Snow Is Falling...

After realising Gnomons 'Dynamics' series wasn't going to be a good source of learning for me, I decided to give Digital Tutors a try. After a quick look through their material, I started on their 'Introduction to Dynamics in Maya' lessons (more information here).

Looking at the individual tutorials within this lesson, there was bound to be some overlap. However, I felt that it would provide a good opportunity to consolidate the learning I already have, and fill in any gaps in my knowledge (I find Digital Tutors to be extremely thorough in explaining features).

After completing the first 5-6 lessons, I decided to experiment with some colour techniques which will prove useful for my project with the University mathematics division. Part of this project will feature cells which change type, and each type is associated with a different colour - I needed to find a way to animate an object between colours effectively. More importantly, I needed to find a way to control the colour changes in particles, as these are more likely to be used moving forwards.

The first example shows some simple 'particle rain/snow' which has keyframed colour changes, and works very well. Although the particle effects are not what I'm looking for, I was testing colour here, and this has worked as hoped. Since I already have Lambert shaders setup with the colour changes, I also needed to find a way to use these, as particles use Particle Cloud shaders. Fortunately I can simply plug the coloured Lambert into the colour input of the Particle Cloud shader, providing an additional level of control.

The second example shows something a bit more fun. After my experimentation in the first video, I realised I could make some decent-looking snow. After modeling a basic landscape, with a hill and some simple trees, I created a snow particle effect, with a small amount of randomness applied to it. After creating this short clip, it really made me wish there was snow outside!

Context & Review (Animation) : Ren & Stimpy

Alongside my fellow zookeeper Mark Haldane, we were tasked with choosing a short clip which showed 'animation' in an interesting way.

After looking around online, we decided to go with a clip from a Ren & Stimpy episode, titled "Sven Hoek";

First things first - some of you may not be familiar with Ren & Stimpy (as it premiered in 1991), so here is a brief overview;

The show features two lively characters, Ren Hoek (a chihuahua) and Stimpson J Cat (a cat, as his name suggests). The show was known for its crazy characters, situations and events. It also featured a large amount of comic violence, alongside quite dark humour (for a cartoon). One of the regular featured techniques used throughout the show, was the inclusion of detailed 'paintings' - these would often be far more gruesome and detailed than the animation itself, adding only to the intensity of any on-screen antics.

We chose this particular episode, as it portrays the strengths of the animation style which The Ren & Stimpy Show used.

The most obvious thing to notice, is that all of the animation is extremely exaggerated. We both agreed that this was used effectively, and although it ensured that the cartoon had a crazy look/feel to it, it was not simply crazy for the sake of crazy - the exaggeration was used to clarify all of the expressions and movements, leaving very little to interpretation.

When comparing this over-exaggerated style to a real character, it becomes almost impossible to replicate realistic movement. It is for this reason, we felt that Ren & Stimpy needed an over-exaggerated style, because then their actions and expressions would be even clearer than normally possible. It also ensures that the story is being received as it should be.

Throughout the clip, Ren's anger is very obvious, and this is enhanced by theatrical movement, and strong staging/posing. It is so obvious, that whilst watching this character, it became clear that the clip could also be watched without sound, and the action would not be confused or misinterpreted.

Although this is the case, the show's creators decided to add to the intensity of the situation, by using very focused shots, which used eerie music, and removal of the scene's background to build tension. By removing the backgrounds, we are forced to relate with Ren and his anger'; by alternating backgrounds quickly, it adds to the intensity of the scene, and makes us connect with Ren's emotions quicker.

Overall, we felt that Ren & Stimpy captured the intensity of a characters emotions well, by using exaggerated animation, and slowly building tension. Also, it's hard not to love Ren & Stimpy as characters!

My colleague Mark has also added a blog entry discussing Ren & Stimpy, which can be found here.

For those interested in seeing the full episode, it can be found online in two parts; here and here.

Tornado Warning

Since there has been lots of wind and weather warnings recently, it makes the next chapter of Studio Projects Dynamics even more topical than usual!

