Workflow Chart

'How To' Book Textures

HOW TO GARDEN

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Garden-Only-Gardening-Book/dp/1856264386

http://www.thebalconygardener.com/archives/563/

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=939&tbm=isch&tbnid=Gj5bHXl6wIb53M:&imgrefurl=http://physiobility.com/patient_education_tools&imgurl=http://physiobility.com/Gardening-Page-1.gif&w=1200&h=1553&ei=9aZEUKKmCaKM0AWG2oCoDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=174&sig=115458307698841001069&page=2&tbnh=149&tbnw=115&start=33&ndsp=37&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:33,i:202&tx=76&ty=69


HOW TO COOK

http://www.theartworksinc.com/2011/03/

http://www.templatesweb.com/blog/2008/08/18/cooking-recipes-website-template/

http://www.templatesweb.com/blog/tag/food-drink/page/2/


HOW TO PET

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=939&tbm=isch&tbnid=rdo6faKzSCR8MM:&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Cats-Sleep-Anywhere-Eleanor-Farjeon/dp/0060273348&imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/610PH4E7CJL._SL500_AA300_.jpg&w=300&h=300&ei=NK9EUIqJGLOZ0QXphIHgDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=334&vpy=139&dur=1116&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=101&ty=132&sig=115458307698841001069&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=144&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:73

http://www.websitetemplates.bz/website-templates/pets-web-site-template_1022.html

http://www.elheraldo.com/id8.html


HOW TO DRAW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Draw-Animals-Michael-Garton/dp/190715129X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346677513&sr=8-5

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/how-to-draw-dogs-coloring-page/

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/drawing-patterns-coloring-page/

Blocking Complete

Blocking usually consists of creating entire poses but for the purpose of this I only created very basic poses as I am concerned about how long his actions take, for example walking around and talking.

However I can now go back in and start to add the in-betweens. I can also start to bring in his expressions and lip sync.

Alterations after Meeting

There are several things that need altering before I can continue with the blocking process:

• Be aware of textures, don't cross over real and CG, change the newspaper textures
• Remove the bag, it looks like a blob and takes attention away from the more important points
• Give the plate on the dining table it's own space, maybe scale it down
• Only have two books in the bedroom and move forward, everything else looks out of place
• Crumple the other towels in the bathroom, crease them on the radiator etc
• Make the pink cup brighter
• Make the cushions the same colours as the pink and blue cups
• Re do blue cushion, pull it down slightly, like a hammock (be subtle)
  I decided to change the pink cushion instead of the blue so I have made it look bigger and new

Blocking

Now has come the time to start the blocking process, this is where i will key out the main poses in that particular scene or section. Seen as though i have decided to completely segregate the separate camera movements, it breaks the project down into smaller more manageable chunks.

I will add screen shots and comments into this particular post rather than starting new ones all the time, that way all of the information is in the same post.


SCREEN SHOTS

When Hamish turns over to switch the alarm off his arm is going through the object, I will try changing the settings of the obstacle that the cloth is colliding with to see if i can fix this problem

No amount of changing settings was helping, it was making it worse because the sheet was lifting off Hamish completely, so I decided to add shape animation and move the points needed by hand:

Also i want to add this video in, showing the movement of the cloth animation when Hamish rolls over, I like the way it naturally moves with him and sort of falls off him:

Complete Character Turnaround

This is the best way to show off the construction of the model and the rig:

Extra Bone

The suggestion was made to add an extra bone into the panda character's leg to create a knee joint.

I have given this a go but it seems like his leg isn't long enough, there isn't enough points in the leg to use for the extra bone.

With that problem I would probably have to add extra points into the model and possible extend the length of his leg, with the amount of time I have left and the animation needing to start asap I have decided to not add an extra bone into the leg unless it is creating problems later on.

Final Model Adjustments

Before I can start the animating process properly I need to complete the modelling. This includes adding extra things left around the house, making it look more worn/used and adding beveling to the models. This is so that the edges will have nice highlights instead of being completely square.


