Anita937

Location, Location!

2012-03-05T19:07:00.002-08:00

For this visualisation project, I will be modelling a scene from a book. The book I have chosen is The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. I have chosen to model the hobbit Bilbo Baggins' house. He lives in a hobbit hole. Here is a passage from the book that I have chosen to model by:

Page 3

Chapter 1

An Unexpected Party

In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats – the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill – The Hill, as all the people for many miles called it – and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river.

Because the hobbit hole is underground under a hill, there will be a lot of Earthly colours and dull shades which is what I have included in my colour palette. Bilbo Baggins' is the name of the hobbit. From his character, he is a very tidy person therefore I have chosen to make the interior very clean cut. I initially drew out in perspective, what I thought to be the interior described in the book and then discovered an image of the interior in the book. I will use this as the basis for the character description with the other items placed in the room as these describe Bilbo Baggins' personality and traits. I will draw sketches of these items and then include them into the interior.

I will also find other passages from the book that may describe the other half of the room and use my imagination from the character to create this section. This will ensure that I can show more areas. There is a passageway that leads to the rest of the house and there are no stairs. I feel that all of the furniture is wooden and he has a fair few chairs scattered around the room as he likes to have guests. These I feel, as well as the rest of the furniture, will be antique style and have fine wooden carvings. The shade of wood I will be using for these objects will be Light Mahogany or Dark Mahogany as these shades give an old style finish and feel to the furniture because of the finer streaks within the wood. I feel that he would have a book shelf full of books as he seems like an intelligent character and somebody that likes to have them to fill up the room.

The flooring of the room is tiled and flat. It has a rug in the centre which makes the room look more tidy and cosy. The structure of the room is a tunnel underground therefore there would have to be a strong structure where it holds extremely well. The wall panels and the wooden beam structure around the tunnel would do this and it would have to be quite evenly spaced out. The colour of the wood will be the same as the rest of the room's furniture and the panels plane. This gives it an antique and tidy look to it which complements the rest of the interior and the character.

This room doesn't have any windows therefore the lighting of this interior would be from what I presume lanterns or more probably candles if the front door is shut as these would be more suited to the time period and style of the book.

My Visualisation Project!

2012-01-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

My visualisation project is about still life. My theme for this project is menswear but I added a narrative to this to ensure that my theme was understood. The narrative is a business man coming home from work where he places his items after removing them and is enjoying a glass of wine. I have selected 6 objects to model which are: cufflinks, a tie, a watch, a pair of glasses and a glass of wine and a pen. With this, I have chosen four sceneries where this narrative could work with an extension in some cases. The first scenery I have chosen is the table in the living room where the man would place his things. The next is the bathroom where he could be getting getting ready to relax after a hard day of work and the next is on the sofa being careless and homely where the glass of wine could fall. The last I have chosen is the bedroom side table where he places his objects just before heading to sleep.

Next I thought about the composition of these items. I chose to use the composition of Gerrit Willemsz Heda from his painting of Still Life with a Nautilus Cup from [1645]. This was ideal because of the wine glass that I had chosen to model. I kept the same sort of positioning of items and the angles which means that it corresponds with the style of Heda. The tie I draped over like the cloth, the angles of the rest of the objects, the positioning of the wine glass and the glasses and watch being slightly off the table.

I found modelling the objects easy as I could measure them and look at them physically. The texturing to some aspect was easy if the materials didn't need to hold reflections of the environment. With these I could use my own textures that I had taken instead of the pre-made default ones. For the cufflinks and tie, I had used the same texture for the material but I photographed them from the box that they came in as the cufflinks were too small. The watch had taken the longest to model and texture as this has more intricate detail and I had used the UVW Unwrap tool to create the leather straps to make them look right.

I found the sofa hard to model and texture for one of the environments as I had to use the UVW Unwrap tool again to texture it. This object has more shapes to it which and when I tried to apply any of the smoothing filters on this, the texturing would shift and not look correct therefore I applied a black background instead of a white one so that it blended in more.

