Author: Jiazhuo Tang

Individual Progress: The next two weeks are dedicated to animation production. Based on the tasks assigned last week, the three members of our group will independently work on their respective sections divided according to the storyboard. We opted for this approach because our time is limited, and working separately will help us accelerate progress and complete the project within the deadline.

I am responsible for the middle section of the storyboard, where the boy enters the spaceship and engages in a series of arguments with the robot while the spaceship travels into outer space. We are all using Maya for animation production and utilizing the Camera Sequencer feature to edit each shot. With Camera Sequencer, we input the appropriate frame numbers and assign specific camera identifiers, allowing us to easily preview the different shots arranged together.

During the animation production, we consider factors such as timing, how specific actions are presented in front of the camera, and attention to details like fingertips and blinking, which make the characters more lively. Additionally, I experimented with some creative techniques, such as modifying the color parameters of the model materials to achieve certain effects. For example, I changed the robot’s color from blue to red when it gets angry, and I adjusted the transparency and brightness to simulate the control panel’s activation. I also added a simple scaling animation, resulting in a satisfactory sequence depicting the control panel’s startup. I am quite pleased with this part.

Group Progress: (Lin and Jiaruo) The remaining two members are working independently on their assigned sections, but since there is no visual documentation provided here, I won’t present them one by one. Some common topics we discuss include maintaining consistent lighting brightness and color across shots, ensuring smooth transitions between shots, and addressing any stiffness in character movements. If needed, we can improve the smoothness of character movements through techniques like moving holds and paying attention to small details in the characters’ body language.

Next Steps: We have one more week to make revisions and render the final animations based on our initial animation production.

Individual Progress:

Firstly, I made some modifications to parts of the storyboard, making it clearer for us to understand the desired effects for each shot when shooting reference videos. Additionally, we divided the storyboard into three parts, assigning different shots to each of us for the key animation phase.

Next, the team members spent a day shooting live-action storyboards in the studio. We plan to use these reference materials for character animation, camera setup, and compositing in the animation. Jiaruo will play the robot, Lin will portray the male protagonist, and I will be in charge of filming and integrating the video clips. Since I am familiar with each shot in the storyboard as I created it, after consulting with Michael, we agreed that this division of roles is reasonable. The filming process went smoothly, and we spent half a day shooting. I then completed the editing in After Effects.

Furthermore, my third task was to integrate all the scenes together to ensure that the scene resources assigned to each team member are clear and consistent.

Progress of Team Members:

Lin: Lin worked on adding details to the spaceship model this week. She created a control panel, and after researching references, we decided on a circular button in the center as the main firing mechanism. When pressed, the electronic screen emits a glowing effect.

Jiaruo: Jiaruo will continue working on character weighting this week.

Next Division of Tasks: We divided the storyboard into three parts:

• Red section for Linsey
• Green section for Jiaruo
• Blue section for Tang

We will each work on animating our respective assigned shots. The estimated time for completing the animations is 2 weeks, with an additional week allocated for rendering and animation editing.

Integration:

• On Sunday, May 28th, we will organize the documentation.
• Our animation is scheduled to be completed in 2 weeks, leaving us with 18 days until June 14th. We plan to allocate 4 days for rendering and compositing, with Jiaruo and Tang handling the rendering, and Linsey in charge of sound effects. After completing our individual animations, we will transfer them to the school’s computers for compositing. Our plan is to finish rendering by the 12th.

Animation Camera Parameters:

• Set the camera size to 1920×1080.
• Use a focal length of 35.

Individual Progress:

