Another Dimension: Maya - Moom Walk Cycle

The finalization of this brief came along with a simple yet complex exercise of manipulating a pre-rigged 3D character in a walk cycle: simple because it is based on a template, complex because it requires an understanding of body dynamics. All in all, the tutorials were very coherent and clear to that extent that I carried on doing the cycle without following the instructions after I saw how keyframes are to be made - or perhaps this has to do with the logical embrace of Maya's interface. However, I found it kinda cumbersome to have to set keys every time I move some of Moom's limbs; they did not set themselves alone although the automatic set key toggle was on. Initially, I started only doing the walk cycle by looking at Moom solely from the profile, making the front look a bit mechanical since hips do move in a walk cycle, as well. This was something that directly reflected to the world of 2D animation - if it's a profile walk and it looks good, the front cannot be altered or imputed and is therefore irrelevant as long as the illusion of movement is solid and carried through. With careful consideration afterwards, I went back to every keyframe and modified the position of Moom's hips just to make the movement more realistic. I also stumbled in a dilemma where I had one extra keyframe on the 8th frame by accident which did not cause an issue in the long run, however was very bothersome in terms of positioning as I didn't know how to delete it and just went on altering it as if it were a frame. Although this was the case, I noticed that due to the leaning back on the last frame the cycle does not perfectly loop as it has a choppy frame - a mistake I made and think about next time. Nevertheless, the reference that we were instructed to use (something I've been referencing time and time again) was perfect even for 3D, meaning that Richard Williams grasped the art of movement even in 2D. Due to the lack of videos displayed on Maya, I consulted the all-knowing internet on how to smooth out the movement by adding automatically generated in-betweens based on the existing keyframes and had no trouble figuring it out; again, Maya is very pragmatic and logical which is something I am fond of in software. Overall, although this is our last assigned task, and although I am STILL not that fond of 3D as I am of 2D and stop-motion, the more I know the merrier for I can intertwine different techniques into a final piece. In other words, it's good to know the basics for if I ever have the need to utilize it again it won't be a whole new journey, but an already ice-cracked continuation of something I've gotten comfortable with.

Another Dimension: Maya - Learning Movement

As sessions follow up, we begin to get more and more intricate with Maya, as during today's session we learned additional conventional tools that exact the notion of movement and animation through Maya, in contrast to the last ones where we just learned the manipulative tools and the basics of creating shapes and models. Following up and referencing the notes I had made from the previous sessions, I had no difficulties keeping track with what was being taught, and even more so I managed to proliferate my notes with some more useful shortcuts and functions. Primarily, this session taught us the basics of animating with Maya, beginning with the placement of keyframes (s - set keyframe) and how the manipulation of objects interacts with keyframes as Maya animates the in-betweens. Be it rotation, scaling, or movement, I've learned that Maya can coherently process information in terms of animating "tweens" (as they are called in Flash). Furthermore, I was introduced to the Animation tab of tools, where one can create a motion path and attach an object to it so that it follows a distinct pathway and not one generated automatically through Maya's in-betweens. However, for me personally, the most important part of this session was the Deformers which give an object the flexibility of distortion, be it a warp, a curvature, or a twist. All based on loop edges which give an object interactive vertexes, the Deformers work in such a logical way that everything can be controlled manually through coefficients (for example, degrees in curvatures). Come to think of it, the whole software is profusely logical in such a mathematical way that the more you know the more logical it becomes - something that I personally value. Touching up a bit on the manipulation of pre-made models, the next challenge is creating a walk cycle based on the actual conventions of human motion - weight, leaning, position, and joint points. For the cycle that I shall need to make, I will reference the Animation Survival Kit's section on flexible and flowing walk movements so that Moom does not seem like a robot, but instead, a human.

Screenshots I took just in case I forget the process

Another Dimension: Maya - Object

Following up to the previous section where we are required to create a truck model, now it's time to let our imagination run wild by attempting to create an object with the knowledge we've acquired of Maya so far. Initially thinking that I will make something as simple as a bottle, I digressed by adding a little pizzazz to the shape of a bottle, making it into a rocket. With a little assistance from one of my peers, one who's much more proficient in the software than me, I was able to both learn a few things about the interface of Maya and to make a next level model interpolated with colors, as well. As I stated, initially I started making a liquor bottle, but strayed away the moment I extruded the vertex of a cone, which accounted for a sun-shaped form consisting of many sharp edges, which instantly reminded me of the bottom exhaust of a rocket. Thus, with this, I had a visualization of how I wanted my rocket to look like and proceeded to reference the notes I made on how to access the move tool, scale tool, and the conventions that alter the meshes of all polygons. All of this refreshed my knowledge of Maya, for it had been a while since I had used it (didn't use it during the break and holidays). Once the rocket had been made, I played around with the rendering software and referenced an online tutorial on how to change the background to while, ultimately finding out that it can be altered by editing the camera settings' environment. Exported with Mental Rey, I sought for the rocket's assemblages of shapes to NOT overlap as these 3D models can extrude and protrude into one another. Overall, I'm satisfied with my rocket as through its development I absorbed a level of flexibility when tinkering with the program, only to be augmented as these following sessions flow.

Another Dimension: Maya - Basics

The world of 3D animation, a realm that I have just set foot in. I have never been interested in digital 3D animation, however, have never had any experience which might make me rash if I were to "knock it before trying it". With our newest Applied Animation module, we shall be introduced to this technique of animation which is the most prevalent in modern cinematography, and might be used eclectically by us 2D and stop-motion oriented animators. During the first session, we were taught the functions, tools, and main shortcuts of Maya, as well as the interface. Considering that it's an intricate yet versatile piece of professional software, it was necessary to go through the fundamental tools of the software, which is why the majority of the session was spent on the mechanics of Maya (and how to find our way around it). Unlike any other program I've used before, Maya places a necessary emphasis on the use of shortcuts, all of which I've written down for future reference. Several days after our session, following the online guide as well as some of the skills I developed during the session, I started making the truck in order to portray a general understanding of the program. By using basic polygonal shapes as templates, I made the truck from primal objects into a structure. When it came to the rendering, my tutor helped me out quite a bit with the notions of exporting a non-dull image of the workbase, something that I found to be quite versatile, as well. Luckily, I ran into no trouble, mainly thanks to my notes on some of the key tools in use. What I learned was that Maya is a strictly vector-based program with a substantial flexibility when it comes to manipulating objects, enabling all kinds of external structuring (vertex, face, and edge manipulation, rotation, scaling, distortion, warping, extrusion, beveling, etc...). With having no understanding of how these types of programs even function, I simply love the straightforward functionality of Maya and how there is no unnecessary complication when it comes to manipulating objects with the tools - you wanna rotate it? click, click, click, logical! Now, it's time to make a simple object, but without using any video guides on how to do it. Gotta develop my understanding further and further, step by step.

Finished truck model