ANIME(TION)

This One Took Forever

This was my final 2D animation where I had to include everything I had learned so far this year. Throughout this project I learned that sometime simplicity is key. At the beginning I started off with a story that was to complicated and cut it back or else I wouldn't finish. The original one would have had to many elements that would have to be created and animated and I just didn't have time for it, so I took parts out. In the end I'm really proud of this project and want more people to see it since I put a lot of effort in it and looks half decent. One of my greatest strengths in this project was probably creating everything in Photoshop before actually animating it. I was pretty good with the pin point tool. One of my weaknesses, however, was the walk cycle. I was able to improve, although, by adding pin points in the knees but I still need a lot of practice and work on it. One aspect about this project I would change is the walk cycle and how my clouds look. I feel like I could've done the walk cycle more smooth but just didn't have time. I'm going to use what I learned from this project to better my future projects and know what I need to work on.

I'm Somewhat Proud Of This

By creating this project, I was able to learn how to do a walk cycle for a two legged creature. I learned this skill by paying attention in class as well trial and error. Additionally, I also learned how to scan something I drew on paper into the computer. I forgot how to do a portion of the scanning so I had to have help for a classmate. I picked this project because I had some struggles with it in the beginning and couldn't get my robot looking how I wanted, I couldn't figure out the walk cycle, etc., but through my trial and error  I was able to produce an animation that I think is decent and proud of. One of my greatest strengths for this project was creativity with making my character a robot and not a human, as well as making the head spin at the end. My greatest weakness was the walk cycle because I did it backwards so I have to make my robot walk backwards. I was to improve, however, by working and focusing on making my walk cycle the best it can be. If I could change anything, I would change how my robot looks because he looks really spotty and messy and I want him to look nicer. Overall, I will use what I learned in this project whenever I'm animating something that needs to walk or move in a similar way. 

This Doesn't Completely Look Bad

By doing this project I learned so much about the animating software, Maya, and several skills as well. I learned how to create dips/a bowl shape out of cylinders, how to combine shapes, add textures using pictures, and what tool to use to align shapes. I learned these things by having to create the towers for my castle, needing to add a stone texture to walls, and making sure everything was even and neat. I picked this project because I'm really proud of how it turned out especially since I was gone when the instructions were given. My greatest strength is probably the textures even though I had some getting them to show up my first time. Once I found out what I was doing, however, it was easy from then one. One the other hand, my greatest weakness was probably creating the towers and beveling. It took me forever to figure out how to get it to work, but eventually I got it down and was able to do it pretty easily since. I'm going to use what I learned when needing add textures an surface and when I'm creating a building. One thing I would change is the size of my towers, the look really big and I don't like them. Overall this project was really fun to make. 

My Favorite 3D Project

Animating this project let me learn how to create holes in a polygon. You did this by putting cylinders through it and then taking out the spaces where they touched, creating hole. I also learned how to light an object from doing a worksheet and watching a Youtube video. I picked this project because it turned out super good and I'm proud of how well I did on it. My greatest strength in this project was lighting the object. I was able to understand the lighting really easily and caught on to it pretty fast. My weakness, however, was getting the holes to appear properly. My first few tries resulted in all . my shapes disappearing but I was eventually able to make it work. I improved on this skill by figuring out what angle for clicking worked the best. I'm going to use what I learned to light the rest of my projects in a professional, appropriate manor. I wouldn't really change anything about this project except make the plane lighter, its to dark. Overall, I'm really proud of this project and think its's one of my best. 

PRO-CEDURE

Prepare To Learn Some Knowledge

In this blog post I will be teaching you to make a 3D sphere in the animation program called Maya. The person who would nee this tutorial is on that has never used Maya perform and needs to learn the basics, but this skill be used by anybody that has Maya on their computer.  This skill is important to learn so you are able to begin animating and creating projects. All the other polygons in Maya can be made in a similar fashion, so once you learn how to create a sphere you can create any other shape you want. 

1. The first step is open Maya to where it looks like this. 

2. Then we have to create a new project. Go to file and then click on Project Window.

3. Once you click on it, a window like the one below should appear. Click the "New" button in the top right hand corner. Name the file whatever you would like and then press "Accept to begin animating. 

4. Once the file is created, click on the tab named "Poly Modeling" so the banner looks like the below.

 5. Click on the orange sphere, which is the shape farthest to the left, in the banner to create on your plan.

6. Click on the plane and drag to make your sphere the desired size you would like it at.

7. Once you have created your sphere you press "Save" or "Save As" under File. You do not need to repeat step 2 and 3 when working on this project again, simply just reopen this file. 

