Advanced Character Animation (ACA) Week1

My first week back at uni went really well and i have some interesting modules this semester. One of them is advanced character animation. This week i had to do a series of short animations using the scene files provided to get myself used to maya and the graph edition.
The first animation i did was an arrow hitting its target with the arrow tail bending back and forth with the impact. the graph editor helped me create a smooth trajectory and the bend deformer helped with the bending animation.
The second animation was a soft ball hitting the target and getting squashed by the impact, this was acheived by scaling the ball on impact to make it flat.
The last animation was a swinging pendulum which was done using the graph editor and oscilating the animation with the infinity tool.
 
Hopefully this weekend i will be posting up ACAweek2 as well as giving an insight into my other modules. So stay tuned!

Back to Uni!

It's been a while since i've posted something new, but trust me i got a fair bit to upload! i've finally started my 2nd year of uni this week and i didnt want to do too much animation work this month in case i burn out too early :s

But have no fear! i will devote some time in the weekend to blog up and post as much as i can, as well as giving a bit of insight into my modules and assignments. so stay tuned and check weekly for all the latest from me! :D

in the mean time heres a little preview of what ive been up to:

Finally!

Just a quick post to let you know my internet is finally back up (after 21days >_>) and hopefully i should be brushing up with tutorials and making more posts. so stay tuned! :D

Dude on a Chair- Matchmoving Test

My final post of the day! Another video i made during my online blackout. This time it involves one of my 3D characters sitting on a chair:

I quickly shot some footage of a chair and an hour or two later i have a guy sitting on it! im happy with the way it went since i got the shadows almost perfect. i made a chair on maya and put a background shader on it so it just shows a shadow. i had to trim some shadows sticking out of the chair on after effects then it was finished! My next matchmoving challenge would include some more advanced interaction so stay tuned! :D

Colossi in the Garden- Rotoscoping Test

Another one of my offline antics! This time i wanted to test out the rotobrush tool on after effects. So i shot some footage outside of my garden and got to work!

I'll post the comparison video later since i wanna post more stuff! :)

3D Head Update- Sculpting Test

I finally made my head on Maya and i was in the middle of considering my options when all of a sudden, my internet goes down. -_-" that didn't stop me from working though. I recently did a texture test on ZBrush to see what my head would look like and also to teach myself how to texture. My next target was to import my head in ZBrush and brush on some detail like hair and skin. I didn't have access to tutorials but nontheless i tried doing it anyway! Im really happy with the way it went although i think i went a bit too tablet happy with the hair:

Im still deciding wether to keep this and texture it or to start fresh once my internet is back up, that way i can find some tips online and hopefully make an improved version. Either way im pleased with the result and theres only one way to go and thats forward! :D

BRB!

Hey everyone you're probably wondering why i havent posted anything in a while. I've recently switched isp and i havent had any internet since 18th August. I've used my phone for the last few blog posts now thats run out of data. I still havent got my new router yet either! -_-"

So stay tuned as i'll be blogging at uni until my internet is sorted out. Keep checking this page cos i got loads to show ya! :D

3D Head Update #3 (Texture Test)

I may not be able to connect to my router but that's not gonna stop me from posting another blog (shoutouts to USB tethering!). Anyways ive managed to roughly texture my head on Zbrush and im definately happy with the results! I textured my head using my two reference images (front& side view). The resolution of both images were 640x480 so they dont have much detail, but as you can see it's not that bad!

My next step is to take some high resolution images of myself to be used in the final texture. I may go the extra mile and create a normal/displacement map to add detail like skin texture and facial heir etc. And don't forget the eyeballs! :D

3D Head Update #2

The head is complete! Well almost!
i still need to add some eyes properly cos theyre either clipping too much or have huge gaps around the sides of my eyes. the neck was just a quick extrusion for preview purposes :D

I have to admit, i struggled with the ears alot! So much so that i had to figure it out myself how to get the detail and how to attach it to my head.

The next step now is to finish the final tweaks, merge both sides of the mesh and tweak some more. Once i think my head is fully complete i will import it over to Zbrush for more detailing and texturing. I may have to make 2 different versions of my head since i will be experimenting with hair. Im really pleased with this mesh i think it's awesome!

*PS* Unfortunately i might not have access to the intenet for a day or two so bear with me (rawr!) and i will be posting another update as soon as possible. 

3D Head Update #1

I've always wanted to create a 3D model of myself but i was never confidnent enough to try it. After watching a few tutorials and researching facial topology i decided that it was finally time to give it a shot! I apologise for not including my reference images, they were bad! I will however post a comparison image once i complete the head. (there is a hard line down the middle of the model because i havent combined both sides yet)

 what I need to do next is to widen the cranium slightly and fix the area just above my chin. Once that is done i can extrude down to form my neck and then model a pair of ears. Im still deciding what to do with my hair, i could use the hair system in maya or i can sculpt or model some hair. I'll probably try both methods and see whats best. I consider this project high priority to me so stay tuned for another update very soon! :D

To Do List!

So... i keep on going on about all these projects that i have, so ive decided to make a list of some work that i've started on and hopefully you'll get a peek of what i will be posting in the future:
-Getting this blog up and running :D
-3D model of my bedroom
-3D model of myself
-3D model of Jehuty
-Photoshop Painting of Sima Zhao form Dynasty Warriors 7

My target is to get these done before the 2nd year at uni (bedroom will take longer)so time to get cracking and i'll post my progress up soon!

Matchmoving Test

Ok! a few weeks back i decided to attempt some matchmoving as i may be learning this next year at uni. i recorded my bedroom floor for a few seconds, downloaded a fully rigged 3d chimp form the internet and got to work!

I think it looks good for a first attempt how ever you can see that the shadow isn't fully accurate. My next target now is to create another matchmoving video but with some human interaction involved. An idea i have is to combine my projects into one big project; so i could be piloting Jehuty or fighting a 3D version of myself? Stay Tuned and find out! ^_^

Project Jehuty

Ok my first official animation type blog, whoop! First off im a huge fan of hideo kojima and his work (Metal Gear Solid was a masterpiece) because of this i decided to model Orbital Frame Jehuty form Zone of the Enders 2: The Second Runner. so far i've modelled the head using only a side view image for reference, that took me few hours and its definately paid off! next step are the limbs and leave the hardest for last... the torso and wings!

basically i started with a cube at the base of the neck and i kept extruding and following the side reference image to get the basic shape, then i divided the cube and adjusted the polys to shape the face. if you look carefully you can see the bent cube shape and flow, i hope thats a good thing :/ stay tuned cos i got a biiig idea if i can get this done!

Where else can you find me?

You can find me on twitter @AlreadyBread and my DeviantArt page http://mcbutter619.deviantart.com/ hopefully now that my blogs up i should be using these more :D

First!

Hey everyone my name is Shabrez, or if you can't prononce that properly (whats so hard about Shab-rays ?_?) just call me Shabz. Im currently studying computer animation and special effects at the university of bradford and i have decided to open up a blog to help keep track of any projects i may be doing and also to give and recieve any advice.
All i can say at the moment is stay tuned as i'm really eager to try as many methods of producing visual media as possible. so keep checking regularly and i hope you benefit from my blog! ^_^