Gnomon Workshop & Other Learning DVDs

To supplement the books and papers, I'm going to also look at and reference Gnomon Workshop and Digital Tutor DVDs to develop my practical knowledge and skills, such as:

• MEL 101: Fundamentals: MEL Programming Techniques with Kevin Mannens
• Character Design Pipeline: Production Art & Research Techniques with BARONTiERi
• Character Rigging: The Puppet Rig - Maya Rigging Techniques with Carlo Sansonetti
• Maya Cloth 101: Fundamentals: Cloth Techniques with Mark E.A. de Sousa
• The Skinned Character Rig: Skinning and Deformations with Carlo Sansonetti
• Stylized Character Modeling for Production with Alessandro Baldasseroni
• Character Modeling for Production: Character Modeling Techniques with Ian Joyner
• Character Texturing for Production: Texturing techniques with Ben Neall (if I can get it)
• Creature Texturing and Rendering for Production: Texturing Techniques with Laurent Pierlot

Books & such

While not so much a reference list and more of a bibliography, here is a few books that I own that will hopefully provide some information through my proposed project:

"Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging" by Eric Allen and Kelly L. Murdock

"Art of Toy Story 3" by Charles Solomon and John Lasseter

"The Ballad of Rango: The Art & Making of an Outlaw Film" by David S Cohen and Gore Verbinski

"The Cinematic Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King" by Blizzard Entertainment

"ZBrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting" by Scott Spencer

I also hope to gain some up-to-date and current knowledge from watching the making-of sections of DVDs like

How to Train A Dragon

Up

Despicable Me

Toy Story 3

Rango

Alice in Wonderland

Narnia: The Witch and the Wardrobe

etc...

A mix of animated features and CGI/live action films will hopefully give me a decent understanding of what happens underwear the bonnet at many animation/CGI graphics studios.

I also have a subscription to Game Develop Magazine and ImagineFX, which should be a great source of information and help throughout the year.

This is just a start to the resources I have on hand. I hope to frequently update this blog with a list of suitable media throughout my project.

Some work

While I've been researching for my proposal, I've been trying to brush up on my practical skills. I recently got a book titled "MEL Scripting a Character Rig in Maya" by Chris Maraffi.

As I'm learning a brand new skill, I've only been following the examples in the book. The code I've written is the code found within the first chapters, but I have annotated it with comments to help me understand it better. I've also written a supplementary "cheat sheet" of commands and more general advice. Here's what I've done so far:

/*
Defining, Querying and Editing Variables
*/
//defined variables
int $num = 7;
float $dec = 3.267;
string $name = "mySphere";
int $nums[];
float $decs[5] = {7.23,1.0,20.7,0.567,12.0};
string $names[] = {"One", "Two", "Three"};
sphere -n $name -p 0 0 0 -ax 0 1 0 -ssw 0 -esw 360 -r 1 -d 3
-s 8 -nsp 4 -ch 1;
string $names[] = `sphere -n $name -p 0 0 0 -ax 0 1 0 -ssw 0
-esw 360 -r 1 -d 3 -s 8 -nsp 4 -ch 1`;
//print nodes
print $names;
//defining queryable variables
int $spans = `sphere -q -nsp $names[1]`;
int $radius = `sphere -q -r $names[1]`;
//query and print number of spans in sphere and the radius through the
//command node
print ("Number of spans: " + $spans + "\n");
print ("Radius: " + $radius + "\n");
//looks at sphere command and edits the radius to match the number of spans
sphere -e -r $spans $names[1];


/*
Defining the Selected Node and making it a variable
*/
string $selNodes[] = `ls -sl`;
print $selNodes;
/*
Selecting multiple nodes
*/
string $names[] = `sphere -n $name -p 0 0 0 -ax 0 1 0 -ssw 0
-esw 360 -r 1 -d 3 -s 8 -nsp 4 -ch 1`;
select -tgl $names[1];
string $selNodes[] = `ls -sl`;
print $selNodes;
/*
Change Get Value of X scale and set it as Y translate
*/
string $names[] = `sphere -n $name -p 0 0 0 -ax 0 1 0 -ssw 0
-esw 360 -r 1 -d 3 -s 8 -nsp 4 -ch 1`;
getAttr ($names[0] + ".sx");
setAttr ($names[0] + ".ty") 5;
/*
Catch sections attribute and set spans attirbute to match
*/
string $names[] = `sphere -n $name -p 0 0 0 -ax 0 1 0 -ssw 0
-esw 360 -r 1 -d 3 -s 8 -nsp 4 -ch 1`;
int $sections = `getAttr ($names[1] + ".s")`;
setAttr ($names[1] + ".nsp") $sections;
//Creates a new attribute that has a long name, short name and nice name, with a floating value
//that is keyable, minumum value of -10, maximum value of 10, default value of 0, readable and writeable
//affecting the tranform node of $names, i.e. Sphere.
addAttr -ln "myAttr" -sn "ma" -nn "My Attribute" -at "float"
-min -10 -max 10 -dv 0 -k 1 -r 1 -w 1 $names[0];