I found lighting the scenery simple to do by changing the colours to the mood and colours that would be there such as a slight blue-ish colour for the bathroom scenery. I had these environments infront of me to look at which helped a great deal. The living room table had a window, sunshine lighting feel to it becoming evening whereas the sofa living room environment had an evening spotlight feel. The bathroom had a blue-ish top spotlight feel and the bedroom had a three directional bulb lighting.

I would improve the modelling of a few of the objects as well as in the environment and use my own metal textures if I did the project again. I would perhaps work more on some of the shadows from the lighting too as some of them showed to have some jagged edges. I feel that this project has helped me immensly as I can now model and texture quite accurately which is used as a basis for nearly all virtual environment careers whether it is realistic or unrealistic.

Here is my flikr account with some textures as well as some of the ones I have used. I couldn't load them all as I used my monthly allowance. I have organised my photographs into sets.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68245394@N02/sets/

Fantasy Olympics!

2011-12-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

This project is using my skills in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop. We had to create a character playing a futuristic sport for the Olympics. I first chose the idea of having 5 different characters playing 5 different sports inside each of the rings of the Olympic logo but then stuck to one as this probably would not fit in a 30 second advert. This animation was 2D and 3D mixed together. I decided to choose the sport boxing and the character of a Panda as this would stereo-typically win a fight of a smaller character. At first I thought I would create some things in 3DS Max and the rest in After Effects.

I found that I first had trouble importing it as the textures would then not import with it therefore I had to recreate the textures in Photoshop and add them in, that way. I found this way of texturing quite simple and easier once I had finally found out where to do it.

Once I had done this, I found that when importing the 3D object into After Effects, on the main composition, it would then convert it into a 2D object again but with perspective so that it looks 3D. When you opened the object composition, it would become a 3D object so I think it was just a matter of placing it correctly in there for it to be right in the main composition therefore I left it and had decided to use 2D images of it and create it in that way because the use of transform allows you to perceive it as a 3D object when moving the planes around and connecting them. I had used a bamboo forest for the environment as well as the design of the tree stumps and bamboo sticks for the boxing ring to give a sense of where an actual panda would live.

I had imported my 2D character into After Effects, I had created a front view and a side view of this so that I could use both in my main composition when needed. To animate this, I had to use the Puppet Pin tool which allows you to deform the selected part so that it moves. By having separate layers for each part of the Panda, it was easier to do this and none of the parts would move in unison without me wanting it too. I had to do it in its own composition which then got imposed into the main composition. I found this part easy to do.

My strengths for this project were creating the 2D elements for the whole animation, positioning them in the main composition and creating a sense of realism for the character using the puppet pins for the movement. I felt that I had created the environment very well and that it looked good by using both realistic images and cartoon images which I had created myself. The boxing ring itself, I felt I had created well too after having a lot of problems with it.

My weaknesses were that I don’t think I tackled the “futuristic” element very well therefore could have improved by adjusting the sport itself so it would fit within the brief. I think that I could have added another character into it so that the Panda would be fighting against another.

By doing this project, I am now able to create simple 2D cartoons and advertisements as well as idents. A lot of animation work in Television and Film has the use of programs like Adobe After Effects in various forms such as the use of CGI or simply cartoon characters. This means mixing the use of moving image and 3D animation into it too.

The Robotic Arm

2011-11-19T08:29:00.000-08:00

From learning about inverse kinematics and being given a set robot arm to build (which mine got deleted), I have set about creating my own design. I have added a glass texture to this and a theme for the characteristics for robot arm to have. I have decided to give it female style attributes and characteristics as well as the good versus evil theme. I have used the glass texture on the arms as I want to give it a sophisticated look and feel. This is how far I have gone as to creating my robotic arm. I have also storyboarded and designed it which I will scan in and load later. In this part of the project, I have learnt Inverse Kinematics, Pivot Points, modelling and links/ hierarchies.

The use of triangles in animation isn’t good therefore I have used all polygons that have more than three edges. This means that the rendering and animations of the objects will be more sufficient.

