Animation Bootcamp: TAR of Zandoria

[zandoriastudios]

If you want to be an animator on this project, you will want to download the character assets and try them out! Send me an email zandoria@gmail.com with the Subject line: "TAR assets". Include your contact details (Name, address, phone #, forum username), and I will send you a download link. Please DO NOT share the link, as I need to control who has access to my Intellectual property.

 

These files are the property of Zandoria Studios. You may NOT share or modify these models or textures, or re-purpose them for any other project. A limited license is granted to use these models for animation practice and to share the renderings and animations online at the Animation:Master Forums, or your personal website or YouTube Channel. You must display a credit that says" ©Copyright Zandoria Studios. Used with permission".

 

Post your animations and tests here in this topic for feedback!

 

Mace-test.mov

[Dpendleton77]

Oh snap. This will be very interesting.

[zandoriastudios]

Send me an email, Douglas!

[Dpendleton77]

I shall do that now my good man.

[johnl3d]

did a simple initial check of a character would need at least to have cloth run but this is just a rough test

tar1.mov

[Dpendleton77]

I need to get the hang of this rig. I also need to get the hang of animation.

[Rodney]

I need to get the hang of this rig. I also need to get the hang of animation.

 

 

Well, it is an animation bootcamp so I'd say you are in the right place to do just that.

[Rodney]

Ah, the joys of TSM!

 

One of the benefits to using the same rig is that the actions generally transfer quite well between models.

Characters rigged with The Setup Machine (TSM) are no exception.

 

As an example, this test of right hand articulation will work on any of the models rigged with TSM.

Just drop the character into a Chor and apply the Action to the model.

If looking for a specific pose of the hand adjust the ease until the proper pose is achieved.

 

This hand grip/flex test was animated with Tar but applied to a hyena.

RightHandClenchFlex.act

[Rodney]

For those that don't have such a thing or don't want to recreate it over and over again... here's a copyright image that can be dragged and dropped into a shot (using it as a Layer or patch image will work best but it can be used as a scaled rotoscope as well):

 

(Just right click on the image and Save As)

[Rodney]

I have no idea what he's saying but it can't be good...

[Dpendleton77]

Awesome stuff Rodney.

[Dpendleton77]

Rodney how do you have the characters making a fist? I could not find out how to do it with this rig.

[Dpendleton77]

Here is a small animation I am working on for now.

Tar_flexing0.mov

[Rodney]

Rodney how do you have the characters making a fist? I could not find out how to do it with this rig.

 

I had a feeling you might not be familiar with the rig and thought to create a few videos showing some basic operation but... haven't done it yet.

The short answer is to grab the (yellow) roll handles of the finger bones and rotate those. Rotating one way will close the fingers while rotating the other will open them.

(As I mentioned above... dropping the action I posted above onto the character will also clench the fist for you!)

[Dpendleton77]

Thanks Rodney but I wanted to try one from scratch first.

[johnl3d]

another quick attempt

 

 

tar2.mov

 

 

 

 

 

[Rodney]

another quick attempt

 

Ha! Nice one John.

[Rodney]

Here's a quick demo of the process of manipulating the roll handles of the finger bones.

Note that the attached mp4 file is same thing as the animated gif but at a larger resolution.

I've included it because the gif animation is rather huge (especially for a gif file) and may load/play slowly too.

I think perhaps folks will think me insane for posting a 12MB gif animation... but what can I say... I really like the format!

 

 

**I didn't show in the video (and should have) that once the finger bone is selected it's just as easy if not easier to hit the R key to invoke the rotate manipulator and then simply rotate the bone using the rotation circle. Ah well... I'll save that for another 12MB gif animation. The reason it's generally easier to use Rotate Mode is that it can be really hard to grab that little rotate manipulator. Old habits die hard and I've always tended to grab those tiny roll handle manipulators. An added benefit to using the full rotator is that we can move the finger in all directions (to include curling without having to reselect the bone (after having selected the roll handle). I'll add a (smaller) animation to demo.

Hand Manipulation with Roll Handles.mp4

[zandoriastudios]

Nice, Rodney! I usually hit the R key and use the rotate manipulator to animate the fingers, since it is sometimes easier for me to control.

[Rodney]

I usually hit the R key and use the rotate manipulator to animate the fingers, since it is sometimes easier for me to control.

 

The joys of tutorial making... as soon as you finish you think of have a dozen things you should have done differently.