Cheat Sheet:

List of Useful MELScript Commands:
` = catches a return value
select -cl; = clears selection
select -r; = select node
select -tgl; = toggles a node
listAttr; = list all attributes on a node
getAttr; = query or get information on an attribute
setAttr; = edit or set information on an attribute
".sx" = define attribute (note flag here is short name for scale x)
EXAMPLE
getAttr ($names[0] + ".sx");
-k/-keyable =
EXAMPLE
//lists all keyables attributes on the transform node of the object
listAttr -k $names[0]
help = synopsis of the command
whatIs = tells if command is a procedure found in the MELscript folder when loaded
float = decimal number, may be also referred to as length/double
int = integer
string = text
vector/matrix = groups of numbers
"on"|"off" = "true"|"false". 1|0
rename = gives object new name
"/n" = new line
/* |
Hello World |= Block comment
*/ |
//Hello World = single line comment
[define type of flag] [variable name] = [result]
EXAMPLE:
int $num = 7;
OR
string $selNodes[] =  `ls -sl`;
xform = consolidate multiple types of transforms with one command

Outside inspiration

Outside of art, my inspiration comes from many things, such as ancient culture, architecture, myths & legends, sculpture, etc... Here is an example of some of my general inspirations...

 Ancient Culture & History

Ancient dead civilisations like the aztecs, the egyptians, the mayans, greek, romans, etc... are wonderful examples of the development of humanity over time, either through art, architecture and/or culture. They are brilliant sources of inspiration, for creating stories and art. Often, these cultures are closely linked with myth and legends - the source of all modern storytelling. Because of this, I often draw inspiration from these, though sometimes it may only be aethestic. Often myths were inspired from things the cultures did not understand (such as the day/night cycle or natural phenomenoms like extreme weather) and this primal need to tell a story round anything is what draws me to their stories...

Nature & the Natural World

A lot of my fascination is drawn from the living world around me, from plants to animal life. While this may seem a little generic or open, there is not a single source of inspiration I can point to for this. The way things move, the habits of creatures, the natural beauty of the world, geography, geology, etc...are all inspiring.
In particular, I am drawn to other forms of life, such as animals, reptiles & birds. A lot of my previous work draws from these sources.

Ancient Storytelling & Myth

As mentioned above, stories were humanity's way of trying to understand nature. All across the world, there are myths and legends to help explain the unknown. These stories are great fuel for inspiration, and a lot of great storytelling started here from the Greek myths to modern traditions such as the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Modern History & the Future of Humanity (speculation)

The source of inspiration for any sci-fi setting - modern history and the future is a topic of great interest for me. With the rise of technology and access to mass communication such as the world wide web, there is a lot of speculation as to what the future holds. It is generally inspiring for me to look at what the world was like 30 years ago, and see what my future might be. 

Traditional Art

Lucian Freud

A true master of observational art, Lucian Freud has a certain way of capturing the ugly side of people without humiliating or ridiculing them. His paintings are always very gritty and textural, but often depict softer emotions in people despite their initial appearance. I prefer his newer art to his older pieces, finding them more truthful to the subject matter, but still keeping the essence of the person's emotional state intact.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo is a great inspiration for any modern artist who follows the classic principles. Not only was one of the great minds of the millennium, but he and the other renaissance artists made it so that modern day art is underpinned by an understanding of science. With formulae such as the golden ratio and the Vitruvian man, we now can construct art from our knowledge. This in particular appeals to me - someone who treads on the line between art and technology - creativity and science. 

Meet Meline

Meet Meline is a short animation made in 2 years by French artists Sebastien Laban & Virginie Goyons. From concept to final realisation - everything within the film (bar sound and music) was created by them. While the film itself is quite sweet, I personally see it more as a technical achievement - being able to perform so many roles with only two people.

