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

A Tale In The Sting: Initial Consideration and Choice

As a new module has begun, so has an intense line of creativity - from ideas to concepts to visualizations to produce. With this new module we are set to simulate and apply our skills in animation and visual presentation to a practical use in the industry or a professional non-educational assignment. Thus, we are given a choice from three situations with different social and practical contexts where we are to apply our skills in creating an animation based on an assigned paradigm. This has been the first module where we have been given a choice for a delineation of a module, and thus, I thoroughly looked at all three of the possible briefs, laid out their requirements, and started thinking on which one to choose. After using vague ideas about how I might tackle all of them in a given situation, I selected the second one (Titles) because it mostly connects with my course of interest. Several reasons factor in why I decided to relinquish the other two in favor of this one, something I found necessary to elaborate upon for the sake of professional practice (structuring coherent decisions and ruminating upon them).

Idents - This brief insinuates the creation of 4 separate pieces of animation, all based on different audiences. I decided to leave this one out because I value quality over quantity, and know myself well enough to know that as a consequentially make them they will gradually become worse in quality as I shall tediously progress (because of my mild perfectionism when it comes to animation). Furthermore, this brief limits my possibilities because I can't focus on a plot, but instead must mechanically adhere.

Campaign - Two animations, still, quality over quantity. Both are to be 30 seconds and differentiating in style, however, this is not something I want to do because of two reasons: with two different styles I'll spend less time improving both equally, and the quality of the second will deteriorate as I will solely focus on the technique I'm more familiar with, striving to better and improve it to a substantial base. Moreover, I despise campaigns and even more so consider that using elements shall limit my flexibility.

Titles - The one that fits into my soul, so to speak. For a myriad of reasons I have chosen this one, one of them being that it is the closest one linked with cinematography, and I favor that a good title sets the mood and tone for the upcoming content (like a good introduction in an analytical essay). Furthermore, it is only one animation in which I can infuse a psychological concept I am fond of (due to its connection with literature), be it existentialism, absurdism, nihilism, etc. I need to mention that I mostly favor the concept and meaning behind the animation before the technique, for the latter expresses the former, and not the other way around. With subtle and vague introductory skit scenes from a title introduction, the story is succinctly presented to the viewers and sets their expectations, subconsciously exciting the audience and capturing their attention.

Next step - brainstorming of possible ideas and possible books to create the adaptation

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall - Abandoned Sketch and Photographic References

From a total of 6 sketches, I ultimately ended up dismissing one due to its already explored proportions. In other words, I think that the perspective in the sketch is something I already did, all the elements within it were something I had already implemented in the previous drawings (this one being the possibility for a 5th). The stairs were just from a mirrored view in comparison with the ones from the entrance. Connecting with the photographic references, I took 7 photos in total to match the details of the building, however, modified most of them to fit my style. But rest assured, all of the spaces can be seen in real life, a striking similarity in terms of contour.

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall - Side Entrance

Intial sketch

As my final drawing I chose to do the entrance in between the pillars. In connection with the perspective drawing of the two pillars from 2/3rds, I considered drawing this one to add along to the story of context where an assailant is hiding throughout the exterior space of Leeds Town Hall. Drawn in the same manner as the rest of my drawings for this space (pencil, then outlined with a drawliner, then watercolor), I wanted to see whether I can replicate the altered design of the pillar lamps as well as the walls from a different perspective, ergo to see whether I can sustain consistency in improvising drawings. For example, the lamp stools are not as I saw them, but instead, used the original as reference so that I may modify them in my own style - same goes for the iron bar gate, where the patterns are not as I saw them, but rather only the geometry is. The loose sketch I did did not have the background pillars and window above the entrance sign, hence I just wanted to capture the precision of the front, whereas the background can be malleable to my own style and design. Personally, I believe that these sequential background drawings altogether helped me in practicing consistency in drawing structures, as I still have many more to accomplish, however, in a different style and with a different technique so that the tone and atmosphere may be substantially changed.

Telling an Environmental Story: Door

"Door" is a 1986 USSR stop-motion animation directed by Nina Shorina, one of my personal favorite stop-motion artists. The animation features a myriad of characters, all tangled up in a situation where the door of the building in which they live, work, or just need to get into does not work, so they use all sorts of creative ways to enter the premises except for the front entrance. One example would be the gentleman who climbs up a drain pipe in order to reach his respective floor, but ultimately fails, adding to the whimsicality of the animation (along with the rest of the situations). The animation places an intense emphasis on the background, where the story revolves around it; how to get in or out of the building? Taking into consideration that the animation had been made in the USSR, a period of Russian communism, the visual composition of the animation is to mimic the urban reality of that time as well as the appearance of the streets and structures. The texture of the building is rough and coarse, with faded furbishings atop the bricks, adding to the element of realism along with the clothes of the characters. However, we never see the building in full as it is always portrayed from different angled shots which allude to the size of the structure, indirectly broadening the story of the animation with all the different situations on every floor. For example, during the scene where the bride is stuck atop a roof marble statue (5:10), the congregation on the bottom is trying to open the door to commence the wedding, both of which we are aware are happening at the same location only on a different elevation. So, in a way, there are several interconnected stories happening at the same time where the only mutual element is the question: "how to get in/out?", all perpetuated by the background. During the end of the animation, where the door is opened by the underdoggish boy (by using oil), the accent of lighting kicks in where there is darkness after the door still, but light on the windows, which insinuates that the door had NOT been open for a long while and people have always been using alternative methods to get in and out - this is strengthened by the scene where the gentleman closes the door after the boy tells him about it and proceeds on climbing the same pipe (9:43). All in all, the animation's intended audience was children (for at that time they could only make animations for that audience) and due to this it is mainly focused on telling an entertaining visual story that would amuse kids with the use of a background being supported by characters. In other words, the story is about the building, where the characters just create the story. Truly a masterpiece of an environmental story.

