Project Proposal

With my project proposal due in a matter of weeks, I want to use this post as a way of summarising what I have decided to do in my final project. I will then use next week to complete a draft of my project proposal and send it off for feedback.

Project

The project that I wish to undertake is to create a 3D character model that is suitable for animation purposes, created in 3DS Max. I will also rig this model so that it can be picked up by any animator and used straight away.

Specifics

• Human male
• Model will be clothed
• 10,000 poly budget
• Model will be rigged and skinned.

Constraints

• One character model
• Character will not be animated
• 8,000 poly budget for mesh
• 2,000 poly budget for clothes
• 1 diffuse colour + 1 normal map for the model
• 1 diffuse colour + 1 normal map for the clothes
• No hair of any kind physically modelled
• Clothes will only be boots, trousers and top
• Rigged using 3DS Max biped skeleton

So with my project clearly shown, in the coming days i will be drafting my actual project proposal and sending it off to my respective tutor, hopefully receiving feedback with how it can be improved or if it is ready to submit.

-J.W

Facial modelling results

So in my last blog post I talked about topology and that I wanted to try out facial modelling for the first time.

In this blog post I will be posting my results of my first ever attempt at facial modelling, as well as my observations throughout the creation process and how using clean topology helped me bring this head to life.

So first things first, the renders:

While making the head I decided that it would be best to leave out all the fiddly bits like eyes, teeth and ears so that I could focus on the general shape of the head and the features such as the nose, mouth and eye sockets.

I had been looking at two ways of starting this model, some modellers recommended starting around the eye sockets and modelling out them first, others recommended starting with a plane and getting a general shape of face sorted. I decided to start with a plane, I felt more comfortable with it and as I had never made a face before I found this to be the best method, working slow but effectively.

Throughout my time modelling I hit a few snags, the most annoying of all would have to be the nose and mouth, to get a decent looking nose took the best part of an hour, the mouth took around the same time.

My research on topology prior to this attempt came in very valuable while attempting this head, keeping clean topology around the eyes. nose and mouth allowed me to modify those areas at will without effecting the rest of the model.

Down to the conclusion, am I happy with this model? Yes and no, for my first ever attempt it does somewhat resemble a human which I'm very happy about, but the quality of the model is just not there yet, there are areas that could use vast improvement, the neck, the mouth/lips and the nose for example.

My plan going on from this is to practise more in my spare time and possibly upload my results, I also want to learn about what makes good topology and good working practises around character modelling.

-J.W

Facial Modelling

In previous posts I have mentioned that I have never rigged a face before, this goes the same for actually modelling a human face. I have never attempted or even researched into what makes a human face until now.

Today I have been researching all about the tips and tricks to modelling a good human face, below I will be writing about my observations of videos, and articles all about facial topology and facial structure.

So, what is topology?

Topology is the structure of your mesh and how that mesh flows around the surface of the model. We, as modellers should aim for clean topology in our models, we can achieve this by distributing polygons in an efficient manner. Many 3D artists also try to stick to having no tri's or as few as possible as this can effect the way the model stretches when it comes down to animating. 

Having clean topology is essential when making any character model for animation as when it comes down to rigging and animating the model, clumsy or rushed topology can cause the animation to show un-realistic movement, and essentially cause errors. 

Tom Parker. (2013). Face Topology examples. Available: http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/FaceTopology. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

Del. (2011). Face Topology [Community Breakdown]. Available: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80005. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

3 steps to facial character modelling

1. Blocking Topology: This first step is all about defining the characters overall volume and to make the main topological areas ready to add more topology in the next step.
2. Final Topology: In this step you should strive to add all the required topology, doing this will allow you to achieve, fleshy skin as well as wrinkles and folds for the characters future expressions and facial deformations. 
3. Final Modelling: In this final stage it is all about making sure that the model is complete and the topology is correct, well spaces out and works for the animation you are trying to create. 

