More amendments! (I hate that word, reminds me of my last job -shudder-)
I thought I altered the foot coming down so it was a bit faster but I guess not. Ho hum.
I've messed about with the drop into the chair and I think overall it's looking okay. Ish. The hips are still odd, I think, but hopefully once I've adjusted the timing it will feel a bit better.
Not really too much else to say... I still need to play with the legs a bit as he falls into the chair. Just going to carry on at this pace then start looking at some of the timings and fcurves and such. I need to start thinking about the arms at some stage too. Squick.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Moom action piece V12
More tweaks and changes.
Mostly, again, hips and chest! I've altered the foot as he turns so that he brings it back towards the chair - motion is okay, I think, but the actual lowering of the foot seems a little slow. Need to tweak that.
I've tried to alter his drop into the chair so that it matches the reference a little more. I noticed that Sam veers very slightly to the left as he falls, so I tried to emulate that - only issue now is that he slides along in the rest of the keyframes! It might also mean I need to re-position the walk so that it flows from the new position but we'll see.
Other things about the drop into the chair - Sam's knees are slightly skewed - one sticks out at a slightly higher angle than the other. I'm guessing that's because his hips are slightly tilted but to get the same effect on Moom, I had to rotate them quite far in favour of the left (our left) leg. I dunno, having his hips point that way as he lands is a bit weird I think.
I'm not really happy with the drop into the chair overall, something seems really iffy about it. Not quite sure what it is? Maybe it just needs to be a little faster - I should perhaps delay the drop of his body so the legs start to bend first? I don't know, maybe that's stuff to deal with later.
I'm just going to maybe tweak the hips a bit more and move onto the next bit. Hoping to get this completed by Monday so I can focus on other things and give myself time to spare!
Mostly, again, hips and chest! I've altered the foot as he turns so that he brings it back towards the chair - motion is okay, I think, but the actual lowering of the foot seems a little slow. Need to tweak that.
I've tried to alter his drop into the chair so that it matches the reference a little more. I noticed that Sam veers very slightly to the left as he falls, so I tried to emulate that - only issue now is that he slides along in the rest of the keyframes! It might also mean I need to re-position the walk so that it flows from the new position but we'll see.
Other things about the drop into the chair - Sam's knees are slightly skewed - one sticks out at a slightly higher angle than the other. I'm guessing that's because his hips are slightly tilted but to get the same effect on Moom, I had to rotate them quite far in favour of the left (our left) leg. I dunno, having his hips point that way as he lands is a bit weird I think.
I'm not really happy with the drop into the chair overall, something seems really iffy about it. Not quite sure what it is? Maybe it just needs to be a little faster - I should perhaps delay the drop of his body so the legs start to bend first? I don't know, maybe that's stuff to deal with later.
I'm just going to maybe tweak the hips a bit more and move onto the next bit. Hoping to get this completed by Monday so I can focus on other things and give myself time to spare!
Moom action sequence V11
Just starting to look at tweaking the action piece, one section at a time. Timing's still shoddy, just trying to refine the hips and chest before I move onto anything else.
Here's a very small section of what I'm doing thus far...
The difference is barely perceptible. Mostly just slight alterations on how the weight shifts and how the chest/shoulders move... I think I've improved it, but it might actually look worse than the one I previously posted... or maybe because it's shorter all the little problems stand out a lot more. Eh.
Biggest issues that I can spot so far - obviously the arm still doesn't do what it should. The knee, as he turns, shouldn't change direction! I've also got to get that right (our right) foot to lift off the ground a bit better. In the video he pulls his foot back towards the chair, so as he sets it down I'll shunt it back a little further.
I need to look at how the weight shifts on his hips as he falls into the chair, too. 'S a bit haphazard at the moment.
I think it seems a bit slow at the moment, probably because the upper body isn't doing very much. The arms pretty much just follow the torso at this point, when in the reference they're quite loose and swinging around. Hopefully when I get around to refining the arms it will start looking a bit nicer...
Either that, or I'll be submitting some absolute turd. Gulp...
P.s. note the sneaky inclusion of Mr. Pin:
I'm cruel.
