This may be one of, if not the last update relating to the golem. It has recently been given to the Studio X animation department for testing. Going through the notes, there wasn't too much that needed to be changed, and a lot of personal requests for particular things that didn't apply to the golem due to the nature character's design. One thing to not was that many of the animators did comment on the overall complexity of the rig, which is understandable, considering all of the moving components that are contained on it.
I've also had it looked at by someone in the field, and they were impressed by what they say, as I had shown them the test animation I was working on, as well as the calisthenics test. Their only critiques were to have a close up of the facial area for some expression displays, some extreme poses to break the character, and a walk cycle. They did compliment the fact that the vines worked as well as they did and the variety of rig types that are connected to the character.
On the other front, I'll be creating a demo for one of the other characters I rigged during the Studio X program. I do need to ask for an animation sample of the character, but I do not think that there is anything completed relating to it at this time, so I may either have to create a quick piece myself, or as for a WIP animation from them.
I'm also hoping to be allowed to showcase some other characters from a separate project from outside the school. However, the person is unsure on the decision at this time, so it's up in the air if I'll be able to show it as part of my final review reel.
Showing posts with label Thesis related.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thesis related.. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Updates as of September 25, 2014
A few things to show for now. First up is a calisthenics test of the golem's movement:
Secondly is just a personal animation test I'm doing on the side while I wait for animators to test out the current generation of the rig:
Aside from a few adjustments that were made to the back chain system, and the testing, this rig is complete. At most, I'll remake the nCloth file for an animation.
Secondly is just a personal animation test I'm doing on the side while I wait for animators to test out the current generation of the rig:
Aside from a few adjustments that were made to the back chain system, and the testing, this rig is complete. At most, I'll remake the nCloth file for an animation.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Update as of September 21st, 2014
Here is the current status of the golem. The vine script is finally done. A user can create a vine with controls in any direction they want, as well as adjust the thickness of the vine, allowing for either very thick or very thin poly tubes. Originally, there was an issue where the script would allow multiple copies of the locators used for the path, resulting in the script logging a KeyError out and mucking up the previous setup's system. To counter this, I have the buttons lock upon their usage, and unlock once a system is built. There is also a reset button, which clears out the current system being built. To be extra cautious, I have the script log a KeyError in case the user tries to use the same name again, informing them to enter a new name.
On the rig front, I've made some further modifications to the rig. To start, I have the limbs and body form in a sequence, rather than the bulk of the appendage moving into place. This can allow for more interesting animation possibilities. I've also changed how the IK controls on the arms work, allowing for a smooth transition between local and global space, rather than snapping between them. Below is a rough test animation I did to get a better understanding of how things are working on the rig.
While working on the above animation, I had caught a few things that needed correcting that hadn't been brought to my attention previously. A few tweaks later, and things were in a better state. Unfortunately, one of the animators I had asked to test the rig is no longer able to bug test, so I've set up a meeting with the animation department lead to hopefully find a replacement. If one can't be found, I have another contact that offered to help find an animator to test the rig out.
Less related to the rig and more of the textures and materials, I changed the brightness of the horns. The reason behind this is that I asked someone currently in the field to give some advice on how the current model looked. Ultimately, they recommended I make some changes to the horns, the vines, and the area around the boulder.
The horns were casting too much light on the surface directly next to them, so they recommended I bring down the intensity of the light coming from the horns. They also pointed out that my current light setup for test rendering needed work, So I swapped out the spotlight I was using for a directional light. After about two and a half hours of adjustments, I've come up with the images below. It mostly came down to ramping up a lot of final gather settings and playing with the lighting a bit.
With lighting
Without lighting
New directional light with increased final gather settings.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Updates as of July 31st, 2014
So a few updates, but nothing radical.
The golem:
Still trying to figure this golem out overall. Modified the right arm so that it just runs on an SCsolver and some orient constraints, while the left arm uses an RPsolver, but has no real palm or wrist beyond the radius and ulna twist. Also added a new control to the stump, so that it can be offset a bit from the main body, though I'm contemplating making it a separate entity like the stones. Also streamlined the foot rolls into one node.
I'm honestly glad I took a semester away from this thing, because now I can look at it and see what can change to streamline things, as well as fix some readability in the controls.
Studio X
Things are wrapping up, and most everything that was worked on has been cleared. There was a minor hiccup with one file where the skin had been detached and re-bound by someone else on the team, leaving the weights in a poor state due to Maya's lackluster import weights function, but nothing serious enough to cause panic. A short time later, it was fixed, and I proceeded to make other fixes to the rig as a whole.
Beyond these, not much to report on. With the semester coming to a close in the next few days, work will shift back onto the golem with some more refinement and, thanks to a few friends of mine, animation testing.
Cheers,
Dan Rico
The golem:
Still trying to figure this golem out overall. Modified the right arm so that it just runs on an SCsolver and some orient constraints, while the left arm uses an RPsolver, but has no real palm or wrist beyond the radius and ulna twist. Also added a new control to the stump, so that it can be offset a bit from the main body, though I'm contemplating making it a separate entity like the stones. Also streamlined the foot rolls into one node.
I'm honestly glad I took a semester away from this thing, because now I can look at it and see what can change to streamline things, as well as fix some readability in the controls.
