Conclusion

Overall I am quiet pleased with the animation that has been created. I think it demonstrates a good number of facial expressions and body language associated with the emotions that were trying to be shown. Emotions such as fear, pain, anger, confusion, shock, and pride were all demonstrated in just a short clip. I think that the research into these expressions has been effectively transferred across to the animation so the audience can understand the characters emotion at every stage.

There are many ways in which the animation in video could be improved. Not enough time was allocated to the creation of the animation and I think the quality really suffered as a result. There are a few points at which the mesh deforms unexpectedly along with the time it was caused by the morpher modifier. I think that more time would have allowed me to pay attention to detail and focus more on transferring the research about facial expression and body language to the animation. I would also have liked to have enough time to be able to render hair and fur and cloud effects. Although these are not worth any marks it would have definitely improved the quality of the finished piece.

I have learnt how to use a few new tools in 3ds max during this module including the physique modifier, which I think makes rigging a biped easier the use of the skin modifier. The second thing I have learned is how to use the morpher modifier. This is probably the modifier I have used that has caused the most problems in all 3d animations I have created prior to this one. With countless conflictions with symmetry, editable polys and footsteps it will not be a modifier I will soon forget. With all the problems it caused, I can see real advantages to its use in future, providing I use compatible modifiers, it will be a real useful tool. The final thing that was new to me in this module was the FFD box controller. Again this was a very useful tool and I can see that it would have many uses in future animations.

Scene 6 Creation

This final scene in the animation is that where the character emerges victorious from the cave showing off his new tiger skin attire and shades. The material on the cloth object was changed from the standard beige cloth to a tiger fur material. A pair on shades was then created from a box model with symmetry and turbo smooth modifier. These shades were linked to the head of the character using the link constraint tool.

A walk sequence was then set up that would lead the character passed one camera to a shot of him walking off into the distance. At the point in the animation where the character emerges from the cave the morpher modifier was used to show the confident facial expression as the character walked passed the camera. The footsteps at this point were extended in time so the character would pause before walking on. This was done in the dope sheet editor by moving the rest of the footsteps along the timeline before extending the footsteps at which the character pauses.

The footsteps were then bent to form a path along the jungle for the character to follow. Key frames were created for these footsteps and the arm movements were amended to look more natural and also more confident to fit the narrative of the story in the same way as scene 2 by removing the default walk sequence animation and manually creating the arm movements. Finally the cloth object movement was simulated before the scene was rendered.

Scene 4 & 5 Creation

This scene was set inside the cave the character had stumbled into in the previous scene. To create inside of the cave a simple plane was created and textured with the same rock texture in the main jungle scene. A rock object was merged from the scenery which the character would sit on to examine his injured foot. The character was then position on the rock so the scene was ready for animating. Using the auto key tool and moving the biped bones around key frames were created to make the character to appear to be checking out his foot. At this point the morpher modifier was adjusted to set the facial expression of pain whilst the character rubbed his foot better. The animation then pauses as if the character has heard a sound. The character leans back and the morpher modifier is once again used to show fear and shock on the characters face. The character then gets up from his seat and turns to an aggressive pose by puffing out his chest and showing an aggressive facial expression, once again via the use of the morpher modifier. Finally key frames were added to make the character wave his arms and spear in an aggressive manner to show his aggressive emotion.

At this point a target spot light was added to set the lighting in the cave. Only the character and the rock are illuminated to hide the surroundings from the audience and make the cave look more mysterious. The falloff property of the target spot light was adjusted to make the edge of the illuminated area look hazier. Cameras were then added to the scene to pick up the animation from all different angles to show the best view of the facial expressions and body language.

To create the mysterious eyes in the scene a tutorial was followed that explained how to use FFD box controllers. This is something I had never used or looked at before, but was none the less a very useful tool for creating cartoon eyes with the ability to easily apply expressions through deformation to the object the FFD box was controlling. The eyes were created from spheres and then given a material that would make the self illuminate and therefore been seen in the scene without the need for extra lighting objects. The eyes were then positioned and the rest of the tutorial followed to make the eyes focus on a target, in this instance the main character. The eyes were then animated to give the impression they spot the character and then look aggressively at him.