"Door" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJIoSmmxljY&feature=youtu.be

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall - Pillars and Stairs

Seeing as I had did a front, it was time to reference my sketches for a 2/3 perspective shot that included depth of space. One of the main elements that can portray depth in a background are stairs, if geometrically laid out, even simple minimalism will give the illusion of 3D in 2D. Based off two of my plenty sketches of Leeds Town Hall, I drew the frontal entrance from two juxtaposing perspectives, one to capture the lion statue, and another to capture the pillared lamps. To capture the essence of the architectural space as well as the precision of the layout, I geometrically drew the main lines of the structure with a ruler and mechanical pencil and then layered them with a fineliner based on the perspective.

This drawing is based on the sketch of a lower perspective where I look at the Town Hall from below
the entrance stairs. There is a small entrance in between the two pillars, however from this perspective it cannot be seen, thus I drew this in the context of a stealth scene, where the foreground and background (the stairs) are filled with people walking whereas a character would hide between the pillars waiting to strike. Another reason why I drew it from this perspective was to make use of the small 1/6th of the right side, where the stealthy character would be blurred in the foreground, stuck to the wall and waiting for people to come out of the pillared entrance. In terms of color, I used different thickness of watercolor to draw shadowing and light, and along with the texture of the brush to make the stone surfaces more authentic.

This drawing is based on the sketch of an upper perspective which I drew while resting on the opposite lion statue on the mid section of the stairs. I wanted to level the background details (like the people walking beyond the entrance) to give the painting a level of desolation, as if it is an ancient city in ruination. Instead of the background details I painted it red in order to match the tone of the scene. To even further the aging of the structure, I drew cracks all around the space to even further give it the appeal of a lost city, reminiscent of the stage design in the Crash Bandicoot 1 level "Boulder Dash".

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall - Entrance Gate

Initial Sketch

Apart from the clock tower, the entrance of Leeds Town Hall interest me the most due to the perspective of the gates. In my initial sketch I didn't focus on the single-point perspective and vanishing point which would affect how the pillars and stairs would recede into depth, however, with the help of my referential photo I was able to draw the perspective properly. The stairs are the factor which maintain the depth illusion, because with them the stone cubes that hold the pillars are able to follow the outlines. I focused the detail of the drawing on the door and used gold and black ink to color the patterns on the gate, but did not draw them in replicas. In other words, I drew my own patterns on the gate and the still above the gate, since I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to improvise. The color combination (brown in the background with dark yellow in the front) goes well with the gold ink, as it gives the painting a contextual application as if it is the hub of a king concealed beneath the pillars of a city in ruin, perfect for an Indiana Jones style story of exploration. Henceforth, the texture of the brown color adds to the effect of presenting the structure as a dated temple in ruination (Indiana Jones, again). I intentionally omitted drawing anything between the two borders above the door because too much detail focused in the middle would not have an equal distribution throughout the whole composition.The pencil shadowing creates a bridge between the black and the white, for there would be no gradient without it and the contrast of the two colors would create too big of a contrast that would go against the aesthetic of the de-saturated colors around the composition.

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall - Clock Tower

With the clock tower being the most important segment of the structure, I decided of drawing it first. What struck me about it was the detailed architecture, as well as the sharp and pointy style of the baroque design, which aligns with my style of drawing. Firstly, I drew the contour of the clock tower with a pencil based on the reference in front of me, whereas I focused on the design through referencing a picture I took (with me being able to zoom-in to analyze the details of the tower). The context in which I added the shadowing and the background red color was relevant, for I was attempting to make a Batman style establishing overview shot of one of Gotham's landmarks (this case, Leeds, if it were a DC town) before a doomsday, hence the red sky. However, the most important part of my drawing is the shadowing of the tower (adding a dark effect) which juxtaposes with the simplicity of a single color as well as the texture of the watercolor brush movements that mimic dried-up blood, insinuating that the day of reckoning is upon us (based on the pagan blood red sky symbolism, as well). While on the topic of color, I chose to leave the tower colorless for two reasons: pencil shadowing that adds to detail, and a symbol of lost hope -white, black, and grey, along with red.

