Month: October 2024

Categories
1.2 Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Week 3 Narrowing down

Several angles were considered in exploring potential research questions. The first question, “How do Western and Eastern animation styles differ in their approach to storytelling?” has intriguing potential. but runs the risk of being limited when analysed at a deeper level. It might not enable a thorough investigation of how these cultural variations affect audience perception or emotional bonding.

The third question, “What storytelling techniques are most effective for creating emotional engagement in immersive animation experiences?”, contains great potential, however the subject is now too broad. Because there is little research on this subject, finding major references or theoretical frameworks may be difficult.

The second question, “How are race and ethnicity represented in mainstream animated films, and what are the implications for diverse audiences?”, gives a rich research opportunity. This topic is highly relevant in today’s media landscape and has been extensively researched in the literature, providing a solid framework for study while also allowing for an examination of the cultural and societal implications of representation in animation.

Categories
1.2 Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Week 1 & 2 Choosing the question and refining options

Creating a critical report on animation involves in-depth research and analysis to address a specific question that contributes meaningfully to the field. The first step in this process is brainstorming potential questions that can guide the investigation. Here are three questions to consider.

Q1)  how do Western and Eastern animation styles differ in their approach to storytelling


Q2) How are race and ethnicity represented in mainstream animated films, and what are the implications for diverse audiences?

Q3) What storytelling techniques most effectively create emotional engagement in immersive animation experiences?

After brainstorming these questions, the next step is to assess how thoroughly they have been explored in existing literature. This involves conducting preliminary research to identify key studies, articles, and discussions around each question, and evaluating the breadth and depth of the available information.

Categories
1.1 Unreal Engine

Week 4: Material Editor & Project Refinement

This week for the UE5 class focused on material editor which demonstrated different techniques for the required material effect with in the editor. this lesson could be convenient for any material editing require later within this project.

the focus shifted to understanding materials in Unreal Engine 5, using quxiel bridge for material examples. The learning covered the fundamentals of creating materials and explored the use of material instances, which allow for quicker adjustments and variations without needing to recreate entire materials from scratch.

Gaea is being used to generate landscapes, allowing for the creation of highly detailed and realistic terrain. Gaea’s procedural landscape generation tools provide flexibility in designing complex environments with natural-looking elevation, erosion, and textures, which can then be integrated into Unreal Engine 5.

editing and refinement of the Unreal Engine 5 animation project, shifting from environment creation to character animation. the project could include more environments as initially planned but unfortunately due to time constraints this had to be put aside.

The possibility of scrapping the current idea and pursuing a different direction is being considered. A new approach may provide a better opportunity to focus on the core principles of animation and create a project that aligns more closely with those goals.

Categories
1.1 Maya

Week 4 Spline & Clean up

Moving from blocking to spline for the tail animation introduced a new approach to refining motion. Blocking helped establish key poses, ensuring the posture, shapes, and perspectives were accurate before transitioning to spline.

This phase was beneficial for correcting the movement’s overall structure, allowing for more detailed adjustments during the spline process.

However, a challenge arose with the animation’s fluidity. At times, the motion felt too fast and floaty, lacking the weight and natural rhythm required for realistic movement this resulted in a knock on effect with the character jumping to late or squash and sketching timing being off. This highlighted the need for further refinement, particularly in timing and spacing, to ensure smoother transitions and a more grounded, believable animation.

Categories
1.1 Maya

Week 3 Tail animation

Using the Tail Rig involves learning how to effectively animate complex ball and tail movements through a method known as the blocking technique. Blocking is a crucial step in animation, where the key poses and movements are laid out in their simplest form without focusing on the finer details. This approach helps establish the tail’s overall timing, spacing, and major actions before adding smooth transitions.

with two distinct body parts: the tail and another part of the character (like the body or head). The challenge lies in coordinating the tail animation with the motion of another part, ensuring that the two elements move in harmony.

drawing mannequins and focusing on the line of action to help understand how motion flows through a character’s body. The line of action helps define the direction, energy, and posture of a figure, making it easier to create dynamic and balanced poses.

Reflecting on the drawing exercises, having never drawn before made it challenging to grasp the fundamentals of proportions, shapes etc. The process felt unfamiliar, and translating motion onto paper required more practice than expected. however this proved exciting as to further develop character animation skill.

When applying these principles to the animations, the blocking character often resulted in movements that appeared too smooth or lacked the sharpness needed to convey weight and force, especially in the tail and ball animations.

Categories
1.1 Unreal Engine

Week 3 Camera & Blocking

Learning the sequencer for this week provided a boost to the animation project as it was a good starting point to create camera, sequencer and test different camera angles within the project which allowed for a greater built idea.


