Friday 9 May 2014

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Polydoodle Final Submission

Final Animation "& Son"



Polydoodle Art of "& Son"


& Son Turnaround Video




Technical Director Pipeline "& Son"



Character Shaders Technical Document

Thursday 8 May 2014

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Last Minute Shot Fixes

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (08/05/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The animated gifs below show some of the fixes done to Benjamins eye blink which was distorting the mesh. There is a fault in the characters blend shapes causing the brows to move when we need him to blink with sad eyes. Let it be a tip for everyone out there to be careful when making blendshapes... Try to do everything seperate.


EXTRACT

"The images above show Benjamin's head with a Black Hole mask which Sammy asked Stitch to render out as Benjamin's eyes were cutting through his blink cycle. The problem with doing this is it impacts the eyebrows which sadly is a fault in the facial Blend-shapes of the Benjamin rig. We will probably look into this before New Designers to possibly make a sad facial emote that doesn't impact anything but the eyes."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Logging the Exposure Sheets

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (08/05/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The scribd presentation below shows the exposure sheets for my shots specifically. These were created so we could easily execute our renders at the end of the project. My shots involved Scenes 4, 5 & 6 and were hand written on a print out before making their way onto the digital rendition.


EXTRACT

"The scribd document above shows the exposure sheets for Scenes 4, 5 & 6 which involved Stitch's 3D elements. To break the document itself down we were tasked to fill out each shot with a file and camera name along with the final frame count. These were done so we could know the render ranges of each scene. This was actually quite handy when digging through files looking for the right render setting and scope. Anyway thanks again Sammy these were handy!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 62 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/05/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 62 Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas reacting to the final calamity that Benjamin's pranks have resulted in. This shot was a complete redo as the original corrupted. Anyway Enjoy!


EXTRACT

"Having been loosely told on Monday that my animation was without weight I thought I would use this shot to play with the graph editor a little more in depth... I added a little tweak to Barnabas's arm to add a little urgency. I also tried to spread out the motion a little more and offset areas of it. I will do this more in future animations, we are just out of time for me to figure it all out for hand in and revise every shot."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 47 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/05/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 47 Scene 4 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see the aftermath of Benjamin's catapult hat prank. Barnabas has to run to pick up all of the hats, he then realises who is responsible.


EXTRACT

"The change log for 47 includes an adjusted crouching while moving forward cycle with the usual third pass animation traits which include idle and blink. There was also subtle motion added to Benjamin. Each character also has hidden models attached to the root of their respective hand joints. The inclusion of the 2D character is also a new feat for this rendition of 47."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 42 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (27/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 42 Scene 4 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Benjamin a little bored before he gets the idea for a new prank. Once again calamity ensues for poor Barnabas.


EXTRACT

"For the alpha version of shot 42 a lot of the rigid mechanical motion has been fixed for both characters. There is now a sigh incorporated into Barnabas aswell as a better executed shifty face from Benjamin at the end... There is also idle motion so things are not too still."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" ND Minor Renders

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (27/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows one of the renders we sent to Phil to go to the New Designers public submission. This is 1 of 5 of the minor renders, there were Major renders but they were dealt with by Sammy. These are light renders with texture occlusion.

 photo photos_zps6be148c1.jpg

EXTRACT

"The first image was Benjamin Badgersworth pulling his "Tah-Dah" pose technically this is a major project pose but we figured why not. This is where the lighting was experimented with and its more or less how we found an effective balance of shaders vs. light. This is actually where Stitch decided to base our feature renders on a more washed out skin tone like the Benjamin render above. "

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Lighting & Shader Tweaks

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (26/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the lighting disparity from the earlier before texture light pass to the latter. There are specific settings I followed to create a nice ambient skin tone. To see the settings used please check out the post itself. I will probably be basing my technical document on this process so look out for that shortly!

 photo photos_zps6be148c1.jpg

EXTRACT

"The image above shows a partial render of an unlit relatively flat Benjamin Badgersworth before fixes were applied to the shaders and the lighting in the scene. This is of Shot 51 where Benjamin denies that he is plotting a new prank. Light linking also played a role by allowing light to come through the windows of the interior church. This creates a kind of natural light."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - 365 Day Project Shirt

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (26/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the front image for the 365 Day Project T-Shirt probably my most favourite to date. I added in a little gag on the side which I always found funny on one of my old T shirts... Felt right for Barnabas falling from a ladder lol.

 photo photos_zps6be148c1.jpg

EXTRACT

"The image above shows the quote combined with Barnabas as a close up just in case the small image is a bit confusing. This design has been on the cards for a while Stitch just didn't have time to sit down and knock it together... Thankfully he managed to find an hour or two while knocking out other speedy designs for a couple of minor commissions. This shirt will no doubt  turn some cheeks."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Polydoodle Easel Cards

