Animation Update - 3D part 2

Part 2! (shot 5)

While making shot 4, I was also making the animation for shot 5.
The dialogue was "Spread the love" and this would be the part where Butter was starting to lose hope. Jonathan told me that he would slowly drop his left arm from the previous shot in shock, meaning I didn't need to involve too much movement. I thought it would be nice to at least have Butter move in the sense that he's pleading Michelle Zhen with his eyes by directing his head towards her.

Rough animation

I had already found a problem: Butter's screen placement was on the left while Michelle was on the right - Butter looking towards the left wouldn't make sense. 
I soon changed the animation to look as so. The way he directed his eyes made a lot more sense, and I thought the ease into the head turn emphasized his desperation and shock. 

Animation Update - 3D part 1

...Well I certainly took my time to update my blog during the animation process -.-;;;
Prepare for a massive update on the animation process OTL

We first started off by counting how many shots of Butter we had and decided to split half of the shots to Jerwin, and the other half for me to animate. I was given shots 4, 5, and 6 which included the lines:

"Hmph, well I AM the cream of the crop."
"S-Spread the love!"
"But you can't churn me down! I'm high end creamy blend!"

Before doing that however, we needed to check how Butter fit on the plate inside the fridge.

Butter seemed to fit fine, we would just have to adjust the lighting and camera angles
accordingly to each shot

After doing so, I began making rough animations for the shots. The first being the cream of the crop shot.

I wanted his head to tilt downwards at the beginning to emphasize his smirk. Afterwards, he would tilt his head up in a rather...."greasy" fashion. The timing would have to be altered to fit later also.

However, after checking with the head of 2D Jonathan, he gave me feedback that Butter lost his sturdiness as he "jiggled" around. Also, I was actually a bit late in giving this to him, as he had split the 2D animation between different members too. This meant that it was up to Jerwin and I to provide them with 3D animations quickly in order for them to work on them. I honestly wasn't too confident with my 3D skills initially, and I was actually finding it more difficult to animate Butter compared to a character with no limbs because of the fact that he had a solid form, and I also had to imagine how his body would move if he DID have limbs within the 3D aspect of the animation.

I referred back to the animatic Jonathan had provided, along with the expression sheets the members doing 2D animation had discussed to create a pose that would further fit the face that Jonathan had already started animating without a body. (Sorry Jonathan! T_T)

It still included the smirk and included a head tilt backwards which Butter would then whip his head forward with his changed extreme expression. This shot would've looked a lot better if I had included follow-through action for his head to maybe tilt back slightly again at the end to look more smooth and natural, as he looks quite stiff when he returns.

I thought this animation was capturing Butter's extreme personality quite well personally. However, I still hadn't learned the lesson of communicating with the 2D animators: I had made my animation different to what Jonathan had already drawn out.

On this day (3/06) there was a feedback session with other lecturers and we had to prepare an animatic for it. So I quickly remade a rough animation of this shot to fit Jonathan's animation.

After fixing the animation, it fit perfectly with his animation

This was the basic animation I quickly made for that shot. However, with the addition of the expressions and the quick zoom in, Jonathan and I thought that the shot looked perfect just as is. The emphasis is supposed to be on Butter's extreme expressions, so having too much body movement could distract the audience. Also, I later realised that the sudden head whip forward along with the fast zoom could be a bit of an over-emphasis which could overload the audience.

13/05 - Update

At the beginning of this week, I was discussing the layout of the fridge with Mikayla who is in charge of matte painting. While using the prop sheets we produced last week, we also had to consider how we would direct the viewer's vision towards our character through the use of clever prop placement (an example being an unfinished juice box with the straw pointing towards Butter). We thought another good idea would be to give subtle hints regarding the punchline of the animation within the background by adding a carton of soy milk. This would give the viewer a fun realisation as they rewatch the animation a second time when they discover the milk carton. 

During this week's group meeting, I was given positive feedback for the ideas regarding the little details for the layout. I was slightly worried that the first concept looked too crowded, meaning it would direct the viewer's eyes away from our character. However, the lecturers actually liked the idea, along with the various ways the background highlighted Butter. We will most likely go with that concept, unless we decide to take a few items out to emphasise the fridge of a student = should lack food....a little...>.>;


I also had to work on the much dreaded UV mapping and texturing of the plate. However, despite my initial hate towards the process, with the help of video tutorials and our Head of 3D Jerwin, I was able to get the work done rather smoothly.