However, what is even more interesting and insightful is the "Making of" featurette which shows a behind the scenes of the entire making of the movie. While incredibly basic, it explain the process in which an animation like "Meet Meline" is made from concept, to production to post-production. For the keen eye, the footage shown throughout breaks the process down even further - allowing artists to see even further into the creation process.

What came as a surprise mostly to me, is how much work is done with post-production. The film is broken down into multiple composite images, rather than final renders, and highlights a process in the making of animation films and short I know very little about.

It is a brilliant resource to get started on, and also that if two (though highly talented individuals) can make something of this calibre - then I can certainly can take a character from conception to final (with all the bells and whistles) for my honours project.

Original Vimeo Link to "Meet Meline"

Alessando Baldasseroni

http://www.eklettica.com/index.html

Very inspirational artist who works with one of the biggest cinematics companies today - Blur. His work showcases some of the most amazing examples of character art for 3D production.

He also shows a lot of the behind the scenes shots, which is great for a budding artist like me! What interests me the most is that not only is he a modeller and texture artist, but also a surface artist!

Scotland loves Animation

Thought it was worth mentioning that I attended a very interesting and inspiring workshop on Friday 14th October. It was presented by Merlin Crossingham of Aardman Animation and Richard Scott of Axis Animation. 

The workshop itself was very useful, but perhaps the most insightful part of the day was the Q & A, which solidified a lot of thoughts, hopes and fears I had of the animation/production industry - name that key skills are valuable, as they cannot be taught - though something like Maya and Photoshop can. Sometimes I feel I get caught up in not knowing enough. While knowledge is equally important, I shouldn't neglect the skills that brought me here - even if I do pursue a career in something like technical art/animation.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Back in 2007, when Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was released - the games market was a flood of grey/green/brown FPS games. The palette and saturation of these games were burnt-out and the visuals were aiming for photorealism.

Uncharted broke the mould in releasing a game with, as quoted by Amy Henning - game director, "a stylised reality". This meant that the game did not try to emulate realism - but capture it. Hopefully, when done right, this is a technique that won't age as badly with technology as photorealism tends to do, and avoided the nasty obstacle that is uncanny valley. This is something that spurred and inspired me, as they were brave enough to try and create something new - something that hasn't been done before in game or was lacking - and showcase it!

Amy Henning also touched upon "going outside your comfort zone" to create something new and worth it. This is also a philosophy in art and life that I believe in and I hope to keep that element alive as I progress.

Uncharted is why I'm here today. Whether or not I stay in game or film is irrelevant - it made me believe that creative arts CAN be a career choice and that being a creative person is hard work, but totally worth it.

Pitch Presentation

Feedback:

• Overall project looks promising and there is a lot in it.
• Research question and objectives well-laid out and give good direction. 
• Needs to be narrowed down a lot to a specific research field.
• Shaders could be an interesting and unexplored technical angle.
• Wording in the aim and objectives needs refining.
• "Character" too loose a term and needs to be defined. 
• Industry unsure - games or production?

Pitch presentation last week went well overall and I have a good start to my honours project. I need to understand and define and little more in my aim and objectives, as well as choose my words wisely. I agree with this and hopefully over the course of the next term this will all be amended.

I have uploaded the presentation and provided a link below:

Pitch Presentation (download link)

The two videos referenced in it are listed below.

Aims and Objectives

Took me a while to get there, but here is my aims and objectives 1.0

Project Aim:

  To investigate how character design affects the creation of convincing characters and examine the role of the technical artist in realising these credible characters. 

 

Objectives:

◦1. Research existing characters and deconstruct and identify the traits which aid in realising them.

◦2. Explore current industry skills and tools in technical art and examine and compare their uses.

◦3. Conduct a series of experiments utilising current technical art & animation skills to aid in the creation of convincing characters.

◦4. Develop and create a small range of characters using these techniques and analyse their success considering the role of a technical artist.

 

Pitch Week - Supervision

So today I had to supervise a group of Computer Arts students from years two to three with another fourth year student. We had a total of six students to get through in a two hour period.

The first thing I noticed is that it's sometimes hard to give feedback or even give a word in edge ways. People are often quite passionate and enthusiastic about their ideas, and perhaps may approach pitch as more of a presentation than a feedback session. It is also hard to encourage feedback from the group as a whole. Most ideas are presented, and although feedback is given at point throughout, there is little reflection.

