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Fall 2014: 3D AnimationProject requirements

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OverviewAttendance required – people who do not come

to class tend to create not-very-good projects!

One assignment: an architectural scene Indoor or outdoor Complete Elegant I strongly suggest something architectural, since it

will be angular and easier to build/apply materials to

Due date: the final exam slot for the class

Video – 1 to 3 minutes

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you will needAutodesk Maya: students.autodesk.com

A video clip maker: MPEG Streamclip, Compressor, or Quicktime Legacy (Pro)

a video editor: for adding sound to video and for editing multiple clips

a sound editor (maybe)

an image editor for manipulating materials/textures

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The Video Make a one to three minute video rendered as avi, wmv, mov, or

mpeg4. Your video must be playable on one of: Quicktime VLC http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html on a Mac or Windows

Make your video tell a story. Something begins, continues for a while, and then has an ending. There needs to be a point to why we are watching your video, something (however simple) must unfold.

There must be a complete environment, with animation and sound

Use at least 1240 by 960 pixels; anything smaller will not look good.

Use a high level of anti-aliasing.

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Hand in A data (not a playable) DVD or flash key containing…

Your entire project folder, minus only the individual images you rendered for your video. (These images should be the only thing that makes your project folder big.

Your video – no larger than a gigabyte.

During the first 10 seconds of your video, display:

Intro to Animation, Fall 2014, Joe Cool

(except plug in your own name…)

Test your DVD to make sure it is readable!

You can also put your zipped up project with your video on the web for me to download - please make it all one zipped folder.

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Importing contentyou can import textures and bumpmap textures

You can use outside sound data for your soundtrack

You can use content from the Maya “Visor”But only for minor content

The visor material cannot be what our eyes are drawn to – it can only be for secondary modeling and can take up only a very small part of your rendered frames

You cannot import modeling content from any other source than the visor

No importing of modeling done by any other individual; ALL modeling in the primary part of your scene must be your own

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Advice Make sure all the parts of your environment fit

together stylistically. This can be a problem if you use canned stuff from the Visor.

Don’t take on a project that is too large for you to finish completely

Don’t start with a concept that is too simplistic, as it will not allow you to apply your skills.

Leave lots of time for rendering, and do test renderings along the way, to judge your render time needs.

We will work on the projects in class – so come

8Primary goal: build an entire environment The two most important criteria are

Careful, deliberate modeling

Careful, clean application of materials and textures – and bumpmaps

Please do not mimic any proprietary content, such as a character or model from a movie or a video game.

Your modeling must be clean and elegant, and must contain a realistic level of detail.

For example, a living room with noting on tables or shelves looks unrealistic.

Use geometry for larger grained surface features. Avoid random modeling…!

Remember: detailed modeling and carefully applied textures and materials bumpmaps are what make your scene realistic!

9Primary goal: build an entire environment, continued…

All your modeling must be done in Maya But you can use mudbox, if you want, but don’t

use a canned starting model from mudbox.

Carefully balance materials, lights, shadows, and reflective and transparent materials - to give your scene a deep 3D look.

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ImportantFor your storyline

You need a modeling and story inspiration

Consider storyboards

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resourcesthe ATLAS lab machines have

maya

premiere

final cut pro

Photoshop

Audition

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The biggest stumbling block

Time for rendering your project!

Please keep in mind that a full, crisp rendering is required

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Ideas for giving a scene feeling

Lighting, shadows, materialsFog, transparency, length and sharpness of shadows

A moving camera can reveal a scene incrementally or make us dizzy

Skyline (perhaps with an environment material and light)

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Pay particular attention to..

Building a model with materials and animation in mind

Use the Outliner!Name all your model components, materials, textures, cameras, lights, etc.

