Snowflakes

Snowflakes in e-Com 

his past few weeks in Animation, e-Com students have been occupying themselves with the snowflake animation. The goal of the project was to create multiple snowflakes and animate them to fall down. The animation would be posed in a way to look like the camera, or person, was looking out of a window.

Creating Snowflakes 

We started by creating polygons, which was very easy. These polygons would be about a 1/6th of the size of what the final snowflake would be. After drawing pattern of stripes, it was mirrored over the x-axis then we made 5 more copies and arranged the six in a perfect circle. After adding more details to the final product we would begin animating.

Animation

Animating was also simple.  We picked a starting point and an end point for each of the snowflakes on a timeline. When it was finished all the snowflakes would come down. Also making a wall with a window on it, to make the effect of looking out of a window. Positioning the camera and then rendering the short video went smoothly for me. This was the final product.

Final Product

Ice Cream Project

Maya

During the another week in e-Com we continued our focus on Maya projects. This time our assignment was the 'Ice Cream" project. This consisted of us using bump textures in order too make our spheres look more like ice cream. The bump textured were easy to get too and I used the 'cloud' 3d texture on my ice cream. It worked very well and the product came out very nicely.

Next we went ahead and flattened a large cylinder, which would be used in order to create a 'Lazy Susan'. This is where I started to animate. Using the time line I had the cylinder do a full 360 in the span of 120 frames. The fill product came out like this:

The Pen Project

Animation class has always been fun and recently we've been working with a new software names Maya. This time it was in our mindsets to create a pen, modeled after one we actually owned. I chose a orange pen I kept around and began to model it.

The final product :

The pen went very well. I started with cylinders and from there, continued by shaping them and then eventually adding color into the mix. 

Salt and Cup

This week in e-com the class continued their work in Maya this time to create a cup and salt shaker. We used new tools and methods, including lofting and revolving in order to create the two objects.

Starting with the cup, we used  NURBS. In which we then started by simply tracing out a profile image that was half of what the official shape would be. Then using the rotation tool we brought in around to create a full cup. After assigning a material to it, the cup was finished. I wouldn't change anything in the process of how I made the cup since it came out very well.

With the salt shaker, it started with creating a shape and making copies of said shapes. With four copies some distance away from each other vertically we then used lofting to connect all 4 shapes together to crate one shape. This would be the base for the salt shaker The cap was a flattened sphere which took its place onto of the body. The work I did on the salt shaker went well and there isn't much I would do to change it.

Hammer in Maya

In e-commmunicaiton recently we've been using a program known as Maya which enables us to build  objects in 3-D. For this week my class has worked on the Hammer project in which we have been given the task to build a hammer and nail in Maya in order to broaden our understanding on how and when to use certain tools. 

Modeling 

In this case I started with the base, all known as the handle of the hammer, and from there worked up to the actual Hammer head. From there I used the extrude tool that allowed me to extend the back of the nail head into two separate pieces. From there I was off too do the head of the hammer, the part that hit the nail. Here, I ran into some trouble. It took a while but by using the fill tool I was able to fix blackholes that had gotten into my design. After finishing the build up for the hammer I got to work on the nail by starting with a cylinder then making it thinner , except for a part at the top giving it the look of a nail. Then using the scale tool I entered vertex mode and made the point of the nail. 

Shading

For shading I made the handle of my hammer a wood brown in a typical hammer fashion. The hammer itself was of course a shade of grey along with the nail. 

Lights

There are three types of lights used in lighting and I used all three of them in my project. The key light, the rightist and main light, focused on my hammer and shone a light straight onto it. The fill light came in on the side to give more shape to the project. He back with was in the back and shone off the top of the hammer. 

If I had to do this again I wouldn't change much other than how I built the top part of the hammer since it had started glitching and creating black holes. 

Semester Final Graphics

Graphic Design     

     The first semester of graphic design was a fun one. using what I learned this year and what I had learned the year before, multiple projects were created. Some were harder than others, all completed as to the best of my abilities. 

Fall Raccoon

The first project that I started this semester was the Fall Raccoon project. The project took all of us at the least two weeks since the project was our first one and bound to take a long time to create. I managed my project by dividing it into two sections. The first section being, to create a raccoon and other fall items, the second section was to create a fall scenery to suit the raccoon using the other fall items created in the first section. 

Challenges 

A big challenge for me in this project has actually been the scenery because I was unsure of how to incorporate the other fall items I created into it at first. Gradually, I got an idea for what I was going for. 

What I learned and Overall 

In the first part I learned how to create berries, leaves, nuts, and a raccoon in Illustrator. I mostly learned how to use some tools that I didn't know how to use at first. When communicating with my peers, I came to the conclusion I needed to add a better grass outlook. That's how the stokes of paint, mimicking shreds of grass came into place.  I do believe there is more room for improvement, when it comes to shading and how the sky looks like. Overall, I like how it turned out in the end. 