Perhaps an error on my part, I also felt that I knew very little of the briefs they were presenting. This made it hard to judge and give critique as I wasn't sure what they should have achieved in a module. Next time, it may be best to check what the briefs are for each module so feedback can be given that is relevant.

Presentation format was another issue. While people mostly found it easier to present the work they had done straight from a sketchbook, I often found it difficult to keep track of the idea or even module with no visual or textual guide to what they were achieving. From a personal viewpoint, I felt that I might have been able to give more advice had they presented their modules in a structured format that made it a little easier for me to understand. Then again, I understand that presenting your own work is a very personal task and structuring it may for me - but not for the individuals themselves.

Honest feedback was very hard to give. In one instance I highly suspected that a student had not done the work required of them up for their course, and presented very little in the end. I should have enquired to why this was and perhaps offered feedback on the stop - but it was very difficult to single out a student in a group of eight and it felt like it would be an overall negative and embarrassing experience - perhaps putting them off their studies. This was not something I wanted to do.
Another case was where it was very obvious that a student was very focused on their personal work and had many sketches to present, but had not done any exploration or research and was missing out on vital experience the module offered and required. It was hard to approach a student and dissuade them from being so focused and to investigate other ideas or concepts.

At the beginning, I thought that time management would be an issue and closely watched the clock so that each student would get their allocated 20 minute slot. The first student had his ideas possibly cut short due to time constraints. In the end however, the session finished 30 minutes earlier than anticipated due to other students not presenting as much. This is a lesson on my part, but also on their so that they are able to focus their presentations and allow time for feedback. Perhaps approaching them beforehand and giving them 18 minutes to present and 2 minutes for feedback (or some similar structure) might have helped.

Overall, I did not feel that the students got enough advice on their own individual work, either due to time constraints, ignorance of their modules or fear of outting their work in front of peers. Advice that was offered was not immediate and more consideration of the future, although in some instances students were advised to scale back an idea for being too over ambitious. While I did not want to stunt the concepting stage, I wanted to make students aware that their ambitions DO have to be realised and having a small polished product is better than an ambitious unrealised project (in terms of portfolio and skillsets). I feel that I did succeed somewhat in some more generalist advice, regarding their projects.

Personal Statement

As part of our module we are to fill out and complete a personal statement. The personal statement is good for listing our personal goals and aims throughout our project and to serve as a reminder as to what our original goals were.

Personal Statement

Inspiration and Interests

I am mostly inspired by other art and artists, in either film and animation - old and new, other traditional and digital artists, video games, books etc... However, I also draw inspiration from the world around me, creatures, history, culture, music, technology and life experiences. I would like to be able to produce something that showcases my technical abilities and understanding, as well as my interest in character design and visual styles - perhaps some sort of showcase piece with little to no animation.

Career and Creative Aims

Personally, a role with requires an advanced knowledge of technical skills and understanding with some creative input. Knowing this, a technical artist/animator is ideal with regards to my interests, skills and mindsets. I would preferably like to work within games, but film and production are not being ruled out. Other roles that could be suitable are character modeller, or character artist in general. Generalist roles such as 3D artist or 2D artist are also considered considering the scope of the company and/or game.

Current Skills and Abilities

3D modelling for games and production with an understanding of topology, edge flow and efficiency in models, UV texture mapping, efficient texture maps from scratch and photo resource, basic digital sculpting, basic character & prop rigging, basic animation for production and games, traditional art skills such as life drawing, painting and sketching - from concept art to character design. Programs capable with: Autodesk Maya Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Pixologic ZBrush 3D Coat

Skill Gaps

Technical Art & Animation - Rigging beyond bipedal rigging (quadrupedal rigging, non-standard rigging, advanced rigging), custom GUI, scripting (Python and MELscript), shaders, cloth, fur, hair, muscle systems, dynamics, etc... Modelling & Texturing- Sculpting, maps other than AO, diffuse, spec, transparent, normal, inorganic modelling,

In other news this week is Pitch Week. Later on in the week I will be posting a summary of my supervised pitch. 

I will be presenting my own project towards the end of the week. Hopefully this will supply me with some helpful and interesting feedback.

Planet Dinosaur

I have recently been watching Planet Dinosaur.