A model and movement that is the focus of the viewer’s attention and is engaging

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Textures & materials & bumpmaps

This makes or breaks a model

Budget time to do this rightNo ugly tilingNo wrap-around seamsNo uneven projections

Remember bump maps and layered materials

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Overriding goalsCreate a scene you can finish completely and elegantly

Give your scene a unique look and feel

Don’t compromise on materials/textures, modeling details, fleshing out the surrounding scene, or rendering your scenes they way they look best

Shadows and raytracing are critical

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Items required

In black - required

In orange – suggestions/alternatives

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Required componentsMaterials and textures

Using textures as the color of materials Using textures as a bump map of materials Use at least one instance of glass or some other

transparent object Use the mental ray Sun and Sky or homemade sun

and sky if it is an outdoor scene – no backdrops Seamlessly tile-able textures with bumpmaps At least one layered texture created outside of

Maya

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Required components, cont.Put the components of your models into

hierarchies, using the Outliner

Rename objects logically, including lights and materials and cameras

Modeling make at least one object using: NURBS bottom up geometry – using lines to create

surfaces (extrusion, lofting, revolving), stitching, sculpting

Polygon modeling – using extrusion, push and pull, and component-based modeling, extrusion, sculpting

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Required components, cont Smoothing, using one or more of:

The Smooth tool Manipulating normals Soft translation (move) Beveling

Animation, use one of Motion path Keyframing Blendshape

Use at least one of A dynamics effect A hard (or soft) body collision – the probably required a field of

some sort Cloth – this requires a field of some sort

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Required components, contCarefully engineered

lighting/shadows/materials - and keep in mind they are inter-dependent

Your own cameras and lights – not the defaults!

Raytraced renderings

Shadows that root objects in the scene and with respect to each other

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Feedback based on initial scene drawings that were handed in.

Sci-fi and fantasy scenes can be difficult to make photorealistic. You are in a defensive mode, since it is obviously

not a real scene. A good approach is to root it in today’s world, like

a spaceship on a believable launching pad Another idea is to make it look used Also, don’t use sci fi or fantasy as a reason to not

use realistic materials/textures/bumpmaps

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Feedback, continuedRemember that organic modeling, like terrain,

rocks, trees, rivers, bushes, grass, animals, are all difficult to make look realistic Human made things like houses and furniture are

a lot easier to make look realistic Glass and carefully applied

materials/textures/bumpmaps are much easier to create for human made objects

When human made things are duplicated – such as pillars, bowls, shoes, etc., they have to be made a little bit unique, but trees and other organic things must be far more different from each other.

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Feedback, continuedGive your scene some spark, something unique

Avoid commonplace furniture, hallways, etc. Things that are outside must be weathered or look

used, at least to a small extent, and this is a way to add spark

Avoid scenes where there is only a single dominant material, like the stones of a castle

One idea is to reveal the full nature of the scene only very gradually

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Feedback, continuedThings that are difficult to do realistically

Blowing things up or burning them Large scenes that will call for too much modeling

to completely create and apply materials to Making a cartoonish scene seem real – it is often

an excuse for not making models detailed and properly scaled, and for not making materials realistic

Remember reuse of objects is a good way to help scale a complex scene – but keep in mind that 2 marble columns are not totally identical in their materials

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Working from reference imagesUse photos of the objects you are going to

model To help you get proportions right To help you give your models realistic details To help you put realistic materials on your models

But don’t mimic someone else’s models – mimic things in the real world only

Using reference images is a good way to be sure your scene isn’t so complex that you cannot flesh it out – you’ll spot the complexity a lot more quickly if you study real life scenes

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Critical goalsRequirements on slides 17 to 21

Completely fleshed out models

Carefully engineered materials

Carefully engineered lights and shadows and reflections

Something that gives your scene a unique spark

Some reason for the movement in the scene

Come to class to work on your project

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Keeping your render times downAvoid mental ray sun and sky

Minimize the number of lights

Don’t use a hugely polygon-created effect like grass

Limit the amount of ray tracing

Avoid large scale dynamics effects, including water