To help with the placement of items left around by Hamish, I have been taking photos over the last few weeks when people have left things lying around the house.

In the lounge and dining room, the main objects lying around were papers and bags/shopping:

In the kitchen, the main things left out are dirty pots in the sink or clean ones draining:

The bathroom never really gets that messy but cleaning products and towels get left out.
Also there is a screen shot of the hallway after a car clearout:

The bedrooms seem to get the most cluttered, bins overflowing, papers, books, clothing:

The main one i wanted to focus on was the desk, Hamish's desk is very tidy but they are never like that:

PROGRESS RENDERS
Before I start adding clutter to the rooms/house I wanted to take some render shots to show the models as they are now. From the above points I have added all of the beveling that I want to add.

SCENE SIZE

The scene was lagging quite badly as I was orbiting around it so I needed to find ways to cut the scene size down. The only way that really worked was to reduce the amount of 'models' in the scene, by this I don't mean 3D models, I mean the option where you can select several 3D models and group them together into a new 'model.

NEWSPAPERS

These are three links to newspaper articles I have used in my scene:

http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1126312/ASA-raps-Scotlands-panda-gift-claim/

http://scottishcrucible.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/pandas-not-all-bear/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/alex-salmond-bamboozled-the-public-with-panda-advert-7631368.html

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/singapores-giant-pandas-to-fly-in-on-chartered-jet/539818

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192367/Edinburgh-Zoo-visitors-meet-feed-adorable-pandas--long-pay-1-000.html

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1304&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbnid=2620ztWDg384nM:&imgrefurl=http://cafe-beirut.blogspot.com/2012_01_08_archive.html&docid=euzlXznMAkmlNM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zP5TH1QkTanMaG6v8doOuLxW5yv8LkrRYDZL0odRTnRTczKCJMfIH9wlcqvy49QstzZzChnqNbqNWgoi7eLpN1lIoXFzdSMtYQappWD3afqdwZmNhBqt2EB7bAkOrlr1PwvyLV1LoqA/s1600/beating_heart.gif&w=348&h=318&ei=9Co2UOquAqOG0AXNwoHQBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=186&vpy=355&dur=2524&hovh=215&hovw=235&tx=138&ty=131&sig=115458307698841001069&page=1&tbnh=142&tbnw=155&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:138

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120831-368711.html

http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16198337,00.html

AFTER CLUTTER HAS BEEN ADDED

There's are similar render pictures after the clutter has been added:

BEVELING AND DINTING

These are some renders of additional details i added to models. I added dinting to the chair and the bed to show that Hamish always sits and sleeps in the same place, however the other chair is still perfect as noone has sat there. I have also included an example to show how I have been beveling the models:

PreVis

I decided to go ahead and do a very simple previs, this is so that the story comes to life, it will show the timing and action a lot better than the animatic and stand me in good stead for the blocking.

This is proving to be very time consuming but it is also proving that the new timing created for the animatic is correct. I will persevere with it as it shows the story in a very simple form.

Also in between the rendering of the separate camera shots I have made a start on the dissertation.

Surrounding areas

Using an idea from a previous project I created, the background will be a sphere model. The way this works is to put the rest of the scene inside the sphere, then project a texture onto the inside of the sphere. I have been looking at panoramic background images to project onto it and i came across this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nakchivan_Panoramic.jpg

I have altered it slightly in photoshop to match the style of the rest of my project. Giving it a slight cel shading or tone shading style to it.


After having altered this image repeatedly in Photoshop, resized it, moved it around, it just didn't look right. The resolution was too low so it looked out of place. I decided to try this one instead, for now I am happy with it as it is just a simple background, it doesn't take the focus away from the story:

I have been having problems getting the texture on the scenery to show up, after looking in the properties I realised that if I deleted the scene material off it, it showed up! I also had to make sure that a light was shining on it.

v2 Script & Storyboards

After swapping between the storyboards and the animatic until the timing and the story was correct, i edited the script and the storyboards to match the new timing and details.

