test post

This is a short vid WAY more to come

ARTD 472 proj 1 2 second progress vid from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

progress

I'm currently animating my scenes, i have put all the video through icaris, and i just need to animate and composite.

I tried to upload the WAV i am using for the video, but you know blogger.

Im working as hard as i can on all my assignments, wish i could pause time, work on this, then write my J496 essay, then design my letterform poster, then put together a portfolio design.

Animating is where i am now.

The python script to for audio manipulation didnt save on my file, so when i got home, it wasn;t working. Next class i will try to set it up.

I am also not seeing the .mov files in my view background image section in blender. sort of a random error.

I am going to animate around that.

I will finish strong, i know it.

New Beats Post

My other picture seems dark, so I'm trying to lighten it up

In other project news:

I finally figure out icarus and ran most of my footage through it. Big thank you's to Russell and Braeden for showing me how to do it.

Im going to start animating today. We'll see how it goes

Hi-Def Render of The Beats

I am pretty proud of these...

I want to remove the reflectivity on the ear piece, as it is leather, and not actually shiny

In class 4/21/2010

CRUNCH TIME

Not enough hours in the day for all of this

Things i got done

Song Edited to a wav and right length.
Cube array/audio analysis mostly done
Headphone rounded out
Video shot
Video converted (mostly)

What i NEEED to do

Animate!
Edit vid to size
Icarus the footage
Compile in AE
Finishing touches in AE

MOVING FAST!

Progress on Proj 1

I'm making a match moving video. It will be about my headphones and the glorious musical sounds that come out of them.

Here are some renders...

Where the model of my headphones stands right now. I need a small, tiny amount more work on the texture, and a small amount more on the model side. I'm 95% done with them.

I usually put a color map on my Unwrapped UV's to figure out where to place things

Where frame render of the head phones

The color map
The actual UV script

here is what the head phones look like really. I'm getting very close. Some stupid blender errors are the only thing keeping me away. I'll shoot the video tomorrow around 1pm, should be interesting.

Thats enough of that, good night

just to keep in practice...

The ending to this video is BAD, but i am pretty happy with most of it.

Array 2 from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

ARTD 471 FINAL Project

Thanks for uploading adam

Creature Film from Adam Alexander on Vimeo.

Slow out/Slow in and Secondary Movement

I also tried out a little hdr lighting

Slow out and Slow in & Secondary Movement from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

A short animation attempting to achieve three things.

1. Use slow in and slow out moving techniques.

Basically, adding more frames at the beginning and end of the motion, and having fewer frames in the middle. This gives the movement a more realistic look.

2. Have secondary movement.

This is basically having things move, in addition to the main action. For this animation, the balls keep rolling, even after they are no longer the focus of the shot.

3. Use HDR lighting.

This is all done using light probes. A very easy technique.

I have to say the HDR lighting is the only thing i feel very accomplished with here

the animation techniques are based off of some disney animators 12 principles of animation.
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

More animation/video work here

http://www.vimeo.com/rmowery

Array Animation

This one was fun, I will do much better next time

Array Test from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

Great Open source License free audio source

http://www.archive.org/details/audio

This site has TONES of stuff. I was lost for hours in the sounds

Object and Frame

Even though we are turning this in as Jpegs, here is a rendered version i did

Object and Frame from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

2 animations almost done

sneak peaks at the current animation stuff

BACK Spring Term

Worm Animation from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

Back in class, now to work on my project

Here are the details

500x 500
24 fps
All white bg
10-15 secs

Braeden passes to ME I pass to Adam

Finally Finished!

Dude Guy Dance Guy is complete. I will post the final version of this song and dance + the 5 minutes collaborative piece we have all been working diligently on.

Taking a break for J320...

I have a 6-8 page essay on the way Women are portrayed in Hip Hop magazines Due this Wednesday at 5pm, so i am taking a break from DGDG to work on that.

The paper seems interesting, but i dont know if i will be able to concentrate, since all i want to do is animate.

I'm evaluating the portrayal based on these 3 publications. any thoughts?

So close

Camera Movement is a bit jumpy. I have since started smoothing it out, making the cuts more crisp, and less violent.

The colors are working well together, and i added a spot light to shine down on DGDG during his show.

Going to sleep

Finished revising the camera movement mostly tonight. Im gonna do another test anbimation to see how it looks in real time, by letting it render overnight.

Here his feet are just groovin' along...

sound fx?

My song isn't editing to the dancing well, i have to fine tune it some more.

I'm getting sort of animation crazy at the moment. I have been working on this thing for most o the last week, pretty solidly, and i am starting to go a little nuts.

