Simon Edmondson Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I've been a bit bit busy with course work so haven't been around much.Apologies. This is a quick test for towards an idea for my next project. The Vertical plane has a negative shape formed by a cookie Cutter decal. Its letting the light through onto the floor plane. simonCutout test2.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 20, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 20, 2015 I'll note that if you set the light's shadow "Darkness" to 100% you can eliminate the slight illumination of the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Robert Thank you for your reply. I'm hoping to get another test done tomorrow but have some other things to catch up with first. Present thinking is to use the technique to develop a character piece, possibly with the void being filled but not sure of it yet. Too many other things going on. regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 Update. While waiting for another render to go through I thought I'd test this with a volumetric light. Thanks to Robert for his tip about the shadows. simonCutout 2.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 22, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 22, 2015 Also, you can add "noise" to the volumetric light to make it look smoky. example in thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Update on the idea test as the render goes through on SKA. Its a 25 frame walk cycle repeated three times. Single light source decal tiled 4x simon WW.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Same thing but with coloured lights WW C.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 14, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 14, 2015 that's starting to look like a modern art disco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Forgot to check that the shadows were all set to 100% so, rendered it again. simon WW C.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Next in a series of tests. I made a key pattern then stacked it up, repeated that in a chor to make a foursided box. One volumetric light in the middle rotating. Key 001.mov Next stage is to animate the key pattern moving and changing shape. simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Still messing about with the lighting Box 02.movBox.movBox 03.movBox 04.movBox 07.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 18, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 18, 2015 Those are quite appealing. I particularly like Box04 and Key001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Robert. Thank you. I'm just playing about at the moment. The idea is to build up to getting an interplay between positive and negative space. Partly in reponse to looking at MC Esher's work. recently. He does a lot of his work with slightly modifying the grid structure. I've just tried this about an hour ago. I think the next stage is to either modify the positive shapes by putting maps on them or using a cookie cutter decal to get some more shape in them.... regards simon Sheets.mov Tri 04.mov Yet another test... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 This afternoons notebook work Jumper 01.mov Jumper 02.mov Jumper 03.mov Jumper 04.mov Jumper 05.mov Jumper 06.mov Discs 01.mov Discs 04.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 19, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 19, 2015 Those are lovely creations!Wow, A:M can do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjustme Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Looks great, Simon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Robert, David. Thank you. They are actually very simple indeed, its just flat planes and volumetric lights. The flat models had cookie cutter decals on and thats it really. I got a bit carried away with it the past two days and will focus down a bit more now. If anyone wants to play with them let me know and I'll post the prj files ? regards simon Key 004.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Thought I'd try a HD version with ray tracing instead of shadow maps, while waiting for the next stage. Key 005 HD.mov Haven't converted to cookie cut yet but, the intention is to cut the lines out against a black background with the light coming through . Shark 001.mov simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted September 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted September 21, 2015 Very nice Simon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Rodney. Thank you. Here are the tests following on from that. The first was a happy ( aside from the very last bit ) accident, caused by not deleteing an earlier key on the light. Shark 002.mov I had hoped to convert the files automatically in Photoshop but had to do them by hand instead. Changed the method half way through to get a slightly different result This is the intended version, all white, no red. Although I like that effect and may try it with a different colour, or colours. Not sure what went wrong this time but will try again tomorrow. Shark 003.mov regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 22, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 22, 2015 I still think he needs gills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Robert. I tried to give him gills this morning but they weren't so successful so, while thinking over how to do that, diverted myself with this. Shark 03.mov The other diversion of the day is still underway. regards simon This was the second diversion Shark Two.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Nancy suggested I try transparency on the waves. This is the first test to see what that might give. Going to try to animate it properly now simon Shark 005.