Some character studies for a new short

[Raf Anzovin]

Testing out a new render look...this is toon rendered, but without the outlines. It gives it a nice, clean, cut-paper like look with slightly turned edges, which doesn't try to mimic the look of hand-drawn animation.

 

The character is from a new short I'm working on. I've finally had a chance to actually sit down and start it.

 

http://www.anzovin.com/swashbuckler

 

--Raf

[nimblepix]

Raf,

 

At first I didn't like the style, but the look is starting to grow on me.

I think what I like most about it is the uniqueness of the design.

You have avoided some of the stereotypes and easy answers with his tapered face, high forehead, minimal detail in the dressing, stylized/simplified hair and the long pony tail.

I love the proportions of elements.

 

I know it's a stereotype, but I would like to see higher boots though.

 

It's great to see you taking such a big departure from your previous work!

 

Were you inspired by something, or is this some sort of epiphany?

 

DanRJ

[dborruso]

Hi Raf,

 

I think this style is quite interesting. You manage to get nice mass and form from just simple shapes and colors. When I first opened your post I saw that more static pose and it wasn't too evident. But when I scrolled down I really liked how it worked out in the more dynamic poses.

 

The only critique I can think of is that I'd like to see more definition in the face. It just looks too flat to me. I don't know how you'd achieve that without reverting to lines or a more 3d look, but I would imagine you could find a way.

 

I really like your 3d style work, but think it's cool you are trying something so different.

[Flog]

How did you achieve this look?

 

I love it!!!

 

Please give him a background!!! I'd love to see him in a scene!!!

[robcat2075]

The flatness doesn't bother me at all. I like flat, graphic things. I suppose part of the problem will be not losing that flat quality in animation? (meaning: keeping the flatness would be a good thing.)

 

I have trouble reading the forshortened poses, like #2 and #3. I think it's because of the all dark-brown costume not being defined by outlining.

 

Eager to see more!

[anzovin]

Were you inspired by something, or is this some sort of epiphany?

Neither, this is actually something I've meant to try for a long time. While I like the look of "realistic" CG, it's time consuming, and too easy to get wrapped up in the intricacies of rendering and lighting and give the animation short shrift. But I don't like the look of "traditional" toon rendering at all--it tries to directly mimic the look of hand-drawn animation, which is a losing battle since CG will never be able to beat hand-drawn animation at it's own game. No toon render can capture the elegance of a line made with a real pencil.

 

So, I always thought that there had to be something in the middle, that didn't try to mimic drawn animation but wasn't realistically shaded either. I guess the thing I was most inspired by was Samarai Jack, which showed that flat areas of color could animate really well without looking "cartoon."

 

How did you achieve this look?

I love it!!!

Please give him a background!!! I'd love to see him in a scene!!!

 

Thanks! The look is achieved pretty simply--it's really all done by playing with the gradient for toon shading. Rather then using it to do two flat areas of color with a transition in the middle, as is done with normal toon shading, I'm using it to do mostly one flat color, but with a slight gradient at the bottom and top of the scale. This serves to keep it mostly flat while pulling out the edges a bit so you can distinguish some detail. You do have to be carefull how you model, though, and keep the final effect in mind.

 

I haven't had a chance to model anything of the background yet. One of the drawbacks of this technique is that, since there is very little shading or lighting, I need to be very careful what colors I pick for background and forground elements to be sure everything reads correctly. What I'm planning to do is to keep his color scheme warm (he's got browns and yellows and skin tones) and keep the backgrond very cool, with greens and blues. He's dark, so I would normally make the background bright---but I can't make it too bright or his bright-white sword will disappear against it.

 

The flatness doesn't bother me at all. I like flat, graphic things. I suppose part of the problem will be not losing that flat quality in animation? (meaning: keeping the flatness would be a good thing.)

I have trouble reading the forshortened poses, like #2 and #3. I think it's because of the all dark-brown costume not being defined by outlining.

 

It's true, I haven't tested this fully in animation. That's obviously my next task! One interesting question is how I'll deal with motion blur. Using an actuall blur seems wrong for something as graphic as this. I may try actually distorting his arms with a deformation cage as he swishes the sword, or I may take a cue from anime and add bright swishing shapes in post to make the motion read right.

 

I think the reason that the foreshortened poses don't read as well is that the color of his shirt and pants is too close to that of his belt and gloves, so there's really no definition at all. In the later poses I tried bumping the brightness of his gloves, boots, and belt up, and I think it solved the problem.

 

I should have some more tests to post soon. An animation test, and possibly another character.

 

--Raf

[Raf Anzovin]

Huh, I posted that last post from my Dad's machine, and I realize it logged me on as him! So pretend that last post was from Raf Anzovin, not Steve Anzovin.

