Bienvenido
Posted by: James on: October 2, 2008
This will be the space in which i will host all of my research findings and ideas for my Final project at university.
Feel free to troll through the archives, there is much to be discovered!
Enjoy!
James
Final Post/degree show
Posted by: James on: May 14, 2009
Over the past few weeks I’ve been making last minute changes to my animation.
I have also been working on an A3 portfolio which features most of the stuff found on the blog. It also shows in further detail some of the stages of development I’ve been through both are worth looking at collectively.
I’ve also been thinking about my degree show and with assistance from university staff now have a good idea of how to use the space I’ve been allocated. After the deadline i will begin work preparing for the show on which falls on the 28th and 29th of may.
This process has been an enriching one.
I’ve shown stages in development – LINK
I’ve taken into consideration advice from peers and made important changes – LINK and LINK
which have resulted in a far more polished artifact – LINK and LINK
Links that have inspired me can be found on the right hand side of my blog.
All of my posts fall into different catagories which can also be found along the right hand side when searching for specific themes.
Closing stages
Posted by: James on: April 23, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Sound| Soundbooth| Timings
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Today I’ve spent most of my time working on sound design. I’ve been adding the narration track to my work and also been working with the ambient and music sounds
The process has been relatively straightforward i used Adobe Soundbooth to clean up and adjust the audio tracks. I could then quite simply import them into flash. Artistically however, it has been more difficult. Mostly because new doors are opening to me rather than closing so i am finding ways to constantly improve the impact of a scene through minor adjustments. Many sounds have been chopped up for seamless loops and others for one time fade out pieces, it hasn’t been easy, but i feel enough progress has been so far.
Other jobs have also been done, for instance i have added a number alpha fades for parts of the animation that require text and also those that need to give the impression of considerable time elapse that way they soften the impact of certain images appearing on screen. I’ve also removed a few buttons as i felt that once certain scenes had there dialogue added they’d look better flowing seamlessly into the next scene rather than isolating it as its own mini movie. Removing buttons and tweaking action script hasn’t been without its problems, I’ve had to deal with sound running through scenes that they shouldn’t have and also sort out problems where clicking a button to go to the next scene seems to skip ahead parts of movie clips as if it had been running in the background.
Today has just been a day for odd jobs and just making sure every last detail has been examined i am constantly learning and getting more comfortable with this way of working so new problems always seem to be popping up. This is essential to ensure my work looks as good as it can, but also so my sound level are correct and most critically the interactive parts are all functional.
Another take on my desert background, very similar although i removed the lizard and increased the size of the mountains to give the impression of looking from a different angle.
An example of the typical sound layers in my work. The top layer stops sounds carrying themselves over into new scenes. However, sometimes i want ambiance to carry over when i use the same location across consecutive scenes.
A black layer that has a fade in and a fade out point. For this particular scene, I’ve kept it at 80% opacity so the user can still make out the characters whilst being able to read the text comfortably.
Scene Adjustments 4
Posted by: James on: April 21, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Behaviour| Dogs| Flash| GIF| Interactivity| Lizard| Motion| Mountains| Photography| Photoshop| Power
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I’ve made some more fundamental changes this morning by recycling content but also adding some new stuff new content. The scene in question is the one in which the Dog handler gives the Vizier the attack dogs after being bribed. I never really flushed this part of the animation out before but it now features a blur to focus effect on the background. This was achieved by saving many different versions of the background at various stages of focus. The hand was painted in photoshop and was based on a stock photo i took close to the beginning of the project.
I’ve uploaded a still from the scene i’ve been working on, also showing the older version to make clear the changes i have made. I basically wanted to make it more obvious the dog was being taken away opposed to appearing already tamed, without a leash and walking aimlessly across the screen. I may upload a moving SWF for you at some point but dont want to spoil all of the surprises.
Changed Scene
Original Scene
Scene Adjustments 3
Posted by: James on: April 21, 2009
I’ve been going through the latter half of my animation today trying to figure out ways to improve it. I decided to begin by producing a brand new backdrop for use in the final few scenes. It proved to be quite time consuming to produce but will now provide the user with more variety in terms of what they are seeing.
