Life Drawing: 12/10/16

 

 Images from todays life drawing session. Really fun to return back to this! 

@Phil Minor Project: Font

After creating the last fonts, my own handwriting seemed the most charming. I wasn't 100% sure about the font, so I have two other alternatives, including one I'd already created.

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@Phil Minor Project: Voiceover Artists (Bird, Deer, Armadillo)

I've managed to get hold of 3 voiceover artists so far to record the narrations. The bird one is sounding much better and think the others are great, though a little touchup may be needed on the deer one? I can hear a tiny bit of feedback. 

Minor Project: Branding "Familiars"

After speaking with Phil yesterday it became apparent that my Project and my blog needed branding.

Phil suggesting looking at the dictionary definition for the word Familiar. Looking at this definition, it really suited the animation I was aiming to make.

To brand this animation completely however I was in need of a font to suit. I looked at some handwritten fonts as inspiration.

Font inspiration

Using paintfont.com I was able to make my own fonts.

I then typed out the Animation title using these fonts. I'd like to know opinions of these fonts.

My blog is also undergoing the branding process. Unfortunately the pink cuteness had to go!

And I'm now taking a cleaner, simpler approach. 

The banner will soon be updated with the chosen font, but I think my blog is looking a lot better now.

Minor Project: Maya Work Process

After being in contact with Alumni Ethan Shilling I was given some advice about a workflow to bring my characters into 3D. The idea is to keep their expressive continuous lines in 3D based around the look of wire sculptures.  

Here is my experiment with this work process. 

First I made a random 3D shape in Maya.

I then made this shape live and used the curve tool ontop of it.

I then painted ontop of these curves using Generate > Curve Utilities > Attach Brush to Curves, to then reveal a sculpture based on the shape I had modeled.

Here is a video showing the 3D sculpture. 

The last step is to convert the strokes into polygons so they can be rendered like below.

Minor Project: Movement planning and Research

Using the descriptions I've been given I've been planning how these animals may move on screen while using youtube videos to observe these animals.

Bird 

Possible movement: A small bird walks across the scene, pecks at the ground and leaves. It is replaced by a bigger bird which then watches from a tree above. It leaves the scene by flying off.

Movement research

Doe

Possible movement: Deer walks in quietly and eats cautiously. Spotlight is shown in it's direction and it bolts off.

Movement research

Spider

Possible movement: Camouflaged, the spider slowly reveals itself , moving sneakily. Startled and aggravated it moves quickly.

Movement research

Snake 

Possible movement: The snake slithers into the scene and begins coiling itself around an object, squeezing tightly. As it coils it pounces toward the camera with it's bite.

Movement research

Ferret 

Possible movement:
The ferret begins happy and playful before it curls up in it's environment, a noise startles it and it becomes timid and shy.

Movement research

Armadillo 

Possible movement:
The Armadillo comes into the scene and rolls up into a ball, when it unfurls it tries to find shelter.

Movement research

Now that I've began planning and looking at the way these animals move I'm going to make a rough 30 second animatic for each animal. If you have any suggestions on how to improve each little animal scene I'd appreciate the feedback.

Maya Class: Conditional Squash & Stretch

How to achieve squash and Stretch while keeping the bend in the arm/leg.

@Phil Minor Project: 6 Chosen animals

Here are the 6 chosen animals along with the drawings and speech provided. Once these are polished I intend to send these to voiceover artists. 

Bird

"I see my anxiety as a bird. It starts off smaller in size, sits on your shoulder and makes your feel irritable. It doesn’t really want to hurt you; it thinks it’s protecting you but it becomes a nuisance and pecks away at you. Over time it grows into something unbearable and you feel it weighing you down. It uses it’s claws to perch above and prey on you, figuring out the best way to change you and carry you off into a different direction."

Deer (Doe)

"The first thing that comes to mind is a doe. They're very quiet and gentle but it's their weakness because that's what makes them weak and an easy target to hunters? They seem to always be on edge and over aware like they're expecting something to jump out and attack any moment. They don't have the large antlers to defend themselves, sometimes I think that's how I feel not being able to speak out and defend myself. I just freeze a bit. Like a deer in the headlights. I find doe when you look at them they seem calm and unaware, but when they know you're looking they run."

Snake

"I would probably say that my anxiety would be best represented by a snake. There are some days where it's only a small little thing, but then there are other days when it grows into this huge beast. Like a snake, and with myself being the "prey", it coils itself around me, to constrict me. Its suffocating and unbearable. And the poisonous bite that it marks me with can leave me feeling cold and bitter towards the world. This cold blooded creature only cares for itself, but it pretends that it cares for me, that it's the only one that understands me, that I can't trust anyone else and that I must succumb to it."