16/07/12

PANDA'S TAIL

OPENING CREDITS & TITLE MUSIC

FADE IN:

SLOWLY ZOOMING TOWARDS BEDROOM WINDOW

EXT. HAMISH’S HOUSE – MID MORNING

As morning breaks in the quiet countryside, the sound of birds singing is carried along by a soft breeze, dancing with branches and carrying on across the fields. It is still and quiet, as another peaceful day in Kirkham begins.

ZOOM IN THROUGH BEDROOM WINDOW. MEDIUM CLOSE UP - HAMISH

INT. HAMISH’S BEDROOM

Hamish, a rather lonely Panda is hiding in his bed, using the covers to shield him, the rest of the world just sees him as a lump of untidy fabric.

Suddenly his alarm clicks on; once again he has awoken before he was meant to. “Alone Again Naturally” by Gilbert O’Sullivan begins to play on the radio as he slowly positions his paw above the off button. It clicks as he pushes down to reveal the silence he is so familiar with.

HAMISH

(Rolling over)

Sigh...

The covers rise and fall with his first deep breath of the day. He has faced himself with the other side of the bed, empty, lonely and cold as though the night’s frost had crept in beside him. One long blink of the eyes and he sits up, looks around his room for any sign of another soul, he lets out a yawn and once again braves the opening of the eyes.

CUT TO: FULL SHOT OF THE BEDROOM

He gingerly makes a move to get out of bed; the ceiling feels heavy as it lowers into the room, the tops of the walls caving in with it as his world seems to get ever smaller.

CAMERA PANS ACROSS AS HAMISH WALKS BY

Heading for the kitchen, he can’t even begin to plan his day without the energy only received from a cup of coffee.

CUT TO: CLOSE UP ON THE KETTLE

A tray hugging a small kettle, two cups and a dish of sugar seems strangely empty, the kettle always holding enough water for two.

Hamish flicks the switch and watches it boil, the water thrashes as though infested with great whites, and the sound of rumbling is like a small earthquake as the kettle vibrates on the worktop.

CAMERA ZOOMS OUT TO A MEDIUM SHOT

He makes his coffee, glances at the empty cup and fills the kettle once more...just in case.

Carrying his beverage over to his table where last night’s meal still remains. Feeling too lethargic to create anything new he grabs a stick of bamboo and tries to eat. Even the sight of his favourite meal can’t tempt him today; he chases it around his plate until he’s gulped the last drop of coffee, gives up and tries a shower. (Hamish walks off screen).

CUT TO: BATHROOM

EXT. SHOWER CUBICLE

One turn of the handle and the water comes rushing out, sounding like a child splashing in puddles as it hits the floor. No sooner has it begun, it ends, he switches it off clearly not in the right frame of mind to wash off all the many thoughts he has swimming around him.

CUT TO: BEDROOM

FULL SHOT OF THE WARDROBE

He thrusts the wardrobe door open to reveal yet more emptiness and reaches for the neatly placed slippers on his shelf (the only shelf being used). Dropping them to the ground like a bomb, they thud twice as they hit the ground. Hamish pushes each foot into its designated slipper.

CUT TO: MEDIUM SHOT OF THE LETTERBOX

The rustle and crunch of a daily newspaper can be heard as the local delivery boy spreads the news of the world. The bathroom door creaks open as Hamish emerges from his steamy cave; he stomps towards the door carrying a thump thump thump as he goes.

PAN AND FOLLOW HAMISH

He grabs the newspaper from its landing place. Wedged inside the letterbox it takes one huge effort to full it free. He stomps away once again and heads to the lounge to sit in his favourite chair.

CUT TO: FULL SHOT OF LIVING ROOM

POV OF WINDOW

Angling himself perfectly in front of his chair he drops onto it as though it was softer than it really is. He shuffles slightly, finds a comfortable position, grabs the newspaper and whips it open to the first page. Almost straight away the horn of a distant train can be heard, slightly dulled by the walls of his house.