Jerwin explained the smooth UV tool. Despite how Maya unwrapped the UVs in a way there would be the least distortion, the smooth tool actually cleaned the UV mapping by smoothing out the edges which allowed it to have a lot more accuracy to the original model.

Core of Rose before smooth tool

Core of Rose after smooth tool

Petal 1

Petal 2

Bottom stand of plate

Top, bottom and sides of plate

Jerwin recommended that I unfold the UV for the side of the plate to get a cleaner UV.
It would also make it easier if we wanted to add a separate pattern/texture from the top and bottom

Cleaned up UV map for the side of the plate

After creating the UVs, we found a texture online for a white ceramic with a few "cracks" to give the plate a more natural look, rather than giving no texture other than a shiny reflective white surface.

Also added the rose drawing to the UV texture ><

Adding a red overlay to the white ceramic for the roses 

Plate with the finished textures and resized roses.

This is the turnaround for our finished prop. Many thanks for our Head of 3D Jerwin for the assistance throughout the entire process, even up to adding point lights for the turnaround.

05/05 - Update

I actually ended up not doing much over break. I just thought about the props within the fridge because I wanted to give Mikayla a hand with the matte painting in the future. I also sketched the ideas this week as well as discussing with Mikayla what she had in mind with the layout of the setting. She was given the task of adjusting the layout because she has a better idea of the sizes of the fridge.

I also roughly added the butter model Jerwin created to the plate to get an idea on how large the butter would have to be in comparison to the plate model. Jerwin had already added rigging so I had to add a control which would allow me to move the model around.

Plate positioned with roses to the side. We should be able to see butter's
expressions fully.

The painting is covered quite a bit, but the amount that still shows
accentuates the butter and the "romantic" atmosphere

I also tried rotating the plate so the roses were placed in front, but this
covered his face. That would be a problem considering the fact that
our character expresses himself more through expressions rather than body language

After the group meeting with the lecturers, I was told that the roses placed on the plate looked slightly large. And because they're pointing inwards, it is rather hard to tell what they are from the front view of the plate. Also, everyone preferred the initial rotation of the plate as it allowed the viewer to get a clearer view of Butter. I also noticed that I accidentally made Butter lay on the wrong side, as he usually takes up the left side of the screen for the screen direction throughout the animation.

15/04 - Update

We had another group discussion with the lecturers today (minus Michelle Zhen and Mikayla as they both were sick T_T) and once again, the overall feedback for the group was positive.

The lecturers seem to really enjoy how the overall designs of the characters and the models seem to be coming out, as all aesthetics are appealing and suit the genre well. I personally didn't do too much work this week but I did show the group my designs for the plate's print.

The lecturers and group members gave the most positive feedback for the second rose bed, as it was approaching the desired effect of the air brush and painted effect for the design. It also has softer outlines along with the lack of any in the actual roses to soften the overall image.

One of the lecturers mentioned that I would have to have a test shot with the butter on the actual plate. This is because the butter would be covering the majority of the rose bed. After doing so, I could determine how much of the design requires more attention because the edges will definitely still be showing through. I was also told that I should try a few lighting tests as the colours were quite distinct. These tests should be done before I make any more changes to the various designs on the plate, as there would be no point doing more work if it doesn't look good together initially.

During the break, I intend to try UV mapping the plate and roses, while also finding an appropriate texture for both models. If they can't be found, I think I'm going to have to paint my own textures. I may also help with the matte painting next term, so I probably will try sketching a few props that will be in the background.

14/04 - Update

Last week when we had the discussion session with the lecturers, we were told that everything was going along quite smoothly. However, I did get a bit of feedback regarding the initial rose bed print on the plate. 

Initial Design

The lecturers mentioned that the black lineart was slightly harsh in comparison to designs on different existing plates. After looking around, I realised that other plates usually lacked a black outline and usually looked as if they were stenciled on the plate. If they did have a lineart, they were usually a darker shade of the design's colour, rather than having it as an actual black outline. 

Different plate designs for a small mood board ><

I ended up using the original design and altered certain aspects of the print.

Changing the lineart from black to white by erasing them entirely so it comes out with transparent lines, rather than actual white lineart in case we didn't use a white plate.

