M and M - Maya Tutorials - Hi Res Body

And with this I finish the Maya tutorials. This is the body that we have been working on so far. I'm really happy with the outcome, and I love the fact that it started as nothing and we made it into this.

Here is the progress:

1:

2:

Completed (so far):

M and M - Completed (First Draft) Esting

And after five weeks, here is the Esting that I have created.



I payed special attention to keeping my 'key' words inbedded into the foundation of the project, as well as appeal to the target audience of E4.

The improvments I would like to make are:

Improvements to the smoke trails coming from the rockets
Transitions from inside the TV to outside the TV.

Here is a 'Making Of' chronicly my progression:

Earl Mills - Esting PDF

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Ncloth and Matchmoving car

The Ncloth tutorials:



The Evil robot lady with her car:



I had a few issues with this one (Matchmover and Maya arguing) so I had to improvise. I think I was able to get it done as needed and close the final product using what I could with Matchmover and Maya but I plan to come back to this later to refine it and get the two to cooperate...

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Hi Res Head

Over the past few weeks I've been doing the Hi-res head around the other tutorials and finally finished it today. It takes a long time to create the head, but every time you step back and look at the progress, it renews your passion to see it through. Here is the progress:

And this is the finished Head:

Know to start the body and finish the final tutorials of Year 2...

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Passive/Rigid 3

The next set of tutorials featuring the passive/rigid body techniques:

M and M - The TV screen animation - Raw & Old

So I've been doing the animation that will be seen on the TV and where the objects that fly out start from. To do this, I created a seperate scene from which I animated it as usual. I then rendered it out and brought it into After Effects to create an 'old TV broadcasting look'.

Raw Rendered footage:



Old TV broadcasting look:



I've now converted the video to an image sequence so I can use the Movie Node in Maya to display the TV screen and animate from there.

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Manual tracking with Matchmover

This time we used manual tracking for a more precise appoaching to implementing objects into a scene:

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Autotracking with Matchmover

The lastest tutorial using the Autodesk MatchMover application and of course, Maya.

M and M - Texture Models

So I've been working away on getting the models textured up. There not 'textures' but they serve the function that is needed of them, as there aren't any moments of when you get a real good look at them:

(Texture for the ribbon like thing that comes out the TV)

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Passive/Rigid 2 & Matchmoving

The continuation of the Maya Tutorials...

Passive/Rigid Bodies Collection:



Matchmoving:

M and M - Finished Models and Textures 1

I blazing along with this project, trying to get the models down so I can start on the texturing, lighting and effects. The short time frame is starting to catch up I think...

Here is the Final TV with Textures:

And finally, over the weekend I've been working on the Jet. It is not high detailed (taking some cues for the game character tutorials) as it whizzes past like... well, a jet. I'll also motion blur so thats makes the details even less important as its not stationary.

I've based it on a T-50 Fighter Jet as I found it not to be all that detailed and to still look like a steriotypical Jet plane. Here are the references:

First Jet:

Final Jet:

If I'm able to stick to my schedule, I should have all the textures done by Wednesday, so then I can start animating, which will be the largest part...

M and M - Modelling

So with an idea resolved and how I want to go about it with my key words (Wonder, Retro) I've haven't hesitated with starting the models for the project. With such a short time frame, we don't have any time to waste.

So I'll nailed down what I want to make:
A TV (done)
A rocket
A Jet
A ball
Other misc stuff

All of these will come flying out of the TV and the E4 logo to encompass the feeling of Nostalgia and retro. I'll also make the TV screen inself have that 'Old TV transmission' effect. I'm sure I can learn how to do that on After Effects...

So here is the finsihed TV model (references in previous post)

I've got a dial on the side, along with added buttons.

And here is the Rocket:

Refernces:

The next step is the Fighter Jet. I won't be going super detailed because it will fly past quickly and use motion blur. I'll be doing the model over the weekend so hopefully I can have it up by Monday.

M and M - Maya Tutorials - Passive/Rigid Bodies

Here are the four tutorials that cover Passive and Rigid bodies:

M and M - Logic and TV

After the talk with Alan yesterday, we decided that I need to find the 'logic' behind the ident for E4. This was the part that I fell down upon on the last unit. So I've decided to go for 'Wonder'. More specifically, the wonder you experience when your a child. When playing a game as a child, your engulfed in that world, your own personal bubble if you will.

So the idea behind it is that E4 instills that kind of emersiveness onto its audience. So the idea is a TV in the same vain as an old 80s/90s TV, with the E4 logo on it. Then things come from the Logo and out of the screen fly these objects (such as Jets and balls and ribbon things, retro stuff). It symbolises that E4 has all of this inside it, but uses retro as a hook for the audience. I'm also toying with the idea of using sprites when the objects are on the TV, then when they come out the TV, they turn 3D...

After a 15 and 10 week project, a five week project really makes time seem like its slipping away so I've started on a model that I know is in the ident: the TV

Here are some references:

Start of the TV:

Obviously I need more details on the side and around it in general (I don't need to do the back because that's not visible).

M and M - To Alan RE: Tutorial Swap

Just a quick message to you Alan.

Me and Dan Bright have swapped our tutorial times around so its easier for both of us and we can both still make sure we are there. So, his is now at 12:30, mine now at 10:45.

Thats the only change, so I'll see you tomorrow morning...

M and M - Idea Resolution

What Phil said at the brief really stuck out to me. He spoke about nostalgia and how it affects the audience and acts like an instant hook. So thinking back to my childhood, what would be considered nostalgic to me?

Easy: old school video games such as those found on the Sega MasterSystem, MegaDrive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

These old 16 and 32 bit consoles harken back to a simpler age and acts as strong nostalgia to me, and as I fit into the demographic for the channel, others watching as well.

A priliminary idea I have concocted it an old school controller (in the same vain as the Mega Drive) being used (in a First Person Perspective) which then looks up to an old TV (common in the time of 80s/90s) with a E4 logo on the screen. It sounds simple at the moment, so I want to add some more elements to it but am unsure what just yet.

Here is rough drawing to demostrate the look, with out a purple hued background.

The soundscape I'm going to use is DRONE BEAT 7, as it sounds like a level music in a game being heard through old, muffled speakers common in TVs of the age.

It will all be in 3D.

Here is a Pre-vis to demonstrate it:



So this is where it stands at the moment.

M and M - Estings Research

I already have some ideas for the project floating around my head, but I want to make sure I'm heading in the right direction and don't have the same idea as a person who has gone before. So without further ado, lets delve into the world of E4:

I'm no stranger to E4 and its audience as I've lost many an hour to it during my time, so I need to make sure my ident, like these, fit into it...



This Ident was the winner of 2009 and is very well made but not really what I'm after, but in terms of profestionality, this is what I should be aiming at...



This is closer to the 3D element that we need but I don't think I'm going to go down the character route unless it adds to my final idea.



Despite being a runner up, this is one that I personally have seen the most. I think its really effective because its so damn simple when you think about it.
E + 4 = E4



This lies closest to what I want to do but not in a 3D way. Using retro awareness to create nostalgia for the audience.



Another that I have seen many times, it using 3D to create the world around it but I feel maybe it a bit too random. To me, it seems like E4 was shoehorned in...



And Finally, the winner of 2008, a 3D animation that is incredibly well made and filmic but lacks a little 'something' to me, but I'm not sure what.