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (26/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the front image of our official Polydoodle Business cards. The back contains all our vital information and actually stands like an easel frame. We will be using these in our event roster for "& Son".

 photo photos_zps6be148c1.jpg

EXTRACT

"The image above shows a close up of the front of the card. The render itself was taken from Shot 57 of our actual short in a certain "Tah Dah" moment. Again its quite ironic because its this pose that causes the chain reaction which knocks the portrait over. Anyway we figured this was a healthy alternative to trying to crush details onto a whoopee cushion no matter how funny hearing farts around new designers would be."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" When Your Smiling

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (26/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows Polydoodles day out at Sunlight Studios where they recorded the "& Son" track "When Your Smiling" previously performed by Louis Armstrong. The singing was done by Samantha Butlers sister Lisa Butler. We hope you enjoy the video!


EXTRACT

"The video above is actually a behind the scenes look at our day out over at Sunlight, there was not a lot of recording time in the studio as Lisa seemed to have nailed the song within 2 takes. Never the less Polydoodle Stitch was there with his trusty camera to get the pre, prod and post play banter of the day. The music track itself was recorded by a contact of Polydoodle Chrissie's and she got us into the studio for the day so thanks to Chrissie for that too."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Scene 6 Mark 2

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (25/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 of "& Son's" Shots 57, 58, 59, 60 & 61 of Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see the resulting tragic candlestick knock and its aftermath. Little Benjamin really wishes he hadn't done this one. The music is now "When Your Smiling" the music in our short.


EXTRACT

"The video above shows the playblasted shot 57 with 58, 59, 60, 61 & 62. 62 is the only shot remaining in this sequence for revision so that will be the next adjustment for this particular Scene. There are a couple of versions of our adaptation of "When your smiling" and we will get those up shortly. For this the only version used was the one without any lyrics."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Scene 6 Fun Pass (Featuring MJ)

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (22/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Benjamin's accidental candlestick knock and its final outcome. What makes this shot fun is the music that I originally used to animate along with it.


EXTRACT

"We did this video mainly because Stitch couldn't hold back this scene any longer but didn't want it to be taken too seriously just yet. Now to everyone out there this is to show musical timing as well as a nice dance animation (Shot 57). I originally animated this to Michael Jacksons "Black or white" (before we had our music recordings). Anyway don't read into it just enjoy and laugh :) If the video is removed for copyright reasons it don't matter... the damage is already done!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Scene 5 Mark 3 (with 2D)

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (22/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 3 progression of "& Son's" Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Benjamin's gag in its entirety with 2D from the start of the scene to the very end leading us into Scene 6. Obviously there are no transitions in this pass.


EXTRACT

"The video above shows the playblasted shots 50, 51, 52, 53 & 54. 51 is the only shot not to have any 2D as it involves Benjamin playing puppy eyes to his sceptical father. For clarity we placed in same scene twice with and without reference to show its influence as well as its "clean" state as windows all about the screen kind of take away from the experience within the playblasts."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 54 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (18/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 54 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Benjamin's gag successfully executed. Barnabas who is seemingly unawares suddenly realises the trick his son has pulled.


EXTRACT

"In this video we see the run of the gag which Benjamin has finally managed to unleash on his unsuspecting dad. There are going to be lots of 2D frogs jumping about this scene so we really hope that you don't mind a few slimy friends haha... Its going to be awesome!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 53 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (18/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 53 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we have the camera pulling back to reveal Barnabas and Benjamin at the back of the church watching the proceedings as they go on... prank ensues.


EXTRACT

"The video above is Shot 53 showing Benjamin and Barnabas standing patiently at the back of the church why the priest reads his sermon. This scene is probably one of our most populated for the short, the version that comes after this will be something to look at!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 52 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (18/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 52 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas accepting Benjamin's innocence just before he unleashes a box of frogs.


EXTRACT

"The video above is Shot 52 in playblast form devoid of light effects, at this level people should only be looking at the animation of the characters. Keeping everything at a low grade within the viewport is fundamental to being able to animate within a 3D program... If its too laggy how can you animate?"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 51 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (18/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 51 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Benjamin innocently denying that he has any tricks up his sleeve. Of course we know better then to trust the little tyke.


EXTRACT

"Above is shot 51 with little Benjamin denying that he is up to his usual tricks to his father Barnabas. There have been many work in progress versions of this but from discussions with Alan the hand gestures were altered as was the head movement to copy the Sammy reference more."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50 Alpha Version

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (18/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Alpha progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas cautiously gazing at his son in hope that there's not another gag coming in this funeral procession.


