Category: Advanced and Experimental 3D computer Animation Techniques 1

This is my Final Animation work video:

Animation work for Week 11-14

Animation work for Week 15-19

Reflection: I learnt that it’s always better to try to do your best with an animation even if it’s relatively short, rather than doing a longer animation but not doing it well.

Project 2 Preview:

https://vimeo.com/836369548?share=copy

Black holes symbolize fate, and everyone cannot escape a predetermined fate. Can we change our own destiny? We are artists who can create existence.

Reflection: There is no best animation work, only by constantly listening to suggestions, receiving feedback from others, reflecting on one’s own animation work, and constantly adjust and modify. Ultimately, people can achieve satisfactory animation work.

Sessions with George

Based on the feedback provided by George last week, I remade the reference video and created a new blocking. In class, I received more new feedback from George, which was very helpful for my animation production, mainly including adjusting the details of the arm animation, modifying the bending of the upper body, and the details of the mouth speaking action.

SyncSketch Link: https://syncsketch.com/sketch/NjNkZDA4ZDY0/#/18153407/18831716

The process of feedback:

George provided me with very detailed feedback, so that I can understand the rationality of each action well. The naturalness and realism of animation actions are crucial.

This week’s task is to continue to modify my animation to make it look better and more complete, based on the detailed feedback given by George.

Part of Project 2

The progress of Project 2 this week is to create animations and camera shots, and learn to render settings and export videos in UE5.

To render sequence frames in UE5, I first need to open a specific plugin.

Set a series of rendering parameters to achieve higher rendering quality

This is a tutorial video I learned about how to render in UE5

Waiting for rendering results

Import PR for video editing and adding sound effects

Summary of this week: This week, I learned how to create animations, set sequence frames, and export high-quality sequence videos in UE5. This is the post production work, very meaningful and necessary steps to complete the finished product. In the end, I exported a complete preview video.

Sessions with George

This week in George’s session, George analyzed the need for more upper body movements in my animation. George provided me with feedback and assistance, and ultimately provided new examples and ideas for action reference.

Feedback: Don’t shake your body too much. Adding more hand and upper body animations would be better. It is recommended to record a reference video, but reduce your speaking time by half.

George provided me with four more suitable reference video actions.

I recorded a new reference video including upper body animation and sent it to George on weekends. George quickly gave me feedback and suggestions to help me shoot better reference videos and create blockings.

Here is the new reference video I recorded and began making blocking.

This is my blocking and trying to create a spline.

Part of Project 2

The progress of Project 2 this week is character creation, and I am also using the MetaHuman creator that comes with UE5 to create character models through software programming and matching materials.

Exporting character to UE5 through a specific method and matching bones and binding is a technical task. I learned and tested through tutorial videos to understand the sequence of steps and logical principles.

Summary of this week: This week, I learned how to create character models in MetaHuman Creator, then import them into UE5 through special methods, and match them with bones and bindings to facilitate the need for animation in the future.

This week George fell ill, and Marianna came to give us a session. The main content of this week was dialogue shots, focusing on mouth synchronization and learning how to create animations for the mouth, understand sounds, vowels, and phonemes. She explained how to create facial movements and demonstrated to us how to better create keyframes.

Part of Project 2

The progress of Project 2 this week is to create a black hole in UE5, which is very difficult and the biggest challenge I have encountered. I spent more than a week learning and researching how to create a black hole. I put a lot of effort into completing this part.

In UE5, a black hole is not a physical model, but a shader made up of a series of nodes, making it very difficult to make. I tried connecting more than 24 nodes. It is important to be careful not to type the name of the node incorrectly. It took me a long time to identify and solve this problem during the production process, and finally achieved the current effect.

In UE5, the connection of nodes and the adjustment of parameters are crucial. Each adjustment will have different effects and changes, and it needs to be tried repeatedly until the desired effect is achieved.

Summary of the week: This week I learned how to make realistic black holes in ue5, break through a very big challenge and spend a lot of time and efforts to complete such a beautiful scene that makes me feel very achievement.

This week is feedback from reference videos and blocking

Facial reference video and blocking:

This is my initial facial reference and blocking, and this week’s progress is to continue modifying the blocking and reflecting on myself.

Part of Project 2

The progress of Project 2 this week is to create the second scene that I planned. Through the YouTube tutorial video, I learned how to create a Earth model and texture myself.

First, create a sky atmosphere

Step 2, try importing the map of the Earth and the map of the atmospheric cloud layer

And then connect the nodes to create the material, It should be noted that it is necessary to create a map for the Earth’s shadow part, so that there is light in the Earth’s shadow part and a more realistic effect can be achieved.