Additional Resources

This tutorial will take you more in depth in the modeling process as well as teach you about texturing. I hope this will help you further your animations and help you in the future. 

MAN....I WISH I COULD DO THAT

Summery

The short filmed I watched was called "First Date Short Film" by First Date Team. This film was about two people who met for a first date and as the date goes on incidence happen that reveal who they really are. At first you thought the girl was going to be cooler than the guy because he a nerd. However, we find out that the girl altered her appearance with makeup and implants. Even though she wasn't completely honest the guy still likes her and, instead of leaving, takes off his wig to revel a bald head. At the end they both skip off and live happily ever after. I really enjoyed this film because it was light hearted and sweet.

I Become A Film Critic

The animation was really good. All the characters had their own distinct quirks that made them them and were really fun to watch. These quirks also fit with the overall cartoonish feel of the film. The man on the date had a very exaggerated walk, bringing his knees up higher than the normal person. On the other hand the waiter took little steps that made him appear as if he were simply bouncing up and down rather than walking. The movements of the characters were very smooth, even when they grabbed something, there was nothing off, no spaces that wouldn't naturally be there, and, while it was cartoonish, it still had an element of realism. One thing they could do to improve the film is add more texture, everything was really flat. Adding texture would make it more entertaining and add more dimension. Overall, the production of the film was very good and smooth.

I Can Kind Of Do That

Watching an animated short while taking animation is cool because I can look and see what skills I can apply to my projects and what ones I already know. One of the skills I can learn to apply to my work is making peoples mouths move to talk. I think that would be really interesting to learn how to do because then I could make my own short film. Even though I can learn a lot of skills used in this project,  I already know how to do some as well. One skill I already know how to use is the pin point tool/moving elbows and knees.

CGMeetUp. “CGI Animated Short Film "First Date Short Film" by First Date Team.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGoFcDR7Ia8. 18 Dec. 2017

ANIMATION. A GLOBAL FRONTIER

China is know for producing most things we use here in the United States except cartoons. However the masterminds and animators apart of Up Studios in China are about to change that with their new cartoon. Trevor Lai, founder and leader of Up Studios, has been able to create a show called Super BOOMi that's the potential to go worldwide instead of just national in China.
https://www.awn.com/animationworld/trevor-lai-and-super-boomi-taking-china-storm

Sketching Out The Plans

Throughout the article, the author shows how many Chinese animations and characters don't make it out of China. He shows us how Super BOOMi  is different by how it focuses on universal themes and elements instead of having it focus specifically on Chinese culture and traditions like most animations  Super BOOMi is different from other shows and why this one is spreading and the others aren't. Overall, throughout the article the points are supported.

do. The author does a really good job by doing this with his own commentary but also getting direct information and quotes from the creator himself, Trevor Lai. He also brings in evidence outside if the animation and tv realm by showing the character of the showing being placed in hotels, spreading the popularity of the show further. One weakness, however, is that the author doesn't really elaborate how

Getting To The Point

The authors main conclusions for this article are that the show Super BOOMi will soon reach audiences outside of China. He also sees a very bright future for Up Studios with them producing another show based off the book called Tomo. This show will also deal with universal themes hence the prediction for global success. As a whole I thought that the article was very well put together and all points helped support the idea that Up Studios as a whole would soon have global animations with Super BOOMi being the first of those animations. All the evidence added to the argument and had a purpose.

Final Thoughts

This article taught me how to make products that appeal to a wider audience. I can use this skill in the future when I start working in a creative field to help know how to make the most money off of what I'm creating. In order to make something appeal to a global audience it had to deal with themes that everyone can understand and relate to, instead of ones that are specific to one culture or country. I was able to understand the article pretty well because it didn't have to much tricky vocabulary. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and might do it more.

Citation:   “Trevor Lai and 'Super BOOMi' Taking China by Storm.” Animation World Network, 12 Dec. 2017, www.awn.com/animationworld/trevor-lai-and-super-boomi-taking-china-storm. 18 Dec. 2017

ONW NOW ...... BUT BETTER

Becoming A News Reporter?

For our final project in convergence video we had to put on our own edition of ONW NOW. ONW NOW is a weekly news show that my school produces. For our project we had to create a show that was less than ten minutes long with an original intro, lower thirds with the names of people that appeared in it, wipes (animated transitions), game day segment, and other stories. Once we had our footage and stories edited together we had to film our own show like it was live. Overall, this experience was really fun but stressful at the same time. 