Studio X
Things are wrapping up, and most everything that was worked on has been cleared. There was a minor hiccup with one file where the skin had been detached and re-bound by someone else on the team, leaving the weights in a poor state due to Maya's lackluster import weights function, but nothing serious enough to cause panic. A short time later, it was fixed, and I proceeded to make other fixes to the rig as a whole.
Beyond these, not much to report on. With the semester coming to a close in the next few days, work will shift back onto the golem with some more refinement and, thanks to a few friends of mine, animation testing.
Cheers,
Dan Rico
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Updated activities as of July 26th, 2014
Still under several NDA agreements relating to all of the projects I am on, I will try to explain, as best as I can, what I've done in class thus far.
To start, the one project that wasn't under an NDA, was a bull character rig that needed fixing. Nothing too extreme, in that it needed some paint weight corrections, adding in some controls to replicate the muscles shifting beneath the skin of the shoulder, some pole vectors on the legs, and a better spine system. Add to this an adjusted tail control system and some controls on the testicles, as well as the loose skin beneath the neck, and that sums up the changes.
From here on, I can't say much about the projects, so I'll try to be detailed without revealing anything about the project.
First, this project is not a student collaborative project, but one from outside the AAU system. The initial idea was to create a proof of concept for a character, showing that it was possible to rig the character, as well as maintain the integrity of it's design and the film's aesthetic.
While the first pass proved the idea, it still needed work, so it's been a matter of making slow changes. So far, some attributes have been combined into one, such as the foot rolls, while other attributes have been given their own controls outside the primary rig. What makes this project a little more unique is that it required a duplicate rig to control a similar set of geometry, yet the geometry itself holds a different purpose compared to the primary geometry. The various portions of the geometry, on both the primary and secondary rigs, had to be somewhat modular in nature, in that they need to translate and rotate, regardless of the part of the body they were. Not a complicated task, at first, but due to the nature of the character, it wasn't particularly easy either.
The second project I was on, I ultimately had to leave due to the nature of the class and other projects that were stacking up that needed to be done. This project required a bird rig, which wasn't quite as difficult this time around, as I had built a bird rig on a previous project. Taking what I learned from that project, I applied it to this new rig, but in a much cleaner sense. There were a few revisions on some controls, such as a modified foot roll system, but due to some geometry issues, the project was delayed, ultimately leaving it to be given to another member of the studio x class while was assigned a new character that was ready to go.
The third, and current, project is currently the most complicated. It required three different rigs to be built, with the third being an accumulation of the other two. This one has proven to be the one I've learned the most from, in that having a maximum influence node enabled while weight painting can result in vertex weights flying to other influence object at the most inopportune times. Several of the limbs on the character are also a little more complex to work around, their function being snake like in nature. This piece, too, suffered delays in the modeling department, resulting in a large push recently that require the primary rig to fully functional for a test animation by the end of the night. Thankfully, that goal was met, and now it's just down to fine tuning and tweaks before being labeled complete.
On the side of all of this, I currently have an animator testing out my golem. Once things ease up in the studio X pipeline, I'm going to go in and start on the revisions they have listed thus far.
This is all I can disclose for now.
To start, the one project that wasn't under an NDA, was a bull character rig that needed fixing. Nothing too extreme, in that it needed some paint weight corrections, adding in some controls to replicate the muscles shifting beneath the skin of the shoulder, some pole vectors on the legs, and a better spine system. Add to this an adjusted tail control system and some controls on the testicles, as well as the loose skin beneath the neck, and that sums up the changes.
From here on, I can't say much about the projects, so I'll try to be detailed without revealing anything about the project.
First, this project is not a student collaborative project, but one from outside the AAU system. The initial idea was to create a proof of concept for a character, showing that it was possible to rig the character, as well as maintain the integrity of it's design and the film's aesthetic.
While the first pass proved the idea, it still needed work, so it's been a matter of making slow changes. So far, some attributes have been combined into one, such as the foot rolls, while other attributes have been given their own controls outside the primary rig. What makes this project a little more unique is that it required a duplicate rig to control a similar set of geometry, yet the geometry itself holds a different purpose compared to the primary geometry. The various portions of the geometry, on both the primary and secondary rigs, had to be somewhat modular in nature, in that they need to translate and rotate, regardless of the part of the body they were. Not a complicated task, at first, but due to the nature of the character, it wasn't particularly easy either.
The second project I was on, I ultimately had to leave due to the nature of the class and other projects that were stacking up that needed to be done. This project required a bird rig, which wasn't quite as difficult this time around, as I had built a bird rig on a previous project. Taking what I learned from that project, I applied it to this new rig, but in a much cleaner sense. There were a few revisions on some controls, such as a modified foot roll system, but due to some geometry issues, the project was delayed, ultimately leaving it to be given to another member of the studio x class while was assigned a new character that was ready to go.
The third, and current, project is currently the most complicated. It required three different rigs to be built, with the third being an accumulation of the other two. This one has proven to be the one I've learned the most from, in that having a maximum influence node enabled while weight painting can result in vertex weights flying to other influence object at the most inopportune times. Several of the limbs on the character are also a little more complex to work around, their function being snake like in nature. This piece, too, suffered delays in the modeling department, resulting in a large push recently that require the primary rig to fully functional for a test animation by the end of the night. Thankfully, that goal was met, and now it's just down to fine tuning and tweaks before being labeled complete.
On the side of all of this, I currently have an animator testing out my golem. Once things ease up in the studio X pipeline, I'm going to go in and start on the revisions they have listed thus far.
This is all I can disclose for now.
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