The final part of the animation in this scene was animating the cloth object. This led to yet another problem whereby the simulation kept crashing at certain key frames. As it turned out these key frames were points when the morpher modifier was activated. The only solution that could be found for this problem was to simulate the cloth only when the morpher modifier was not active. This made the cloth look slightly out of place at some places. With use of multiple cameras the points at which the cloth looked odd were mostly able to be left out of shot.

Scene 2 & 3 Creation

This scene was created by using the footstep tool in the biped options attached to the motion panel to create a walk sequence for the character between the jungle and the cave. Footsteps where created using the ‘create multiple footsteps’ tool. These footsteps would be part of the run sequence in the scene, where the character appears to be running from the animal chasing him. Using the bend option, the footsteps were made to lead to the entrance of the cave. In the middle of the scene the character injures his foot by stepping on a rock. At this point in the scene more footsteps were added, this time for a walk sequence. To make the character hop, to avoid using his injured foot, the footsteps for the left leg were deleted. The footsteps were then repositioned to make the hop sequence look more comical and lead the character into the cave. Once in position the automatic key frame creation button was used to apply the animation.

The cloth material modifier applied to the characters cloth was then also animated using the simulate tool in the modifier options. At this point it was clear that the walk sequence did not look natural in regard to the arm movements. Also the arms were catching on the cloth object and distorting it. To fix this the key frames on the arms were deleted and manually redone, so that they looked more natural and did not affect the cloth object. The characters spear was then linked to his hand using the link constraint tool. Finally the cloth object simulation was deleted and re done.

Using the morpher modifier, the expression of pain was assigned to the character models face at the point he steps on the rock using the auto key tool previously used in the created of scene 1. This led to yet another problem with the morpher modifier. Yet again there was a random distortion in the vertices once the morpher effect was applied. I thought this had already been fixed, however this time it was the combination of the footstep tool and morpher modifier. A proper fix could not be found for this as a lot of forum posts led me to believe this was a common problem when using editable polys instead of editable meshes with symmetry. The best solution for this problem was not to turn the percentage of the morpher effect up so high. This gave the character a less than ideal expressive pose, but at least some change in facial expression to let the audience know the characters emotion had changed.

Scene 1 Creation

This scene was created firstly by merging the scenery with the character file. The scenery was then scaled up to match the proportions of the character. The animation in this scene was created by using the auto key tool and manipulating the biped object at different points on the timeline to set key frames. The character was first animated to express the fear emotion on his face using the morpher modifier object and keyframing tools. Next the character was animated to give the impression he was shaking with fear. To do this a couple of rotation key frames were created on the spine links in the biped, and then duplicated many times so the shaking would last the length of the scene. Next the arms were animated to look the character was firstly trying to stop himself shaking, but also to look smaller and inferior by making himself smaller, something my research had identified as a side effect of fear. The final part that was animated was the head. The characters head moves as though he is checking all around him looking for the illusive tiger and then bowing his head in shame about being so scared. To complete the scene a target camera was added to the scene and moved to pick up the best shot of the animation in this scene.

From this point on the idea of using the hair and fur modifier for both the characters hair and the grass in the jungle had to be abandoned as it made rendering time in excess of 24 hours to render a 100 frame scene. Unless a faster way of rendering can be found, the scenes will be without the nice addition the hair and fur modifier adds.