I have added a circular spline and made it into a shape so that the rotations can be in all directions. A spline does not show in a render unless a modifier has been used in it which is useful to use. This makes the wrist pivot point more operative and I can link all of the finger movements and wrist controllers onto this. An IK Chain means that the movements of all of the parts of the arm can be linked and moved in unison with the correct angles. Once doing this, I did have trouble moving the translucent parts of the arms with the rest as they were not all one object even when linked therefore I had attached them all and given them all separate material values. This meant that it would still look the same but operate to a better standard.

To ensure that the elbow has the correct movements, I have used a dummy which allows it to move in the right direction when linked.

Next I had created an eyeball in the palm of the hand using the same sort of features of a realistic eyeball. It has a lens, pupil as a black hole and an iris. The lens I had made translucent which shows that bit of a glint in it.

I had then created the eyelids then used the morpher modifier to create different emotions and expressions which I incorporated into my animations to give it a bit of life. The Mesh Smooth modifier gave it a finished look.

Next I had imported my chess board and pieces then started the animation. I have the good vs evil theme in the pieces with the colours. When animating the chess pieces, I had to use a link constraint which I found difficult to use as it was confusing linking it to the world and the hand. After trying more than once, I had found that you have to do it in a certain order for it to work properly. When I wanted to link it to the world after the hand, it still did not do it properly as I had to use a keyframe for rotating before it had separated. This had made the positioning of my chess pieces inaccurate.

The curve editor was useful as it made the bounces of the rock and the chess pieces more accurate as you could simulate the curve to how an actual piece or rock would bounce or fall.

I had then applied textures to it which made the whole thing more realistic. A rock texture for the ground http://designm.ag/resources/free-stone-rock-textures/ and then the sky texture, I had added in After Effects in post production as it was easier to do and more practical. I had used my own sky image that I had taken myself. The light Omni Light has given the whole thing a focus point.

After watching the complete video, I felt that I could have improved the beginning establishing shot by making it slower; I could have used the camera in 3DS Max better and more smoothly. I could have slowed the whole animation down generally so it was easier to see what was happening. I could have used more camera angles and panning. I should have also rendered in Mental Ray so that the reflections on the chess table had shown.

I felt that my storyline to the video was good and the way I had edited it. I liked the use of my environment and the way I had animated the robot arms with the expressions and movements. The sound effects and music clip I had used proved to be effective. (www.soundbible.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqmWUNiD63M)

I had learnt a whole new range of techniques which I will be using in the future.

The Chess Board

2011-11-19T08:03:00.000-08:00

For my main rigging project, we have to create a robotic arm that is playing chess. So far I have created the chess pieces, the chess board and started the robotic arm. For this project, so far I have used splines, lathing, modelling, inverse kinematics and more.

While creating the horse, a theme became apparent to me. The theme I have chosen is good versus evil. With the evil side the colour scheme for the chess pieces will be black and red. For example with this horse, it will have red glowing eyes.

For the good side, I will have the colour scheme of white/ beige and blue. The horse piece for example, will blue glowing eyes. The pieces have been created using splines and lathe but I still need to edit them to make the extra parts. With my chess board, I have used a glass texture for the outside and for the main board, a tile effect. I have added reflect for extra effect.

Doctor's Bag

2011-11-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

I modelled a doctor’s bag using the different viewports, the different angled images and a plane to start off with. I then moved the vertices around accordingly to fit the shape of the image and then went onto extruding parts to fit the bag’s shape. I also used the symmetry tool to ensure that I only had to model one quarter of the bag. For the handle, I used a cylinder and modelled it to the shape. I need to add a hole in it so that the torus’s can go through to match the bag’s shape. I found this easy to model.

Goggles

2011-11-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

The next object we modelled were a pair of goggles. These used more features as well as the spline, such as extrude, general modelling and more. I found these more difficult to model as they have a slightly more complicated shape to them. I have not yet modelled the strap but started on the extra parts.