It was made entirely in photoshop, the main point of concern was making sure the colour palette fit with the rest of the animation but i was able to match it sufficiently to the work i had already made. I found the little Lizard to be the most time consuming part of the process but overall i was pleased with the outcome. I may have veered slightly off track as i haunt planned to make another backdrop but i felt the final parts of my project needed more attention.
I’ve uploaded it in for you to have a look at.
Fair Usage
Posted by: James on: April 19, 2009
I’ve made a lot of headway today. I have now completed around 60% of the visual side of things. I’ve also recorded my narration pieces. I’m not entirely satisfied with it, but having done a total of 130 takes, i will wait to see how it fits alongside the animation before making any decisions.
Another thing i’ve been looking into is Fair usage policies on Copyright material. I have a small audio clip from a movie soundtrack i really like, and will be reading into these laws further to see if i am able to use it within my piece.
Scene Adjustments 2
Posted by: James on: April 19, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Flash| Photoshop
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I’ve been retooled more scenes. This post shows the changes i have made to the Court and the Sultan whispering scene. Again, I’ve decided to make the new bodies in photoshop but was able to reuse the heads for the characters that i had already cleaned up previously. This looks like a relatively simple transformation but it took the best part of two hours to complete as i had to consider how to order the many layers i created and also what colour palette to use without having any reference available.
Anyway, i hope this post can demonstrate some improvement in my work.
Scene Adjustments
Posted by: James on: April 19, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Flash| GIF| Photography| Photoshop| Preparation| Research
- 1 Comment
I’ve been making changes to many of my scenes today. This has mostly involved cleaning up bitmaps, retooling tweens and also adding new backdrops to many of them.
There has been a change to one of the scenes which has involved a brand new piece of work. Its the scene where the Vizier hands over a precious jewel. I had originally drawn the hand in flash but it now felt somewhat crude considering the new direction my work was going in.
I happened to have photo references of arms and hands as well as faces which i took during my preparation work so i decided to create a hand and forearm based on a photograph as i felt i could do a much better job and provide the user with something far more visually appealing.
Critique feedback
Posted by: James on: April 18, 2009
The critique session this week went well, it was good to see how everyone was getting on. For me personally i felt i undersold myself and didn’t fully demonstrate the hard work i have done. However it was supposed to be quite informal and the method of my project meant showing actual working models would’ve been quite difficult anyway.
I had a session with my tutor directly after to get some much needed feedback on specific problems. We decided on a few fundamental tweaks. To incorporate my backdrops into most of the scenes to fill out the atmosphere. At first this seemed quite trivial, however, my flash file incorporates many graphical assets which haven’t been cleaned up properly and these are also involved in animation loops. This would prove to be one hell of a task.
I can report that i have implemented some of these changes into my opening sequence and i have also tried it out on one of many scenes that i have animated, i feel the changes have improved the look of my work drastically! Its bringing things to life even before adding any ambient sound or narration. .
I will host 3 versions of my opening sequences for you to take a look at. This will give you an idea of what changes i have made.
The file order is oldest at the top then the newest at the bottom.
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
VERSION 3
Evidencing Research
Posted by: James on: April 16, 2009
- In: Markers| Preparation| Research| Scans| Sketch
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These images demonstrate some very early research into my project, at a time when i simply knew what story i wanted to base it on. The first one is a sketch based on an Italian garden. I wanted to create a spacious area but still a controlled environment. I then sketched in the dogs as it was intended for use as a dog pen in my animation.
The second picture was created right at the very beginning of the project. I was breaking down the different key areas of my project to help me understand what i needed to achieve. I also began to jot down ideas for the scenes i wanted to create.
The last picture would seem to bare no relevance to this project at all but helped me hone my marker rendering skills. During my project whilst working on the backdrops i contemplated using marker rendering in my final piece so i decided to practise this skill in case i decided to go ahead with it. The reason behind the car theme of this drawing is simply because my dad was a automotive designer for 20 years and he provided me with some guidance on using the markers.
Evidencing Character development
Posted by: James on: April 16, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Behaviour| Flash| Preparation| Research| Sketch
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Image 1. During the early stages of this project i made a number of drawings to get a good grasp of the characters I’d be needing for my story. I focused mainly on developing their emotions but i also came up with some full body sketches to help make each characters full appearance look unique. Later on these characters were shaped using a mixture of these drawings as well as my photography and Arabic painting influences.
