Layout V3.01

Layout V2.02

Layout V2.01

Layout V1.3

Layout V1.2

Oct 21 2014

Oct 14 2014

I need to bring in an animator. ;-;

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q5rqoQdmSesoKuPOx1uN0W6ASEJIaXK_rGcO7wk-6xg/edit?usp=sharing

Old Robo Rig 1

Rig's finished! Animation test should hit by Friday.

Sept 30

I spent most of this week fixing the existing model, replacing parts with higher quality ones, creating new parts to fit the current story, etc. Basically just getting things ready for rigging. The first rig and animation test will be done by next week, barring any major disasters.

Replaced upper arm with higher quality model (original on left)

Replaced finger tip with higher quality model (original on left)

Added elbow joint with broken half for end sequence

Modeled that goddamn screw

Taking some inspiration from the shitty model kits I have around my desk, I added lines/ridges to the Old Robot model to make him look a little more 'put together'. Some of the parts just barely fit together, leaving pretty noticeable gaps between pieces.

To contrast this is a nicer model kit, where most of the visible lines are a part of the character design and not a consequence of lazy/cheap toy design.

animatic v4

moar thumbnails

I've continued to make changes to the base story this week, amalgamating scenes to (hopefully) cut down on run time and asset creation/rendering time. That cafeteria scene was going to take, like, three weeks to render if I actually went through with it.

The walls of this factory/facility/building/whatever will have rectangular holes at the bottom of each wall panel, acting like vents or some such, The screw is kicked accidentally into one of these vents, causing the beginning of the end. Starting from the last set of thumbnails, the rest of the film will be largely the same. I'll be tightening it up, changing camera angles to be more exciting, etc. I'm really hoping for an eventual run time of four minutes (down from five and a half), but I might have to become much more brutal in my editing if I want that to be a reality.

how does i blog

So I did some stuff over the break...

UVs are laid out for the main body but I am still tinkering with the fingers and head. 

The big thing I'll be working on in the next few weeks will be a revised story board. This includes the new opening, a portion of which is shown above, the probable elimination of the cafeteria scene and new camera angles and better pacing for the ending. The goal is to have a shorter, more compact film that will hopefully be more dramatic than then first iterations.

Summer Update 2

After many revisions both in drawing and in Maya I think I've come up with a design for the hand that's going to function. The fingers are pretty much finalized but the thumb with a ball joint still needs to be implemented and tested out.

Summer Update 1

I'm starting off by modeling the characters and this is what I've slowly managed to complete for the Old Robot model.

Animatic with Sound

Not the greatest sound design but I'll take another whack at it once I edit the animatic down to three minutes.

Complete Animatic (For Now)

Here's the complete translation of the storyboard into an animatic. It's obviously wayyy too long. I'm going to leave it alone for about a month and then come back and take a hard look at it, fixing up the timing and editing out what sections I can in an attempt to get it to three minutes or so. 

Project Proposal and Schedule

Link to the written proposal

Link to tentative production schedule

My Hands Are Broken Now

Timing is still a bit of a mess but by god it's almost done.

Getting There

Guess who binged on Kill la Kill...

Sudden reminders of how little time you have left aren't cool. Guess it's time to get going!

Timing isn't quite right and I have more shots that I haven't put into After Effects yet. I also need a different opening shot, I'll figure that out later. I did plan on doing some stuff with Mari this week but I ended up wrestling with the installation process and then ran out of time. Next week there'll be more stuff (hopefully)!

Let's Try This Again, Shall We...

More feedback, more changes. Of particular note was a 3D model called The Janitor that Paul showed me. I think I'm starting to get what people want out of the Old Robot character, but we'll see.

Side by side comparison of each iteration because why not.

I'm beginning to feel this sensation that I have heard referred to as 'frustration' when it comes to designing the newer model robot. I feel incredibly stuck when it comes to designing this character.

Potential size comparison.

Round Two! Fight!

After more amazing feedback I'm back with some revised designs for Big Guy. Kate recommended basing him on a gorilla, which I found quite intriguing. So of course I ran off to work on it right away.

Taking inspiration from the body of a gorilla and the arm of an excavator, I've come up with this for the moment...

New arm design combined with the original body

 Number one is a new body design, two is old body with new arms and the third is the original body and arms (ignore the backwards thumbs pls).

Rough draft of design in 3D with untextured vray materials.

 

 Experimenting with vray toonlines.

Not happy with these designs but they're here for now.

Hello March...

Goodbye productivity...

First Round of Character Design

Thumbnails V2

Got some great feedback from the class again (seriously, you're all amazing human beings) and I've taken another crack at this thumbnailing thing. This version ended up having way more character interaction than the first one and I think it's much stronger as a result. The previous version, looking back, really lacked in the relationship building aspect and was more about hitting story points than developing a dynamic between the characters. Can't wait to have this story all straightened out so I can go to sleep at night...

Thumbnails

Took a little longer than intended but here are the thumbnails. Really looking forward to seeing how people react to these! Click on them to embiggen.

In  these boards I have the screw in the machine sequence unbroken. I want to talk to people about this before making any changes but in an animatic the screw sequence would probably be inter-cut with the going back to the room sequence.

The explosion sequence will probably also be inter-cut, making it more dramatic. The way it is currently presented is also confusing, since it would be logical to assume that the worker blown away by the explosion is the bully robot seeing as how I've cut from the bully going out the door to a hallway. This bit needs work.

Also not happy about the peering out the door action being used three times. Twice is okay, but I need a different action for the old robot to perform, or to change the gag.