Jug

2011-11-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

For our visualisation project, we have been modelling several objects to give us practice into modelling objects realistically. Our second object we have modelled is a jug. We started off using a spline then eventually lathed the object and modelled it using editable poly. We used different views of images of the jug, using different viewports to model it which made sure that the shape was correct. We then created the handle which I struggled with as I wasn’t able to move any of it properly therefore I will have to think about creating the handle again. The spout was created by moving vertices.

Orrery

2011-11-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

To learn Kinematics and the art of movement in VE, we have been creating a solar system ready for our Chess Game project. So far I have created the planets and done the schematics of it with a hierarchy. This part was fairly easy but it was just a matter of finding the right buttons to make it right. The next part I need to do is animate the solar system so that it all moves around correctly with the right values and using the curve editor.

2011-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

07/10/2011 18.47pm (23.17pm here)

(I’m in India and I can’t sleep. Dad’s snoring and it’s too hot!! Details you don’t really need to know.) Our first visualisation module is to create an exact replica, including the measurements of existing compositions with 6 items. I have been practicing on a toy train. I enjoyed creating this and had learnt some new techniques such as the chamfer tool and chamfer cylinder. I modelled each block separately rather than using the extrude tool as this would then be easier for the next step which is texturing. An improvement I could make is to chamfer the abacus cylinders a bit more to give them a more rounder effect.

Website Moodboard About Me!

2011-04-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

Well it's quite self explanatory. This is my moodboard about me to start me off with my website!

2011-03-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some images on set of the Darkroom scene. We found that we had to reshoot this scene as it was grainy and the colour of the suit changed to purple. We did not have all the props needed to shoot this scene accurately the first time either therefore the second time we had shot it meant that it was more flowing and fit better with the script.

2011-03-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

On the first day of filming, Jordan had organised the first location to be the Darkroom scene in 106a. This was a good location to use as it was spacious and plenty of plugs to use for the lighting. We only used one light to give a film noir feel as it had to light just one side of his face to show contours. I had before hand looked at some Youtube video tutorials to gain a feel for this and to gain knowledge and techniques as this was the first time I had heard of the theme:

We had a practice run for the lighting before hand and here are some images from what we had gained:

2011-03-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

For my film project, we were in a group. My group consisted of: Diana Jones, Najhet Thompson, Jordan Brooks, Kelly Tang, Sam Dobson and myself. We were assigned with different roles:

- - Diana Jones – Camerawoman

- - Najhet Thompson – Director

- - Myself – Assistant Director

- - Jordan Brooks – Producer

- - Sam Dobson – Editor

- - Kelly Tang – Sound

In my role, I had to do the lighting for the film, partial directing and did get involved in some other parts when necessary or asked to. I scheduled some days to film and delegated some organisation to the group which proved positive. I also edited the script which was written by Jools Ayodeji we got given using Celt X which I found an easy program to use. It was used to specify different aspects of the script such as props, characters, locations for each scene which can then be generated into lists to use on location. Here is the script that we used once changed:

1 EXT. ARBORETUM TUNNEL. NIGHT

TITLE: White text on a black background fades in SHIFT. It shimmers as if a light source is being played across it before the screen fades out to black

CHRIS is flat, flat, flat against the wall. Eyes roll from side to side nervously. Squeezed in as tightly as possible, Chris listens

Nearby we hear footsteps. Someone is creeping along, someone is trying to make as little noise as possible. Panicked Chris dashes through the alley. Chris is pursued by footsteps and shouts. Chris flees

2 INT. OFFICE WITH BLINDS. DAY

Chris peers through blind, opening it with two of his fingers and is momentarily blinded by the light shining in through the window. Stumbles, squints, fingers white, grip the briefcase even tighter. Nods to receptionist, hesitates, slows down then nods to security. The revolving door exit seems very far away

3 INT. OFFICE. NIGHT

The only illumination comes from the blue light in the dark room studio as the photograph produces. Chris is nervous. Chris removes a developing photograph from the monomethyl-p-aminophenol hemisulfate. Chris stares at it in shock. Listening Chris shuts off and pockets the photograph. Ducking down beside the table the door handle struggles to open. They open the door ajar. After talking, the door closes and the security personelle walk away

4 INT. FRONT ROOM. DAY

Chris writes an address on the envelope. The label reads The Daily Telegraph, news desk, Media City, London

5 EXT. POST OFFICE POST BOX, QUEEN STREET. DAY

Chris approaches a post box, package in hand

6 INT. BEDROOM. DAY

Chris scans then pockets the negatives from a briefcase

7 INT. OFFICE. DAY

The briefcase is placed inside a safe.