Removed the lineart entirely from roses to accent the shadows of the roses to define the actual shape. It also gave a blurred appearance which caused a softer look.

Repainted the entire print without lineart with an airbrush for a stenciled effect. I personally feel this looks more like a design that would be found on a plate but I would have to discuss this with my group members. There are less shadows, with the only ones being seen on the leaves with a darker shade of green. 

From these three simple changes, I decided to test them by roughly adding them to the screenshots of the plate model before creating any more variations. This was to ensure that it actually looked presentable as a design on the plate.

I had an initial discussion with Jerwin and he seemed to think that the design looked fine on the plate which is a plus ><

I actually understand what the lecturers meant regarding the black lineart: I feel even though it is small, it creates a harsh contrast with the white plate and accentuates the roses a bit too much. 

Interactive Narrative - Week 7

During the first "story" of the game "The Wolf Among Us", I noticed that the level included a wide variety of narrative elements to help convey the beginning of the story, as well as getting the player involved with the narrative.

The first level is designed in a way that allows the player to experience all the different game mechanics during the unfolding of the initial narrative.

When the beginning unfolds, the player is only told of Bigby's position as the Sheriff of Fabletown and straight away, they will encounter Toad: a fellow resident who is lacking financially to buy glamours for his family. The game then immediately provides dialogue choices for the player and this game mechanic is one of the few deciding factors towards the player's non-linear gameplay for a rather linear narrative. Soon afterwards, the player is introduced to the "point and click" mechanic which will be crucial to the progression of the narrative when discovering clues in the future. Along with this, a fight with the Woodsman allows the player to experience quick time events which mainly occur during conflict. Within the first few minutes, the game already has introduced the player to the different mechanics within the game and along with the cutscenes, the game shows the initial catalyst to the entire narrative: the mysterious death of a female fable Faith. Game designers Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen state that,
"A game is a narrative system in which the narrative experience of the player arises out of the functioning of the game as a whole." (2003)
The gameplay itself can also be seen as a test regarding the player's morales, as the moral choices made are the main factors impacting the player's narrative experience. The game does a good job in introducing these mechanics while also playing out the story itself: there is no tutorial level implemented within the game as you go to save Faith from the Woodsman during their first violent encounter.

Another narrative element the player is introduced to within the opening of the first level is the interaction with Bigby. I personally find Bigby interesting in the sense that he includes qualities of both a "character" and an "avatar", while leaning more towards the former. Bigby can be classified as a character because the player can acknowledge the fact that Bigby has his own thought process and personality within his own universe. However, Bigby also can be viewed as an avatar for the player in the sense that he is an extension of the player's consciousness. Jessica Aldred's article states,
"Any productive analysis of video game player-characters must acknowledge this duality, and the constantly shifting relationship players experience with their character as a result, osillating between identifying with the characters as an extension of self, and relating to it as a separate, fictional entity. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman (2004) have termed this fluctuation state the "double-consciousness" of play." (2013)
I feel that the term "double-consciousness" identifies Bigby's role regarding how he interacts with the player. During gameplay, the way he acts without player input follows his own character, whereas areas of player input, such as when exploring areas for narrative progression, are decisions made by the player. It could be said that the game giving the player an option to open Prince Lawrence's closet is a part of Bigby's character, while actually deciding to open it is up to the decision of the player. Giving this kind of protagonist to the player opens up their experience to a deeper level, as it grants the player access to actually feeling as if their decisions are a deciding factor for how the narrative plays out.

"The Wolf Among Us" is a game that incorporates many different narrative elements such as the game mechanics within the level design, and the element of "double-consciousness" regarding the player's interaction with Bigby as a character, and as an avatar. These elements are clearly portrayed in the first level and are used to unravel the first chapter towards the initial linear storyline through the non-linear gameplay. Clever use of these elements allows the game to successfully capture the player's attention into wanting to embrace their role as the protagonist and take part within the story this fictional world wishes to tell.

Resources
Telltale Games. (Developer). (2013). The Wolf Among Us [Video Game]. United States: Telltale Games

E. Zimmerman, K. Salen. (Game Designers). (2003). Rules of Play [Book]. United States: MIT Press

Aldred, J. (Author). (2013). Characters from: The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies [eBook]. Routledge
Retrieved: Retrived: http://animation.onlearn.co.nz/pluginfile.php/2711/mod_resource/content/0/Characters.pdf