It introduces new ways of using Maya Fluids, and how to control them using a variety of fields. These tutorials have helped create some really nice effects (not just in this chapter on Tornado Winds). The final part in this chapter recreates a tornado demolishing a house, but I have still to start this.

The first example shows a Funnel Cloud. This was created by using Fluids and a Volume Axis Field, which spins the fluid. This example was to test the circular motion, and although basic colours were applied, that was not the focus.

The second example builds on the first set of techniques, although it uses a Volume Curve field instead - this gives more control over the shape and size of the simulation. A simple curve was used alongside the volume curve field to define the shape of the tornado. This was then paired with a second, smaller fluid container (for dust and debris) at the base of the tornado. Finally, a dynamic hair curve was used to move the finished tornado around. A directional light was added, and the finished clip was rendered using Mental Ray.

Research Skills & Methods : Writing An Abstract

The second assignment for this module involved writing an abstract, outlining the key aspects of my research, within 250 words. The completed assignment can be found below;

Title

An investigation into the collaboration between art, science and technology (3D computer graphics and animation) in the field of visualisation.

Abstract

The idea of artists and scientists working together to achieve a common goal is not a new one. It is this collaboration that has not only challenged the way we perceive complex technical ideas, but also accelerated pre-existing concepts forwards, into new and exciting territories.

Cox (2008) describes the combination of art, science and technology as a “Renaissance team” – that is, a team that utilises a cross-disciplinary approach, and therefore gains a unique insight into the different ways of approaching a problem and providing appropriate solutions. We are told these ‘Renaissance teams’ often “make significant contributions to new visual research”.

However, this collaboration is not without it’s difficulties. Art and science professionals speak very different ‘languages’. Scientists often undertake quantitative research, and aim to ensure that any data gathered is kept in its purest form, whereas artists tend to be more creative and often leave ideas and concepts open to a viewer’s interpretation. When considering this from a collaborative point of view, we must choose - visualisation or representation.

This thesis will investigate contemporary examples of visualisation, and discuss the techniques and processes involved in creating this kind of work (from an artist’s perspective). Through a combination of discussion and practice-led creation, the author will explore the importance of staying true to scientific data, whilst providing an insight into visualising complex technical data - which would not ordinarily be possible without the collaboration between art, science and technology.

[Word count: 240]

References

Cox, Donna J. (2008). Using the Supercomputer to Visualize Higher Dimensions: An Artist’s Contribution to Scientific Visualization. Leonardo 41(4), 391-400. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from Project MUSE database.

Nuke-lear Launch Detected

Don't worry... it's not an actual nuke - well, not the explosive kind anyway...

Today I started using Nuke, an industry-standard node-based compositing package created by The Foundry. I already have some working knowledge of Adobe After Effects and I am familair with node-based working (thanks to Autodesk Maya), so I decided that being able to use Nuke for simple tasks would be helpful.

I started my learning alongside Digital Tutor's 'Getting started with Nuke' training materials (more information here). Now I know what you may be thinking... did I pay to access this? Thankfully not - DJCAD has kindly provided access to all of the Digital Tutors material, for the duration of my MSc programme.

I am around half-way through this introduction course, and so far the material has been clear, easy to follow and has explained all of the concepts thoroughly - making learning easy. Although I probably won't upload any examples of work, I have been working with some simple resources (provided by Digital Tutors).

Althought I may not use Nuke in my own programme of study, it's certainly handy to have a basic working knowledge, as there is a high likelihood that I will be in contact with those who use it regularly. Especially now, since we are being 'let loose' on the green screen facilities tomorrow morning...

Context & Review (Story) : Second Wind

For this session, we were tasked with choosing a short video which dealt with 'story' in an interesting way, which we would then critique, and present our findings to the group.

Working with Mark Haldane, we decided to use 'Second Wind' (by Ian Worrel) as our short film. According to the creator, 'Second Wind' was created using 2D traditional animation, aswell as being coloured using Photoshop and composited in After Effects. The video can be seen below;

This short film tells the story of a man and his giant cat - loyal companions. They do everything together - travel, eat, sleep and play. Whilst playing together, the man enters a cave and finds a small glowing sprite. He ends up playing ball with this new-found friend, upsetting the cat. The cat then becomes angry towards the sprite and squashes it beneath a giant paw. The sprite is then resurrected but glows red instead of blue and tries to attack the cat, at which point the man sacrifices himself. We are then witness to a 'dream scene' where the man is revived, but with a windmill attached to his back - the cat can then blow on this to keep the man alive, bringing them together once again.

The presentation of this piece was excellent. Characters, although simple, were engaging and well designed. The cat's emotions were 'on show' throughout, creating a strong feeling of empathy - this was particularly important as there was no dialogue. This simplicity was carried throughout the visual style, creating something unique and colourful, but dark and mysterious at the same time (the subject matter of the story being told).

After watching the short film, we discussed the content, and decided that Second Wind was a tale of many things; companionship, loyalty, new friendship, perception of betrayal, jealousy and conflict. Less importantly, we also realised it was also about 'cool eyebrows, football and a bad-ass cat' - well, thats what we thought anyway.

When trying to interpret this story, we came up with several ideas;

• By using a giant cat, we felt that a fantasy/mythical setting was created - this created a 'lighter' atmosphere, and allowed for a small amount of humour despite the seriousness of the story being told.
• The importance of the cat's jealousy/anger - did this create the situation? Without these emotions the sprite would probably not have been killed, and the events that followed would have been very different.
• The idea of shared redemption - the man saved the cat despite being more focused on his new friend, and the cat saved the man becoming his life-support.
• A controversial idea which presented the cat as selfish - the cat struggled to feed itself and relied on the man to look after it. Was the cat keeping the man alive because it needed him? Also, did the cat want the necessity of keeping him alive to make sure the man did not 'stray' again?

An important visual feature to note was the use of colour. Throughout the early stages of the animation, there was a green atmosphere. This turned to blue when the man entered the cave, and to red when the cat 'fought' the sprite. It finally returned to green as the conflict was resolved - this was a great way of signposting the  different stages of the story.

Overall, we found that this short animation was well-received and provided a good opportunity for discussion amongst the group. Mark also added a blog entry discussing 'Second Wind', and this can be found here.

For anyone interested in more information on 'Second Wind', the creator has two blog posts which contain artwork generated during production; found here and here.

In Constant Motion

In Constant Motion. A rather fitting title for a post about using dynamics...

Progress continues on my new source of learning - 'Maya Studio Projects: Dynamics'. In addition to using dynamics within a scene, I have introduced Maya's nDynamics, and made good use of the nCloth system. Although nCloth is intended (as the name suggests) for recreating fabric, it can also be used to create a variety of adaptable and tearable surfaces which rigid bodies can interact with.

I have also now started work on using Maya's Fluids feature, something which will be extremely useful moving forwards, particularly when experimenting with cell aesthetics.

Good progress has been made so far this week, and my understanding of using dynamics is really setting in. Although these seem like simple examples, I am aware I have started with the basics and intend on building strong foundations. Moving forwards, I plan to work on more complicated setups and develop my Maya skills even further.

The first example illustrates a simple 'sandbox' idea, and uses a half-cylinder as a 'bucket'. We can see the earth-like material (automatically generated nParticles) moving around without any key-framed animation - it is all dynamically generated, and moves, collides and flows as appropriate.

The second example takes this idea further and adds an nCloth plane, with the idea of dropping a heavy sphere onto the ground, which then smashes, sending shards flying. The nParticles are used to provide a more accurate simulation - if they were not present, the ball would simply drop through the plane... this would not happen in real life!

The third example shows a volcano erupting. Relying heavily on the use of a 3D container for Fluids,  attributes were manually configured to create the smoke, and an nCloth 'explosion' was used to create the initial blast.