EXTRACT

"Above is Shot 50 all on its own as we have previously established continuity with the previous works in progress. The main reason for these posts is to show the Alpha versions animated in play blasts, this is also to show a single frame of the rendered scene. Please check out the still below!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Scene 6 Development

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (15/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 3/3/1/1 progression of "& Son's" Shots 58, 59, 60 & 61 of Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see the resulting aftermath to Benjamins little accidental candle stick knock. The change log can be found underneath.


EXTRACT

"These shots are primarily following the integration of 2D characters into our 3D playblasts. There have been a couple of camera adjustments to shots 58 and 59. Shots 60 & 61 are solely based on 2D planes within Maya, one camera moving one not."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 58 Mark 2 WIP (with 57 & 59)

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (15/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 58 (with 57 & 59) Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot Benjamin is chasing after the falling candlesticks which he accidentally knocked over. The gag ends in total chaos, we have "Clerks" to thank for that.


EXTRACT

"This shot has the end of 57 with 59 to show continuity. Shot 58 now has Benjamin with a decent run cycle, liken to the Sammy reference. Added some shocked frames prior to delay Benjamin reaching the portrait before the end of the shot. Everything seems to flow a little better now."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Scene 5 Mark 2

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (10/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Benjamin's gag in its entirety from the start of the scene to the very end leading us into Scene 6. Obviously there are no transitions or 2D in this pass.


EXTRACT

"The video above is the video in question and only contains a small 44 second section of our short which is the equivalent of 1100 frames at our standard 25fps rate... well that's what it says on the exposure sheet so lets go with that. These shots go into each other this is why we thought a small play blast compilation was in order. Anyway please provide feedback should you have any words of wisdom."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 54 Mark 3 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (10/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 3 progression of "& Son's" Shot 54 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Benjamin's gag successfully executed. Barnabas who is seemingly unawares suddenly realises the trick his son has pulled.


EXTRACT

"In this shot the adjustments include moving some of the key frames so Barnabas actions made more sense. He is now angled more towards Benjamin at one point to be aware of his sons actions. This is followed by the embarrassed hand to head gesture to shield his eyes from the embarrassment."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 54 Mark 2 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (10/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 54 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Benjamin's gag successfully executed. Barnabas who is seemingly unawares suddenly realises the trick his son has pulled.


EXTRACT

"For this shot the Benjamin frog jump has been slightly increased in distance and height to look more exaggerated. Added some additional curious looks on the Barnabas facial controls. Moved the head slap moment down in the timeline... it is still a bit too slow."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50, 51 & 52 Mark 7/6/5 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (10/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 7/6/5 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 51 & 52 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Barnabas question Benjamin we then see Benjamin acting innocent before hiding his next prank from Barnabas.


EXTRACT

"Okay this shot is possibly the final for 50, 51 and 52 unless told otherwise by the Polydoodle crew. For this shot I refined the Barnabas motion which included incorporating a turn and basic walk cycle motion. This completes the refinement of these particular shots... I think."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50, 51 & 52 Mark 6/5/4 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (08/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 6/5/4 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 51 & 52 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Barnabas question Benjamin we then see Benjamin acting innocent before hiding his next prank from Barnabas.


EXTRACT

"This will probably be my final pass for Benjamin as I have added in additional coat tail functionality for this particular shot so it moves correctly with the leg. I also added some time at the end for the frog entrance which exceeds the allotted 200 frame allowance to 250 frames (2 additional seconds)."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50, 51 & 52 Mark 5/4/3 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (06/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 5/4/3 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 51 & 52 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In these shots we see Barnabas question Benjamin we then see Benjamin acting innocent before hiding his next prank from Barnabas.


EXTRACT

"Made a number of corrections following discussions with Sammy and Phil as of last Friday. Removed frames from 51 adding them to 50 so the motions follow each other seamlessly. Fixed shot 52 for Benjamin's leg motion. The camera is also more subtle within 52 when moving to Benjis legs."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 52 Mark 2 (w. Shots 50 & 51)

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 52 (with 50 & 51) Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas walking away having accepted his sons innocence. Benjamin of course has more tricks up his sleeve.


EXTRACT

Mainly focused on getting the Benjamin character to flow across the 3 shots. Adjusted the foot that pushes the box of frogs to act more like the reference. Just generally refined the Benjamin character animation. Barnabas has not been touched.

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50 & 51 Mark 4/3 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 4/3 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 to 51 (with 52) Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas cautiously gazing at his son in hope that there's not another gag coming in this funeral procession, he walks away unaware of Benjamin's next gag.