I might take the rest of today to just disconnect myself from the work, in order to take a more objective and critical standpoint.

Crunch Time!!! :(

So Im reporting live from my room at 4:10 am with the latest and greatest on my animation.

It's looking really good. I've added a sign, and im starting to model a boom box for the music to play from.

I'm gonna do a test animation with what i have all night, and see what it looks like in the morning.

weight lifting @ 9 am. FML

March 9th Part 2

In the interest of Time, i have chosen to wire frame render this guy today. If it doesn't upload right, since Blogger usually doesn't work, i'll get this on youtube or vimeo soon. Also the final animation should be done very soon.

March 9th part 1

I am working pretty steadily on this animation now. But the render time here in the lab is waaayyy slower than my computer at home.

To kill time, i am investigating more motion capture and automated 3D programs

and i found a couple really sweet things.

The Teddy sketch

http://www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/teddy/teddy.htm



Also

This automated rigging and animation system known as Pinocchio

http://www.mit.edu/~ibaran/autorig/



I will post my end of class results in about 40 minutes. But these computers really aren't working well with me today, so my progress is small, but i've gotten help in crucial places.

Updated Dude Guy Animation

I went to the lab today to export some rough animation for DGDG.

I have ditched about the first 10 seconds of this animation since its so choppy. Consider the first jump to the end where i am currently at.

This animation has the current texture, as well as the current setting. I like the stage setting, but i feel like he looks better against the white background. I dont know.


My plans for furthering this:

Fix the gittery feet, delete the frist 10-12 sec and add more at the end. Make him get up into a push up position or something. I also want the eyes to move, and for the camera to move around, to give the performance a more dynamic feel.

I am also wondering if i should add anything to the stage. Speakers, bright flashing lights, disco ball, not sure. If there is time i am def going to add something.

Goodnight

A little late, i know

This is the animation i had critiqued a couple weeks ago, it still is using the MoCap as well as the old nonsensical texture. I want to post a new animation of what my character is doing now, just so you could do a comparison and see how mcuh better it has gotten.

But anyway this animation isn't horrifically bad, it just has a nightmare amount of problems.

DGDG Feb 2010 from Ryan Mowery on Vimeo.

Animating screen captures

Animating is really starting to come along now. I'm getting better at easing in and easing out, as
well as getting the rhythm of the body movement down.














Here is a small screen shot and render of one of DGDG's poses:)

March 2nd In class Work

Texture Update on DGDG

John mentioned the texture wasn't working as well as it could be, so i decided to revamp my idea and go for something a little sleeker, and more appropriate for the character texture. Its much smoother, and has a smaller color scheme. I've done away with the small little screws and wire tattoos that were barely visible, and i have settled on the graphics theme instead.


I think this version looks much nicer, and makes more sense.


Animating begins!!!!

Dude Guy dance has hit the stage....

I have added IK solvers and weight painted a little more skillfully.

I still need to weight paint smoother, and get my story board scanned and posted. But right now. This is where i am at.

a new begining...

Today i accepted a truth i have been avoiding for 2 weeks now. So Motion Capture is not the way for my creature, Dude Guy Dance Guy to go. I've been thinking this for a while now, and it took seeing my peers animations to fully understand that MoCap was not the way to keep moving.

It is sad, since i have spent almost 2 weeks solid weight painting the smallest details on the character, trying to polish the MoCap into a usable device. Then to finally realize it's not going to work is a defeating feeling. But i will push on :)

Not so bad though, i will now understand how rigging a character start to finish works, and I will figure out IK solvers as well. All of these things i just blew past early on in the course because the MoCap was so much more interesting to me, and it didn't require the knowledge of these steps.

I'm still going to render out a small full 6000 frame MoCap animation of DGDG dancing, but it will be on my own time. I am now embarking in a different direction.

I will still also keep learning about MoCap, and posting it to the blog as part of my side project. Perhaps try again when my animation techniques get a little more polished.

NEW IDEA

As the final project the creature people are going to make a Creature Talent show.

Each person gets at least 20 secs of animation for their character.

800x600 @ 24 fps are the specs

Then they will all be put into one giant file. i think after effects will be used to composite the pieces.

I will have a story board up by next thursday of what i want my characters movements to look like.

I still want to Dude Guy Dance Guy to dance.

Rendering...

I am going to let the animation render all night. Whether or not i get very much rendered or done, is out of my hands at this point.

