week 19- body mechanical summary 2

2.1 Maya animation week1-20, 2.1 term 2＆3

There are also many details in facial animation. Previously, I used to think that the focus was on the lip movements, but I later realized that this is just an important part of it. The body’s motion path, hand movements, and eyebrows are also extremely important.

The creation of lip movements is completely different from what I imagined. First, it requires adjusting the jaw’s opening and closing according to the rhythm of the speech. The jawbone rotates and moves, so it’s best to avoid using translation in the initial stages.

Then, adjust the range of contraction for the corners of the mouth and the upper and lower lips; the difference between “e” and “o” is clearly reflected in the mouth corners. Finally, use other smile controllers to create details.

The key is to focus on the content within the camera’s frame and angle; anything outside the shooting range doesn’t need to be animated. There’s no need to cover every detail.

week 18 – body mechanical summary 1

2.1 Maya animation week1-20, 2.1 term 2＆3

In my opinion, body mechanics are the most important part of animation. Their priority follows the order of center of gravity, legs, upper body, arms, and head.

At the initial stage of creation, it’s essential to control the rhythm. By using blocking, you can create keyframes and adjust the timing to achieve a smooth overall rhythm, which can be considered the skeleton and framework of the entire animation.

Next, focus on the body’s center of gravity and footwork, avoiding any sliding foot issues. When displaying the center of gravity independently, the overall rhythm will resemble a bouncing ball.

In the final phase of refining details, the movements of the head and weapons can be tracked using tools. Like the tail of a small ball, they should follow the body’s motion and should be presented in as smooth an arc as possible.

week 17 – mouth

2.1 Maya animation week1-20, 2.1 term 2＆3

Lip animations play a crucial role in the creation of facial expressions.

They not only synchronize with dialogue to produce corresponding words but also work in conjunction with the eyes and eyebrows to create emotionally rich facial effects.

Previously, when creating individual animations, I had already produced lip animations that matched the lines.

Teacher gave me a lot of suggestions regarding the details of the mouth. For example, with the “o” sound, the degree of lip rounding varies. When the sound is blended into a transition, the lip shape is relatively smaller, whereas a standalone “o” requires a greater degree of lip rounding.

week9 – the last shot

2.1 Collaborative project＆Term3 session, 2.1 term 2＆3

In the design of my final shot, I positioned the camera on a high rooftop looking down. The foreground features a balcony, which I enriched by adding various objects to enhance the scene’s content. I chose to pile some road-related items on the rooftop, suggesting the protagonist’s path and implying that the world supports his forthcoming decision. I deliberately rotated a road sign to indicate “No U-turn,” symbolizing the character’s unwavering direction.

The final shot is different from the previous follow shots. After the character stops, there will be a downward-looking motion, followed by a quick cut to a falling motion, subtly hinting at the character’s ultimate fate.

week 16 – face spline

2.1 Maya animation week1-20, 2.1 term 2＆3

To go deeper into the animation this week, we need to turn Bloking into spline.

When modifying the curve mode, I encountered the same problem as before when I did body mechanical, that is, the problem of retaining the key frame length. I need to control the rhythm of the whole animation as much as possible and adjust the animation with the ups and downs of the lines.

For some pose with a long length that needs to be held, I use the method of copying keyframes to adjust the control handle of the curve above the second, and move the copied keyframes slightly to maintain the continuity of the animation rhythm, because in the whole animation, every part of the body is moving more or less, some of the movements are slight. But it still needs to be represented through K-frames.

The following is a list of the details I need to improve this time：

  • When the body leans back to prepare for the movement, the hand and the book need to move in the opposite direction, and the book is less in the picture.
  • When the word “shadow” is used, slap your hand on the book to show anger
  • Keep your hands on the book, move your shoulders, focus on the curve of body, and match your hip IK controls
  • The final pose is maintained, the head does not need to rotate

week8- echoes the dog in first shot

2.1 Collaborative project＆Term3 session, 2.1 term 2＆3

In the first shot, I need a scene where a dog and its owner are walking down the street, with the dog looking back happily at its owner. I created the dog’s animation in Maya and exported it in ABC format. I chose not to use FBX because the dog’s skeleton is non-standard. Instead, I exported the materials using FBX and combined them with the ABC format to restore the dog’s materials in Unreal Engine.

In this scene, the character’s home is a mess, with company documents and moving boxes piled up on the floor, suggesting his turbulent life. A close-up photo of a dog on the ground echoes the dog shown in the first shot, hinting that the dog has passed away. This detail underscores the protagonist’s lonely and unsettled life, with no one to rely on.

week7- failed night city

2.1 Collaborative project＆Term3 session, 2.1 term 2＆3

In my shot design, for the final scene, the protagonist needs to stand on a tall building overlooking the city at night. To achieve this, I started building my city using available assets. I noticed the ground was quite empty and needed many details. Simply changing the color of direct light wasn’t effective in creating a nighttime lighting atmosphere.

Therefore, I considered changing the window materials to create a glowing effect for the buildings. However, I realized that using this method caused all windows to emit the same color, which wasn’t the effect I desired.

Therefore, I might need to find a different city nightscape. I will look for some pre-built city assets that can better fulfill my requirements.

week6- Virtual Production

2.1 Collaborative project＆Term3 session, 2.1 term 2＆3

This week, we learned how to use Unreal Engine to synchronize a mobile phone’s sensors and camera for real-time control of the virtual camera. This allows me to walk through my created scene with a handheld camera, moving around to capture the content I want to shoot. Using a physically mobile camera provides a more immersive and interactive experience.

The teacher first played a music video by Jackson Wang to show us the potential effects of this technology. This piqued my interest, and I decided to test it with a project I created last semester.

This picture contains my notes, including steps on managing plugins and connecting Live Link. Ultimately, I successfully synchronized the camera, allowing me to walk freely through my scene. I found this to be extremely interesting.