EXTRACT

Adjusted camera focal depth on shot 51 making it more from Barnabas POV. Added blink functionality, Benjamin has quick (nervous) blinks Barnabas regular blinks. Check out this guide I found on animated blinking!" http://www.bloopanimation.com/blinking-animation/

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50 & 51 Mark 3/2 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2/3 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 to 51 (with 52) Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas cautiously gazing at his son in hope that there's not another gag coming in this funeral procession, he walks away unaware of Benjamin's next gag.


EXTRACT

"Providing motion continuity for Benjamin into the next shot (51), refined some of the motion for 51 brought in 52 to see the flow of all 3 shots it is yet to be retouched. Just fixing as I go right now."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 50 Mark 2 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 50 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas cautiously gazing at his son in hope that there's not another gag coming in this funeral procession.


EXTRACT

"Gave Barnabas more curious animation then the more obvious tell tale finger. Benjamin responds in kind which follows through to shot 51 (yet to be retouched)."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 59 Mark 2 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 59 Scene 6 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see the aftermath of Benjamin's dance act. He knocks the dead mans picture into the coffin knocking the coffin over.


EXTRACT

"Adjusted the camera angle of this shot making it lower so the frame is more imposing (more to Benjamin's POV). Adjusted the focal depth to help fit objects in the frame."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 53 Mark 4 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 4 progression of "& Son's" Shot 53 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas and Benjamin with idle motion at the back of the church.


EXTRACT

"Just slowed down the motion of the foot roll to make it more casual. It now rolls a little smoother at a more decent rate. Erm I guess I hope this is better :)"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 53 Mark 3 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 3 progression of "& Son's" Shot 53 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas and Benjamin with idle motion at the back of the church.


EXTRACT

"Just refined the quirk a little added in my reference video... please do not laugh at my pyjamas it was a bit of a late one..."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - "& Son" Shot 53 Mark 2 WIP

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/04/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Mark 2 progression of "& Son's" Shot 53 Scene 5 of the Polydoodle production schedule. In this shot we see Barnabas and Benjamin with idle motion at the back of the church.


EXTRACT

"This is a little quirk I thought an idle Benjamin could do... Rolling his feet back and forth. Not sure but thought it looked cute I guess.."

Read the full article here >>

Sunday 30 March 2014

Unit 11: Major Project - Sculpting the Benjamin Model

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (29/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the creation process of the real life Benjamin sculpture. This was created entirely by the talented Ross Castle May over the course of 5 or so days. The video was captured in 30 minute segments by myself and sliced together into an hour long speed segment. I will be hands on for the next model... in some part.


EXTRACT

"The video above shows the 5 day process of the Benjamin character being made in Magi-sculpt clay. While this was being shot Stitch was sitting down and fine tweaking a shot of the animated short but there was a few moments where he watched in awe. In a few weeks he goes back to record the painting of the Benjamin model while Ross makes some little fine tweaks. The video is almost an hour long but its a lot of days rolled in to one speed blast."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - First Pass Blocking Scenes 4, 5 & 6

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (28/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. We have begun animating our final short. The video below is the first pass blocking shots which I was delegated by the Polydoodle team. The scenes are 4, 5 & 6 and have an accompanying animatic and motion reference picture-in-picture. The sound in the video may act intermittent but its because its from the animatic samples. I kept the sound in for my own reference...


EXTRACT

"The video above is a little compilation Stitch made to help aid him in animating his allotted scenes. It contains a play-blasted pre-viz as its main feature with sample animatic and feature reference picture in picture boxes. This allows us to see each shot and contrast that with the animatic and live footage to create streamlined animation. This video only demonstrates Benjamin's live action. "

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - The Barnabas Shelfs Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (11/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the Barnabas model being poked and prodded by yours truly to demonstrate its controls and attributed Maya shelves. If you are curious about the shelves please check the Polydoodle Blog link below. The rig for this character was partially setup by Sammy and myself but it came together in the end.


EXTRACT

"To conclude is the functionality video of the Barnabas model, this demonstrates the functions of the rig within the channel box. This in most cases goes beyond the simplistic translate and rotate controls but can enforce blend shapes and set driven key animations. These are created custom attributes which really do improve the functionality of a character. We hope you enjoy this little breakdown :)"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - The Benjamin Shelfs Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (10/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below is a demonstration of the functionality within the Benjamin Badgersworth character. In the video I demonstrate the use of every individual control with a brief explanation. This does involve the use of the custom shelves but in order to see them clearly you should probably check out the post over at the Polydoode Studios blog.