CUT TO: FULL SHOT OF HAMISH & WINDOW
POV FROM DINING ROOM

Hamish winces, and drops his paper back on the table; he leans forward and watches the inevitable train come roaring past him. The vibrations of the train are like a larger earthquake shaking his house down, his pictures fall, furniture bangs together and he just keeps looking forwards, moving from side to side and awaiting the end of the ordeal.

HAMISH

(Looking down)

Sigh...

FULL SHOT OF WINDOW FROM HAMISH’S SHOULDER POV
Gazing outside at the wonders of the world, should he leave his cave and experience the environment outside? One slight consideration and he slowly gets to his feet.

CLOSE UP OF HAMISH

A flash of lightening slaps the atmosphere as a rumble of thunder seems the only thing trying to get close to him. Looking down with disappointment he slopes away as the rain begins.

CLOSE UP OF DINING TABLE

INT. DINING ROOM

MEDIUM CLOSE UP OF HAMISH

He throws himself into the dining room chair where a previous game of chess remains. Suddenly his stomach lets out a loud rumble like a volcano has erupted inside of him. With his head propped up on his right paw, he turns to face his phone.

CLOSE UP OF PHONE

“NO MESSAGES” and wonders how much longer this will continue.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP OF HAMISH

Grabbing the phone he dials the local takeaway and asks for...

HAMISH

(Sighing)

The usual please

He puts the phone down and lets his head flop down. He notices his game of chess from the day before. He uses his left hand to move the black pieces and his right hand to move the white, the only way to do it without knocking all of the pieces over is to continuously move the board every turn.

CUT TO: FRONT DOOR

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The sound carries all the way down the hall and into the living room. Someone is at the front door, a companion, a friend, some company!

CUT BACK TO: HAMISH

He looks straight towards the door and almost skips towards it with excitement. He wrenches the door open to be faced with empty space.

CUT TO: FRONT OF HAMISH

His face drops as though every piece of happiness he had remaining had just fallen to the ground and he looks down at the bamboo box waiting on his doorstep.

HAMISH

(Shrugging his shoulders)

Sigh...

He bends down and picks up his meal, keeping his head down and very slightly hunched he heads back inside.

CUT TO: LOUNGE
FULL SHOT
He sits on the floor in front of the television, he switches it on and begins munching on his fresh sticks of bamboo. “Just the Two of Us” is playing. One was quite enough, the need to ‘comfort eat’ had left him long ago, one glance at the clock “7:30”...

HAMISH

(Sad sort of smile)

That’s enough for one day

He gets up, walks over to the dining room table and empties the contents of his tea onto the plate ready for breakfast for next morning. He places his empty box in the bin and goes to bed.

CAMERA FADES OUT

PAUSE

FADE IN:

FULL SHOT OF HAMISH’S BED

INT. HAMISH’S BEDROOM – MID MORNING

Hamish is once again awake before his alarm, he is lying in bed staring at it and waiting for it to go off. Click, music starts playing and straight away he turns it off. He yawns, sits up and goes to make a cup of coffee.

CUT TO: KITCHEN

Once again the kettle is surrounded by too many cups, he watches the water trash around, settle and he pours the boiling water into his mug, fills up the kettle and drinks his brew. He manages to force down another bamboo breakfast and he heads for the shower.

CUT TO: CLOSE UP ON WARDROBE

He grabs his slippers, drops them on the floor and slides his feet in one by one, this whole operation has been performed many times before.

CLOSE UP ON FRONT DOOR

The daily newspaper eases through the letterbox just like every other day. Hamish stomps towards the door and grabs it.

MEDIUM SHOT OF CHAIR

He sits in his usual place, grabs the newspaper and thrusts it open. He starts flicking through when suddenly...

CLOSE UP OF PAPER

...an advertisement for an online dating company catches his eye. It’s calling out for single Panda’s to go online and apparently find their soul mate!

CUT BACK TO: HAMISH

He gets up onto his feet, drops the paper, walks over to his computer and begins typing the address for the company.

CLOSE UP OF COMPUTER SCREEN

He searches for pandas in his area and a specific one catches his eye. Charlie, this one lives nearby and is looking for a companion. The profile reads...

