Change the light setup and the color of the farmers shirt to give it more of a farmer look.


Color Change and Lighting Change

I think the character matches the scene a lot more with the new lighting setup and the color change.

So this is my almost final render....im going to work on the animation again tonight but on the off chance that i dont manage to get the new animation done in time at least i have something to handin.



As my last handin got me the mark of 58/100 (high C grade, i was only 2 marks off a B) with the lighting and texturing i have done i hope to be able to gain them 2 marks (or more) and get me at the very least a B-

Anyway this could be my handin but there is a chance of a better one.....the version doesn't have an Ambient Occlusion on it as i didn't render out that pass yet but i have one ready if i have time.

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As my character is being interviewed by a news reported i need to make him look like he is on telly so i have created a overlay for the scene that will add the look of a news channel to it.

I have given the news channel the name of ZNN News as i felt that this was a lot like CNN but without using there name......plus it looks good on the scene.

News Cast Overlay

As you can see from the image as well, i have added my MBAnimations logo to the news bulletin as well so that i show that its mine ^^......got to love Copyright ©

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As the background image suggests that the light is coming from behind the character i have opted to use a 2 infinite light setup, this is so that the main source of light is from the back but there is light illuminating his face from the front as if a the news channel has a spotlight on him.

This is a screen shot of the layout used.





This gave me a must more natural lighting to the character and gave the impression that he was a part of the scene instead of looking like he was stood in front of a image of a farm.

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As i mentioned in an earlier post i will be using a tutorial from an animation mentor student for the lighting setup....this involves IBL.....i did a couple of tests and these where my results.

With Image Based Lighting

Without Image Based Lighting

Although it still needs a lot of work added to it i can see a massive improvement compared to the render without IBL.

Since the article is focused on Maya and a lot of the setting its talks about are somewhat unique to Maya im finding it hard to port it over to XSi but im sure that with a little ingenuity and time i will be able to get it looking right in XSi.

I will be using a lot of other techniques such as Ambient Occlusion and maybe a photon map but as photon maps are quite difficult and sometimes unessential i will see if i can create the overall scene without doing one.

Ambient Occlusion

If you are interested at all in trying this yourself this is the article i am using as my templates for my rendering....IBL Tutorial

I will post later on any developments.

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So as my animation is set on the farm i wanted to show this a lot more to the audience so i thought about modelling a load of farming equipment and placing it behind the character but i soon found that this would be unnecessary and there where much quicker and better ways of doing my backgrounds.

I found a tutorial from a student at Animation Mentor that talks about using IBL (image based lighting) in the scene for the illumination of the character....using this idea along with using a background image in the pass output would great a realistic scene without the need of modelling the environment.

i needed to make sure that the image that i used in the background would suit the scene and the position of the character and camera.













After looking through all the images i had collected i opted to use this image....



i felt that this was the best image for the background as the colors matched the look i had envisioned when planning out my animation and the position of the barn in the background matched the scene perfectly.

As i would be using an image i didn't want it looking too clean on the scene so i decided to blur it out to add a little focal distance to it....when doing this i tried to keep the grass closer to the bottom of the image in focus as this would be close to the camera if it was a real scene.



i will work on the the lighting next and update you soon.

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As my i am working on improvements for my Final Year Project animation i haven't worked on my CCA that much hence the lack of updates but i will be updating soon so keep checking back.

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Well the marks from the last handin are in and my overall mark for part one is 58/100....thats quite awesome if i do say so myself, in the ways of grades thats a very high C and i was 2 marks off a B so with a little work i should be able to get them marks that i really need for my 2:1.

The next section for the handin is to include the lighting, texturing, backgrounds and any other things that will make the scene match the piece.

As my animation is about a farmer i will most likely be setting the character on a farm and i will be using some techniques for the rendering that i have read about but not used before.....this is because they seem like an interesting and clever way of working.

I will talk about this in more depth as i get into it later.

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well here it is, my final animation that i will be showing in the presentation.

I feel that it need a lot doing to it but i dont have any time left but this will all be talked about in my presentation.

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I've got the blocking done for the farmer idea.

It still needs work but i think its on its way.





Sorry for the video going offline, YouTube Deleted my recent videos....unsure why yet.