EXTRACT

"The video above is a breakdown of the Benjamin character functionality as it shows the operations within the controls. This allows us to show on a clean and clear level how combining some of these functions can create a truly amazing final animated short. This video also demonstrates the active use of some of the shelf controls combined with manual operations within the Maya viewport."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Badgersworth Group Pose Tests

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (09/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the posing and plotting of our 2 chief characters Benjamin and Barnabas Badgersworth. These are of course just a couple of dummy tests I ran to examine how they look in a shot together. In the video I created 3 composite shots in my usual time lapse fashion... I hope its not too confusing.


EXTRACT

"The first composite test focuses on the opening scene of the short with Barnabas and Benjamin just after the whoopee cushion. If you haven't checked out the latest animatic you can find it here. The final composite is built from a standard Beauty and Occlusion pass with a Floor Occlusion pass to ground the characters... The snapshot was used to frame the characters for the final render passes."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - The Interim Presentation

& Son Benjamin Facial Test

& Son Barnabas Facial Test




& Son Stitch Personal Pipeline

Unit 11: Major Project - Rigging Barnabas Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (05/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows Barnabas in various poses which were rendered and were composited within Photoshop with occlusion. There are also videos showing the functionality of the Benjamin rig over at the Polydoodle blog so check that out if your curious. I even conducted a Blendshape facial test using the Barnabas character. 


EXTRACT

"The image above shows 5 basic poses from the standard T-pose. These were not decided in the heat of the moment but were in fact conceptualized a while back. The renders above are comprised of 2 beauty passes an occlusion pass and an occlusion plane pass to give floor shadow. We did this mainly because we wanted to see what could be achieved with the rig's functionality being able to achieve our initial ideas."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Rigging Benjamin Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows Benjamin in various poses which were rendered and were composited within Photoshop with occlusion. These are basic render passes within the Maya pipeline. The poses are based on research I conducted in October 2013 with a number of pose tests which were recreated on form dummies. It was quite a fun time so please enjoy! 


EXTRACT

"The image above shows a couple of test poses which were created based on the research conducted back in September of last year... Please check out the post here and you will see these poses in their reference and base forms. The renders above are comprised of Beauty and Occlusion passes so I hope you enjoy them... Just for clarity these are not Weta :)"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Skinning Benjamin Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/03/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The samples below show some of the functionality within the core joints of the Benjamin skeleton. This is not using control curves it is just base movement direct from the joint of the rig. I covered each area of the body just to show the quality of the skinning of weight between the joints. Please visit the blog post to see the other areas of the character in which I performed these tests on.


EXTRACT

"Skinning Benjamin was a bit of a rigorous process as it was the first one. We had to skin weight the little tyke which was done with a combination of weight painting and the component editor. This post shows the functionality of the character at the joint level. At this point no controls have been added leaving functionality to the skeleton and the weight distribution between joints alone."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Exploring the Rig

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (27/02/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below is the final Benjamin rig which was found to be our best option after vigorous exploration into numerous rigging approaches. This is not to say that this was the best option but it was a stepping stone to understanding the rigging process... something which I think will make my future rigging easier and to a better standard.


EXTRACT

"There were many options to consider when we were considering our rigging options for Benjamin. Originally we thought that the puppet rig DVD by Carlo Sansonetti would be a great direction. It was of course through confusion and a lack of detailed understanding surrounding the rigging process that we decided to play it safe but not for a lack of trying out a number of methods."

Read the full article here >>

Friday 31 January 2014

Unit 11: Major Project - Adult Barnabas Model Complete

Hello Everyone,

As I said over at the Polydoodle blog welcome to posting format Mark 2 which is code for a change of blog posting. This will mean that over on my personal blog I will now be doing my full length (fully boring) posts while over on the Polydoodle Blog I will be posting images with minimal text, this is likely due to my waffling ha-ha. Nah its just to make the studio blog more professional which I can relate too, I doubt anyone reads my random ranting on these blogs anyway. I only wish it had happened a couple of posts back so I could do my entire Major this way (people know that I am a total stickler about harmony DOH).

Anyway this post is about the Adult Barnabas as I have finally completed the model so we can get cracking on the rigging Phase. After this post I will probably be MIA for a week or so while I get these bad boys rigged. I don't want a multitude of posts distracting me I am just simply going to record a time lapse so you can see the entire journey (like the videos of me creating Barnabas, Benjamin, etc.) I am prioritizing the development of this project over the little bits for now but should there be time once I have everything rigged I will sit down and knock up the little extras that I love ha-ha.

Anyway lets get down to the post at hand here shall we...


The image above shows a couple of turntable render passes of the Barnabas model and I am pretty satisfied with the result. Apologies if they are not very clear I had to redact it in size a little so it wouldn't invade the page and break my safe 500 pixel width post layout. I know this post will probably be criticized for being wasteful but I cannot help it I love my text with images dammit. Anyway back to the work at hand, the render passes as you no doubt have guessed are shaded, UV and wire showing the texture placement, geometry alignment and overall look of the finished model.