8 EXT. HOUSE LIVING ROOM. DAY

Chris scans the Daily Telegraph for his article. Nothing

9 EXT. ALLEYWAY. NIGHT

Chris rushes around a corner and jumps recklessly over the stair well. As he runs he repeatedly looks over his shoulder for his pursuers.

Running he drops the briefcase. Rushing back to the retrieve it, he abandons that idea and continues his escape

10 EXT. ARBORETUM. DAY

Chris dumps the negatives into a bin and slowly walks off down the street. As he does so Sam emerges out from a hedge, lowers sunglasses and begins to follow him. Chris paces faster looking back gradually getting faster. Sam paces after him.

11 EXT. NEWS STAND. DAY

The billboard reads : Local Journalist Found Dead

THE END

I found modifying the script hard as it wasn’t easy to keep with a flowing storyline. I did not learn Celt X in the lecture as I was late but I managed to pick it up in 5 minutes. The rest of the group could not figure out how to import the script from Microsoft Word into the program but I managed to do this by saving it as a Notepad file first before importing it.

eXistenZ!

2011-01-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Narrative

The narrative of the film I felt was successful in the way that the ideas and concepts of the storyline were done. I felt that they did not portray it so well in some parts as for example, there wasn’t really a beginning to the story which could explain what some of the features were like the “Pods” or “Bio-ports” but we got to know this as the film went along. The narrative and concept of not knowing which part was in the game world or in reality was portrayed well although it was obvious with the clues which was reality or not.

Interactivity

The interactivity of the film with the audience was ok as they introduced the main characters at the beginning. At the end of the film, these main characters as well as being throughout the whole story, ended the plot. The film interacts with the audience being that it is a game world which is now popular and becoming more of a reality to do. Some parts of the film were too gruesome to watch but the audience still felt interacted with it as it drew them into to question why they are doing things like that in the first place?

Convergence

The convergence of the film focused on the game world or reality. This became clear later on in the film when both characters played the game using the “Pod”. They had to show you what the object did before the convergence became clear.

My First Finished Ident!

2010-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

Using C.R.A.P!

2010-11-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

We had to redesign a business card using C.R.A.P features. Here is my version of the business card:

C- Contrast. I have used contrast in colours by making the text stand out from the background. I have used a larger font for the company name and smaller for the contact details. I have used an even smaller font to say the owner is a proprietor as I felt this information is unnecessary. I have used a different colour for the title and a different font which shows contrast but I feel that it works well. I have used equal gaps between the text pieces. The size of the space at the top is larger than the space at the bottom but this is to make the company name stand out more.

R – Repetition. I have used repetition by the use of the colour light blue, white and black. I have used the faded out bar at the top and the bottom of the business card which also shows repetition. Another aspect of repetition is the use of the lines on four parts of the business card.

A – Alignment. I have used left alignment on the text throughout and made sure that it doesn’t touch the image. This is better for the person to read. The image is right aligned. Everything is visually related due to the colours and the lines and faded boxes.

P – Proximity. There are relations in the gaps between the text pieces. They are all the same size and equal which makes them relate well. The use of colour makes the proximity relate well too which makes the reader read the whole business card rather than just one part.

Interview Using Lighting!

2010-11-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

For our second one shot film, we were concentrating on lighting using a specific scenario. We had to do a day time interview next o one window and use lighting. We decided we did not want any shadows therefore lighted Ajay so that there weren’t any visible. If wasn’t easy in such a tight location. We then had to decide what questions we were going to ask and first improvised. We then took a few minutes out and practised before filming. We had the interviewer out of the frame so that we could get a close enough shot. The reflector was used too so too in order to gain an equal lighting on the other side of Ajay’s face away from the window. Before filming our final take, we had to wait for another group to finish as their lights were affecting our frame and casting an unwanted shadow.

