Category: Advanced and Experimental 3D computer Animation Techniques 1

When transitioning from blocking to spline, the animation may not look great initially. First, One reason is that there may be missing information between frames, and the in-between frames are auto-generated by the computer. I need to fill in these gaps with information. On the other hand, there may also be too much information, and I need to gradually clean up the excess to make the animation smoother.

It’s important to note that the cleaning process has a specific order, as outlined in the course materials. If this order is not followed, the animation may not change as expected and could even become a disaster.

Progress for this week:

Feedback: This week, I divided the animation into two parts. The first half required my primary focus, while the second half involved the monster hand grabbing the person and suspending them in the air. I will be using special effects to attach the hand to the phone in the second half. Therefore, my main focus was on modifying the first half. Although there has been some improvement in the motion compared to last week, I still need to pay attention to motion delays and arc movements, which are recurring topics. I need to focus on the arc movements of the hands, head, as well as hips and gradually refine my animation to the polished version.

Final version:

As shown above, this is the final version of the Browse Phone.

Browse Phone is an animation completed in five weeks. Its production is roughly divided into several stages: 1. Source of inspiration 2. (Plan action) draw thumbnails 3. Shoot references for my performance 4. Modify and improve thumbnails 5. Blocking animation 6. Blocking plus 7. Spline 8 . Polish

This project allowed me to understand the production process of a10-second animation from beginning to end. Here it only refers to the animation process and does not focus on modeling. I chose online character models to complete this animation.

Understanding the complete animation process is most significant to me in this project, not only the stages mentioned above but also some details in each stage. I listed a few points that I paid attention to.

• 1.During the preparation stage, it is a important part to consider the camera perspective that the animation will show. This is because we need to consider the camera angle, the displayed action of the filming reference, the displayed angle of the 2D draft, and the angle established in the Maya scene. The characters in this shot often face the camera from a three-quarter angle of view, and the opening of the hands and feet must also be paid attention to. They cannot be blocked or crossed and should be shown entirely.
• 2.Blocking is also a crucial part; it can help complete the prototype of an animation. Just like George’s metaphor, the animation is like the rudimentary part of the sculpture that is pinched out during the sculpture’s first step. Indeed, the outline part is the foundation for the entire animation.
• 3.Besides of the blocking, spline, and polish parts, the order of actions of the model is significant. It must be modified first from the crotch, then the waist, shoulders, head, hands, legs, and finally to the fingers or toes. The crotch and waist tend to affect the extremities, and if not modified in sequence, the animation will turn into a nightmare.
• 4.As a tip for animation, part of the body delay is very important in animation production. The movement of every part of the body does not necessarily occur at the same time. This idea also comes from the 12 rules of animation that follow through and overlapping action and secondary cation. For example, when the shoulder moves to the left, the head is slightly delayed for a short time and then follows the shoulder to move past, making the movement more attractive.

Reflection: In this project, I gradually got familiar with some basic knowledge about and how to represent this knowledge in animation; Squash and stretching, anticipation, overlapping, and positions of keyframes and intermediate frames were more accurate than before. However, I also had some challenges, such as being-unfamilar with arcs, fast and slow, time control, etc. Although I paid close attention to them, I needed help to use them fully. Especially in the polish stage, I pursued smooth curves and let the animation become over polished. Also, because I could not grasp the time control well, the second half of the project shows a relatively quick transition(like a lack of some frames). The advice provided by George and this project helped me a lot and made me improve my shortcomings. I willl focus on my insufficient knowledge and practice more to make better animations.

This week, I will begin blocking plus on the animation. Here are some notes I recorded before starting:

1. Moving hold: In animation, there are moments when a character appears to be still in a particular pose. However, to bring the character to life, it’s important to incorporate subtle movements such as breathing or slight shifts in position, like slight forward-backward or up-down movements.
2. Copied pairs: This technique is similar to the concept of a moving hold. When you want to maintain a specific action for a certain duration, you can copy the original keyframe and paste it in the desired positions where you want it to continue.
3. Arcs: Most actions in animation follow curved paths, such as head movements, arm waving, and leg walking. It’s important to start paying attention to this during the breakdown phase. Focusing on whether the actions are moving along curved paths will make your animation look more professional.
4. Overshoot: When a motion comes to a stop, certain parts of the animation do not stop immediately with the main body but continue moving slightly in the original direction, creating an overlap or follow-through action.
5. Settle: After the motion loses all its kinetic energy, the action settles back into its original state.

These notes will help guide me in creating more engaging and realistic animations by adding subtle movements, understanding the concept of arcs, incorporating overshoot, and allowing actions to settle naturally.

Progress for this week:

Class feedback:

The main focus this of week is still on the issue of delayed body movements. For example, whether the head, shoulders, waist, and hips are moving at the same time. If they are, the subordinate parts should move slightly slower than the leading parts. Additionally, attention should be given to whether the hand and foot movements follow an arc, such as sliding the hand downward or gradually lifting the foot off the ground. It’s important to ensure that these movements follow a curved motion path. I will continue to make adjustments based on the feedback received.

Based on our previous discussion, I have made some modifications to the animation. I have created a new version where I incorporated scene assets from Sketchable and added a monster hand that I rigged as a prop.

Here are some notes I recorded before starting the blocking animation, which include things I need to pay attention to:

Blocking 2：

Class Feedback:

The movement in the blocking phase appear somewhat stiff, especially when the character is moving their hips. The body and hips should move at different times to make the action look more natural. To achieve a smoother and more realistic animation, it is important to pay attention to the details of human body movement and adhere to the twelve principles of animation, which will make the animation more engaging.

We plan to create an animation of approximately 10 seconds. During the production process of this short animation, we aim to further explore the creation of advanced body mechanics animations. Real-life reference videos, our own imagination, and the twelve principles of animation will assist us in creating a more captivating animation.

Therefore, we will plan this content with as much clarity and accuracy as possible.

1. Determine the type of animation we want to create and the idea behind it.
2. Once the content is finalized, search for reference videos on platforms like YouTube or record our own. When doing this, pay attention to the camera angles. The performer should face the audience, rather than being sideways or with their back turned. A 45-degree angle facing the camera is a good choice.
3. Use the reference videos to create thumbnails or simple sketches. Roughly determine the timing and spacing of the animation based on these sketches. Adjust keyframes if necessary to make the movements more exaggerated or closer to the desired curve.
4. Once the thumbnails are created, they will serve as the primary reference for blocking and even the entire subsequent 3D animation. The real reference videos should only be consulted when there are issues with time and space, or when the thumbnails do not meet the requirements.
5. Once the preparations are finalized, start using the existing models for production. Import them into Maya, set the desired camera angle and focal length, and then keyframe the models from the angle facing the camera.

Firstly, my inspiration comes from using smartphones, and I want to create a visualization of hands that showcases the attractiveness of smartphones to people. Here is my idea.

Idea：

Next, I have planned a series of actions aimed at conveying my concept within ten seconds. I have also made some modifications to this plan.

Thumbnails：

Suggestion(recording):

Thumbnails2:

In the blocking stage within Maya, I started by creating keyframes and some extreme poses. This step involved roughing out the overall motion. Based on the feedback received in class and discussions with George, we believe that the effect of being directly sucked into the phone would be more interesting for the end of animation. Therefore, I will proceed with modifying the animation according to this idea.

Blocking 1:

Class feedback recording: