Research Skills & Methods : Research Poster

The third and final assignment of this module required me to create a poster which would communicate my research using visual methods. The poster built on work completed in the first two tasks (here and here), and is shown below;

Context & Review : Comments

Please add any comments and/or feedback from the blog presentation on 24-Nov-10 to this post.

Playing With Fire

Adding more special effects to my arsenal, Studio Projects Dynamics moves onto creating and controlling fire (using Maya fluids). Using fire is something which will be particularly relevant to a side-project I am currently involved in, and one of the tutorials involves burning down a 3D model of a house, which hopefully will be useful.

Starting off slowly, the first example introduces using fuel and heat within a fluid container. As this is not particularly exciting by itself, there is not much to show, so below we can see the second example - a simple flame created entirely in CG;

After working with a simple flame, a preset was created, and then imported into a new scene featuring a simple house model (provided on the tutorial disc). The flames were scaled up and tweaked to suit the new size. The house structure was already broken in segments, so these were converted to nCloth components, ready for destruction. Randomness was applied to the building 'burning down' by using keyframed ramp shaders with noise applied. The finished render can be seen below;

This chapter was one of the most important topics I have covered so far (and very relevant to the side-project) which allows me to transfer the skills learned during this tutorial, and apply them in a more creative manner.

Inspiration 1 : Cell Visualisation

In collaboration with the University mathematics division, I am working on cell visualisation - starting off with mathematically generated data, I am importing this into Maya and defining the aesthetics of the scene, making the data more accessible and visually exciting.

Alongside my own work, I have found some examples of cell visualisation that I am particularly interested in. The first of these is a clip called "The Inner Life of the Cell", created in 2006 for Harvard biology students, by a company called BioVisions. Although this animated sequence looks dated, compared to today's standards, the content (and it's importance) are still just as relevant today. A tremendous amount of effort was put into to this project, and those working on it were constantly aware of the relationship between the quality of the visuals and the accuracy of the data. One criticism I would make, is that the scenes are often very 'busy' and feature lots of moving items and lots of different colours. Although this means there is more to look at, it can also make the shots somewhat confusing, as there is no clear focus. "The Inner Life of the Cell" can be seen below;

BioVisions have also continued working on molecular animations, with their latest video titled "Powering the Cell: Mitochondria" (a clip can be viewed here). This video is a significant update to the other one above, primarily thanks to the improvements in technology over the last four years. Although the concept is the same, the video has been output in high-defination, and this is definately a noticeable improvement. The visual style has also 'quietened' down somewhat, and is much more pleasing to the eye, as can be seen in the image below;

Moving away from this type of visualisation, I am particularly fond of "Nature by Numbers" created by Cristobal Vila. This is an expertly created piece of work, and focuses on how nature is driven by mathematics (at it's core). The content is of excellent quality, and there are segments where it appears that some sort of dynamics system has been used to drive the animation - something I am currently developing skills in. The overall look of the video has a very polished feel, something I would certainly hope to achieve by the end of my MSc programme! The video can be seen, in all it's high-definition glory, below;

After looking at other examples of work out there, it is clear to see that there is a great deal of importance placed on both the quality/accuracy of the data, and the appeal of the visuals. Trying to find this balance however, can pose difficult, and it is important for an artist to find an individual style which suits them. As mentioned in a previous post, this reinforces the importance of experimention - practice makes perfect.

Visualisation Techniques : Cells

Experimentation is often the key to success, and computer graphics are no exception...

Recently, I have been manually building a 3D scene from some mathematical data (due to problems using MEL to import this automatically), so I needed to start work on how the data could be represented.

This first data-set features cells which multiply over time, and also change colour (which represents their type, or stage). Previously I had already tested changing particle colours (early results of this can be found here) so it was time to experiment with how these spherical 'cells' might look.

Working separately to the data setup earlier, I started off creating a polygonal sphere, and using a surface emitter to create the particles. I started by key-framing the emission rate, but then decided to output the required amount of spheres and set the initial state (so that we did not see the creation of the particles). I created a simply three-point lighting setup, and animated a camera moving through a 90-degree arc - the scene was now ready for aesthetic testing.

This first example shows the particles, rendered using the Blobby Surface render type. The Radius and Threshold were then key-framed and oscillated, to create a moving, pulsing surface. Ideally I wanted each particle to pulse individually, but I had difficulties in doing this. Using a Blobby Surface created a simple effect, with required very little computational time on render - something which might outweigh the 'awkward' pulse effect when hundreds of cells are required (and can pulse at different intervals to each other).

This second example builds on the first, although uses the Cloud render type. This was combined with a Lambert surface, and used the same animated Radius and Threshold. The cell was animated to rotate on the XYZ-axis, giving more variance visually. I preferred the effect created here, as it seemed more random, but there was not enough definition in the shadows or highlights, forcing the cell to appear flatter than it actually is. Also, several 'holes' appeared in the surface, which was an unwanted effect.

This third and final example is a development of the second, and uses a Ramp shader instead of a Lambert shader combined with a Particle Cloud node. The Ramp shader used the 'glass' preset, and was recoloured to be more neutral. I found that this video looked the best, and gave almost a glass-like look to the cell, with visible shadows and strong specular highlights. When the cell turns green, the glass outer-casing becomes more apparent, something which contributed to the overall style of the cell.

Although great progress has been made here, and I particularly like the third example, it took considerably longer to render. Also, the cell still 'pulsed' in an unnatural fashion - something I would like to correct moving forwards.

Although more work still needs to be done, I happy with the results so far, and it is always good to see progress being made.

The Story So Far...