Here's a very small section of what I'm doing thus far...
The difference is barely perceptible. Mostly just slight alterations on how the weight shifts and how the chest/shoulders move... I think I've improved it, but it might actually look worse than the one I previously posted... or maybe because it's shorter all the little problems stand out a lot more. Eh.
Biggest issues that I can spot so far - obviously the arm still doesn't do what it should. The knee, as he turns, shouldn't change direction! I've also got to get that right (our right) foot to lift off the ground a bit better. In the video he pulls his foot back towards the chair, so as he sets it down I'll shunt it back a little further.
I need to look at how the weight shifts on his hips as he falls into the chair, too. 'S a bit haphazard at the moment.
I think it seems a bit slow at the moment, probably because the upper body isn't doing very much. The arms pretty much just follow the torso at this point, when in the reference they're quite loose and swinging around. Hopefully when I get around to refining the arms it will start looking a bit nicer...
Either that, or I'll be submitting some absolute turd. Gulp...
P.s. note the sneaky inclusion of Mr. Pin:
I'm cruel.
Moom action sequence blocking
For the 3rd and final component of the Digital Skills brief we're to animate a character "action" sequence based on the reference footage we shot last week with Jon; in a fit of genius, I opted to do a guy sitting on something sharp. The result is 10 seconds of footage with lots of walk cycles and shifting weight. Gulp.
Here's the reference; you'll notice from my delighted expression and cheerful disposition that I absolutely adore being on camera. Hence why Sam is acting for me...
Should have picked something simple...!
Nonetheless, I've thumbnailed it all out and started blocking in my sequence (I'll post up my progression and planning later on when I have a little more time) - in the meantime, here's the blocked shot thus far:
At the time, I was getting myself in a right tizz over it; feeling extremely overwhelmed and quite stressed. I didn't even have a clue where to begin with cleaning it up (still a bit shaky) but looking at it after a slightly better night's sleep with fresh eyes I don't think it's as bad as I'd first thought. It's problematic, sure, but it's only the first block. In terms of movement it's looking okay; the biggest issues as I can identify them are the fact that he doesn't actually sit on the chair. This was stupidity on my part. Even with the aid of multiple angles it's quite difficult to track the movement of the reference footage and translate that onto Moom - it requires quite good analysis of depth and space. I was blocking his walk and thinking it actually looked okay and that he was going in the right direction, until I actually reached the end and realised he wasn't in front of the chair. I tried just moving the chair so that it was in the correct position but unfortunately that didn't exactly work. He ended up walking straight through it!
It's entirely possible to fix, but to be honest I might in fact just trim the shot a little to cut out the beginning part. I do really like the idea of keeping it in but in the interest of my sanity and making this as stress-free as possible, I'm looking to simplify things as much as I can. The walk to the chair certainly adds character to the shot but it does complicate matters. I think I'll work on refining the actual drop into and leap out of the chair first of all; depending how long that takes, I may go back at the end and try tweaking the beginning.
I think the best course of action for the moment would be to start refining the core parts of the body - the chest and hips, in this instance. There's no point trying to look at the arms or legs and feet or even the head until that's all refined; the chest/shoulders and hips drive those body parts, so if the movement there isn't correct then the arms won't look right no matter what I do.
The problems I see so far are that the chest/hips are a little inconsistent; they tilt a bit haphazardly and don't necessarily move in favour of where the body's weight is. Moom also leans forward a bit too early - as we can see from the reference in the background Sam doesn't actually lean forward until his last step. I need to keep Moom's chest tilted backwards until that moment.
I think I'll just go back and identify the points where Sam's chest/hips are tilted or twisted at their most extreme, mimic that and perhaps allow Softimage to handle most of the interpolation between those two points automatically. That should provide me with relatively logical movement onto which I can start looking at the shoulders and legs!
Here's the reference; you'll notice from my delighted expression and cheerful disposition that I absolutely adore being on camera. Hence why Sam is acting for me...
Should have picked something simple...!