First Shot Of One Shot!

2010-11-17T08:31:00.001-08:00

We have been creating one shot films which means that we have to keep the camera on a tripod and can only move it once! In our group, we had to first film outside where we could use natural lighting. We did not have long to think of something even though we went scouting on the locations. We all decided that we should think of the idea first then decide which of the two outside locations we should use. We decided to use a bench at the Arboretum. The one we chose was on level ground and had a hill behind it so we did not have to worry about people walking behind on our set. We set up our equipment, struggling to set the tripod to the right level as it wasn’t a good one on the day of shooting. On the day we improvised lines of what we were going to say and decided who would play what role. I played a posh person who had things on her mind and Alyssa played the drunken tramp. This gave the basis of our story and we shot the film in just 3 takes until we were happy with it.

Once we viewed the video back, we had noticed that there was a lot of background noise from the wind therefore if we were to shoot outside again, we would use an overhead microphone or use something or someone to block out wind passing from the sides. We also should have used a tighter frame as my face was not visible enough.

My Ident!

2010-10-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am now creating my fourth animation with more knowledge of how to use the program. My previous 2 files have been deleted so I thought I would use what I did with all of the animations that I have practiced with for my personal ident. I first created my text name and used a rounder font as it looks better. My ideas for this are that my character will swing on my name and the colours for it will be a sort of jungle theme.

On my name, I have added a bend modifier with the bend angle of 150. This means that you can still see the name on the front view.

I then started to create my character starting off from a cylinder and adding vector points to it. The vector points were useful and allowed me to modify the shape of the character without added extra bits to the shape. I added teeth and ears using this. Having the vector points available also allowed me to modify certain parts at a time for example the colour or extrusion points. This helped me to build my character. The one thing I could not do was create round eyes from this but maybe if I had more vector points, this would be possible. I had to create the eyes using extra sphere shapes. At first, I had a white eyeball and black pupil for the eye but I found this hard for when I was animating the character therefore, I only kept the black pupil.

When I got to the point of changing the colours of the character, it wouldn’t allow me to assign the colours in the way I was advised to by using ID numbers for the different parts therefore, I used my own choice of doing every colour selection part separately which I found a lot quicker, less confusing and easier to do.

To change my character’s expression, I had to go into the “edit polygon” menu and select vector to be able to move the different points of the character’s mouth. To be able to do this accurately, I had to zoom in a lot and do every single vector point that it might affect.

For my ideas for my character to swing, I wanted to make the brown tree ropes bend and swing but as I could not apply the bend modifier to the ropes, I had to swing it from the top. This still looked OK.

For the first part of my animation after using the Auto Key tool, I made the character jump, bend and twist. I found that I could not make it jump without applying the other modifiers first and separately therefore, I applied the bend and twist modifiers first. I started the bend modifier at frame 3 and the twist modifier at frame 7. The twist modifier was done in the centre so that only the head would twist and not the whole body. These were applied accordingly to make it look like it was enough. I started the jump using the move and select tool on frame 2. At frame 7, I started to change the character’s face expression again.

When I got to frame 32, I used the squeeze modifier to show the impact of the character’s bounce and when this finished, I started the swinging motion using the rotation tool from frame 56.

I found that when I was using the rotation tool when selecting the whole character, the point of rotation wasn’t right so I had to move the eyes separately from the rest of the character. I found it hard to keep this accurate.

Jelly Character!

2010-10-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a completely new animation to gain more practice. I have decided to experiment with different modifiers. From today’s lecture, we drew a storyboard full of completely random things that did not fit in a sequence. There was a lot of focus on the jelly but with different emotions so I am going to make a start with one of those. Here is a storyboard of the different emotions of the character.

{Image of storyboard}

Here I have created the character and animated it by using the simple “select and move” tool to make it jump up and then the “squash modifier” to create the impact of the next jump. During the process, I could not find how to group objects so that I could move them together but by experimenting with different tools, I found it to be on the main tool bar. A problem that I had with the outcome is that the eyebrows and mouth did not show. I now know this is because I have to use the extrude modifier on the objects to be able to make them visible in the render. If I did this task next time, I would do this.