Using the Morpher Modifier

The morpher modifier is something I have never used before in 3ds Max. I watched a couple of online tutorial videos to learn how to use it. At first I ran into huge problems when trying to apply it to my character model. The first problem was 3ds Max would not let me pick a copied object that had a turbo smooth modifier applied to it. Once removed there was a problem getting the morpher modifier to replicate the morph pose on the main model, as it would pull the vertices into a completely random pose, just like when weighting on a physique modifier was incorrect. I looked at several forum posts on the Internet about this problem and eventually discovered it was a problem caused by the symmetry modifier on the main model and specifically if the vertices on the mirrored edge were moved. The forum suggested using a turn to mesh modifier however this did not work for me. Eventually a solution was discovered, which was to add the morpher modifier just above the editable poly modifier, before the rest of the modifiers on the main model. This meant that the models that were used to create the pose did not have a turbo smooth modifier applied making it slightly harder to get the correct pose, as I had to keep switching back and forward from the main model to the pose model. Using the research information about facial expressions the morphed models were created and then assigned to the main model.

Research - Body Language / Facial Expressions of Pride and Confidence

Facial Expressions:

Direct eye contact is a sure sign of confidence and most commonly is a smile as this show people you have nothing to worry about. Other facial expressions of happiness such as raised cheek muscles are also common.

Body Language:

Raised hands and a puffed out chest are common forms of body language as a result of these emotions. This is common in both apes and humans to show their dominance as a result of the confidence they are feeling. Similarly clenched fists and thrown back heads are also common. This body language is similar to that of the aggression emotion. It is only when combined with facial expressions that the meaning of the body language is truly understood. This means when animating my character I will need to put extra emphasis on the facial expression so the audience is not confused about the characters current state of emotion. Wide footsteps and arms movements are also a sure sign of confidence which make an individual seem purposeful and therefore confident.

Examples:

Research - Body Language / Facial Expressions of Pain

Facial Expressions:

People often show pain by screwing up their face with their eyes firmly closed and release the emotional pain by screaming / shouting or even crying. The gritting of teeth is also another side effect after the initial screams or shouts to try and make the pain more bearable. Other facial expressions representing aggression may also be present after the initial pain response to indicate a person’s anger towards the physical pain.

Body Language:

Areas of pain on a person can look red and inflamed, depending on the nature of the pain source, however cartoons / animations often show a location of pain as being over red and / or over inflamed from how the wound would look in real life to exaggerate the emotion and draw attention from the audience to it. The other clear response to pain is to rub the offending area with their hands in order to produce a warming sensation that releases endorphins, reducing the amount of pain. Constriction of the muscles in the hands and feet are also a physical response to pain.

Examples:

Research - Body Language / Facial Expressions of Aggression

Facial Expressions:

Common facial expressions that demonstrate aggression are things like staring and/or squinting. This is a reaction to try and prevent the opponent is looking as eyes can often give an indication milliseconds before an attack is made, which can be enough time for the opponent to raise their guard. Other common expressions are pursed upper and lower lips. The most common expression in cartoons / animations is a facial frown and the so called ‘evil eye’. This is most likely because it is an unmistakable representation of the emotion compared to things like staring and squinting can have other completely opposite emotional meanings. For this reason my character will be animated in this way to show the emotion.

Body Language:

The most common form of body language representing aggression is the puffed out chest and raised shoulders. People do this to make themselves look bigger and more powerful in order to dissuade the opponent from attacking them. A clenched fist is often a clear indication that a person is preparing an attack. Both of these should be straight forward to animate and along with facial expressions give the audience a clear understanding of the characters emotion.

Examples:

Research - Body Language / Facial Expressions of Fear

Facial Expressions:

Research has identified people who are feeling fear or unease often do not make direct eye contact with another person and instead look at the floor, at their hands or surroundings. With this in mind, my character will take this into consideration by never looking directly at the camera and being weary of his surroundings while feeling this emotion. Fear in facial expressions is also often expressed by wide eyes, raised eyebrows and flared nostrils. Their mouth may be tightly clenched or the person may bite their upper or lower lip.

Body Language:

Body postures such as slouching or hunching often indicate fear in a person. This is because they want to minimise themselves physically in order to not be noticed. Some people may appear the opposite, with forms of aggressive behaviour such as squaring their shoulders and pushing out their chests to try and appear as big as possible and assert their dominance. The characters personality is one of less dominance and more submissive. This helps people feel sympathy for the character and will help the character to build a relationship with the audience. The most obvious sign of fear is shaking or rocking. This is also a common way of conveying fear in cartoons and animation as it is the symptom most associated with fear and clear for the audience to pick up on.