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted September 23, 2015 Admin Share Posted September 23, 2015 There is an aspect of Shark 005 that suggests... looks really good... move on but I'll offer the following: Disclaimer: Much of this might not apply as the shot is being viewed (by me) is being seen out of the greater context. Focus It isn't entirely clear where our attention should be at any given moment of the sequence. As such there are several things you *could* do to enhance the focal point(s) or regions of interest in the shot. For discussion's sake consider the general colors of the three primary objects; black (the trees/island), dark gray (the submarine) and light gray (the shark). At first the black of the trees on the lsland catches my attention as it is an area of greater contrast. Let us assume for a moment the focus should be (primarily) on the shark. If not the shark then we'd want to adjust this feedback. If so then I might start the shark just slightly more to the right in order to get that focus first to the island and then pass the focus to the shark. Note that this passing of the hat is accomplished by the mechanism of movement away from a static object. The large contrast between the black backround and light gray ensures we will see and then follow the shark. A similar setup then occurs where the shark interacts/passes the submarine. However, my gut instinct is to want that submarine to also be black... but hold that thought for a moment. We don't want both the island and the submarine to be black at the same time because the movement of the sub into the scene would immediately draw our attention to that. This is where the obsuring of the submarine via the wave effect could create change in the color of the sub. While the submarine could be black it might appear closer to the color of the background on the right at first because it is emerging from the deeper water (i.e. the color of the background and the sub are closer to each other). As the submarine then moves to the right it will temporarily take on our focus but then the movement of the shark must then steal it back. How would it do this? If the sub was black/darker it would then blend in with the darker color of the base of the island as those two objects overlap so if we were following the sub we'd receive a subtle hint to set our focus back to the shark.. Another point to ponder is overlap. There are moments of overlap of these three primary objects but they often only just barely overlap and several formulate near-tangents for extended frames which kills the sense of depth. The suggestion here would be to consider overlap from the camera's perspective as this grants the impression of depth that can get lost in a 3D shot that is captured on a 2D plane in front of a camera. I really need to draw over your animation in order to communicate this idea but lacking that I'd say to watch the submarine's periscope as the shark moves from background to foreground and work to enhance that. I'm tempted to suggest having the shark emerge from behind the island as that would help even more to get that focus quickly to the island. If the island and the submarine are the only things in the shot and the sub mostly obscured then you've captured and directed your audience. Another approach would be to delay the entry of the sub. As stated though you can mask that entry and suggest that it was already in progress. This isn't to say you haven't got a lot of this going already... you may just want to enhance/exaggerate. This layering approach to composition in depth is often setup in 3D but in the final capture/rendering is lost. A final point might be to continue the movement of the shark to get it to pass further to the left before circling back and then passing over to the submarine. At present the sharks turn appears quite abrupt. Some acceleration from slow to fast as it moves would also be nice. If the sub continues at a steady pace throughout then focus will tend to return the changing speed of the shark Perhaps that is what you mean by 'going to try to animate it properly now'... so I'll shut up and eagerly anticipate your next update! Added: As for the gills, I believe you could just add a few splines, set them to render as lines and to minimal size. You could even animate those size to get bigger as the shark comes closer (although I haven't tested render as lines in quite awhile) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Rodney. Thank you very much for your detailed feedback and help. I have a very strong cold at the moment,so not thinking too clearly. I was just testing the visuals after Nancy made some suggestions on FB yesterday. I got told off on the college course for over planning so, at this point, they are just a series of tests, no narrative in sight as yet. It started with a question, "could you animate a negative" ? Which is were the first ones, using the cookie cutters of the dance sequence came in. The files were from Ska Lake ( almost finished, have to add the voices ) and treated in Pshop. After that I was looking at MC Escher's work and his use of positive/ Negative tesselation which was were all the keyshape forms with lights came in. The shark started because, it offered the possibility of being in two different media at the same time, below and above water, so you could treat it as a Positive/ Negative visual. The Black and White use was to simplify everything and try to work within a tighter constraint. I did have an idea for a narrative when starting off, to fill the negative space with junk during the course of a day, but thats a bit trite so still trying to come up with a decent one. This was the second test of the day. The waves are done using actions on a flat plane. The sub is is just translated across the scene and the shark is animated while moving around a path. I had tried to use and action but couldn't get it to work for some reason. regards simon Shark 006.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 26, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 26, 2015 I'm not sure which is supposed to be the water line. Is it the line at the bottom of the island or is it the slight gray near the top of the island? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Robert Thank you for your reply. I don't know how well its viewable but, its supposed to be the light grey area about 3/4 of the way up the silouhette of the island. The shark body is roughly a foot below the water line with dorsal fin projecting above the surface. There are about six layers of waves with different motion on each layer. I was trying to get a transparent y but not too transparent. May have overdone it there !!!. I've got something different altogether going through at thge moment and will post that later. regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 26, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted September 26, 2015 The line at the bottom of the island is confusing because that more like a water line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 Steps Comp VGA.mov Steps set 03VGA.mov Steps set 04VGA.mov Some more visual Tests. No narrative as yet though an idea is starting to form. These are a bit slow and are VGA versions of 1080 HD filesMore underway. simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Yet more tests... Steps Set 08.mov There are yet more ( no, no I hear you say, " not more"!!! ) But I'\ll spare those for today. simon Ps Robert Thank you for your feedback about the shar. I don't know what the line was causing the misreading of the waterline.It seemed to be an arteface of the cookie cutter decals ? as there were no shadows turned on. I didn't hunt it down as I quite liked it, although must concede it was a distraction too ! Steps Lights 03.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 These are two more tests towards the current study unit. There is a third, coloured version. using volumetrics but no toon render which looks 'pretty' but will spare you all that. . Finally beginning to develop a possible narrative or idea. Provisionally entitled "which way is up" ? Theres an old insult which goes, " They don't know which way is up"... After ploughing through some of the set texts I begin to wonder whether its me or them the insult applies to ! simon Steps Set Ten.mov StepsSet Ten Toon.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 Next in line for testing.Hurdles 03.mov Amusingly, the first attempt ran backwards by mistake... Hurdles VGA.mov simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted October 14, 2015 Admin Share Posted October 14, 2015 Nice one Simon. That turned out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted October 14, 2015 Author Share Posted October 14, 2015 Thank you Rodney. I have an idea for the wheel coming off the pivot and running away across the table but that will have to wait awhile ! regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted October 16, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted October 16, 2015 That is quite effective. A long time ago I posted a project for making something similar in hard copy that you might find useful... https://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39023&hl=phenakistoscope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thank you Robert. I tried a real zooetrop yesterday and am hoping to use it in coming weeks. The phenakistoscope will be another option. I was pleased with the way the figure read as both a postive and a negative on mine. The sequencing still needs some work though. regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Revised version of first scene, after moving to non toon renders. Seti One.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 Still plugging away at it. Lighting not set or 3d, possible style, In possible opening scene Seti One flat.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Lighting test for Intro. Eye movement too rapid, even for an avid gamer ! Like the lighting except for the very start. Toon version to follow. simon Intro.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Intro with Toon settings Intro Toon.mov Intro with composite of Toon and Non toon both still using the 'too fast eyes', simon Intro Composite.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Happy accident with toon render, although I can't use it as such Scene On B.mov Non toon lighting test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted November 9, 2015 Hash Fellow Share Posted November 9, 2015 Do you want the bright ring around the lights? A note about eye animation. It's very rare for eyes to smoothly move from one direction to another. They almost always flick from one position to the next and hold inbetween with maybe just a frame of transistion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Robert Thank you for your reply and help. The bright ring around the lights was a 'happy' accident with the toon settings. I liked the look but can't use it for the final piece. Still toying with the settigs and light setups. Duly noted about the eyes. I was trying for a scanning effect, as if playing a game but, to be honest,aside from the blinks at the start, they was very hastily done in about 3mins just to get something there for the lighting test, so there was some movement on the figure. regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 This is the final assembley edit before I go back to adjust the curves and re render. Any critical feedback very welcome, I am particularly keen to know if it 'reads', does it convey the narrative clearly ? I can explain all the bits I put in but would prefer your personal responses rather than try to prefigure them with my waffle. simon Animatic 10.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Ended up with two different submissions. This was the second, no sound ( literally at least ! ) Any feedback welcome. Is the narrative unclear ? The focus for me was getting the narrative to read so, the animation part is a bit unpolished.Satori.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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