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As i forgot to take what i have of my animation into University today i was unable to get any feedback from Ed on it but i will be sending him a link to my video via email and hopefully will get a reply with some feedback then.

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Ed Hook will be coming in next week to give feedback on the work we have done so far.

Im looking forward to showing him what i have so far and i hope that the feedback he gives me will help me produce something that will one day lad me that dream job.

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So for my new farmer idea i needed a new sound recording.

I used myself for the recording as i was unable to get hold of James Harris again, i dont see this being a problem as im happy with using my own voice on the final animation.

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I took sections from the acting reference and made a storyboard out of them that will will become my stronger reference for the final piece.

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UFO Farmer Acting Footage



I will be pulling together sections of each one to create the final peace.

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I was blocking out my date idea and i feel that its not really something i can push to my strengths.

For this reason i changed my idea for the final time to idea 3 in this post.

The idea now is...

A farmer is being interviewed by a news team about him seeing aliens during the middle of the night and them abducting his animals.

The idea behind the idea is that he is hiding his animals in the cellar of the barn and saying that aliens abducted them so that he can claim on the insurance.

As i said this is the final change in the idea and i hope that with this one i will be able to show what i can do.

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The Date Storyboards

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I've come up with a couple of options for the script for the animation.

1:

I would just like to see you are one of the most beautiful women i have ever laid my eyes upon, and maybe later i lay my hands on as well......yes?

2:

I have never seen someone so beautiful before, i just want to hold you, kiss you and tell you how much i love you.

3:

Please let me be with you and hold you, i've always wanted you but never spoken my true feelings.

4:

I need to say that i have never seen a person so pritty as you in my life and now that i have found you i will never let you go.

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Using the pre-made rig and character by Chris Wyatt i will aim to create an animation that will show my skill level and my improved abilities in animation.

I will be changing my animation idea to the date animation, this because i can have the character speaking to the camera as if he is talking to his date and also i will be able to show my character performance skills.

This does mean that the voice recording and performance recordings that we have made so far are of no use anymore but i will be trying to get James Harris back to the uni for my recordings.

Character Profile

Frank is a middle aged french man who believes he is gods gift to women, he has way to much confidence for his own good and doesn't know when to stop when he's ahead.

Animation Idea

In a small french restaurant in the middle of Paris, Franks is sat having a conversation with his date.

He looks over at her and starts to flirt (well thats what he feels it is) but this isn't going to get him anywhere.

Storyboards and script on there way.

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I have been looking over the brief that Siobhan has given to us and i don't think that the surgeon idea will work very well with it.

The animation had to have one of the following objective:

To Get Up - To Avoid - To Impress - To Hide

I feel that another idea (one of the original ideas would be better suited to this so i am going to go back to the drawing board with the idea and think of something new and try and get it put together.

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Surgery Animation Storyboards

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Today we have a recording session with James Harris i was struggling to come up with a script for the animation but i think i might have a final couple of ideas.

My idea is to have the a surgeon is finishing an operation but finds that hi hand is stuck in the chest cavity and when he pulls on it he pulls out the persons heart.

I think this will work quite well but only time will tell.

for the script i think i have one or two that will work.

Ok i know this is wrong but give me a second and i will work something out.

Ok ok ok, this is bad i know but i can fix it just give me a chance.

Wait, i know this is bad....i just need some time to fix it.

Im still unsure on these so they might change by the time i get there but we'll see.

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So we have been given the task at uni to create a 15-20 second animation that follows the brief set by the lecturers.

Now i've been finding it hard to nail down an idea for it, i have the basis of a coupe of ideas but nothing that i think will work 100%.

These are the ideas.

1:

A man is trying to create a birdcage in his shed while trying to follow a D.I.Y TV show but finds that he just can't do it.

2:

A man is trying to write a script for an animation and finding it hard to come up with one.

3:

A farmer is being interviewed by a news team about him aliens during the middle of the night and them abducting his animals.

4:

A roadie is setting up the equipment for a rock gig and starts testing the mics but feels like he wants to start singing.

5:

A Military Sargent is talking to his squad about how pathetic he thinks they are.

6:

A guy at the GYM is being interviewed by a news team and he is boasting about what he can bench but when they ask him to give a demonstration he finds himself regretting ever saying anything.

I am hoping to nail down one of these ideas into one that i will be able to take to the next level.

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