UP680794 Project Report - Term 01 - Lost My Name Our first major project for our second year was to create an animated feature based on the children's book Lost My Name. The animation itself needed to be crafted using the 3D software Maya, and were provided with a rig for the Boy Character. However, we needed to create the secondary character (based on an animal) alongside all the environmental assets, and then animate a scene based on the book. From the beginning, this project caused some issues, each of us were assigned roles in our individual groups (Director, Producer, Designer & Modeller) and I was assigned the role of Modeller due to more experience with 3D software, and I spent many weeks creating our secondary character (We decided on the Hippo together) Despite having knowledge in 3D software, Maya was still quite new to me and with the lack of lessons on the software, a lot of independent study and outside assistance had to be arranged in order for me to complete our model at a high quality standard. I had to learn many new techniques in order to achieve this feat, such as applying paint/skin weights to the model, along with creating and exporting correct UV texture maps so our designer and director could create colourful and detailed textures without any qualms. Because of these reasons, this project gave me and my group a lot of stress due to our lack of knowledge of software and what we were creating, which continued on until we began to work on animating our scenario. The Hippo model I created for our animation was very detailed and smooth, but due to its high polygon count, was also difficult to paint/skin weight to a high standard. Because of this, our rigged model couldn't be stretched or manipulated to extreme levels or it would cause unsightly polygon stretching and texture issues. Despite this problem, I feel my part of our animation was the best it could have been with the limitations in place. The Boy model we were provided with proved to be very enjoyable and interesting to animate. The model itself provided facial and body
Project Report - Term 01 - Lost My NameOur first major project
for our second year was to create an animated feature based on the
children's book Lost My Name. The animation itself needed to be
crafted using the 3D software Maya, and were provided with a rig
for the Boy Character. However, we needed to create the secondary
character (based on an animal) alongside all the environmental
assets, and then animate a scene based on the book.From the
beginning, this project caused some issues, each of us were
assigned roles in our individual groups (Director, Producer,
Designer & Modeller) and I was assigned the role of Modeller
due to more experience with 3D software, and I spent many weeks
creating our secondary character (We decided on the Hippo together)
Despite having knowledge in 3D software, Maya was still quite new
to me and with the lack of lessons on the software, a lot of
independent study and outside assistance had to be arranged in
order for me to complete our model at a high quality standard.I had
to learn many new techniques in order to achieve this feat, such as
applying paint/skin weights to the model, along with creating and
exporting correct UV texture maps so our designer and director
could create colourful and detailed textures without any
qualms.Because of these reasons, this project gave me and my group
a lot of stress due to our lack of knowledge of software and what
we were creating, which continued on until we began to work on
animating our scenario.The Hippo model I created for our animation
was very detailed and smooth, but due to its high polygon count,
was also difficult to paint/skin weight to a high standard. Because
of this, our rigged model couldn't be stretched or manipulated to
extreme levels or it would cause unsightly polygon stretching and
texture issues. Despite this problem, I feel my part of our
animation was the best it could have been with the limitations in
place. The Boy model we were provided with proved to be very
enjoyable and interesting to animate. The model itself provided
facial and body control nodes that were simple to select and easy
to key frame and manipulate, we could also add pre-determined
expressions which allowed us to add more character to our work,
with the result I personally found to be very professional
looking.Personally this project was rather hit and miss for myself,
initially it was very difficult to become accustomed of what we
needed to create, and due to the amount of individual work that
needed to be done by the four of us, it was incredibly difficult to
achieve work with believable continuity and quality. Despite these
issues, I have begun to show more interest in 3D animation itself
(Rather than modelling and rigging) due to the wonderful Boy rig we
were provided, and am hoping to expand my skills in more 3D
software so I can create much more professional and fulfilling
projects in the future.