Examples:

Anonymous Tribal Man is now LOTO....

I have decided to call my character Loto. The name is a name common through out the pacific islands and means 'heart'. As the brief requires the character to have "heart and optimism", it is an appropriate name and sounds apt for the character. It is also a similar method to how Disney names their characters. Disney often gives their characters names that are in some way associated with the characters personality or story; in this case Loto's background is a tribesman from the pacific islands.

Creating the Scenery

Most of the terrain was created from one mesh object. A plane was created and converted to an editable poly. With a lot of height and width segments, the mesh was moulded into a rocky type terrain. The use of the soft selection tool made this easier to achieve. A cave object was created in the same way from another mesh and then placed on top of the existing terrain. Rock textures with bump maps were applied to these meshes to form the basic rock formations.

A palm tree object was creating by using a cylinder converted to an editable poly and deformed and bend to form the tree trunk. The palm leaves were created by finding a texture of a palm leaf and applying an opacity map. The leaf was then duplicated a few times and positioned to form the tree. All objects were grouped and repeated many times to create the jungle scene. Boulder objects were created and positioned through the scene. A billboard looking texture was added behind the trees to give the impression of depth in the jungle. The hair and fur modifier was used to create a grass effect in the jungle. The sky was created using a hemisphere with a sky texture applied. A sphere dummy was added so that a volume fog effect could be applied in order to give a realistic looking cloud effect for the sky. Finally cameras and lighting was added to the scene.

Creating the Character Model

To create the character model, a box object was created and converted to an editable poly. The vertices were then manipulated into position firstly to form the lower section of the tribal character starting with the feet and gradually working upwards. The quick slice and slice pane tools were used to add geometry to the mesh. To create the muscle definition on the character the extrude tools were used. I started modelling around a biped so that it was save time later on. I eventually deleted this biped as it made the character look too much in proportion, which often is not how Disney / cartoon characters appear. Once the mid-section of the character reached a symmetry modifier was applied to the object to mirror the body object in order to save time. A mesh smooth modifier was also applied at this point to smooth over the mesh and make it look more realistic. The characters upper body and arms were then formed in the same way by manipulating vertices into position. The mesh smooth modifier was then replaced with a turbo smooth modifier as it gave a better results and iterations turned up to two. Finally the head was created and spheres added to give the character eyes.

An unwrap UVW modifier was applied so the character could be textured. The mesh was divided into groups that could be easily unwrapped. A UVW template was then rendered. In the image file a skin colour and texture were applied and tribal type tattoos added. Back in 3ds Max the material was applied to the object and the specular and gloss levels adjusted. Finally a bump map was added to the material. A separate eye texture was applied to the eyes. The hair and fur modifier was used to give the character some hair. The hair was styled using the brush and cut tools of the hair and fur modifier and the properties adjusted to make the hair look like a short afro like cut.

A biped object was created and made to fit inside the character mesh. As the character only ever needed to clasp an object, it was decided that one biped finger would be applied to all the fingers on the mesh. Once the biped was in the correct position a physique modifier was applied to the character mesh. The physique modifier was something I had never used before. In all previous models I had used the skin modifier instead. Using a tutorial on the Internet the weighting of the tendons on the physique modifier was adjusted to sort out any pinching issues on the mesh. There was a problem with pinching on the upper leg area of the model when a trial walk sequence was applied. Time was not wasted on sorting this as the area of the mesh would later be covered by clothes and the issue would not be seen. Once all of these errors were corrected the bones was set to not render and shown as boxes rather than the bones. This is something that was discovered by mistake by a useful tool as it makes it easier to select the bones when animating.

To finish off the model the character was given some clothes. These were created by creating a plane and converting it to an editable poly. The mesh was then formed around the character mesh and then given a cloth modifier. The character mesh was set as an object that could be collided with so that it would move the cloth object when the character moved. The vertices around the point of contact with the character mesh were defined as nodes so the cloth would not fall off of the character. Finally a spear object was created and textured for the character to hold in the story.