Nonetheless, I've thumbnailed it all out and started blocking in my sequence (I'll post up my progression and planning later on when I have a little more time) - in the meantime, here's the blocked shot thus far:
At the time, I was getting myself in a right tizz over it; feeling extremely overwhelmed and quite stressed. I didn't even have a clue where to begin with cleaning it up (still a bit shaky) but looking at it after a slightly better night's sleep with fresh eyes I don't think it's as bad as I'd first thought. It's problematic, sure, but it's only the first block. In terms of movement it's looking okay; the biggest issues as I can identify them are the fact that he doesn't actually sit on the chair. This was stupidity on my part. Even with the aid of multiple angles it's quite difficult to track the movement of the reference footage and translate that onto Moom - it requires quite good analysis of depth and space. I was blocking his walk and thinking it actually looked okay and that he was going in the right direction, until I actually reached the end and realised he wasn't in front of the chair. I tried just moving the chair so that it was in the correct position but unfortunately that didn't exactly work. He ended up walking straight through it!
It's entirely possible to fix, but to be honest I might in fact just trim the shot a little to cut out the beginning part. I do really like the idea of keeping it in but in the interest of my sanity and making this as stress-free as possible, I'm looking to simplify things as much as I can. The walk to the chair certainly adds character to the shot but it does complicate matters. I think I'll work on refining the actual drop into and leap out of the chair first of all; depending how long that takes, I may go back at the end and try tweaking the beginning.
I think the best course of action for the moment would be to start refining the core parts of the body - the chest and hips, in this instance. There's no point trying to look at the arms or legs and feet or even the head until that's all refined; the chest/shoulders and hips drive those body parts, so if the movement there isn't correct then the arms won't look right no matter what I do.
The problems I see so far are that the chest/hips are a little inconsistent; they tilt a bit haphazardly and don't necessarily move in favour of where the body's weight is. Moom also leans forward a bit too early - as we can see from the reference in the background Sam doesn't actually lean forward until his last step. I need to keep Moom's chest tilted backwards until that moment.
I think I'll just go back and identify the points where Sam's chest/hips are tilted or twisted at their most extreme, mimic that and perhaps allow Softimage to handle most of the interpolation between those two points automatically. That should provide me with relatively logical movement onto which I can start looking at the shoulders and legs!
Friday, 20 April 2012
Bowling ball V12 — V15
Version 12
Closeup
Medium closeup
I've removed a little of the secondary bouncing, leaving just one minute second bounce as the ball slows down. The bounce is still slightly higher than that seen in V9 but I'm still not sure of the results; I still don't think the ball feels quite heavy enough. The movement seems too quick and, again, I think the higher bounce signifies that the ball is either lighter than it should be or has been dropped from slightly higher; in which case the initial drop speed should be a little faster.
I may either return to V9 or simply amend this a little further.
Version 13
Medium closeup
Closeup
Reverting to V9, I've kept the slightly higher secondary bounce and increased the entry speed of the ball. I think, however, now the whole thing is a little quick; the ball feels heavy but I feel I should perhaps delay it at the peak of its first bounce for just a split second longer, to help give the impression it's fighting against gravity. There should be a point where the heavy ball is fighting with the pull of gravity, causing it to remain in the air, rather than dropping straight back down as it does here.
Version 14
I've increased the delay in the air; although now I'm wondering if it seems too slow?! As a final tweak, I'm going to do one more rendition where I keep the slope/width of the fcurves the same but simply shift everything one frame closer together, meaning the ball's delay in the air will remain the same but it will simply be quicker reaching the peak of its bounce.
Version 15
Only a very, very minor difference; the ball is just a little quicker now. I'm having difficulty deciding between this version and the previous one; I think I may have to leave it for the time being, and then look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes.
There are still alterations I'd like to make to the ball's roll at the end but I'm planning on doing that once I've decided which version I'd prefer to use.
Sorry this isn't as reflective/objective/analytical as usual; I'm beginning to run out of steam...!
Closeup
Medium closeup
I've removed a little of the secondary bouncing, leaving just one minute second bounce as the ball slows down. The bounce is still slightly higher than that seen in V9 but I'm still not sure of the results; I still don't think the ball feels quite heavy enough. The movement seems too quick and, again, I think the higher bounce signifies that the ball is either lighter than it should be or has been dropped from slightly higher; in which case the initial drop speed should be a little faster.