Image 2. In this second drawing i began planning how i would segment the body parts in order to animate them individually. This hasn’t materialized in my project quite how they appear in my drawings but i gave it consideration and found a use for this technique in specific areas of the project that i initially overlooked. I cannot emphasis enough the difficulty in planning a project thoroughly having never used the software it is being designed for.
Notes
Posted by: James on: April 12, 2009
Whilst animating I’ve made some critical changes to the project. I’ve made notes on them for you to read.
Scenes
1. I’ve Changed the original order of the dog scene to avoid the audience getting confused. I felt the introduction of the dog once seeing it on screen made it look as if the vizier had been attacked. instead of implying at some point in the near future he will be attacked.
2. The scene where the dog handler hands over the dogs to the vizier does not require the dog bowl and bone images. I feel the scene works better with the user not knowing why the vizier has taken the dogs.
Script re-writes
I have found that reading out loud has given a different feel to my script for my narrators part. So i have made subtle changes to the script to help it transition better into spoken word.
Sounds
I want the user to feel they are doing more than just pressing a button. That means more drama upon each button press to add to unpredictability. To achieve this effect i have linked scenes together in such a way that upon the pressing of the button there is action right away.
I will also be adding hover effects. Which will reveal new sounds and perhaps non-linear travel.
Formatting
I made a Late decision to switch from 12fps to 20fps. This makes my characters look smoother whilst moving.
General
Having become more comfortable with using flash I’ve scene my technical skills improve. I feel now that i want to add more depth and detail into my work and if i the chance to do a similar project again i think my approach to making story boards and prep work would be different. It has been like learning a new language for me. which has made some of my earlier work not as well suited to the job as it could have been.
The Vizier
Posted by: James on: April 3, 2009
The process for the Vizier was very similar to the Sultan, in fact i produced the vizier first so i felt the look i was giving the characters developed more over time. This post shows a gallery of the viziers Upset expression.
The final character borrows features from myself and of racing driver Fernando Alonso. These decisions developed from the marker renders and photographs just like the Sultan and were implemented through the stages you can see in this gallery..
Expression Gallery
Posted by: James on: April 2, 2009
This is another one of the Sultans expressions. The number of images featured in the gallery are much more comparable to the amount of work that each character must go through. In this post i aim to show you the work that has been done.
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- Line drawing
Character development continued
Posted by: James on: April 2, 2009
This post moves on from the traditional drawings and demonstrates the steps i took to create one of the Sultans fearsome expressions.
1. Firstly I created the basic framework of the face, this included the hair ears and the entire outline. I used the same framework for all of the expressions to lower the workload and preserve continuity of the characters.
2. I then moved onto the process of rendering the features using my painting methods in photoshop.
3. I used one of my photographs to assist me in creating a lifelike yet imaginative character.
4. This process was then repeated albeit tailored slightly for the other emotions because a shortcut system wouldnt have allowed me to preserve anywhere near as much detail in the faces.
Evidence of where i've borrowed expressions from my photographs
Reference photograph demonstrating severe rage
Character development
Posted by: James on: April 2, 2009
Here you can see some of my original drawings which were created to help me decide on the look of my Sultan.
In the beginning i used original Arabic paintings as reference. This gave me a good starting point as i wasn’t sure artistically how to represent my characters but once i had produced some drawings i found my self wanting to move away from all the traditional paintings as i felt very little emotional connection with them. I moved onto taking reference photos which were used to help me define emotions. I still wasn’t sure where i wanted to go with them so i started using the reference photographs as my characters. Cutting them out to be animated later. I decided more was needed so i produced some line drawings of my photos and i gradually began to twist reality and come up with some unique faces.
This post demonstrates the thought process behind the Sultan leading up to his creation in digital form.
SWF files
Posted by: James on: March 31, 2009
- In: Adobe| Animation| Arabic| Architecture| Behaviour| Flash| GIF| Motion| SWF
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I’ve been working extensively in flash over the past couple of weeks.
I’ve uploaded a few of the scenes i have been working on to give you a taste of what i have been doing. They have been lifted out of sequence and do not yet feature any audio narration.
get the butterfly scene HERE.