Typography Thank You

The next project we began to work on soon after this one took us a much longer time lasting at least 2 weeks for each of us. Now, using the raccoon we had originally created in our Fall raccoon project we were to create a card of any holiday or occasion where we would incorporate out raccoon into the card along with creating typography to suit the final product of the card. I started the project with an idea in my mind about what I wanted it to be like. Like I did with the Fall Raccoon I split the project into two parts. This time the first part would be designing the outlook of the card. I chose a Thank You card and blacked out my raccoon with a beige color out my raccoon and added in onto a lighter shade of the color. The second part was composed of making the typography for the card, then adding it into the first part.

Challenges

My biggest challenge was surely creating the Typography for the project. I knew where to start but had no idea where to go from there. I used a font to start of the basis of the typography but I didn't use it well and at first it looked horrid. I then changed fonts, which made a huge different as this font looked much better and suited the card better than the last font.

What I learned and Overall

While making this project I was sure to collaborate with some of the people around me to see if they saw anything off that I didn't. One of them saw I had a made a mistake regarding where the text on the back of the card was supposed to be placed and I corrected it. On the project I'm actually very satisfied with how it turned out it the finale. Despite my previous trouble with the typography, the type suited the card I liked the final look of the project. 

Infographic

The infographic was my favorite project to make. We were to pick a topic and then gather information on it to create our final product. At first I wanted to create an infographic on infographics for irony but I wasn't able to find good statistics to suit it.  then decided to change it the a real problem our world today. Basically speaking about child poverty in Africa as that is a big problem in todays world. For project management I split this project into three sections. The first part was to complete my outline of the project on paper. Second, to gather information on the topic I chose, third, I would start building the infographic.

Challenges

When creating the infographic I originally had a hard time deciding how to present my statistics using graphics and how I should center my information around those graphics. In the first infographic I created I started off with a munch large space but ended up cutting that space in half to better suit the graphics. 

What I learned and Overall 

During this project I learned the importance of color as I at first had a different color scheme than what I would eventually have after, The color are meant to suit the subject and also grab the attention of anyone passing by. I did also ask my peers for feedback in which they commented to me about the graphing tool that was available in Illustrator that I hadn't known about, which is how I came to create the graph in the upper right corner. In the end, I liked how the project came out. It looked nice, suited the topic I chose and had good statistics on it.

Vector Project

The final project we worked on took almost a month to complete as it was much more difficult than all the other projects. We were to take a photo of ourselves and vectorize it by adding vectors, then coloring them all in. This project was simple despite its difficulty. I ended up having to stay after in order to complete the final project.

Challenges

Work management, unlike all my other projects, was trouble with this one. Because I had to come after school I was having trouble organizing what would be more important to work on. My face? Or my hair? If it's my face then which feature would be easier to finish? It took a while to work everything out. 

What I learned and Overall

My technical skills surely improved during this project as. I spend a lot of time with the pen tool creating multiple parts before adding even more onto that part. When asking for what I could improve on with the other students It was suggested I don't copy the exact color of whatever part of the vectored part. The light on my face made some of the colors look weird I changed some of them to better suit ht final image. In the end, I didn't like this project as much as the others, but certain parts on the project turned out extremely well. 

My Strengths and Time Management 

When talking about my strengths, I have to say project management as I never really get off topic on what I'm doing or when talking to my peers. I also usually split the project down into parts then set a deadline for each part in order to ensure I have everything done. I get something done before a deadline, I look for something improve or just get started on the next project early. I also have to pride myself on creativity for what I did on the Thank You card with creating a silhouette of the raccoon and for the topic I chose in the infographic and how I chose to present it. Last, I tend to pick up on things quickly so uI never had any problems on being behind or not understanding how to use a new tool. I often try out new tools and look in different sections to see if there's anything new for me to try out.

Improvement 

What I need to improve on for sure is shooing statistics in graphics as I had struggled with that in my Infographic project. I also need to improve more on using some of the tools such as the pen tool. During the final project I had issues when creating my hair. Something else I nee to work on to to continuously ask for feedback from my peers. Although I did too so during my projects I get the idea thatI need to do it more often. 

Behance

Whenever finished with a project we were to create a new file where we would put a step by step process on how we created each project. For the fall raccoon I was very specific with my Behance, clearly showing the step by step project. I did the same with the Thank You card, also adding a mock up with this one. The Vector and Infographic were much more simpler, Showing what I did along with a mockup to go along bedside it. Each of the Behance's creating are linked with each project.t 

Summary 

I've had a fun time this graphics semester. I'm satisfied with the work I've done and how well it turned out. What I enjoyed most about this semester is the Thank You card project as I found it very fun to create typography. If I had to actually change anything I'd just change how I worked on my final project. Now I know a lot more about Vectors and how to incorporate one thing into another. For next semester I'll have to see if I can improve on Time management and collaboration. 