The next image is yes you guessed it moving Barnabas into ZBrush for a post model play. I generally do this with all of my models as it gives me a chance to see how the model and UV maps are working. This is what leads me into doing a bit of test poly-painting one of which I have posted at the bottom of this post. Its just nice to see how the model looks with a bit of color, you have to bear in mind up until this point I only ever see the model in grey or grid textures which look funny. The key reason for doing this is to make sure there is no stretching on the UV maps, if its really bad you have to go back and fix it.


The video above is a subdivision and poly-count investigation into the workings of Barnabas and Benjamin on the same scene at different subdivision levels. This is handy for knowing the limitations of a scene for render and/or scene functionality. I tend to try not to push the sub divisions of a character too high as it makes Maya more sluggish and can take ages to rig, UV and render. Its usually best if you rig and UV and scale the sub divides by 1 if at all. In my opinion its best to keep it to the lowest until you are rendering, even then you can use Mental Ray to simulate the divide why keeping the view port low.


Last but not least a little poly-paint test within ZBrush to identify any stretching on the Barnabas model surface. From the tests I am pleased to say that everything seems to be evening out quite well. The UV's cover the model quite nicely and there is *drum roll* NO STRETCHING YIPPEE! There have been a couple of discussions about the texture style of the final model but that is entirely up to the texturing team of Sammy and Chrissie. Of course I will put in my two cents. Anyway all in all this model is looking pretty nice from all angles now the next step is RIGGING!

Well this is my first post returning my massive content to my main blog. Over the next few weeks I will be solely rigging so as I mentioned in the opener you will not be hearing much from me but I will update you when I am ready with a flurry of goodies. As much as it pains me to post primarily image content over on the Polydoodle Blog It does make sense that we keep the blog as professional as possible and hearing me rant over my personal feats across walls of text can get tiring. Anyway I think that is me, I will post our audio logs for the past 3 weeks on the Polydoodle blog a little later. Ill see you all in the funny pages!

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Thursday 30 January 2014

Unit 11: Major Project - Adult Barnabas UV Maps

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (31/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the ZUV maps for "& Son's" first Adult character Barnabas Badgersworth. Please check out our blog to see the complete UV map in all its glory. For the video below I decided to make a little tutorial while showcasing Barnabas's ZUV's so sorry if it drags on a little! Anyway please enjoy!


EXTRACT

"The Video above shows the ZUV tiles for the Adult Barnabas, in the case of this video I thought I would provide a little introduction into Bringing models into ZBrush from Maya. I used this to lead on to viewing your ZUV's in ZBrush. Its a very basic process and those that know how to do it will say "why bother" but I guess I thought it would be good for the newbies who have never used the program before. I also use this to showcase the Barnabas models ZUV's everything else is just a little extra so I can break away from the standard ZUV video template."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 11: Major Project - Barnabas 2D Turnarounds to 3D

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/31/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the 3d Modelling journey I had creating Adult Barnabas Badgersworth. The entire video spans the length of 4 days but there were a couple of extras thrown in for good measure. All in all the model came together quite nicely I hope you enjoy! P.S. The video is recorded on a time lapse interval of 10 seconds so excuse the speed.


EXTRACT

"The video above is another time lapse video this time of the Barnabas model development. The duration of creating this one was much less mainly because there was no ZBrush trial and error. I defiantly learnt a hard lesson there I will never do it that way round again unless the two become more intertwined. Anyway the video above is over the course of 4 Days in which I created the character. I started him and got little bits and pieces done here and there but it just felt simpler to settle the entire duration. I made the chaptered segments more about the parts of the model then the duration."

Read the full article here >>

Thursday 9 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - & Son Polydoodle Submission

& Son 3D Model Compilation
 
& Son Animatic Mk2
 



& Son Art Of Document

Unit 10: Minor Project - & Son Stitch Demo Reels

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to submit these as personal reels, Sammy has a retexturing job going on so that means these ones will not be used... That being said I spent time doing them so I'd like to keep them as my personal Reels... I will post them up on my individual online submission for the Minor Project. Along side everything else. Anyway no waffling for this post. Check em out!



Hope they were mildly entertaining, okay I think I can say that I am free from the burden of worrying about turnarounds. I'm gonna take today off, tomorrow Ill continue modelling Barnabas.