 

--Raf

[Rodney]

Raf,

Nice work thus far.

 

I too had an initial reaction of negativity... it just doesn't look like what we are used to seeing.

 

That is what can make it work.

Your emphasis on animation and a suitable style will go a long way.

 

I've long been looking for the right toon settings for 2D looking work and must admit I hadn't really considered dropping the line...

 

If the animation were to need that traditional animation touch it would be a lot easier to add it over what you've produced.

 

It's starting to grow on me!

 

Rodney

[3DArtZ]

Looks a touch like the renderers flat shaded mode.....

I do get the sense of real character with the images though...

Mike Fitz

www.3dartz.com

[smudge]

Beautiful work Raf!

 

The flat(ish) styles really working for the most part. Actually, animating looks like it will be a fun challenge since you'll have to keep your characters silhouettes incredibly strong to get everything to read correctly. But, you already knew that, didn't you.

 

Only (very minor) problem I'm having is that his chin keeps blending in with his neck to create some strange color shapes. No sure how (of even if) you would want to fix this.

[mediaho]

Nice work! Definitely a clean and unique style. I think one thing that would help make the poses read better would be to differentiate the color of the shirt/pants from the belt/sash. They're too similar right now and I think the body shape will get lost in all but the most extreme profiles. If you wanted to keep the color scheme, maybe broader shoulders and a narrower waist would help.

 

Just some thoughts. I can't wait to see what you do with the animation.

[SHADOWMASTER]

I guess the thing I was most inspired by was Samarai Jack, which showed that flat areas of color could animate really well without looking "cartoon."

That is the first thing that came to mind when I saw that pic. I like Samarai Jack, so naturally I like your sword swinging seaman.

It's nice to see something different from you. Uh, not that your other stuff was bad.... *ahem* so that didn't come out right.

 

Huh, I posted that last post from my Dad's machine, and I realize it logged me on as him! So pretend that last post was from Raf Anzovin, not Steve Anzovin.

Heh, I wondered why you were going under the name of "Steve".

 

Anyway, look forward to adventures of the swashbuckler.

[starwarsguy]

GREAT CHARACTER! I really like the style.

[josema]

Raf:

I gotta tell ya, the poses are what need to be talked about here. They're SICK man (truly exceptional). I mean, look at images 3 and 6. Talkin' about framing, awesome, and the perspective on image 6 is outstanding. I could talk about all of 'em, but what else could I say? Outstanding.

 

Now, where can aspiring artists, like me, find info on all the fundamentals and principles you showed here. I think we get a little lost in the technical side of things, and tend to overlook something just as important, and that is the basic principles of design and composition, that've been laid for us through out the centuries. I don't wanna get to philosophical here (believe me, I'm scaring myself here)... anyway could you enlighten us. Maybe tell us a little bet about your thinking process in doing this character. What determines the poses? Ya know, stuff like that. Give us the goods, man!!!

[jon]

great character, framing, props, etc! instantly readable as a buckler of swashes with a minimum of detail.

 

i do have to ask: were you concerned that a thinner neck would make him appear to effeminate?

 

regarding toon lines: every year or so i try to add lines to my toon renders, and am never happy with the result. i've compensated with more intracharacter contrast (as previously noted here) and oversaturating the colors.

 

i never could let go of smooth gradient shading, but your fellow is doing fine without em!

 

-jon

 

best wishes to your dad!

[Raf Anzovin]

i do have to ask: were you concerned that a thinner neck would make him appear to effeminate?

 

Hmmm...I don't know, I don't think I was thinking about it at all. Is it that you think the current neck is too thin and therefore effeminate? Or that you think the current neck is too thick and causing problems with his chin as per smudge's comment, and are wondering if I deliberately made it thicker then it needed to be? It's hard to tell from the comment.

 

In any case, I like the way his jaw line seems to disappear sometimes--it reinforces the "2d-ness" of the image. You never lose his chin entirely, of course, because of the goatee.

 

I gotta tell ya, the poses are what need to be talked about here. They're SICK man (truly exceptional). I mean, look at images 3 and 6. Talkin' about framing, awesome, and the perspective on image 6 is outstanding. I could talk about all of 'em, but what else could I say? Outstanding.

 

Well, thanks! Strangely, image 3 is actually my least favorite, it doesn't seem quite balanced composition-wise. I prefer image 4 (the one with him crouching with one hand on the ground).

 

Now, where can aspiring artists, like me, find info on all the fundamentals and principles you showed here. I think we get a little lost in the technical side of things, and tend to overlook something just as important, and that is the basic principles of design and composition, that've been laid for us through out the centuries. I don't wanna get to philosophical here (believe me, I'm scaring myself here)... anyway could you enlighten us. Maybe tell us a little bet about your thinking process in doing this character. What determines the poses? Ya know, stuff like that. Give us the goods, man!!!