Semester Final Animation

     Animation is a complicated form of art. There are different types of animation for starters, such as 3D and 2D, all of which can be created in different programs. During this year of animation I learned a lot about how to create these types of animations and even created one myself. Her the multitude of projects I've so far created I'll be discussing five. 

Maya

Maya Castle 

     This year we learned about a new program known as 'Maya'. It centers around 3D modeling and animating, which is new for all of us as we have only done 2D. We were all learned new technical skills, though being taught the basics of the program, starting with making shapes then learning how to make those shapes different, whether it as with colors or size. Afterwards, we learned how to put the shapes together to create something new and how to put on textures. Using the tools given to us we created a castle using 'extrude' and other utensils. I started with a tower, creating a large gray cylinder before adding more shapes onto it. Afterwards came the walls, rectangles with smaller squares extended out. Next I added on a texture of white bricks, since I felt like that was best suited for a castle. In the end I had four walls and four towers which I organized accordingly to create my final product. 

Maya Lighting 

     Of course, shapes aren't the most important aspect of animating. Lighting also takes a big role, not only in animating but in theater and in movies. Dramatic lighting can give a sense of dread to the viewer, putting in harsh lines on shadows where half of a face, for example, could be filed with get and the other half not even able to be seen because of the shadows. For a more comedy, no-so-scary movie, the lightening would be more 2D, coming from all around and giving a shine here another. 

     The main parts of lighting come from the key light, fill light and back light. All important aspects of lighting, each with their own role. The key light is the main light to focus on as it's the one that creates the most light, so where it shines is the brightest. The fill light is as the name says since it used to fill the space that the key light doesn't cover with light, usually at a lower hue and not as strong. The backlight it places behind whatever subject in being focused on, it provides a shine onto the subject as it's usually aimed from above. 

     We created an example of this in Maya. Since this project was the final one for the semester there was a limited time to complete it. Through project management, I separated the project out to get it created in the span of time I had left.  it started by creating a simple sphere before making is gold and adding shine onto it. By using booleans we subtracted parts of the circle out of place to leave a final shape. from there we created three lights, the key, fill and back light to illuminate the shape. This was a more difficult project as it required a lot of learning to actually complete, overall I'd change nothing bout it since it turned out exactly as I wanted it too. 

Adobe

Walking Animation

     3D projects were not the only projects we focused on. Near the beginning of the year we learned how to make a walking animation through Adobe Photoshop and Adobe AfterEffects. This was a 2d animation and a long process as it all began with creating a character. We all collaborated with each other to scramble some ideas for an original character to use in the animation. My character originally was a robot looking creature that I wasn't so fond of. I continued drawing random sorts of animals and creatures before creating a blob. Mostly out of boredom and lost hope, I gave the blob arms and legs and then decided this would be my character. Thus came Bob the blob.  Starting with drawing photos and then outlining them to upload onto Adobe Photoshop. 
     In Photoshop I had cleaned up Bob the blob, something that was one very easily by using different tools created a floor and sky for Bob the blob and added some extra images for the end of the animation. Then all of what was created Photoshop I moved into AfterEffects. Animating Bob the blob to walk was a challenge for me, however after re-doing the animation multiple times I finally got it to the point where I was satisfied. This project is a large building block when it comes to animating as walking is a fundamental characteristic of people. If I had to change anything about the project I did I would make Bob's steps longer as I felt they were too short. In the end it came out well.

Muliplane

     The multiplane animation was first introduced by Walt Disney who noticed when filming an animation that specific parts, such as the moon enlarged when zooming in. This is not good, as the moon does not actually enlarge in real life, in order to make the animations seem more realistic he made planes. One plane could get bigger while the other one stayed short, thus making animations more realistic and more better.
     With this in mind we began to make a multi-plane animation of our own. This project is also a fundamental piece to animating as it revolves around making a scene move in a more realistic manner. My greatest strength in this project was designing al the layers in photoshop as I painted the sky and shaded the grass to look just right. eventually we moved the project into Aftereffects where I had trouble animating the final product. The screen is shaky and the layers don't flow together as well I hoped but that's how I found out I accidentally, while in Photoshop, had saved some parts onto layers they weren't supposed to be on. But, nevertheless it looks alright and I'm fond of my color scheme. 

Animation

     The biggest project we worked on was making an actual animation that incorporated both walking and the multi-plane. I started with my story board which took me. long time to create, but was one of my favorite parts of doing the animation. Doing the storyboard gave me an idea of where I want to go with my animation and eventually I had it all put down and ready to go. By using the same methods in the walking animation to get the characters into the screen I editing the out just like before, also creating lots of different backgrounds in the process. A strength here was actually animating it all together as I had experience from doing the past two animations. In the end it looked good, although sadly without sound. If I could do it again I would figure to a way to add sound onto the video.