when attached to the muscle groups.

Expanding on this diagram, I also used the reference to shape the ‘femur’ bone more realistically so it gives the implication of Patella (Knee) placement without having to model an additional section to fit accurately within my model.

Completed Model

After receiving a rigging workshop this week, I have taken this information to improve my model to make considerations for the rigging process that is to come later. Since I have been modelling with the arms down at both sides, It would be much more efficient to model them in a T or A pose to assist in the rigging and animation process later on due to the way the skin binds to the arms, as it allows clearer and more efficient access for processes such as advanced skeleton to assist rigging processes.

References

. Sheppard, J. (1993). Anatomy: A complete Guide for Artists. New York: Dover Publications.