Working on the Workshop

This is what I did last night after Wrightley's new rig. The bricks need to be slightly resized so they line up a bit better but I'm glad I got the window glare down. I'll be able to start cranking out renders soon as I animate :)

The Neck Bone's Connected to the Back Bone

The back bone's connected to the steam vent... Well in Wrightley's case it is. I also am onto my third rig of him. The spline IK was doing some interesting stuff that made moving Wrightley around the scenes I've been animating really awkward so I vetoed that rig and replaced the spline with a standard joint chain that works pretty much the same. I also gave him a joint near his nose to make moving his head around easier so yeah, cool.

I also animated the first 6 or so seconds of my animation, however the steam vent opening needs to release steam, which I don't know how to do yet so we'll figure that out another time...

Audio Raiding

This wonderful little url is my current soundtrack to my animation... or at least the first two minutes of it. The timing is pretty accurate with the timing for the action and I like how cute it is. I feel it reflects Wrightley's simple and determined attitude and isn't too dominating. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Unrest/Live_at_WFMU_on_Brian_Turners_Show_72010/Unrest_-_07_-_I_Do_Believe_You_Are_Blushing
I also considered other songs by Unrest but I Do Believe You Are Blushing is my favourite. I've also been pillaging soundcloud  and freesound.org for potential audio with mixed success. Some of the sound effects from freesound.org need editing but I'm finding most of what I need so far.

Internal Thoughts and Workings

Wrightley's skeleton is finally complete... theoretically. His neck still behaves strangely in some situations when I move his body around so that needs to be fixed but I can animated around a lot of it if I have to. At least I can start animating now :)

I also wrote up a scene list with boxes to tick for states of completion because lists are so satisfying. Also it may help management of my project but primarily for the satisfaction factor.

Abandonment Issues

Wow. I feel guilty that it's been so long since my last post. I've been doing work, trust me!

Wrightley Rig

Firework

The Workshop

Mousetrap

Notepad

Nut

Pen

Pencil Case

Pinball Launcher

Ruler

Screwdriver

Shot Put

Spanner

Bed Spring

Toolbox

Vice

Props. Props galore! I came to the realisation that I wouldn't need to worry so much about how the workshop looks as far as textures are concerned until I'm at the point where I'm rendering so I may start animating on the grey and sort that out later.
I was also having an issue with Wrightley's Rig (technically I still have the issue) where I need to swap between IK and FK when animating which could mean some tedious click and drag moments but I think my choice of camera angles means there won't be too many shots that require me to switch between them. I just need to remember to key the "IK blend" between one and zero (and yes, that was totally a note to future caffeine-jacked, under-slept and batty Brebner who needs to remember what the hell he is doing. Good luck you champion! Try and eat well. I'll try and look after you until then). Cool. Also I found out yesterday there is a difference between "parenting" and "parenting constraints". Maya, you dirty fox.

2B or not 2B? That is the Project

Well I checked the site and we're definitely up to Project 2B. Things went by rather quickly. Terrifyingly so in fact. Looking back on tutor feedback there are a couple of things I need to fix. Firstly Wrightly needs a bum-stud or something on his lower back that he can prop himself with against his vents so he won't rock forward when he sits. I'm thinking of adding some kind of valve to add to the steam-powered aesthetic.

Another thing the tutors mentioned was the inspiration for the ramp attempt was unexplained. A better and more meaningful alternative could be introducing a shot Wrightley looking over his failed attempts and constructing the cart out of these failures so that through his persistence he achieves his goal.
Also I downloaded so many textures today I got block from a site until tomorrow :/

MDDN 241 Project 2a Hand-in

Meet Wrightley. This little fellow is born of the combination of three items;

Materiality - Steam train

Movement - Digger arm

Meaning - Jet engine

He is the result of a tinkerer's leisure in a basement workshop but he has become tired of his surroundings. The only escape is through a porthole style window but it is a distance away from the desk on which he lives. For this reason he is determined to fly through it by whatever means he can manage. Wrightley is a resilient, inventive, resourceful and persistent little entity with a knack for tinkering much like his absent creator.

He was developed from a more organic form that was originally quite reptilian with an acorn crash helmet. The primary driving precedent was this idea of ballistic travel, that the character would have to thrown themselves around the environment to move because any other means of travel they had was impractical; thus Wrightley has one leg. This developed into a quest for flight which I then put into the context of wanting to escape an unsavoury environment. This also influenced Wrightley's appearance to be slightly bird-like. Lastly I added a steampunk aesthetic from the steam train to reach where I am now.

Storyboard 1

Storyboard 2

Storyboard 3

Storyboard 4

Storyboard 5

Orthographic

Movement

Environment 1

Environment 2

Environment 3

Ready to rip into some animation :)

Onwards and Upwards

Just an update on what I've done since my last post. If I have the time I'll try to make an animatic that might explain some of the storyboard frames a bit better. The workshop sketch is supposed to be a representation of the environment that focusses on the contents of Wrightley's surroundings. The stylised sketch of the toolbox is to bring a bit of colour to my environmental sketches as well as focussing on where Wrightley sleeps, adding a bit more character to the environment.

Cool beans.