“My name is Charlie and I’m a Sagittarius, I am looking for someone aged between 18 and 22 (Hamish makes a noise in agreement), medium build...

CUT TO: HAMISH ON THE SCALES
(Hamish weighs himself and moans with sadness)

CUT BACK TO: SCREEN

...I love eating in so he needs to be good in the kitchen, I like gardening, I dislike mess, non smoker, and preferably good at DIY, maybe have a pet and have some hobbies. Send me your videos below”.

FULL SHOT OF HAMISH – PAN TO FOLLOW

With that he jumps to his feet, he goes to his wardrobe, grabs a brush and makes a start grooming his fur. Satisfied with that he reaches for a clip on bowtie and places it neatly underneath his chin, not noticing that it isn’t on straight he goes back to the computer, turns on his webcam and gets ready to record.

POV OF WEBCAM

Hamish starts adjusting the webcam, brightness, contrast and position until he is happy with it, clicks record and suddenly gets overcome with nerves. He runs to the toilet and returns after the flush.

Clearing his throat he starts again, clicks record and states...

HAMISH

(Chewing bamboo)

My name is Hamish, I’m 21, well built, none smoker, my star sign is Gemini I think, I am a vegetarian, I like to cook and eat in as well as out. I enjoy chess, gardening and DIY. I like art and I have a pet fish. Err...I don’t like trains and... I hope to hear from you soon

SCREEN GOES DARK THEN MEDIUM CLOSEUP OF HAMISH

He turns the camera off, sends it in and gets to work correcting his lies. He sticks the radio on to get himself motivated and it plays “The Things We Do for Love by 10CC.
First of all he gets his “How To” books down from the shelf and lines four of them up in order on the dining room table. Just at that point the shelf creaks and breaks so he has to use one of the books to prop it back up.

CLOSE UP OF THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS

“Cooking for Pandas”, “Gardening for Pandas”, “Pets for Pandas” and “Art for Pandas”.

CUT BACK TO: HAMISH – FULL SHOT

He walks towards the door and shuts it behind him leaving the audience in his house.

CUT TO: CLOCK
The big hand moves forward an hour.

CUT BACK TO: HAMISH – FULL SHOT

He returns very quickly clutching a paper bag full of ingredients.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP OF HAMISH

The screen splits into four to show Hamish trying out different hobbies.
1. He tries to cut up bamboo but he can’t hold the knife.
2. He finds a space near the front of his house puts a plant pot down and begins to water it.
3. He reaches inside his shopping bag again and pulls out a goldfish in a coke bottle. He sets it down on its side and smiles at his new pet.
4. He lifts a book out of the shopping bag, he also reveals some cut outs and some glue.

1. He can’t get any butter out of the tub. He grabs all of the ingredients and puts them in the bin

2. Taking a rake from the side of the house, Hamish walks to the front of his garden and begins to rake up some leaves, his arms are too short so he is stooped over like a old man with a sore back. Straight away the familiar sound of the train is on the horizon; Hamish straightens up, looks round just as the train whizzes past and scatters all the leaves.

3. He picks a flower off his plant and puts it in the vase, he also jabs a stick of bamboo in there to keep it company.

4. He tries to stick the pictures to a page in the book but they keep sticking to him instead.

HAMISH

(Exhausted)

Err sigh...

FULL SHOT

He walks towards his computer and checks for a reply. Noticing he hasn’t had any, he turns on his heels and goes to bed disheartened.

CAMERA FADES OUT

PAUSE

FADE IN:

FULL SHOT OF HAMISH’S BED

INT. HAMISH’S BEDROOM – MID MORNING

Today was different than all of the other days, Hamish was up before his alarm, he had switched it off and was already out of bed. He skipped his morning ritual and headed straight for the computer.

CLOSE UP OF COMPUTER

A flashing envelope icon was blinking in the corner.

“Hi Hamish, I would like to meet you today, by the tracks at 11. I will wear a red carnation”.

CLOSE UP OF HAMISH

Looking at the time “10:52”, he rushed over to his wardrobe to get his bowtie, clipped it on and headed for the door.

