Key Visual

After I've finished rigging, I moved forward to key visual. The texture on environment is just quick, and not satisfied yet. Anyway, I'm waiting for feedback from Wayne.

Character Test Rigging

This is my first rigging for the project. I've spent a lot of time in learning this from online tutorials and Adam's advice. Although there is some problem in movement, It looks like a paper doll as I want. The errors are going to be fixed tomorrow.

By the way, rigging is a pain in my ass. :( There is a long way to go for my 3D animation. Keep fighting!
 

 

This is my first time to animate 3D setup character. I'm still confuse with controlling joints.

 

Environment Mass and Character Update

This is the previous character design and paint. I almost finish this version before I was inspired from new sources of idea. Then I made a decision to redesign it again.

After recent few days of sketching, I've done the character design and initial texture painting. These are ready for doing modeling tomorrow.

I also did the environment mass design. This metropolis is close to what I have been thinking for a while, massive skyscrapers on small island. The mass will be developed to more detailed version soon.

Architecture and Environment Design

In order to approach the idea of create environment through architectural aspect, I involved in architecture projects with master student at University of Edinburgh. Using V-Ray and Google SketchUp provide the better understanding in 3D lighting and building structures. Additionally, an opportunity to learn about architectural development is valuable, and might be useful for environment design in my own project due to its background, a future metropolis.

 

By the way, 3D techniques is my weakness. These project helps me to improve my understanding although they were made with different software.

 

Pop-up Layout

I'm working on layout to experiment Kate's idea of using a match box instead of a book. Rigging made me sick... Anyway, I just did this quick test.

Production Note - 2 MAR 2011

I've just got another keyword for my project in the reflection on practice class today. While I was focusing mostly in children book techniques and film theories, I forgot to be concerned studying about 'moral tales'.

On the surface, my animation is a story about a poor girl in a huge metropolis, but the actual message is concerning the value of everything. The girl is just a symbol in this case.

Thus I couldn't just focus on the narrative, but the way in which moral idea would be present. By studying other successful moral tales, I would get more into depth in how to enlighten audiences' perception. This means I've more work to do, but it would be very useful.

Environment Design Note

Regarding the last post about environment design concept, I'm researching about 'vertical city development'. In Bangkok, the vertical development doesn't affect only buildings, but also Infrastructure. For example, we have superimposed express ways throughout the city. Anyway, there is some city which is shirking too, or we may call it 'horizontal development', for instance, Detroit. According to this video (http://vimeo.com/1296775), the data illustrates how the city become smaller.

Dubai is very good example for building design. I studied Detroit because I want to understand more about the different between vertical city and horizontal one. Anyway, I have a shortage of experience in city development plan, and how infrastructure would be builded to serve the society. Thus I need more discussion with you.

In my mind, I've imagined about a metropolis which was builded on a small island, like Manhattan. It contains thousands building beside millions people. So the only way, in which people could live in the city, is going up to the air. In design aspect, this concept is respond to the animation's intention. However, I want to ensure that this idea have evidences to support.

Another idea has just came to me. Based on the knowledge of semiology, I think I could use the design of metropolis to represent the concept of society's classes.

I watched a film named the Fifth Element (1997) when I was a teenager. I think that the concept of production design is very interesting. The buildings have endless heigh. While nobility lives on the top floors of those buildings, middle class and poor one lives in the basements. The basements are foggy slum which covered by pollution. However, I'm not sure about the concept because it's very long time ago. So I'm going to search in the library to watch the movie again.

By the way, here is a good reference, 'Worth Enough?' by Radoslav Zilinsky.

Worth Enough? by Radoslav Zilinsky (2008)