 

Here's a (sped up version) using the R key/rotate manipulator.

That's definitely the way to go in posing hands. That and (in my opinion) copy/pasting keyframes/poses of previously created hand positions as a starting point.

For instance, starting a character off with a good grip on a weapon.

 

At any rate... here's the demo (only 8MB! lol):

[Rodney]

Here's a failed attempt to animate some acting.

I started just messing with constraining the scimitar to the character's hand and somewhere along the way I got the idea to have him cut his hand and then lick the blood from his hand while looking off in the direction of Tar (or wherever the hyena thought Tar might be). He's taking an oath not to eat or sleep until Tar is dead... or something like that.

 

I suppose one could say this is the definition of 'floaty animation'.

 

Back to the drawing board!

[zandoriastudios]

I need to post the simbiont materials!

[Rodney]

I need to post the simbiont materials!

 

 

 

Yes, you do! Unless of course they are the typical simbiont materials in which (at least for my part) I have them downloaded and would just need to point A:M to them. It looks like you have them (or they should be placed in the root directory of Tar assets thusly:

 

LinkedMaterial=../../Materials/Dark Trees/tx_metal/metalRustySteel.mat

 

I"ll give that a try.

 

Edit: Did you convert these darktrees to materials or am I just missing something? My darktrees all have the .dtst extension (I think).

[detbear]

Hey Will,

 

Here is my first rough pass at a Hyena Sneak.

 

If I were a Hyena and just happened to be a ninja.....And really wanted to get a Very Large Hippo....

Here's how I might Go About it

 

Image Here:

 

 

Movie here: Detwiler_Hyena_Stealth.mov

 

Set your Player to LOOP

[Rodney]

If I were a Hyena and just happened to be a ninja.....And really wanted to get a Very Large Hippo....

Here's how I might Go About it

 

 

Nicely done! Now were talkin'... er... stalkin'!

[johnl3d]

sorry had to try a tinker..forgot the disclaimer

 

amplitude controlling lower jaw as set

 

tar3.mov

 

 

[robcat2075]

Will, could you clarify what my test is supposed to be of? Anything?

[johnl3d]

Tested another character

 

 

tar4.mov

 

 

 

[zandoriastudios]

Will, could you clarify what my test is supposed to be of? Anything?

Yes anything. Eventually I will post storyboards for new short, but for now this is just animation practice using these models

[zandoriastudios]

Hey Will,

 

Here is my first rough pass at a Hyena Sneak.

 

If I were a Hyena and just happened to be a ninja.....And really wanted to get a Very Large Hippo....

Here's how I might Go About it

 

Image Here: Hyena_still.jpg

 

 

Movie here: Detwiler_Hyena_Stealth.mov

 

Set your Player to LOOP

That is awesome!

[Dpendleton77]

Here is Tar on the creep. How can I get the copy right logo to show up? It was in there before I rendered it.

Tar_sneaking_01.mov

[Rodney]

How can I get the copy right logo to show up? It was in there before I rendered it.

 

If you added the copyright logo as a Rotoscope don't forget to include the roto in the alpha transparency and place it on top in the roto's properties. (See attached image)

 

It's easy enough to forget to do this that it may be better to use the image as a Layer instead.

If 'on top' is not selected it may be present but underneath everything in the scene.

If 'in alpha transparency' is not selected A:M may think you just want to use the roto for reference and not want it rendered in the final image.

 

Added: There appears to be a glitch in v18L that duplicates rotos in the Chor but the duplication doesn't render in the final image so it is mostly an inconvenience. The workaround would be to only turn on the roto when needed so that the scene isn't populated by the extra rotos. I haven't tested enough yet to file a bug report.

 

Here is Tar on the creep.

 

There's something about the camera move that almost makes it look as if Tar is moving the blocks rather than moving around them. Short of not moving the camera or otherwise making the camera move differently I'm not sure what to suggest there.

[Dpendleton77]

Yeah I go that from the camera. I need to do something about that when I looks at it from behind Tar is moving. I am going to lock the camera.

[Dpendleton77]

Here is a redo. I axed the camera and made a new one.

Tar_creep0.mov

[Rodney]

sorry had to try a tinker..

 

I'd missed your post John.

If I saw a bloody hyena moving toward me singing that song I'd drop my sword and run.

No seriously, I would.

[Rodney]

A couple of things for us to consider when testing is:

 

Save your work

Label the file names appropriately

Render with alpha channel on where possible

 

Why do that?

