July 18, 2017 : Rig Improvements – Head/ Face Edges (Part 2)
In the previous post, I introduced changes made to my rig around the head/ face area for my recent project. This required a drawing at five different head positions for each character and projecting each onto a flat plane.
Since I animated the eyes and mouth within Lightwave, these drawings were actually temporary. The final image used for the final projections actually looked like this:
The eyes, nose, nostril, mouth, and chin mark were then modeled in Modeler – with morphs created for the eyes and mouth. This borrowed the technique I used in a previous project, Taking Shape (although the separate eyes was used in a project prior to that, Ninja Tales).
Technically, I did not need to model the nose/ nostril and instead could have kept the drawn version from the temporary file. However, I liked having more control over its rotation, position, and scale in Lightwave.
Each feature of the face had its own bone, which were all parented to the head bone – the bone that controlled the position and rotation of the face image planes. Below is a schematic view of this portion of the rig:
One of the main characters also modeled the front two bangs for additional animation control, which is reflected in the image above.
For each of the five different head positions, I placed the facial features in their correct position and scale (for the nose, I also had to adjust its rotation. These keyframes were saved in the base Rig Scene for the character, and then I was able to copy these settings at any point within future scenes.
If a movement required a head turn, I would simply sequence the keyframes as needed (usually on 1’s or 2’s, depending on the movement). This could have been better automated/ controlled and might be something I pursue in future projects.
Overall, this process wasn’t very difficult or time consuming to create since I reused many of the facial features. Thus they didn’t have to get modeled from scratch each time for every character. It did take a few extra minutes to animate head turns, but it was worth it for the additional control of the edge lines.
For the last part in this series of posts, I will discuss how the movement/ orientation of the head was controlled during animation – ensuring the cartoonish look I originally intended when deciding on this rig setup.
posted by Pi Visuals at 9:54 pm
Tags: Ad Wizards , Lightwave , ShapesComment
July 8, 2017 : Rig Improvements – Head/ Face Edges (Part 1)
As previously stated, several changes were made to the character rigs for Ad Wizards. A big one was with the head/ face.
In past projects, the head was modeled like the rest of the body… three dimensionally in Lightwave. However, when I rendered out Edges, the lines around the jaw and chin area were not always consistent. Their presence depended upon the camera angle and head position/ orientation.
This took away from the cartoon look I wanted; and the only remedy I had was to add in edges after the fact in After Effects, a process that wasn’t incredibly precise and rather time consuming.
My solution was to replace the head with a flat plane.
A drawing of a face was created and projected onto this plane. Using Illustrator, I created a face for each character at five different angles – Head On (Portrait) shot, two Three Quarter shots (one for the left side and one for the right), and then two in between shots (one for the left and one for the right):
Technically, there was a flat plane for each angle of the face. They were all identical in their size and initial position, and each plane had its own surface, with each surface having the appropriate image projected onto it.
During animation, I chose which face angle I wanted and had the remaining planes out of the camera’s view (I set their y-position to some incredibly large value so it was out of sight).
The end result was that the faces had consistent edges, and I did not have to worry about spending any time in After Effects fixing aesthetic hiccups. Another good thing was that I did not have to maintain one constant face angle for a specific sequence. If I wanted to have the character turn their head, I was able to animated through the various angles and it looked pretty smooth.
That said, there were some drawbacks/ limitations. While I enjoyed the Edge control this afforded me, the work in Illustrator was time consuming. Once I got into a flow, things did go fairly quick – plus, I was able to reuse certain aspects and features from previous characters. That said, it did require an extra step in the design phase. In many cases, I was able to mirror the right and left sides; however, this was not the case for characters who had hair that was asymmetric.
Another limitation was the characters’ range of motion. Only having 5 images did limit how much I could turn their heads. Plus, I was unable to have camera shots from above or below since the image of the head would not be consistent with the rest of the body. If I had more time, I could have created more angles to improve the range of the motion for the head. For this project, it was deemed unnecessary.
Overall, I felt the positives of this rig outweighed the negatives in achieving the look I wanted for this project. At the same time, I know I can build on this setup going forward if I have future projects with similar design and aesthetic goals.
In a future post, I plan to cover in more detail how I dealt with the specific features of the face (the eyes, mouth, nose, and in some instances hair).