So far, the majority of my work has focused on developing skills which are crucial in creating 3D computer generated visualisation. Having such a strong background in 3D has helped greatly, and has allowed me to focus on learning advanced techniques and understanding new concepts, as opposed to having to learn new software.

The key goal is to rapidly develop 3D skills this semester ('exploring practice') and although I will start work on related projects, these will take shape later in the academic year, as my abilities grow stronger.

My learning has been mostly self-directed, using a variety of sources. Progress using these are detailed below;

• In Silico - recommended as a starting point, this book gave me a brief introduction to using particles, and how to shade, light and render a scene containing medical data. Most of the content here is relevant to cell visualisation, and will be extremely useful as my projects develop. Some simple examples were created, and uploaded to my Vimeo page. Upon reaching the MEL sections, I realised that these assumed previous knowledge of scripting in Maya - since this was new to me, I chose to put this resource on hold temporarily. Beyond the MEL chapters, awaits some more complex tutorials on working with medical visualisation data.
• Gnomon Dynamics - I started using this material, and soon discovered that the content was of poor visual quality, and at points difficult to follow. As other sources were available, I chose not to continue working on the Gnomon material. However, I may return to this when looking at soft-bodies, as Digital Tutors does not cover this in great detail.
• Studio Projects Dynamics - another recommended learning source, I found this material relevant and easy to learn, developing skills in using particles, nParticles, nCloth and fluids. Tutorials applied skills to interesting examples, such as building a sandbox with moving contents or creating realistic looking tornadoes and volcanoes. I still have to approach the most relevant chapter, titled 'Playing With Fire' - once this has been completed, I will be in a better position to approach 'burning down' a computer-generated house.
• Digital Tutors 'Introduction to Dynamics in Maya' - this has been the most useful source of learning so far. Content is clear, easy to follow and explained in-depth. Although there has been a slight overlap in some areas (the implementation of a particle system mainly), there has been more explanation of working with the features in Maya. The tutorials also discussed the various effects available (such as fire or smoke) and introduced the different particle render modes. These topics have given me the confidence in experimenting with cell aesthetics, something which will develop throughout my programme of study (videos to be added shortly).
• Digital Tutors 'Getting Started With Nuke 6' - although not strictly essential, I chose to gain a basic understanding of node-based compositing using Nuke. This will be beneficial later in my work, when it comes to creating polished videos for presentation. 

Moving forwards, I will continue using most of the above sources, particularly Digital Tutors. I plan to finish off working with dynamics in Maya, and then return to MEL scripting, where hopefully I can begin to make sense of the content. Something of particular interest, is using RealFlow - Digital Tutors has a huge amount of lessons available, so this is something I would definitely like to experiment with.

Looking at the subjects I have studied, and the progress I have made, I am glad I have chosen this programme of study - I have enjoyed this new content, and know that I will continue to enjoy this moving forwards.

Context & Review (Atmosphere/Mood/Design) : The Nightmare Before Christmas

Working individually this time, I was tasked with choosing a short film or clip that showed Atmosphere/Mood/Design in an interesting way.

After much deliberation, I decided to go with the 1993 stop-motion classic - "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas". I decided to use the film's introduction, which featured the song "This Is Halloween", sung by many of the characters 'starring' in the movie. Unfortunately, the HD clip could not be embedded, so the SD version can be seen below;

Alternatively, if you absolutely must see the HD version, it can be found here.

Starting with the atmosphere of the clip, the story begins in a abandoned forest which features a narrator introducing the story (setting the scene). This use of narration immediately gives the film a fairytale atmosphere, and (almost) prepares us for the visual diversity and creative setting we are about to enter.

As we travel through the graveyard, one of the most prominent visual features is the carefully controlled lighting. There are lots of shadows and areas of darkness, which add to the anxiety of the scene, playing on the human fear of the unknown - there could quite easily be monsters hiding amongst the shadows. This effect is continued, with silhouette characters appearing on gravestones - we know they are monsters, but without details, our mind creates a stronger monster than is probably there.

After this graveyard scene, we are then introduced to monsters we can see, although these 'conform' to familiar stereotypes - such as the monster hiding under the bed, vampires or werewolves. The careful use of lighting continues here, and spotlights are used to draw focus and lead us through the scene. Coloured lighting is also used to highlight particular characters or props (such as the well, which glows green).

All of these elements contribute to enhancing the atmosphere of the world we are entering, which is clearly a dark, gloomy, monster-infested graveyard.

However, the mood of the clip is very different, and this is primarily thanks to the cabaret-like style of the song and music. Although the lyrics describe the atmosphere, and introduce the monsters, they do so in a light-hearted way. Bearing in mind the likelihood of a younger audience, this ensures that the night-time graveyard does not become too scary, and encourages viewers to continue watching.

The design of the characters and locations is exquisite. Although there are a huge amount of characters introduced in such a short space of time, they are easily identifiable thanks to a large amount of diversity in the character design. Also, all of the buildings are skew, and out of alignment, adding to the visual interest already created.

Most importantly however, is the careful use of exaggeration. Using Jack Skellington as an example, he is a skeleton character - although not dimensioned as he should be, he is 'extra-lanky' which makes him more interesting to look at, and certainly more memorable (he is definately a well-remembered, iconic character in today's culture). Halloween Town's Mayor is also another great example - he has different sides to his personality, represented by a head which has a face on each side, and rotates to a different expression as his emotions change.

One important point to consider here, is that even though we have this extremely colourful musical piece, during which we meet our two main characters (Jack and Sally), neither of them sing. By introducing contrast in this way, it identifies their importance, by showing that they are different from the rest of the characters.

Overall, I chose The Nightmare Before Christmas for many reasons, and without even realising what many of them were. After looking closer, it has only made me want to watch the rest of the film even more...