Behind The Scenes

To start the project we first had to be assigned jobs and teams. My job on my team was to a reporter, which means I go out and film stories and edit them for the show. I was able to this with my friend Sophie which made it even more fun. For my stories I decided to do a Words From The Halls segment where I went around and asked students holiday themed questions. My other story was over the Christmas time traditions of one of my fellow students. Going out filming the students and having them answer questions was so much fun because I got some really weird answers. Sophie and I also went and filmed B-Roll of the swim team, sadly only one clip from it was used. Once everyones stories were done it was time to film. The day before we did a run through so our production could learn how to use the equipment. Eventually it wartime for the real thing. We got two takes and that was it, luckily our show went great and turned out really well. I really enjoyed this project but I'm still going into entertainment..... sorry Mr. Cooper. 

Gathering New Information 

This project wasn't only fun but it was great learning experience. I had the opportunity to learn how to but together a Word From The Halls and how to do on the spot interviews. It was also really interesting to see how an actual ONW NOW is produced and all the hard work it takes. Throughout the process I was able to learn a little about how to run the equipment like teleprompter but not a lot. In a professional sense I learned how to communicate with people about filming them/coming to film better and in a more professional way. I also learned that you can't control what everyone does and if it isn't the best, that's okay , along as I did my best. Overall, this projects a create learning experience not only technically but also in a personal way.

Next Time On ONW NOW

Even though this project went really well there are still somethings I would've done differently. One thing I would've done differently is be more vocal to my group members about my thoughts on the stories and how they look. This is important in group projects so the project is the best it can be. I also I wish I spoke up about not have a job during the actual filming so I wasn't just standing there. In addition, I would add more footage to my Word From The Halls to make it longer and  more interesting. Even though there are some I would've changed there are some I would've kept the same. Overall I was really proud of my stories and how they turned out, I would keep what I did for them the same. Not only was I proud of my full stories I was also proud of my swim b-roll. The shots turned out really good and would've made a great addition to the show. Overall this was a really fun project and I'll be able to draw from the experience of not being apart of every story and having to let people do what they think is best. 

THE THING

Origin Story

For one of my last projects of animation first semester we had to create a sphere that had holes in it. In addition to creating this shape we had to use professional lighting to illuminate it. We were to do this in the animation program called Maya, which is used by professional animators. We first, however, had to prove we knew how to light so we had to watch a video or two about it and then place lights in the appropriate place on a worksheet. After that it was time to get to the fun part. 

The The Thing Was Created

To start of the project I first had to create a new file in Maya where all my work and finished projects would go. Once the file was created I created a sphere in the program that had a radius of 5. After that I created a cylinder to help create holes in the sphere. This step to a few tries because I would either make the cylinder to short to go through the whole sphere, to big to fit in it, or to small. When I eventually made the cylinder the right size I duplicated it so I would have two more of the same size. I then placed the cylinders in the sphere so there was an end sticking out of the top, bottom, and four sides. After they were in place I used the Boolian difference button to take out the spots where the cylinders and the sphere touched to create the holes. When the holes were created I colored the shape red and added a shiny texture to it. I then went in and added the lights using the directional lights tool to light it. After that I added an additional flat plane under the shape and colored it green. Once the plane was colored I rendered the images, saved, and I was done. 

Learning About The Thing

Throughout this project I learned how to create hole in objects, use the align tool, and was able to get a better understanding of how to color polygons. Being able to create hole using the Boolin tool will allow me to create more dimension and interest in future projects. The align tool wasn't hard to use but gave the project a nice professional look because nothing was off center and looked very nice. Improving my skill of coloring and adding texture to surfaces will allow me to work quicker and get my projects done faster while still looking nice. Professionally I learned that I work better while listening to music. This is because it blocks out additional noise and people while see my headphones and not bother me. I also learned how to use extra time I had after I was done. Instead of sitting at my computer I used my extra time to finish other projects I needed to do. 

Life Lessons 

Overall, I think this project went pretty smooth and turned out good. One thing I would change is not doing as dark of colors for the plane and maybe the shape. My dark colors made the shape and plane hard to see and the whole thing was very shadowy. However, my lights placement was very good and wasn't. In my next project I will most likely do the same lighting. At the end of the project I realized that not all projects will need a ton of work and can still look good. As a whole I think the project went very well and I will probably going into other projects with the same focus.