I may either return to V9 or simply amend this a little further.
Version 13
Medium closeup
Closeup
Reverting to V9, I've kept the slightly higher secondary bounce and increased the entry speed of the ball. I think, however, now the whole thing is a little quick; the ball feels heavy but I feel I should perhaps delay it at the peak of its first bounce for just a split second longer, to help give the impression it's fighting against gravity. There should be a point where the heavy ball is fighting with the pull of gravity, causing it to remain in the air, rather than dropping straight back down as it does here.
Version 14
I've increased the delay in the air; although now I'm wondering if it seems too slow?! As a final tweak, I'm going to do one more rendition where I keep the slope/width of the fcurves the same but simply shift everything one frame closer together, meaning the ball's delay in the air will remain the same but it will simply be quicker reaching the peak of its bounce.
Version 15
Only a very, very minor difference; the ball is just a little quicker now. I'm having difficulty deciding between this version and the previous one; I think I may have to leave it for the time being, and then look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes.
There are still alterations I'd like to make to the ball's roll at the end but I'm planning on doing that once I've decided which version I'd prefer to use.
Sorry this isn't as reflective/objective/analytical as usual; I'm beginning to run out of steam...!
Bowling ball V10 & V11
Version 10
Medium Closeup
Closeup
bet you never thought you'd see this again eh???
I thought I'd return to it one last time and see if I could further tweak it. Seeking feedback from my peers it was suggested that perhaps my ball didn't bounce quite high enough and maybe needed a little secondary bounce as it lost energy. Here I've tried to incorporate that. I'm not quite sure if I prefer it; I think the roll at the end is a little problematic, the speed is okay but perhaps it needs to roll just a little further?
Version 11
Medium Closeup
Closeup
I tried extending the roll slightly but now I think it's much too fast; the ball appears to be sliding across the floor and it seems too fast, to me. I don't really think the higher bounce is working in all honesty. It gives the ball an impression of being lighter and more bouncy - combined with the too-fast rolling it seems the bowling ball is made of plastic! I may try simply removing the secondary bouncing.
Medium Closeup
Closeup
bet you never thought you'd see this again eh???
I thought I'd return to it one last time and see if I could further tweak it. Seeking feedback from my peers it was suggested that perhaps my ball didn't bounce quite high enough and maybe needed a little secondary bounce as it lost energy. Here I've tried to incorporate that. I'm not quite sure if I prefer it; I think the roll at the end is a little problematic, the speed is okay but perhaps it needs to roll just a little further?
Version 11
Medium Closeup
Closeup
I tried extending the roll slightly but now I think it's much too fast; the ball appears to be sliding across the floor and it seems too fast, to me. I don't really think the higher bounce is working in all honesty. It gives the ball an impression of being lighter and more bouncy - combined with the too-fast rolling it seems the bowling ball is made of plastic! I may try simply removing the secondary bouncing.
Moom walk cycle V34
Version 34
And here we are - I think it was a little more successful than my previous attempt. Perhaps before I was trying to resolve too many things at once and got myself confused.
I've lowered the knee and leg just a smidgen on the passing positions; to be honest I have no idea if it's any better or worse! I seem to have hit that point of not really knowing either way, haha!
Actually, comparing the two, I do think it's an improvement. It seems to flow a little more smoothly and the knee is actually highest on the up position, which is more logical for a walk...! It's still an exagerration of a walk, of course, and still perhaps not as casual as it could be, but I think it's acceptable. I think it might be time to render this out and tuck it away...
And here we are - I think it was a little more successful than my previous attempt. Perhaps before I was trying to resolve too many things at once and got myself confused.
I've lowered the knee and leg just a smidgen on the passing positions; to be honest I have no idea if it's any better or worse! I seem to have hit that point of not really knowing either way, haha!
Actually, comparing the two, I do think it's an improvement. It seems to flow a little more smoothly and the knee is actually highest on the up position, which is more logical for a walk...! It's still an exagerration of a walk, of course, and still perhaps not as casual as it could be, but I think it's acceptable. I think it might be time to render this out and tuck it away...
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