Over & Out,
xXStItChXx

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Young Barnabas 3D Expression Sheets

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (08/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the prodigy Young Barnabas  Badgersworth's expression sheets in 3D form! These are render composites from the awesome ZBrush render engine. I have to say I do like the contrast between Benjamin and Young Barnabas's expression sheets... Its refreshing to see the difference between characters. Check them both out at our studio blog :)

 
EXTRACT

"The final image of this Unit from my side of things are Young Barnabas's expression sheets lined up for your critique. Despite my dire need for the dark I actually found myself liking the happy face on Young Barnabas. I guess by this point I had filled my inner dark need by knocking up the Darker Young Barnabas Weta concept. If I had time I would try to do all of the expression sheets on my 2D drawn concepts but 6 will have to do for the moment. Maybe one day in the future if I'm feeling bored ill have a bit more of a play... That's not a promise though!"

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Young Barnabas Conceptual Composit Weta

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (08/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the talented Young Barnabas as a result of multiple render passes from ZBrush. I composited the character within ZBrush and used the render passes to make the image you see below. The character was poly-painted and posed before being thrown into photoshop for a blending mode session. Gotta love it.

 
EXTRACT

"The image above shows the end result of the composited layers. Its the only time on this brief where I have totally indulged my darker tones and it will probably be the only time when Chrissie and Sammy see him ha-ha. That being said I really do like the way he looks in this concept. I didn't actually do bad with the posing although there are some areas which still bother me... I wont point those out you are just going to have to guess... I really do love making these concepts using my models they are so satisfying to me."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin Textured Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (07/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the textured version of Young Barnabas Badgersworth with a couple of light passes in the scene. The textures are subject to change but for now I thought I would take a stab. You should also bear in mind these do not have occlusion. Check out the blog ;)

 
EXTRACT

"The animated gif above shows a quick render turnaround of Young Barnabas Badgersworth. The lighting in the scene is a bit strong on the blue front but I like the shadow vs. light values so I kept it in from the prior textured Benjamin turns. I am quite lucky that these eyes are not the final eyes as we are using nurbs. The painting is quite big for the eye and the iris is quite tiny. I also don't think its sitting in the middle of the eye so that's quite a big problem. My most proud feature of this paint job has to be the jacket... Much better shade then Benjamin's."

Read the full article here >>

Monday 6 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin 3D Expression Sheets

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (06/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the child star Benjamin Badgersworth's expression sheets in 3D form! The renders were created with ZBrush's multi-pass rendering engine and composited in Photoshop. These are 6 expressions inspired from the original 12 expressions I made a few weeks back. Please enjoy!

 
EXTRACT

"Last but not least I thought I would line the renders up just in case people get a little tired of trying to narrow down an expression from the animated gif above. I have also listed the expressions names just in case people wanted to know what expression they relate to. You can refer back to Benjamin's expressions and see if you can link any of these images to those. You can find the old post here! I think the sad expression is the only new one here but I did try to build it on another expression it just wound up looking more sad."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin Conceptual Composit Weta

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (06/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the child star Benjamin Badgersworth as a result of multiple render passes from ZBrush. I posed the character within ZBrush and created the render passes individually. These were then combined in Photoshop using blending modes. I removed the background and added my own paper textured one with a gradient.

 
EXTRACT

"The image above shows the end result of this process, there are numerous layers that went into the creation of this image. They were blended together within Photoshop using blending modes and opacity. A number of FX controls were also applied as well as hue and saturation adjustments to change shadow tones. I dialled quite a few layers down to get this concept to where I was happy. The problem with doing these passes is when you first sit down to sort them out you don't know where to start. You have quite a few layers and you can only find the right combination by test after test."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Young Barnabas Model Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (06/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows 3 rendered views of our little Young Barnabas Badgersworth. This is only 1 of our main characters so more will follow shortly! I cannot wait to see all of them together in a scene. Woop Woop!

 
EXTRACT

"The image above is my typical 3 pass system for animated pre-production gifs. The scene itself was lit with 2 ambient lights with the ambient shade turned right down. The wire pass of course is the only one which doesn't use light but contours to render the polygon edges. I'm sure all of my colleagues at UCA know that by now already, still I like to sound clever :) I edit these turns in after effects before firing them across to Photoshop to get them into the animated gif format. There has been an improvement in their exporting functionality gifs used to lag much more. "

Read the full article here >>

Sunday 5 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Young Barnabas UV Maps

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (05/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the ZUV maps for "& Son's" child  character Young Barnabas Badgersworth. Please check out our blog to see the complete UV map in all its glory. I hope the narrative on this video makes the idea a little clearer to everyone watching! Anyway please enjoy!