Spider 

"I think the Ocyale Guttata Spider is the best representation of my anxiety because it's a deadly creature and is near impossible to spot just like anxiety, you're aware it's out there somewhere but unsure as to where exactly it is and when you may step on it or aggravate it, I could be walking somewhere feeling completely fine and the next minute it comes out of nowhere leaving me confused and irritable, it's sole purpose is to paralyse and consume me, bit by bit."

Armadillo

"I see my anxiety as an armadillo. It tries to hide itself by curling in a ball, but I know that it is always there in some form or another. Some days it might hide as much as it can but it never truly goes away, it just takes shelter. At times it may come out but it always finds itself going and retreating to the back of my mind. It always nags and eats away at you and sometimes you don't notice it because of it hiding away."

Ferret

"I never really thought about what animal I might be most like let alone my anxiety to be manifested as one but the more I thought about it the more a ferret made sense, ferrets are generally quite timid and shy almost scared of everything and even if they like you they'll still bite you even though they didn't mean too and hurt the people they care about. On the other hand when they're comfortable they're happy and running around and don't have a care in the world and just want to give love and for others to be as happy as they are."

Next is to find voice actors to read these texts and to begin translating these characters into 3D models.

Minor Project: Research

Working on this project I'd come to discover that my anxiety could be personified by a bird. After speaking with Phil we discussed a project in which there was a collection of anxiety animals. Using this week I've gathered research from others that suffer from anxiety and asked them three questions. 

If your anxiety was an animal what would it be? 

How does this animal behave? 

Can you describe key features of this animal?

These answers are the results of my research, some of those involved provided some drawings done in the same way I approached my bird.

Skyler

"I'd guess an armadillo. Trying to keep to itself."

Maggy

"The first thing that comes to mind is a doe. They're very quiet and gentle but it's their weakness because that's what makes them weak and an easy target to hunters? They seem to always be on edge and over aware like they're expecting something to jump out and attack any moment. They don't have the large antlers to defend themselves, sometimes I think that's how I feel not being able to speak out and defend myself. I just freeze a bit. Like a deer in the headlights. I find doe when you look at them they seem calm and unaware, but when they know you're looking they run."

Sammy

 "I'd probably describe it as a baby moose or deer because of how shaky and almost clumsy and helpless it makes me feel. These animals are clumsy and wobbly and to me anxiety often feels like learning how to walk for the first time, always slipping and sliding as you try to find your feet.

They are also dependent on their mothers with regards to being looked after as they are quite helpless at this age and when my anxiety gets really bad I find myself relying on others to help me through and look after me.

As for key features, I'm not really sure. They're both kind of awkward looking - because of their long legs they appear a little off balance most the time, especially the baby moose. They're both super cute though and innocent."

Georgie

"My anxiety would probably be a ferret. It's skittish around most people but in certain places and situations it's just happy go lucky. It's very small and timid."

Eve

"Ooh, I like dogs but I think my answer would have to be a big greyhound of some sort, just lurking over me all the time. Judging everything I do. I would say, tall, grey, long face, scary at times and almost as if he's above me in all senses. Oh look, he's a he too."

Aiden

"Ocyale Guttata Spider. It lingers round in the open, unseen waiting to attack out of nowhere. The only key feature it has is it's whole body which is identical to the area it waits in."

Chelsea

"I would probably say that my anxiety would be best represented by a snake. There are some days where it's only a small little thing, but then there are other days when it grows into this huge beast. Like a snake, and with myself being the "prey", it coils itself around me, to constrict me. Its suffocating and unbearable. And the poisonous bite that it marks me with can leave me feeling cold and bitter towards the world. This cold blooded creature only cares for itself, but it pretends that it cares for me, that it's the only one that understands me, that I can't trust anyone else and that I must succumb to it."

Hannah
"I like wolves but I feel like anxiety can take of the negative aspects of the wolf. I feel like wolves I'm outgoing but anxiety doesn't let me be and it's the scruffy looking wolf."

Kali

"Probably a humming bird? Gets on with its day, does what it needs to do, it's cute as hell (obvs) but, as with all birds, is in a constant state of fear because bad things could happen at any moment and then just darts away from the issue. And a humming birds heart beat is one of the fastest out of any animal which totally correlates to me because my heart rate is ridiculously fast. And it eats a lot, which I do. And is tiny, like me. Looks cool as fuck and I don't think there's anything that goes after hummingbirds but they're definitely small and fragile enough to become pray."