Storyboard

The storyboard below helps illustrate the narrative to the animation. The main theme behind the story is that overcoming fear has its rewards. As cartoons are often used to in store beliefs and values in kids, I thought I would attempt in with my animation.



Storyboard Annotation

1 - Character is introduced hiding in the jungle. There are roaring sounds to infer that something is chasing him. He will demonstrate through body language and facial expressions being scared. This will firstly help the audience warm to him. It will show a vulnerable side to the character that will help the audience support him.

2 - Character will emerge from the jungle, creeping out slowly, checking he is not being followed. He will then step on an object, possibly a rock. This is so the emotion of pain and anger can be shown through body language and facial expression, with accompanying groans.

3 - Character enters a nearby cave as he wants to sit down and check out his injured foot.

4 - Mysterious eyes appear in the cave with accompanying roaring sounds. Through out the animation the mysterious animal will never be shown. This is to cut down on the modelling side of things so animation can be focussed on. Using sounds and showing the characters reaction to those sounds should be enough to infer the animal's presence. The cave will be partially lit through a crack in the ceiling illuminating the character. This will allow the character to be shown and his reactions to be obviously noticed, without seeing his ambient surroundings. Fear emotion will once again be shown by the character.

5 - Character overcomes his fear and shows aggression towards the animal. He then chases the animal into the shadows. Noises to infer a fight is going on, but not letting the audience know who is winning.

6 - Character emerges from cave with a new tiger fur attire. Puts on a pair of sunglasses to suggest he feels confident and cool. Walks off into the distance with a confident stride. This scene should comical.

Character Design

Below is a sketch of the character I am going to create. I have decided to go with a tribal man (name yet to be decided). One of the main reasons for this choice is the fact that he will not speak words, only grunts and groans. This means the animation can focus on the body language and facial expressions to communicate his emotions to the audience. This also means that the audience do not have to speak a particular language in order to understand the cartoon. This is important when Disney channels are available in 165 countries and in 33 languages. The other reason this idea was chosen was because it is something a bit different and I think could be interesting and comical.

The sketch makes my character look slightly evil / scary. This is due to my lack of drawing ability. He will be modelled to look friendlier, so he doesn't scare the intended audience.

Disney Research / Mood Board

On doing some research into Disney characters I discovered that Disney create many human and non human characters but often give them very human personalities even if they are non human looking. The newer Disney films created by Pixar Studios seem to be completely different from the more traditional Disney films. The main way in which they differ from 2D drawn type cartoons of the more traditional to the 3D looking graphics of newer films. This is probably down to the technology that has been available to Disney studios over their history but is an important change to note. Pixar characters are still usually non human but the films have an element of realism to them. The way in which this is achieved is by primarily realistic use of physics on objects in the films. The scenery is also more realistic looking and their is clear attention to detail.

There tends to be more comedic element in newer Disney films as well as the characters having more personality. The use of detail that is achieved in newer Disney films helps convey the feelings and emotions of the characters in a way the older films could not and certainly helps to build the characters persona and relationship with the audience. All of these findings need to be taken into consideration when designing my new Disney character.

The mood board below helps illustrate the wide range of Disney characters.

Initial Thoughts

This looks like it could be an interesting 3d design module. Up to now all 3d projects I have worked on have been about modelling in a realistic way, unlike this one which will be based around cartoon graphics. This will be a bigger challenge for me as it requires more creative thinking, something I am not gifted with. Also this module is more focused on the animation side of things. I look forward to learning new animation techniques and testing my abilities in both of these aspects.

The fact that the assignment requires me to develop a character for Disney, means I will have a lot of research to do. It has been more than 10 years since I watched a kids Disney film and I am sure ideas and trends have moved on in that time.

Overall I am hoping I will be able to come up with an original design, that is appropriate for the target audience and has demonstrates a strong personality.