Ronnie Leah, BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts, UCA Rochester.

Toolkit 2 Reflection  Jetpack Jones was an interesting experience. One of the main reasons I joined the course was to learn how to create a character and then have the ability to fully model, rig and eventually animate them. Jetpack Jones gave me the ability to learn and apply these skills, and I felt this more engaging than the previous toolkit. I enjoyed modelling the characters head the most as it was the most rewarding as I had taken a drawing and made it into 3D. Although not perfect I feel my model still resembles that of the character. I appreciated the in-depth process of painting skin weights, something I was unsure about and struggled with in my previous projects. The videos did a good job of simplifying and explaining the process. However at the same time I felt that the whole process could have been made more interesting rather than sitting alone at a computer watching videos. I understand that their isn't much more you can do apart from learn this way but by making t...

 The final thing to rig was the eyebrows. This was interesting as I got to use a different paint skin weight tool.  My angry eyebrow does not look perfect like the video version, however this is the best I could make it look. I had trouble using the smooth tool to shape the eyebrow.  Once I had done each of the different expressions I then connected them into the main head. I then made one more star control so that the eyebrows could be moved in the channel box.  The final video showed me how to clean up the scene ready for texturing 

 I started by setting up the joints in the eyes  I then began painting the weights for the joints ready to create the blink. I found it hard to do the eye as my models eyes were at different shapes and sizers. I managed to work around this problem however by spending more time on the eyes making sure the blinked worked for my model.  My eyes were a bit messed up from the way I modelled it, however I still completed the eye blink in order to understand the process. I was still able to make the eye look as if its closing, just wasn’t as perfect as the video version. I was then able to mirror this across to the other side.

 Started by setting up the position of all the joints for the extra movement In the face. I then painted the weights for the face joints, starting with the nose. After skinning the nose I then moved on to the characters cheeks. I then made controls for each of the joints ready to bring down to the real face. Once the controls had been modified to be able to be seen in the viewport, I then translated them to the original head and then used the connection editor to connect them up. I then connected the controls to the head rig controls so that the nose, cheek and chin would move with the head. Finally cleaning up the scene.

 Final video in part 2 was thinning cheeks. This was done by using blend shapes to create this effect. This video was useful as it was a quick way of reminding me how to use blendshapes.

 In order to complete the lateral movements, I had to first combine each of the expressions next to each other in order to create the blended emotion. I had to then flip the head so that I had movement for the right side of the head.  I then used blend shapes in order to connect the expressions into the man model. Once this was done I then added each expression to a control so that they could be manipulated in the viewport. 

 Started by duplicating the head again, this time in order to fix corner of mouth movement. Once I set up the joints for the head, I then began weighting the joints. I then painted the weights to help with the character smiling movements. ]

 I positioned the teeth so that they fitted the size of my characters mouth. I then did this with the tongue. I parented them to the jaw rotation joint in order to see what they would look like when rotating. It was important that the teeth connected when the mouth was closed. Once I was happy with the look, I then went on to weighting the tongue. 

Art Of Below is my Premise project "art of", showing the progression of my project through my artwork and influences. The document can be downloaded for closer inspection.  Final Reflection On Premise Project  I started the premise project with the knowledge that I wanted to create an animation which would push my skills. My goal was to produce a product which I was proud of to show off to possible employers. From previous projects I had been able to measure my skills, allowing me to identify my strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to take the opportunity the premise project allows to fully hone in on my weaker areas in order to give me the best possible outcome when it comes to the end of major. For this reason I decided to extend my project across all three units, premise, minor and major.  From my last project titled 'Collaborations', I managed to produce a final animation I was proud of. However I felt as though the animation wasn't as fluid as it could be. Th...

 After the presentation I went back and improved upon the weaker parts of my project.  Colour pallet Exploring M.A.S.H feature When presenting, Simon suggested that instead of having in-depth cyberpunk environment, I should instead investigate using the M.A.S.H tool in Maya. Instead of having an environment which is built up, Simon suggested that I make the Cyberpunk world more abstract, rather than a solid city. This way I can convey the message of technology infesting nature in a more symbolic way, allowing me to use the environment in a more visual way in the animation.  With M.A.S.H you are able to use soundwaves to build up the environment. This way the world is less structured and instead a product of sound. I can use cyberpunk type music in order to inspire the structure of my world. 

In order to show where I want to take my project going into Minor, I modelled my Samurai character's left gauntlet.  In order to make the hand and arm I referred back to the Jetpack Jones video tutorials. I then used the videos to help me lay out the Uv's for the arm  I then went into Photoshop and drew the texture for both sides of the arm.  I then rendered out the arm in order to see what it would look like. I would like to develop this idea further when it comes to the final version of the model for minor by adding texture which match the materials of the objects. For example the metal parts of the gauntlet would have a metallic finish. This will give the model more depth, making it look less flat. /