Good night and good luck

Dude Guy Dance Guy Is in the Building

He needs a backdrop and some fancy camera movement. But for the most part, DGDG is ready to groooove :)

AudioPhile AKA Dude Guy Dance Guy aka DGDG is almost done

Here is a more up to date version of my character Dude Guy Dance Guy, doing a weird dance move. His arms have some problems still. But he is rocking some fresh new Adidas so he doesn't care.


I want to start designing a backdrop for this dance to take place. I am not sure if i want it to be in a city, or on a stage or what. I just don't know at the moment.

I have also been thinking of sounds for this animation. The song i will use will have to have the right tempo to match the dance.

A couple words about MoCap.

Where i left off last time, was just uploading the MoCap to my blender file.

After uploading the c3d file, you give the MoCap a parent child relationship with the mesh. Select the MoCap bones, then the mesh and hit ctr+P. In my case i then made the eyes parent child relationship to the model as well.

Now once i did this my model went nuts.

To correct the problems that have just popped up, Weight painting must be done.

Weight painting is where all of the magic is going to happen. Here is an image of DGDG in a pose, and below is the weight painted version to show what bones are effecting what.



By weight painting the bones of the mesh, you are telling the bones how much to effect each part of the mesh. When i first attached the MoCap to the mesh, the head was stuck in the body and the body was twisted around. Weight painting helped solve those issues.

Spend the majority of your time weight painting the model, IK solvers were not helpful for me, so i didn't bother to use them.

New Eye

I have been unsatisfied with the eye i previously made, and today i finally took steps to correct this.

This is the new eye
This is the old eye
This is an unwrapped texture vs the just color textures i had before. It some slight tweeking, but i liek this much more, it matches the body texture much better in my opinion. The green is closer to the body, and it has more detail.

To start class today...

Today before i start doing anything else, I'm posting this small, slow, test animation i made last night. I am still weight painting, and the more i do it the better it looks. I am running into small problems here and there. I have the model's mesh fitting pretty nicely to the Mocap skeleton, but the more i weight paint, the more problems areas pop up.



The video

This is a short animation of my character dancing, his mesh is still pulling in certain areas, and his arms are inside his body, and his shoulders are still unbalanced.

I think the animation is looking semi decent

Motion Capture: An ARTD 471 Side Project

I wanted to upload a small 1-2 sec test animation of the character so far but time is not on my side today. So instead I'll start working on my side project a more in depth look at motion capture.

For my 3D character I decided it would be a fun route, for the animation, to try to incorporate Motion Capture.

To start with

http://mocap.cs.cmu.edu/

This is a really good site with free High Quality Mocap files. Be sure to download the c3d formats if you are using blender.

Motion capture is Readily available online, alot of site charge you but some are free.

These files are huge. A lot of them 120 frames a sec, it will take a bit to load up.

Once it loaded up alt + a to play the animation.

Next step is to attach the armature to the model.

I will be posting, from time to time, more info on this subject. It is a new subject to me, so i will post any interesting articles, sites, and Tutorials i find.

Weightpainting

I downloaded a nice Mocap of someone dancing, now im just trying to attach it to my mesh, for fluid movement.

Here is my character for better or for worse

I can't fix his head, i'll have to revisit that later on. But here is the finished texture, all i need to do now is set up the lighting and give him a good scene to blend with.

99% done with Texture...

I'm very close to finishing. The head has some problems, i want to add more symbols to his body, i don't want to clutter him any more than he already is though.

I need to work on the lighting, and possibly a setting so he doesn't look so plastic looking.
I am really happy with the way the shoes turned out, the way i drew them didn't seem like it would actually look like shoes.


ALMOST DONE.

But for Now Midterm studies must begin :(

texturing thus far

The head isnt matching up right, and i still want to add small details are far as marks logos and more screws. I also want to make him look less plastic/shiny and more rough.

Texture

Color map, just to find the unwrapped pieces of this guy.

Unwrapping...

Here is some idea of how i want to texture this guy. Im thinking sort of a rough skin/scale texture. Not sure, just gonna play around
http://www.animeeple.com/details/8a4b7403-abdf-493e-8a9d-cb52ab3b4810

Body Done. Onto Texturing

I'm done with the body. for the most part. I am now starting the texturing process. These textures are just a test run, more an more it looks like i might have to unwrap this guy. All the texture's I'm finding are not what i am looking for.


Blank, no texture, body is done.

Just playing with a skin and chrome texture, added the speakers for fun.


Similar texture to the one above, just playing with the color. I can decide what color to make him.

Modeling is getting gooood

Just playing around with some textures and an eye i made, just too see how its looking. This int how i want the texture to look at all, but i am just trying it out.





This is the body i want the head to be a little bigger, and i am gonna go for more of a bored look, rather than the surprised look he currently has.