Rational

Rational for Virtual Environments, Design Practise 3, Assignment 2

This project is to do a take on a three minute script and animate your own interpretation. My chosen idea was to take the eternal struggle between ‘The Tortoise and The Hare’ and put it into the DOJO Scene from ‘The Matrix’.

The idea was to make Torpheus and Hareo (humanoid versions of their counterparts). Torpheus would be a big strong looking tortoise with his shell like armour with slow looking heavy limbs and Hareo was to look weaker and more like a slob who doesn’t have to try hard in life. Both characters actually came out much too how I wished them to look if not better. The only problems I found during the modelling process came when I had to ‘unwrap’ the hare’s ears and tortoise’s shell. But after that process was complete I created two very good looking textures for them as I had envisioned.

The project started on a very positive note, I got a lot of work done very quickly and began to become ahead of what was being taught so I slowed my efforts. Unfortunately this caused me to lose most my drive and I did not do much work on the project for several weeks. Until finally I got my act in gear and designs, new ideas, and animating started to flow.

The original idea for the scene was to use near enough the exact scripting from the film but in a different arena and with different characters. Due to the way I designed both these things I ended up instead using partial elements from the original, using parts of the sound wave, certain movements the actors had used in the film and visual effects I found exciting.

Around halfway through the project the idea of making a crowd to watch the end of the hare/tortoise race was considered. Designs were drawn up for these characters which would take the roles of the people on the ship, in the film version. However, due to time constraints I decided it would be like ‘digging my own grave’ if I was to partake down this road as rendering times and time to create, model and rig these characters would risk the whole project.

During the project I found out much about my abilities, I am good at lip syncing for one. As well as I am relatively good and fast at poly-modelling. Unfortunately I found, as with the previous project, I am not a great environmental designer as I lack the excitement for it that I have with animating and designing characters.
I found during this project I began to become much more confident with my skills and my knowledge of the programs.

I believe my final outcome is a good representation of my skills, at the moment, as an animator although I just couldn’t get certain parts of the scene to flow correctly. I was however pleased with AfterEffects work at the end where I blended a flat Photoshop background into the scene creating the mood I wanted.




FINAL ANIMATIC AND ANIMATION TO FOLLOW

LIP SYNCING HELL YEAH

Torpheus lip sync starter

this is the beginnings of my first torpheus speech!

Started to get on a roll

with doing all my animation. i am about 01:09 through the 03:00 animation and so far all is going well the lipsyncing went really welll and soo far fighting is the hardest thing to animate due to the amount of factors you need to think about. although i seem to be able to do this equally as well. below is an image of rendering the first fight scene about 01:03 - 01:08.



i am really enjoying doing this work now and i wake up really excited to do more, which i guess is a bit weird but good in the same way. my plan is to have the animating done by wednesday and the after effects done by sunday. :)

Hare Stance

Much Much More to come!