Because you may want to find it and Will might be able to use some assets in his episodes.

For instance, if he needs a shot of Tar poking his head out from behind a wall, he might be able to use the rendered image and simply comp it into the shot.

 

Note that I'm not saying Will will actually want to do this but even if the image is only used as a stand in until the final shot can be completed it will serve its purpose.

 

In other thoughts...

It might be appropriate for everyone to customize at least one hyena to call their own. The idea being that each of these hyenas is a 'real person' and although they'll be dead before you know it they should put their best effort into killing Tar before he dispatches them to the place wherever dead bad hyenas go. And *if* by some stroke of good luck your hyena survives a fight with Tar then you might even be able to put that on your resume. Each of these hyenas have a name and personality even though the audience will very likely never get to know them.

[Dpendleton77]

I can try and keep my stuff in order in animation master but I name my videos crazy names so I don't forget them. How do you render in the alpha channel??

[Dpendleton77]

I think I got it this time with the copyright.

Tar_hiding.tga

Tar_hiding0.mov

[Rodney]

How do you render in the alpha channel??

 

I'll post a video that goes through the process but here is the basic step by step

 

1. Add character (or model or prop or whatever will render) to Chor

2. Render but...

2a. On the render panel (Advanced render dialogue if the Preset panel only is showing) look for the Buffer property

2b. Make sure Alpha Channel is set to 'On'

3. Render to PNG, TGA or EXR format (as these image formats allow for the alpha channel/transparency to be stored in the file.

4. View image

5. Realize you forgot to delete/remove the ground plane. Remove/delete ground plane and Go back to Step 1

 

Explanation of Number 4. In order to take advantage of the Alpha Channel transparency you need to composite the image over the top of something else. An esay way to do this is to drag and drop images into the Chor and choose Layer and then place the images appropriately. In any compositing program (or program that recognizes alpha channels) this will allow parts of the image to be fully transparent letting other images behind show through.

 

Added: Use the PNG format when posting to the internet as that format is viewable by all modern browsers.

For more robust uses consider TGA and EXR formats. EXR is the most powerful of the two.

 

Animation:Master allows the use of alpha channels in a variety of places to include Models (patch images and decals), Lights, Rotos, Layers...

A:M also has some capabilities that extend usage of RGBA (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha) images beyond the basic usage but we'll save that for another day.

 

I think I got it this time with the copyright.

 

Ah, the sweet smell of success!

[Dpendleton77]

I here is a project file.

I messed this up by clicking the x button and it too off the chor.

[Rodney]

It's probably good that you didn't share that file correctly. (assuming here that you didn't just want to share the mostly empty project file)

The characters aren't suppose to be publicly shared. That's why we had to email Will to get them.

Perhaps Will has something in mind for sharing assets.

 

Was there something you wanted to share/troubleshoot in that project?

 

messed this up by clicking the x button and it too off the chor.

I'm not sure what you mean by this.

[serg2]

WALK

Walk_01.act

[Rodney]

Nice weight in that walk Serg!

[serg2]

Thank you, Rodney!

[Rodney]

The hyenas are on the move (although not in this image).

Believe it or not though all of these poses are courtesy of Serg's Tar walk cycle (posted above)!

 

Updated image: Still trying to figure out the best approach to color correction

[Dpendleton77]

That project that put in was not meant to happen. Sorry about that.

[johnl3d]

The walk cycle is great

[Fuchur]

i am really no expert but would it be better to move Tar up an down a little more when he walks? just a thought...

 

see you

*fuchur*

[serg2]

Thank you, John!

 

William, Rodney - Where do I get the hyenas?

[Rodney]

i am really no expert but would it be better to move Tar up an down a little more when he walks? just a thought...

 

You are an expert my friend!

 

The short legs of both Tar and the Hyenas present something of a challenge.

 

Normally I would expect to see considerable up and down movement but consider the length of Tar's legs.

His legs aren't exactly long and so there is likely to be less up and down movement of his body.

One could certainly exaggerate the effects of weight with Tar but as of this moment we only have the first episode that has Tar in action (walking and running) as an example of how weight effects him.

 

Tar is quite light on his feet!

 

In the earlier sequence of Tar walking across the desert Will has exaggerated the up and down motion via movement of Tars head.

 

William, Rodney - Where do I get the hyenas?

 

If you don't already have them... contact Will via email.