Sergi Caballer Garcia. (2013). Tips & Tricks related to Facial Modeling for Animated Productions. Available: http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/tips-tricks-related-facial-modeling-animated-productions/. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

With this information at hand, my next blog post will be my own practises of facial modelling, focusing on topology.

Readings-

Del. (2011). Face Topology [Community Breakdown]. Available: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80005. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

Sergi Caballer Garcia. (2013). Tips & Tricks related to Facial Modeling for Animated Productions. Available: http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/tips-tricks-related-facial-modeling-animated-productions/. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

Tom Parker. (2013). Face Topology examples. Available: http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/FaceTopology. Last accessed 22nd Oct 2015.

The Human Body

If I want to create a human model that will be used in animation, I need to understand the human anatomy. I need to understand how the body is defined, how it moves, the way it bends, what it can and cannot do. In this blog post I will be delving into the human body, particularly the male as that is the gender that my model that I will be creating is.

The above image is a great starting point for the male body, the first things that I clearly notice when viewing this image is the proportion between the shoulders, the shoulders are very wide, a key thing to note for the male body, the torso is very long, with the legs being slightly longer in length, I plan to refer to this image and other similar images a lot during my modelling process.


I took the below image from a fashion website for the perfect sunglasses depending on your face shape, but this got me thinking about face shapes in general, especially for men.

Doing a little research has turned up that the male face generally has a much more defined shape than women its more straight, and less rounded than that of a females. Which comes to the point of my model, I want my character to have a brave, almost heroic face.

A good example of a heroic faces structure.

I feel that in this blog post I have only just touched on the surface of the human anatomy and face structure, as I develop my model I am bound to come into problems that will need me to research further, however I feel that this research is a good starting point for the base mesh of my model.

-J.W

3D Modelling & Poly Count

Due to my job research and having meetings with my lecturer I have decided that instead of going all out and creating a model and animating it, I am only going to create a 3d model and rig it so that it is ready for animation, this will allow me to focus in one area and obtain a higher quality piece of work as a result.


The model that I want to create for my final project is a human male with an athletic body size, an example of this kind of body would be -















As well as making the base mesh for the character I also want to model and texture clothes for my model.

With all this being said I also have to think about the poly count of my model, I plan to design this character as if I was creating a main character for a game on last generations consoles (Xbox360).

Here is a list of some characters poly-count from games of the last generation:

Red Dead Redemption

John Marston - 14,980

Velvet Assassin
Violet - 14,219

The Amazing Spiderman
Spiderman - 11,652

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Bane - 25,000
Batman - 21,304
Killer Croc - 20,940

Looking at these statistics it looks as if main characters in games can fluctuate between 14,000 up to 25,000 polys, some games of last generation, for example, Uncharted 3, the main character in that game had 30,000 polygons for his model.

With this in mind I do not think that I should set myself a target polygon count that is close to these, as I just do not think it would be realistic on my part to get that amount of polygons made in the time that I have for this project, however, an ideal amount in my opinion is 10,000 polys, 8,000 for the model and 2,000 for the clothes, I think that this is a good estimate as it will give my character a high quality appearance and it also gives me room to adjust if I were to exceed the count.

-J.W

Job Research

Today I have been looking at jobs openings relating to animation in the game industry, many of the job openings I have reviewed require a hefty amount of experience, some in a triple A industry and some just using the software for a certain number of years.

Take this job for example, they are asking for an animator, however that is not the only thing you need, you need to have the knowledge of the modelling software, and some knowledge of the other departments that will come together to form the game.

Another job that I viewed, this one is asking for an "animator" however what this animator needs to know is not just how to animate but how to use motion capture, how to rig, how to skin, etc, countless more skills that are needed than just animating.

Some job openings are even just for the model being rigged and not actually animated, reading these job openings has swayed my thinking in my dissertation a fair bit, before I really wanted to do animation, just animation. But looking at actual companies that are hiring today you need to be more than just a good animator, you need to be able to model, rig, texture, you need to know the ins and outs of every bit of the process leading up to actually animating the character.