Add some special nodes to enable cloud mapping to move around the Earth, resulting in a more natural effect

Finally, adjust the lighting to check the overall effect of the earth

This week’s summary: I learned how to make a more realistic earth model in UE5 this week, I gained a lot of knowledge and became more proficient and familiar with the use of UE5 materials and textures.

This is a great method suggestion for our shooting.

This week’s task is to shoot a Close up reference video (FROM THE CHEST UPWARDS) and design and create an upper body animation.

I have found a reference video and plan to use this conversation to create my animation.

Part of Project 2

The work process of Project 2 this week is based on last week, adding some new scenes and props, and placing a character as a reference for the size of props.

Learned the lighting system in ue5, and increased the effect of fog

Learn how to import other textures, models, and materials

Added more objects in my scene to test

Summary of this week: Based on my reference images and preliminary design of the scene, create the scenes and props I need.

This week’s class content is to finalize this stage of the project and provide the final feedback. George gave me very detailed feedback and provided me with very clear improvement methods for my animation, which helped me better complete this animation project.

SyncSketch Link: https://syncsketch.com/sketch/OGI5OTZmMzBi/#/17370695/18024391

George gave me very responsible feedback, which was very clear and helpful, which led me to understand George’s feedback well and make modifications to my own animation with clear thinking, so that I was able to complete this animation project well.

Reflection:

During the weekly learning and feedback process, George always emphasized the importance of timing and the accuracy and rationality of posture. Reference videos are also very important and have reference significance. Animation is about getting better and better through feedback and modifications, ultimately making it smoother and more natural.

Part of Project 2

This week is the beginning of my project 2 scene production. Firstly, I created the sky, ground, lighting system and post process global settings in UE5, to created my scene with a general layout.

Then I learned how to use the Foliage mode and use a plant brush to generate the plants I want on the ground.

Then learn how to use the shaders in ue5 and turn on the effect of wind, so that plants can be moved by the wind

Summary of this week: This week, I learned how to create a sky atmosphere environment and post process global settings, which is a great breakthrough for beginner. And learned how to make plants and shaders, and create special effects where plants sway in the wind.

This week, I completed my second blocking and received more feedback from George, which was very helpful for analyzing and providing feedback on my key animations.

SyncSketch Link: https://syncsketch.com/sketch/OGI5OTZmMzBi/#/17215430/17862226

The task that I will continue to do this week is to continue modifying the blocking process and improve my animation based on George’s more detailed feedback.

Part of Project Two

The progress of Project 2 this week is to determine the script and preliminary references, and learn how to use the software of Unreal Engine 5. This has been very helpful for my future scenes production.

Trying to use the Unreal Engine and watching YouTube beginner tutorial videos, I learned the basics of using the Unreal Engine 5. And try to create some simple scenarios.

This week, we shared our ideas for our part2 projects, including inspirations, style references, character scene designs and so on, as well as everyone’s current progress and arrangements, each of us gave a brief personal presentation, we shared our ideas and George and our course leader gave us advice and comments, which I thought was a very good opportunity to show our projects.

My Storyboard Sketch

Session with George

In George’s class, he was very responsible in giving each of us feedback on our progress for the week. By breaking down the key actions of blocking, George gave us feedback and suggestions for improvement on each key action of our animation work.

SyncSketch Link: https://syncsketch.com/sketch/OGI5OTZmMzBi/#/17072861/17716716

George provided very clear feedback, and my task this week is to make adjustments and modifications to my animation blocking based on this feedback.

In this week’s class, George explained to us the tasks and requirements for this term. He wanted us to choose a full body action reference after class and perform it ourselves and take a shot of it. Then, chose a model with binding and did the blocking of keyframe actions first.

I Performed a cowboy holding two guns and shooting three times in a row.

The free models downloaded from George’s recommended website have bone binding.

What is a breakdown? A breakdown drawing is a pose somewhere between two key poses that better shows the movement. Most animation moves are arcs, such as an arm waving, somebody bending, or a leg walking. All these movements are rotations. The breakdown pose is used to describe this curve better.

What must be understood and is crucial for your animation is that your breakdowns will be defined by the arcs and understanding what is directing the action. Arcs can be what sets apart the amateur from the professional. Try to plan your arcs out ahead of time if possible and don’t be afraid to change your arcs mid way if it makes you animation look way cooler!

Reflection: Through the content taught by George in class, I understand that the meaning of blocking plus is to simplify complex animation actions, first consider the accuracy of each key action point, and then smoothly connect the animation. This will make it easier and more accurate to create the animation, which is a very important step.