Although it's obvious that Planet Dinosaur does not have the budget of many of today's CGI's productions - the art and cinematography behind it is something very interesting! Earlier on in my blog I spoke of Rango and how it applied cinematography techniques to the animation process to create a blend between the two - I find that Planet Dinosaur is trying to do the same. Camera angles and scenes are set up to look dramatic, but also as though they have been filmed - like a modern day documentary. This emulating of the documentary film format - but in an entirely constructed 3D environment and scenario is an intriguing use of the techniques I spoke about earlier.

Even though I know the basic process behind the creation of productions like Planet Dinosaur, it's always nice to hear a little bit of input from the artist's themselves. Here's a couple of links to interesting videos on behind the scenes.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kb1rf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kf292

Inspire me! v2.0

As well as many 2D concept artists who inspire me - inspiration comes from other places.
Here's a quick compilation of the stuff that inspires me outside art itself.

Music:

Orchestral music & video game soundtracks are a large part of my inspiration when it comes to working and creating work. Sometimes it's nice to just drown out the noise without concentrating too hard, and sweeping orchestral tracks without much vocalisation is a perfect way for me to relax without loosing too much focus on the music itself. Richard Williams (author of the Animator's Survival Kit) mentioned that music is a distraction from the art itself, and I do agree - but personally I do like to have it to level the background sounds and inspire me. Maybe this isn't the best practise overall, but I feel it helps me do the best work.

Animation



Animation has been a large part of my childhood and adulthood for inspiration and creativity. From the Disney classics to modern CGI blockbusters like Toy Story 3, animation has always convinced me that there is no age limit on creativity and expression - that topics both serious and silly can be conveyed through something that is entirely created through the hands of talented individuals. The discipline itself has some of the toughest and most driven people leading it - an attitude to life I very much respect. Masters like Don Bluth, Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton, Brad Bird and John Lasseter are a testament to the art of animation.

Games



A love later discovered in my life, but always there - is my passion for video games.

People

Hayao Miyazaki
Don Bluth
Tim Schafer
Fumito Ueda
Hans Zimmer
Bobby Chu
John Lasseter
Brad Bird
Amy Henning
David Cage
John Williams
Walt Stanchfield

Inspire me!

Here's a big bunch of my 2D artist inspirations for this project - all neatly packed into one place. Thought I might elaborate on why these people inspire me as an artist more than any other form of art. I personally feel it takes a great deal of strength, spirit, determination and talent to be a pure 2D artist - especially considering how high the stakes are and how tough the competition is these days.
Although I know I do not have what it takes to be a 2D concept artist or illustrator, I truly respect the people who have so much passion that they live and breathe their art and study it in what I consider one of the purest forms.
Not only do they study from life, but they have the expertise to take that knowledge and apply it to create fantastic imaginery worlds and characters.
This is why I respect these people so much - as an artist - and I hope I show as much passion for whatever I follow in my life.

Andree Wallin - http://andreewallin.com/

A brilliant matte-painter and concept artist, it's Wallin's pure technical skills and amazing rendering that inspire me.

Baron Tieri - http://www.barontieri.com/

Another brilliant artist with phenomonial design and speed painting skills.

Bobby Chiu and Kei Acedera  - http://www.imaginismstudios.com/

Not only does Imaginism Studios draw and paint very well, but they are often giving out sound and honest advice for life in the arts in general.

Jerome Jacinto - http://chichapie.deviantart.com/

Wonderful use of colour, line and texture.

Yngvar - http://yngvarart.daportfolio.com/

Another artist with a brilliant sense of dynamic composition and colour.

Dan LuVisi - http://www.danluvisiart.com/

Fantastic attention to gritty detail and depth and character.

Jana Schimer - http://janaschi.deviantart.com/

Fantastic rendering detail and overall brilliant artist

Michael Kutsche - http://michaelkutsche.com/

Game artist and recently concept artist for Alice in Wonderland and Thor.

These are just a select few of my featured artists. For a more complete list, I've supplied the following links.

http://jameswolf.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://joelhustak.deviantart.com/

http://keunchul-j.cghub.com/

http://bluefley.cgsociety.org/gallery/

http://loish.deviantart.com/

http://meirou.deviantart.com/

http://morriperkele.deviantart.com/

http://okonart.com/

http://www.vandalhigh.com/

http://www.nadiaenis.com/

http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1256629024

http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/

http://sonsofthestorm.com/