With this said, I am thinking that for my dissertation, I still want to animate a character, but I feel I should make that character, texture and rig them inside a appropriate 3d modelling software (3ds max for example) and be marked more on the actual model and rig than the animation, for example. 70% model+rig 30% animation.

-J.W

The skills I want to learn and develop further through this project.

Throughout this project I would like to expand my skills of 3D modelling and animation, but more importantly what skills do I want to really expand deeply into?

3D modelling

I would like to get better at 3D modelling as a whole, I see two ways of doing this effectively.

1.Research then practise, practise.. practice! 
The only way to get better at something that can be learned is to do ample research in the field you wish to learn and the practise. I want to be able create any and everything into a 3D model, from inanimate objects to gun wielding robot bipods, to do this I will research, I will reference and then I will do.

2. Learn your software.
The second way I see myself getting better at 3D modelling is by learning the software I am using to create 3D models inside and out, every nook and cranny of the software must be learn and understood to be able to make industry standard 3D models. As I learn more about the software the more I know how to create something in an effective way, making my models take less time and become a higher quality as a result.

Rigging

Rigging is a part of the modelling and animation process that I have only had very slight hands on experience with, It involves creating a skeleton inside the mesh of a 3D model in order to then move the model effectively for animation.

Rigging is the skill I think I will need to learn the most in the course of this year as I do not know a lot about it.

Facial rigging

Facial rigging is a skill that I would also like to learn and improve upon, this is the one skill that I have not done at all, I have no experience in it whatsoever. I will have to start from square one with facial rigging and research and learn as I go along, which is something I am looking forward to, tackling something that I know very little about.

Animation

I think the main skill that I would need to improve on my animations as a whole is the timing of the animation. Timing in animation means everything, if a model is moving too slow or too fast it can ruin the feel of the entire animation.

When I have made animations in the past they either look like they are in slow motion or are at light speed, which doesn't look great when you are finished.
Timing is the main animation skill that I will be focusing on so that my animations look real and believable.

By learning and improving these skills over the course of the project I feel that I will be able to produce a high quality final project.

-J.W

What is Character Animation?

Today I have been looking at the fundamentals that make up character animation and what things to consider when animating your character.
I have narrowed it down to 11 factors the I believe to be important when you begin to animate your character and to keep consistent throughout the animating process.


1. Squash and Stretch

The change in shape of a character when a part of its body moves. e.g. The characters head stretching and squashing as they eat some food.

2. Anticipation

The positioning of a character before he performs an act.

3. Staging

Positioning of the camera, so that the viewer can see what the character is doing. This may also include selecting the correct background scenery in order to get the message across.

4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

Straight Ahead Action simply involves running one animation sequence after another without any pre-planning of animation sequences. 

Pose to Pose is exactly the opposite. All the animation sequences are planned ahead of time. This allows the camera positions to be planned so that everything is in proportion.

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action

This involves parts of a character to continue moving from a previous animation sequence while the character starts a new sequence.

6. Slow In and Slow Out

Accelerating and decelerating the motion of a character between animation sequences.

7. Arcs

Modelling the motion of every part of a character's body as he moves. e.g. Making the head bob up and down as the character walks along

8. Secondary Action

Adding other smaller movements to emphasise any animation sequence e.g. A character shaking his head after being hit by a falling object.

9. Exaggeration

Making the motion of a character more dramatic.

10. Timing

The number of frames required to complete a single animation sequence.

11. Appeal

Making a character attract the viewers attention. This includes getting the colours right, avoiding clumsy shapes, awkward motion, and distorting the shape of the character.

Other attributes can include the behaviour of the character and the manner in which he/she speaks.

I have recently purchased a book, The Animators Survival Kit, by Richard Williams. I will be delving into this book in the near future so expect future blog posts to be of this book as well as other animation articles. 

-J.W