1. Outdoor Scene 1 (Fantasy World):
   1. Added displacement maps: To achieve a more realistic effect, I applied displacement maps to the tree leaves and trunks, creating a textured surface. The following image shows the nodes used for displacement maps.
   2. Added cloud particle effects: Using the fluid particles in Maya’s FX menu, I selected the cloud effect and adjusted parameters such as density, resolution, and color. The cloud particles have built-in animation, which is advantageous for our scene as we don’t need to create additional animation specifically for the clouds. Adding this effect was intended to create a dreamy and ethereal atmosphere, aligning with our vision for the scene.
   3. Added flower and grass models: Using brush strokes in Maya’s asset library, I painted flowers and grass and converted them into polygons using the Paint Effects to Polygon conversion. I also adjusted the roughness and reflectance in the material settings. The 2D concept depicted some flowers and grass in the enchanted world, so I added these elements to enhance the scene’s authenticity.
   4. Obtained the A-image: I made some simple camera parameter adjustments. First, I enabled the display of object information to determine the camera’s position relative to the objects. Then, I set the focal length and range of focus in the Arnold settings. This allowed me to blur certain objects, such as leaves, to maintain overall visual harmony.
   5. Added flower cluster decorations: Similar to the leaves, the flower clusters were created using planes. I obtained a stylized flower cluster material in Photoshop, consisting of a colored image and a black-and-white image. The colored image served as the base color for the planes, while the black-and-white image acted as an opacity mask, hiding the white parts of the colored image. The black-and-white mask was applied to the geometry’s opacity channel, resulting in the desired effect. We consider this a new technique for representing 3D scenes, inspired by the effect of hairpieces, and applied it to create stacked foliage.
   6. Added lighting effects: Various lighting effects were added. Firstly, for the water reflections, Jiaruo created water effects, but encountered a problem where the water did not have an independent color after adding the base color. Therefore, we created a separate blue light for the water. Secondly, we added side lighting near the trees and atmospheric lighting for the entire scene. Lastly, to achieve the dream-like effect, we planned to add glowing orbs around the trees. However, we need to consider the impact on rendering speed, so we will only add the necessary lights from a resource-saving perspective.
   7. Overall, we are satisfied with the results as they align with our expectations based on the 2D concept and create a dreamy atmosphere.

1. Outdoor Scene 2 (Real World):
   1. Added planet texture, lighting effects, and star models: In the story’s conclusion, the protagonist chases after a green planet. To capture the mystery and longing associated with the distant planet, I added a green planet texture and applied mesh light effects. Additionally, I incorporated star models into the scene.
   2. Camera focus adjustment: Similar to the previous scene, I adjusted the camera’s focal length to achieve the desired visual effect.
   3. Rendered three images: I rendered three images, one with stars in the sky, one without stars, and different textures for the moon. After discussing with the team, we leaned towards the night sky without stars and a moon texture that exudes a hazy atmosphere.

Progress of Other Team Members:

Yuhan Lin: This week, Lin completed the integration and import of scene resources in Maya. They added self-illumination and lighting, and the overall presentation looks nices.

Jiaruo Zhang: Jiaruo worked on character weighting this week, which will take about two to three weeks to complete.

Next Steps:

1. Finalize the Storyboard:
   • Team members will act out character animations for the storyboard, including determining camera angles, character movements, expressions, and dialogue or action language.
   • Consider the relationship between the two characters in the animation: supervisor and supervised, friendly brothers, strict parental figure, etc.
   • Through discussions with Michael, we realized that the storyboard lacks some specific details for further exploration, making it difficult to proceed to the animation stage. To achieve better consensus within the team, we have decided to act out the animation ourselves to clarify how the animation should be.

1. Integrate Scene Resources:
   • Organize scene resources, categorizing them into two scenes and character files.
   • Set up lighting within the scenes.

Individual Progress:

Outdoor Scene:

1. Added smoke effects: To depict the desolate and abandoned atmosphere of the outdoor scene, as per the 2D concept, I added smoke effects. It was my first attempt at creating smoke effects using the FX menu. I adjusted several parameters, including density (smoke concentration), resolution (smoke size), and color (smoke color) to achieve the desired effect.
2. Removed some elements: Upon reconsideration, I decided to remove certain dilapidated house assets (sourced from Sketchfab) from the previous version. They didn’t align with the deserted setting, and their removal resulted in a more streamlined composition.
3. Camera focus adjustment: To fine-tune the visual composition and direct the focus to specific areas, I adjusted the camera’s focal length. By opening the object information display and modifying the Arnold focal length parameter to 25, I achieved the desired effect.
4. Overall, the effect is pleasing, but it deviates from the original concept. The background shifted from daytime to nighttime due to changes in the story narrative.

Outdoor Scene 2:

1. Created the ground model in ZBrush and painted the textures in Substance Painter. Jiaruo then applied water effects in Maya’s VFX, combining the trees, leaves, ground, and water source. The next step will be to further refine the scene based on the 2D concept.

Group Progress:

Lin: This week, Lin addressed the texture mapping issues in the scene. As mentioned before, the UVs were all mapped within the 1,1 quadrant, resulting in low resolution when applying textures to the models. After discussions, we decided to switch to UDIM UV or separate UV mapping for specific parts, ensuring they are within the same quadrant. Eventually, the scene reached a satisfactory state with added decorative details on the doors and launchers.

Jiaruo: Jiaruo completed the character skeleton binding.

Overall, the progress is significant, and although we encountered some issues, timely communication and mutual assistance among team members helped resolve them.

Next Steps: The next week will focus on finalizing the scene, with each team member striving to complete their respective tasks, including modeling, texturing, special effects, and lighting (Linsey and Tang). Jiaruo will continue with weight painting based on the bound skeleton models.