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:02 am
Tags: Ad Wizards , After Effects , LightwaveComment
June 20, 2017 : Ad Wizards – Title Card
The new short is wrapping up, about a week before the deadline. The last few days has been spent putting things together. One of these tasks is creating a title card. After numerous drafts, below is the end result:
I usually sketch ideas out early on in production, and this time around was no exception. However with this project, I became enamored with a particular style and theme. Below was one of these iterations:
I liked the interplay between the ‘A’ and ‘W’ as well as the ‘A’ looking like a wizard hat. However, this design proved too clunky and inconsistent due to the presence of the other ‘A’. Since I enjoyed this early design, it took a while to finally discard it – which sadly meant I spent more time on it than I should have. Â There were a few other factors that helped me realize this was the right decision so ultimately I am happy with the final result.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:55 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
May 28, 2017 : Rig Improvements – Shoulder Tapering
With every new project, I try to improve my production pipeline. This includes updating my characters’ rig. This time around, I made several improvements. One alteration I have used extensively has been with the shoulders.
For a while now, my characters have had separated arms – meaning they are not connected to the torso. I did this for a few reasons. Visually, I like the cartoon look it creates. But I also like the flexibility it provides while animating – shoulder deformations can be very difficult (and limiting).
The downside to this feature has been the cylindrical looking shoulders, which often gave the character a more ‘guarded’ or ‘on-edge’ look:
With the current project, I created a morph that tapered the shoulders to give them a more slanted look as the arms proceeded upward:
I created a morph rather than adjusting the model directly because I wanted the flexibility of turning the tapering on and off depending on the angle of the character relative to the camera (not to mention anything in between).
The change was pretty minor, but I really like the resulting ascetic. There are a few other changes made to the rig, and I hope to cover those in future posts.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:55 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
May 16, 2017 : Voicing Choice Regret?
I could have voiced the character below (obviously on the left) but opted to have another do it. After looking at some early renders, part of me is regretting this choice.
For the record, the recorded voice is awesome. I just would have gotten an extra kick out of animating this character in my voice. It’s a bit selfish so I don’t really regret my decision. I just figured it would allow for a nice, quick update.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:11 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
May 6, 2017 : Milestones Reached
Production for the new short is moving along, although time to work on it is currently limited. Fortunately, I expect things to lighten up in about a week, which will allow significantly more time to devote toward the project. Below is a screenshot within Lightwave of one of the recently finished sequences:
The project is divided into three mini-episodes, and animation for the first is nearly complete. While I still need to do a good amount of After Effects and Post-Production on Episode One, I plan on delaying that part and jumping into Episode Two in a few days. Some design work and audio recording/ editing still need to take place before animation can begin, but I hope to get that out of the way within the week.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:32 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
April 18, 2017 : Been Too Long
Yes, I know… I know. It’s been nearly a month since my last post. Rest assured, it hasn’t been due to laziness. Things have been super hectic; and while I’ve wanted to post quick updates on Production of the new short, I just haven’t had much time. That said, here’s a little tidbit:
Things are moving along – although due to other commitments, not quite as quickly as I’d liked. Most of my time is spent on animation, but I am also doing some Storyboarding and Audio recording/ editing. I hope things will start to free up, allowing for more dedicated time on the short (as well as posts).
posted by Pi Visuals at 8:27 pm
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
March 19, 2017 : Production Under Way… Sorta
It’s two weeks later than I wanted, but Production has started on the new short. Although, it’s worth pointing out several Pre-Production items still need to get completed. Over the past week, I have been alternating between the two phases.
One of the checklist items finished up early this week was set design. Surfacing is still getting tweaked, but I took a screenshot of the scene within Lightwave.
Animation hasn’t kicked off yet, but I have storyboarded and should begin facial animation soon. With Pre-Production winding down, I hope Production will really kick into high gear the next few days.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:43 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment
March 14, 2017 : Happy Pi Day!
Things have been pretty hectic lately (hence the lack of posts), but I still have to make sure to wish everybody a Happy Pi Day!
Whether you’re soaking in the warm sun or digging yourself out of the snow, be sure to take a few minutes to appreciate all that Pi has done to make your life better.
Moving forward, I hope to post some updates with the latest short. Things are moving forward – although perhaps not quite as fast as I’d like (but does it ever?). Â That said, stay tuned.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:05 am
Tags: PiComment
February 25, 2017 : Character Designing, Modeling, And Rigging… Oh My!
Pre-Production is moving along; and while animation won’t start by March 1st like originally hoped, it hasn’t been due to a lack of effort. A good amount of time was spent the past few weeks on the design, modeling, and rigging for one of the main characters. Below is a quick render:
The look is along the lines of my other characters, but there are several differences with the new rig. There are still a few things to tweak, but I’m liking where it’s headed. Below is the schematic view:
This rig has more bones and target nulls than I’ve ever used, and these additions will improve the overall animation. The other main character is nearly complete as well. After that, it’s set design.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:02 am
Tags: Ad WizardsComment