However beginning scene create was priority, This process begins by accessing the quixel bridge or using built-in assets to create a rugged environment. Once the assets are imported, the terrain is constructed by arranging rocks, cliffs, and other landscape elements to form a natural, uneven surface. Various tools, such as landscape sculpting and painting features, allow for further customisation, adding detail to the terrain, such as textures, vegetation, or lighting effects.

With the scene established, the next phase involves experimenting with the camera. Using the cinecamera in UE5 offers control over focal length, aperture, and depth of field, allowing for the creation of cinematic shots. Reviewing the lecture and references to see the techniques used for camera and character animations. This experimentation is key to understanding how to frame shots, control the visual storytelling, and capture the intended atmosphere within the scene.

Categories
1.1 Unreal Engine

Week 2: Project set up and Storyboard

Navigating a project in Unreal Engine 5 involves managing various tools and features to create a well-structured scene. One of the key steps is using asset placement, which allows for easy integration of pre-made models, textures, and props into the environment. Assets can be dragged from the content browser and positioned in the scene using transformation tools for scaling, rotation, and movement.

Quixel Bridge further enhances this process by providing access to an extensive library of high-quality 3D assets and textures that can be imported directly into the project for photorealistic detailing.  Setting up the project for an assignment typically involves organizing the project files, configuring the appropriate project settings (such as lighting, rendering, and output formats), and optimizing the scene for performance.

A storyboard is being developed, inspired by the Assassins Creed Revelation trailer, centring on a wanderer in a vast, desolate landscape. For the environment, Quixel Bridge is used to source high-quality assets such as rocky outcrops, ancient structures, and detailed textures that contribute to a rugged, immersive world. Mixamo is employed for basic character animations.

The Idea can be expanded upon and developed further into something different which will allow for a more interesting narrative such as the character being injured before hand etc.

Categories
1.1 Unreal Engine

Week 1: Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine 5 provides a powerful platform for creating a wide range of real-time 3D content, from games to cinematic productions. Upon downloading the engine and exploring its marketplace, a selection of assets, includes pre-built environments, characters, and advanced visual effects. film production projects within Unreal Engine 5 emphasise storytelling and visual fidelity, utilising photorealistic rendering, advanced lighting, and virtual production tools to simulate traditional filmmaking techniques in real time.

Unreal Engine 5 was downloaded and explored through experimentation with its features, focusing on constructing environments such as rocky terrains and testing camera controls for cinematic shots. This practical approach facilitated an understanding of the engine’s tools, including asset placement and scene-building techniques, providing a foundation for future animation and game development projects.

This week was mostly about coming up with an idea for the animation needed for the submission, brainstorming lead to different outcomes, However focusing on the Environment was key as this was a strength that could be utilize. however the environment is one of UE5 most powerful tools using Megascans (Fab) to browsing test project content could help improve the idea for this project.

Categories
1.1 Maya

Week 2 Pendulum Animation

For Week 2, the focus is on creating a pendulum animation while applying the overlapping action principle. This principle, crucial in animation, emphasises that different parts of an object move at different rates, rather than everything moving uniformly. In the pendulum exercise, the base of the pendulum moves first, with the string and the weight at the end following the motion in a delayed, overlapping fashion. This creates a natural and fluid movement, where the swing of the pendulum’s weight lags behind the main motion due to inertia and gravity.

In addition to the animation task, a drawing exercise involves creating a pose with a line of action running through it. This line of action helps define the motion path and energy flow, ensuring the poses are dynamic and balanced. The overlap drawing exercise reinforces understanding of how different parts of an object or character interact, improving the ability to portray natural, believable motion. These tasks directly tie into the teachings from the “Animation Survival Kit” book, helping to solidify the concepts of overlapping action and improving overall animation technique.

The process of learning to animate the overlap drawing, how fundamental it is to bring life and believability to characters. The overlap drawing exercise has helped understand how different parts of a character or object interact during motion. It’s not just about the movement itself but about how energy flows through a character’s body—each part moving at slightly different times, creating a natural ripple effect.

Categories
1.1 Maya

Week 1 Ball Animation

Learning the animation fundamentals in Maya begins with a planned approach that combines technical tools and key animation ideas. Coming from a programming and game design background, this was crucial in building a foundation for understanding the more advanced concepts of the course.


To receive feedback and collaborate on the ball animation, a SyncSketch is required. To demonstrate the ball’s weight, motion, impact and improvements.

Starting with drawing out important spots and utilising motion’s arcs and timings. utilising a spline graph on Maya, and Keying’s poses highlighting critical points in the ball’s bounce or roll, followed by Squash and Stretch.

Challenges arose with the rotation and spacing. The ball’s movement and rotation initially felt disconnected, and finding the right spacing between keyframes was key to ensuring a smooth, natural rhythm. Refining the spline graph helped resolve these issues, ensuring fluid motion. referring to references and the lecture recording provided great insight into how to improve fluid motion and tiny details to demonstrate a more refined look.