FULL SHOT FROM THE GATE

EXT. GARDEN

He walked down his path, towards the tracks and hid behind the main operating building.

POV HAMISH

He looked down the tracks and jumped very slightly with excited as he could just make out a panda in the distance. As the panda got closer it became apparent that the female panda he so longed for was in fact male. This can’t be happening, he stomped back inside before he was seen and slammed his door shut. The number 2 swung back and forth squeaking like a terrified mouse before falling to the ground with a clatter.

CLOSING CREDITS & MUSIC

(“Alone Again Naturally”)

Hamish gets into bed and pulls his covers over his head.

House Model

I left out the model board for the house as i wanted to include the garden models (which were yet to be completed). I have been struggling which this as i didn't know how to represent weeds in the garden, i also didn't know how to design the fence.

After creating a very uniform and symmetrical fence model i decided it wasn't interesting enough and altered the panels slightly so that they are not all the same shape. This makes for a more pleasing object.

For the bushes I used the idea seen in the previous image from the 'Creating the garden' tab, using very basic shapes to represent the object keeps render times low and helps to divert the attention away from less important objects.

I put more time and design into the grass/weeds, they line the path and the fence just like they would in a normal garden. For the grass i used a cylinder, selected the outside polygons on the top, duplicated them and translated them in the Y axis, i scaled them at the top to make a leaf shape and subdivided it to make it smooth.

The flower in the weed/grass is made from a sphere, the polygons on the top have been scaled globally in the Y axis to create a slight dome shape, I then selected opposite polygons, duplicated them and translated them up in the Y axis, i scaled them slightly to be more of a flower shape and subdivided.

Ambient Occlusion

The decision to use ambient occlusion was a simple one. Every render looks significantly better with a ambient occlusion pass, it creates shadows where objects or models meet.
I have done a quick test to see the difference with and without this pass.

This is the image from the ambient occlusion pass, this is the default settings for a quick test, when i come to create this pass i will change the settings until i am happy with the result:

This is a render from the normal, usual pass. Nothing has been changed it is just a screen render taken from the camera view (same position as the ambient one):

This one is the two put together, as you can see the scene looks so much better. The shadowing really helps to show that the objects are placed together:

Process
I always struggle to remember how to create this pass so i'm going to write it down so i can refer back to it later on.

Taken from the Softimage User's Guide:
http://download.autodesk.com/global/docs/softimage2012/en_us/userguide/index.html?url=files/lights_AO_ConnectingtheAmbientOcclusionShader.htm,topicNumber=d28e364681

Here's a quick overview of how to create an ambient occlusion pass.

1. From the Render toolbar, choose Pass  Edit  New Pass  Empty.
2. Make the new pass current.
3. Select all the geometric objects that you want to include in the ambient occlusion effect. Make sure that you branch select the models and hierarchies so that nothing is omitted. You can do this in the explorer by Ctrl+middle-clicking each object.
4. From the Render toolbar, choose Pass  Partition  New Partition to create a partition that includes all the objects that you previously selected.
5. In the explorer, set its scope to Passes and select the partition you created (it's nested under the ambient occlusion pass).
6. From the Render toolbar, choose Get  Material  Ambient Occlusion to apply it to the new partition displayed in the explorer.
7. The XSIAmbientOcclusion shader's property editor opens. Pin the property editor open and set the options as needed. See Setting the Ambient Occlusion Shader Options.
8. Draw a render region to preview the effect.
9. From the Render toolbar, choose Render  Regions  Active Viewport Options and set the mental ray ambient occlusion options for the region.
10. When you are happy with the settings, you can copy them from the render region to the current pass in order to render the effect as previewed.
11. Make sure that the ambient occlusion pass is still current and choose Render  Regions  Region Copy  Active Viewport To Current Pass from the Render toolbar.
12. Choose Pass  Edit  Edit Current Pass and set the output options for the render pass. See Pass Rendering Options Overview [Rendering].
13. Choose Render  Render  Current Pass to render the ambient occclusion pass.