My Multimedia

2010-10-18T15:39:00.001-07:00

A multimedia that I have recently used, that piques my interest is my graphics tablet. It comes with a pen and a drawing tablet and I find it very useful to use. I find that I can use Photoshop and Illustrator a lot easier with this when designing. It helps me to draw things better like illustrations and animations as I have a lot more self-control over what you select and move around using the graphics tablet. A mouse on the other hand, can be messy and not allow you to be straight and smooth when drawing out. I can easily make mistakes using a mouse. I find it interesting because it is quite a recent technology which has helped a lot. If this did not exist then there would be a lot of inaccuracies and I feel that there are more who take an interest in media aspects because of this tool as they find things easier to do. After drawing on a piece of paper, you can go to the complexities of making something look so life-like on the computer using the graphics tablet and this too interests me.

My Design Process!

2010-10-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

By creating websites, I used the design process: reverse engineering which meant that I looked at existing websites and chose to improve them to create a whole new one which I thought was suitable. I went in a backwards process. I first decided that I needed a website for my company therefore looked at three existing websites that were similar to what I wanted. I evaluated and analysed them by writing about what I liked and disliked about each one of them. I looked at the aesthetics and all the user requirements that I could think of and broke the website up into sections to look at along with the basic concepts of a website. I wrote everything down. From this, I created a design brief which allowed me to see what I wanted to have in my own website from what I researched. I then went on to creating storyboards of what my website will look like. I decided the initial ideas of fonts and sizes and positions of everything however these got changed in the process. I went onto my first designs of my website using the software Adobe Dreamweaver with aspects of Adobe Flash and Adobe Photoshop. These were my prototypes as they were my first ideas I used Flash to create an animated start up page which I found hard as I wasn’t used to the programs. I also created the gallery pages using this program as you can apply

functions to make buttons which was useful to use. I then put everything together in a layout using Dreamweaver with the use of tables and masterpage layouts with editing regions; this made

it consistent throughout. I tested the website then wrote down anything I personally thought was wrong with it or what needed improving. I gained feedback from other users which I then took into consideration and evaluated what was said. I then improved on what I could. I then repeated this process by seeing what I thought wasn’t right and gaining feedback with an evaluation then improved my website once again.

Jelly Name!

2010-10-18T14:13:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, we started some computer animation using the program 3ds Max which is a new program for me to use. We had instructions to follow which made it a lot easier as I could not keep up with the explanation.

I made my first attempt using the word Jelly but my computer crashed so started again in a whole new perspective but using the same values to make it look like Jelly.

I used my name as the text and used the Font Edwardian Script ICT as this is one of my favourite fonts to use and used my name Anita which made the use of the font even more of a reason to use it. I chose the colours red, black and white making it more of a personal aspect. I started to create a room around my name as I found the tools useful to be able to align things put things in a perspective view. I did not create the whole room because of time restrictions and the fact that you would not be able to see the whole word jumping if I did.

Here is what the finished product looked like but unrendered:

Here are some of the rendered clips while it is “jumping like a jelly”:

I have now decided that the font itself does not suit the action that I have prescribed to it so I know for next time to experiment with more fonts to make it look better. As it goes upwards, you cannot see the wobbling movement.

Starting Up!

2010-10-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well I've been through my first week of Nottingham Trent since my interview and so far it is full of talks and all of the introductory stuff but when we got to the second day... that's more of what I was looking for! Whiteboard animation and pinhole photography: more interactive activities to enjoy. I especially enjoyed the pinhole photography as I was fascinated by the process of it.

I had my first real lecture today and I was expecting an introduction to it but just took notes of everything that I needed to that would help me for what is to come. From what I have read and listened about today, I feel I will love this course and it is everything I am looking for and glad that I did not get put into Graphics Design instead =).

Test

2010-09-28T04:55:00.001-07:00

This is a test