Perhaps slightly Cliché but it is supposed to represent the Viziers good qualities as other members of the court gossip to each other about him.
get the return to palace scene HERE.
The vizier returns to the palace with a cunning plan.
Scanned Materials
Posted by: James on: March 31, 2009
- In: Arabic| Markers| Paintings| Petra| Research| Scans| Sketch| Traditional
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This post contains many of the sketches and preliminary ideas i had during the early stages of the project. Having recently scanned all the materials it has made it possible to host them here. It should give you a better idea of where many of my projects ideas came from.
I’ll begin by writing about some of my development work on architecture.
The story is of Arabic origin so i began looking at some eastern locations for inspiration. These sketches show my development through different mediums. I wanted to try marker rendering to see how it would eventually look on a computer screen. It didn’t give off the effect i had hoped but got me looking at the buildings from different perspectives.
1. the first drawing is of the viziers home, i studied the Qusayr Amra, which is located in Jordan the same place where one can find the Petra treasury and my other inspiration of the Qasa-Kharana . As explained in an earlier post i felt this building would suit my central character the vizier as he represents someone who is hardworking and loyal yet doesn’t receive anywhere near as much as he gives to others. I felt this building contrasted well with some of the larger more impressive castles in Jordan.
2. The next render was actually one of the first i produced of the Petra treasury…rather than draw it as a whole i wanted to focus on intricate focal points to see how much detail i could achieve. The character next to it is one of my early concept drawings. I was deciding on the best way to represent them in my piece. I looked at books on Arabic art such as Arab Painting by Albert Skira because i wanted to take in as much realistic influences as i could. Over time i felt my understanding and interest in Arabic culture was limited to the architectural side rather than the portraits felt it best to move on and develop my own style even though the paintings themselves represented a style that could be easily animated.
3. This final drawing is once again of the Petra treasury, i sought out reference photos for a nice angle on it. You can make out a faint sketch on the left of the treasury also. Although i first saw it in the third Indiana Jones movie, it didn’t occur to me to consider using it in my work until i saw it featured along side many other beautiful Jordan buildings in this book.
Narration Timings
Posted by: James on: March 27, 2009
- In: Research| Script| Timings
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This post contains the dialog timings for each scene from my script. This will allow me to animate effectively within the space made available for this particular audio tracks.
Sultans Garden
00:07.0
Sultans Palace
00:04.4
Sultans Palace (INT)
00:05.3
Butterfly scene
No dialog
Court Jealousy
00:05.1
Court sultan (INT)
00:05.2
Sultan frenzy
00:06.0
Sultan Vizier argue
00:06.9
Attack dogs
No dialog
Sultan contemplate
00:10.0
Walk of shame
00:05.4
Vizier Home
00:05.0
Take Money
00:07.0
Return to palace
No dialog
Dog handler
00:09.7
Nurture
00:07.0
Execution
00:09.8
Tamed dogs
00:09.0
Shocked
No dialog
explanation
00:16.00
Called off
00:13.00
Progress: Opening Sequence
Posted by: James on: March 23, 2009
Having completed most of the major Photoshop work, i have been more focused on the flash file. This post contains a link to my opening sequence. Conceptually it includes all of the design elements i want, however further modifications are likely to be made as i get more comfortable with the program.
The opening sequence is made up of a text layer which was then converted into a functional button so it could be assigned commands which would activate the animation. I changed some of the values in the text to achieve a change in colour when the mouse cursor hovers over it, this adds depth as it allows the user to determine the importance of the mouse cursors placing.
Its main downfall at the moment is the fact that the button is not on a timer. Therefore the user could quite easily click the button, activating the next part of the animation without watching the sequence in full. This could be rectified but would require an identical graphic layer in place of the button. This would allow me to choose when the user can advance to the next scene by placing the button at the end of the sequence, the user would not notice the late addition of the button as the graphic layer would be identical and would’ve been in its place the whole time.
GET THE SEQUENCE HERE
Progress
Posted by: James on: March 23, 2009
I’ve now produced the gossip spreading court character who is the voice in the ear of the sultan. This brings to a close all of the major character parts in my project. All remaining jobs in photoshop are likely to be minor but equally as important tweaks to the bitmaps.
You can view him HERE
Spectacle
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