Exterior Drawing: Leeds Town Hall

As part of my newest Environmental Storytelling study task, consequential to my exploration of Leeds in search of structures and regions I have chosen to draw Leeds Town Hall around its vicinity. One of the main reasons why I chose to draw Leeds Town Hall is its baroque style which can be complementary with a dark undertone of atmosphere, something that caters to my style in animation. What interests me most about this space is the semi-deteriorated outer layers of the structure, which can be perfectly utilized in a background for a city in ruination, as if several character had traveled back in time. Knowing that this space is used for organizing mainly events of all sorts, be they the arts or entertainment, I wanted to capture this cultural hub's aesthetic, but change the colors to something more light. Initially, while exploring Leeds, I sat down and drew sketched elements of the Town Hall in my sketchbook to use as further reference for when drawing the background drawings. After I was done with my exploration of Leeds, several days after I sat down and sketched different perspectives of the space (which will go on my further blog posts) and not just elements which I am to use as reference when drawing the final drawings. Furthermore, seeing as I am not that experienced in depth-drawing, I also took photos of different dynamic perspectives of Leeds Town Hall for further reference and practice in drawing spaces that adhere to depth.

Sketches of Town Hall elements

Environmental Storytelling - Method of Approach

Being able to craft a background that is able to tell a story on its own is one of the plentiful skills an animator may possess to solidify his/her visual rhetoric. This study task will effectively develop our storytelling skill as animators as we identify, reference, and create spaces which can be used for animation. As I've stated many times before, I value organization when it comes to tackling a task at hand, thus, I've thought and created a plan on how to execute this task efficiently. Firstly, I will explore Leeds and visit many spaces throughout the town while sketching out several key elements of every space in order to remember them. After I have visited a plethora of exterior and interior spaces, I will visit them once more to draw more detailed quick sketches of different perspectives (one front, one 2/3 perhaps) just to define the depth and appearance of the structure. Along with me I shall bring my camera to take referential photos which I will use for capturing zoomed-in details. Once I've done several sketches of each space I found interesting, I will focus on 5 of them and shall draw the final pieces of design along with color, shadow, texture, and firm coherent lines. With this tactic, I believe that I will firmly broaden my perspective on drawing scenes (seeing as most of my past ones have been ambiguously presented) and shall not limit my possibilities in exploration of versatile scenes, as different spaces have different tones in background atmosphere.

You Spin Me Right Round: Final Rotation

After finishing 12 of the frames with pencil, I topped them off with a fineliner and added the details (such as the crinkles of his clothes and armor). Initially I recorded the turn-around with Dragonframe, but then realized that it's much more visually pleasing if I scanned the images instead (eliminating light-flicker altogether). With the head of Edrik being the main focal and referential point (as I drew his head first in every image), the rest of his body rotates accordingly but not fully symmetrically as his armor is elongated (for example, his boots). All in all, I'm extremely satisfied with this task because this is the FIRST time I've animated something 2D in a 3D perspective of dynamic, and I'm more than elated that it has been successful.

My measuring rubric

Carving The Character: Wooden Maquette of Edrik

As the final step of our character creation came the wood workshop's recreation of our characters. This time, we attempted to re-make our characters from cut and carved wood by using their prime proportions, so that we may practice with the mechanical saws and sanding machines. Every one of my peers had a different approach to their characters based on their distinct proportions, volumes, and depth. As for Edrik, I decided to make him in his front perspective, thus I roughly drew all of his main parts on a block of wood, then cut them off accurately (as much as I could, not enough experience), and proceeded on sand papering them for additional smoothness that would serve in depth. However, unlike most of my peers' characters, mine is rather sharp in visual design, which is why I didn't sand paper him to the max. Continuously, I stuck the main joint point by drilling holes in between the connecting limbs and fusing them with aluminium wire (whereas some were done with wooden sticks or chains). At the end, I drew the character's outline and details with a fineliner in the comic-style of Borderlands to give him his final look. Although Edrik doesn't match the 3D aspect of his being, I am satisfied with the model since it has served in my understanding of using wood-cutting tools and the safety of working with them. A lot smaller than the clay model, but nevertheless, spot on!

You Spin Me Right Round: Photographic Reference

Now things got a little harder. As I have mentioned before, I am still practicing Solid Drawing, as it is quite difficult for me to accurately present a 2D character's 3D dynamic. But at what a right time did this study task show up to better my drawing practice for my future projects and animations. As many animators use references which guide their drawing practice, I chose to do so for this task, as well. Given my character's basic humanoid form, I used a small wooden mannequin for a reference to every 12 frames that I must draw, taking an individual photograph of every pose I need to draw my character in just in case I am not able to position him again, or if my mannequin is to break (accidents happen). By using the mannequin, along with my character's basic shapes drawn according to my measured rubric of Edrik's size, I was able to maintain the consistency of my character's proportions. By using a light box, I placed the rubric sheet below the basic shape sheet, which was below every individual frame I drew. In order to simplify things, I first drew every 90 degree angle of my character, and proceeded on using them along with the mannequin and rubric for every frame in between. Furthermore, I measured the diameter of my character's hands (as he spins in a T-Pose) and used the measure for the same inverted position.