 

Well--unfortunately I may not be able to help you that much. I'm not really thinking too much about basic principals of design and composition--it's more a question of pulling the character around until I find something that feels correctly dynamic. An intuitive, rather then cerebral, method. But I guess there are a few rules of thumb.

 

1) I always use a wide-angle lens. The default focal length in A:M is 70, which is even more telephoto--more "zoomed in"--then a human eye, which is more like 50. But I like using a focal length of 25-30 most of the time. 50 at most, rarely above that. A focal length above 50 will flatten out the image, a focal length below 50 will deepen the perspective much more then is seen by the human eye, making foreground objects pop out at you. If you look at image 2 you can really see this in action, his foreground hand is much bigger then the sword in the background. This makes poses a lot more dynamic.

 

2) There's something called "Contraposto," a term that comes from the Italian Renaissance, but the concept is much older since the Greeks knew about it. Basically, it means that you should never have the weight of a character evenly distributed. Twist the pelvis so that one leg takes more weight then the other, then twist the shoulders in the opposite direction to compensate.

 

3) Disney animators used to draw a "line of action" through the character to make sure that the pose read cleanly. You can see that in image 6. Imagine the line is drawn from the tip of the toe that's close to the camera out through the top of his head.

 

4) And then there is of course the character's silhouette. With this particular character, that really does mean his literal silhouette, since he's so detail-less that you have to keep his limbs out from in front of his body. His ponytail is also always flying out in different directions so as not to occlude or be occluded by his limbs and body. In a character with more shading, keeping a perfect silhouette isn't as necessary. However, even when a hand is crossing over the body, it's very important to maintain--and I don't really have a good way to explain this—a pleasing hand shape. Hands are so very important to the way a character is perceived, just as important as the face. But a lot of people give hands short shrift in their zeal to add facial detail. To take an example from these images, look at image 4 where his hand is on the ground. I’ve separated out the pinky and pointer and pushed the middle finger and ring finger together. This gives a much more pleasing shape then if the fingers were all equidistant or separated into Spock-hands (you know, the “live long and prosper” shape). You can see that, more subtly, in images 2 and 3 as well. Also in image 2, I pulled the pinky out from the hand he’s holding the sword with. This was in deliberate imitation of Bugs Bunny (that’s how he always holds the carrot in Chuck Jones cartoons) and it tends to give the character a similar sense of unflappability.

 

As far as composition is concerned, though, I really don’t have any rules of thumb. I don’t follow the “rule of thirds” and similar composition rules except, I guess, unconsciously. Mainly, I take advantage of one of the things CG can do better then any other medium, which is to be able to pull the camera around in real time until the right composition is reached. That’s how I posed number 6. I pulled him into a rough pose, then found the right vantage point, then finished the pose so that he’d read well from the camera I’d chosen. Once I actually get a few shots of the movie finished it will probably be more evident what kind of effect this has.

 

I hope that helps!

 

--Raf

[amarillospider]

Great look!

 

The clothes all are so dark that I am losing a little the limbs in perspective. Aside from pushing the color another idea would be to have some ties, or lace, or slashes, in the shirt that would come out as contour lines.

 

You could also push the sides of the goatee further along the jaw line a little. And I think you could get away with a little more tapered neck (to distinguish the head from the neck) if you wanted.

 

But this guy is so graphic that we really need to see him moving to get a better idea of what's working or not.

 

Like it so far though. Very Dread Pirate Roberts

 

-Alonso

[heyvern]

I am not concerned by the lack of contrast as I am sure, since this is a testing phase of a new technique, this will be worked out.

 

I love this style and I may "steal" it for my Incompetent Secret Agent short. As I was doing the animatics I love the illustrative feel but felt compelled to do "traditional 3-D" because, well, I am using 3-D software!

 

As you said using this style takes a lot of pressure off of being "realistic" and also gives you enormous latitude in designing the backgrounds!

 

Man! You could put in incredibly designed background mattes at any level of "realism" and not have to worry about anything except the coloring of the foreground elements to match the color scheme since those can be composited.

 

On the motion blur aspect...hmm.... I would lean towards actual motion blur myself but that is just a personal preference. I think that would look great but an actual animation test would be the real test. Plus it might be hard to composite later if you go that way.

 

As for losing "perspective" from lack of detail, I think animated motion would give the eye enough clues you wouldn't see any problems. Just guessing though.

 

Great look! Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Vernon "!" Zehr

[SHADOWMASTER]

Once I actually get a few shots of the movie finished it will probably be more evident what kind of effect this has.

Can't wait!

 

Very informative information as well. (heh, that was kind of redundant )

 

Very Dread Pirate Roberts