EXTRACT

"The video above shows the ZUV tiles of my UV mapping this is again just another way to check what elements of your UV map reflect their geometry. Its a nice little touch by Pixologic (the inventors of ZBrush) but I like the hurdles. I also like to have any excuse possible to go into ZBrush (a concept which threw me off a little bit for this unit) but I have learnt my lesson. I threw in a little narration over the top of this video as the last one felt a little dry. I felt it was handy to explain my actions a little as I went and did them."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Young Barnabas 2D Turnarounds to 3D

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (05/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the 3d Modelling journey I had creating Young Barnabas Badgersworth. The video briefly shows me changing various details on the Benjamin Badgersworth model to turn it into the Young Barnabas Model. This was done using ZBrush, the model was brought back into Maya after for mesh cleanup and UV adjustment.


EXTRACT

"The video above demonstrates the end transformation for Benjamin to Young Barnabas. This was done mostly with ZBrush as it required gradual movement of key anatomical details. These has to be considered as did the facial features. This model probably would have been easier if I wasn't messing around with the hat so much but there we are. I will probably ask Alan for some advice on hair should I feel the need to return to it one last time before rigging. In the video I demonstrate the differences between the characters as the finale."

Read the full article here >>

Saturday 4 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin Textured Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (03/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows the textured version of Benjamin Badgersworth with a couple of light passes. I created a front and front close pass. This is to subject to change slightly in the future. The rest of the info is on our blog!

 
EXTRACT

"The image above shows the textured Benjamin Badgersworth in turnaround with a couple of light passes. He is a bit shiny in places but I wanted to keep a little shine on the surface of the model. This is easily resolved by changing the material to a lambert. As far as the paintwork goes I decided to try to keep the tones in the texture weaker as our art style is kind of "flat" as it were. Its like I said though if the ladies want to change it they can feel free. I have no doubt that our main decisions where this is concerned will happen when we combine the environment with the characters."

Read the full article here >>

Thursday 2 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin Model Complete

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (02/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The image below shows 3 rendered views of our little Benjamin Badgersworth. This is only 1 of our main characters so more will follow shortly! More details on this can be found over on our studio blog.

 
EXTRACT

"The image above shows 3 turnaround views of the Benjamin 3D model. The shaded view shows the model in its generic glory. The UV view shows the seem placement and the quality of the UV Mapping. The Wire view shows the flow of the geometry itself as well as the consistency of its edge flow. Its handy to see these views before seeing a model in its entirety, well I feel it does. It allows you to appreciate what the end result is when you consider everything that is going on underneath. I have started making a habit of doing this... it only helps ;)"

Read the full article here >>

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin UV Maps

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/12/13) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the ZUV maps for "& Son's" chief character Benjamin Badgersworth. The complete UV map can be seen on our studio blog along with another couple of extras. I hope you enjoy the post!


EXTRACT

"One of the things I tend to do when UV mapping is throw some kind of texture on to see if the polygons on the model are working effectively with the texture. I usually throw on either a checker or a UV grid texture which can be found on google. In the image above I have shown my Benjamin model and have identified some of the more obvious front on seams. Myself and my business partner have a little game we play when looking at game models, we like to see if we can identify the locations of the seams... Geeky I know but I guess we don't care."

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Benjamin 2D Turnarounds to 3D

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (01/01/14) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows the 3d Modelling journey I had creating Benjamin Badgersworth. The entire video spans the length of 6 days of trial and error with ZBrushing and Maya. The good news is I got there in the end. The video is recorded on a time lapse interval of 10 seconds so excuse the speed.


EXTRACT

"The image above shows the original turnarounds I worked from with the wire of the model projected over the top. I corrected his podginess mostly as Sammy and Chrissie didn't want him to have a beer belly (which was in the original turnaround). I agreed though, it didn't look right on the side profile. The other misguided move was his hair which I made puffy like the turnaround but then the hair kept bleeding through the top of the hat. I ended up having to severely flatten the hair to make the hat rest on the sides of his head. This took a while to sort out... "

Read the full article here >>

Unit 10: Minor Project - Flesh to Final Turnarounds

Hello Everyone,

Here is a sample extract from my latest contribution (31/12/13) direct from Polydoodle Pictures Studio Blog. The video below shows my creative process for 2D character turnarounds. The video concludes with a time lapse construction of the turnaround for"Young Barnabas". This is only 1 of 4 characters, the completed sheets and construction is on our blog.


EXTRACT

"The image at the very top of this is the underline anatomy of the character Benjamin is slightly podgy but Sammy and Chrissie didn't have an overhanging Belly in mind so I overshot that one. Still they corrected me and I corrected the flaws in the final turnaround. You may notice some differences in Benjamin's facial features from the original. There were a couple of issues with the side profile which made the front not line up properly so I went in and fixed most of the problems. The colour was something I thought worked but the ladies will be texturing I think..."

Read the full article here >>