Summary:
This class is designed for those who have completed MMST 124, 125, and 163, and look to expand and consolidate their ability to create usable 3D content. This class is your second pass at environments and character animation -- at this point you should be aware of where you strengths and weaknesses lie, be prepared to fill in the gaps, and produce work that you will include in your portfolio. This class will extend your 3DS Max skills in two areas: during the first 8 weeks we will
investigate, design and construct environments and virtual
sets. The remaining sessions will focus on creating characters
to populate these worlds. Advainced students should understand the software well enough to stretch their art and design skills.
During the first half of the course, you will
create concept art from which From which you will build an interior
and an exterior scene usable as environments for 3D animation
or game play. You will storyboard a sequence, build an animatic, and produce the finished product in 3DS Max. The Production phase will involve reviewing and extending your
skills with modeling, texturing, UVW mapping, lighting, cameras,
atmospheres, particle systems and special effects. We will use
Autodesk 3D Studio Max 2011. The lighting discussion
will focus basic setups and dramatic effects, as well as an introduction
to Max's global illumination and photometric lighting tools.
A discussion of lighting and materials necessarily includes a
discussion of rendering technique, rendering to layers and to
elements, and compositing these components with special effects
in post production. The environments discussion will focus on
the intended purpose for the setting, how the set design can
convey the scene purpose and how to dress a set for believability.
This discussion will include a discussion of atmospheres and
particle systems, as well as special effects such as glows, flares,
and blurs
During the second half of this course you will
design, model, rig and animate one or more characters
using 3D Studio MAX. The principals shown apply across the
major software packages. Specific techniques will be demonstrated
in 3D Studio Max 2011. Through
lectures, exercises and projects, you will learn how to model
a bipedal character mesh and set up a simple skeleton rig using
Max Bones and Character Studio (Biped). You will bind
this mesh to the skeleton using the Skin modifier.
Throughout this course you will survey
current trends, issues and directions, and produce four projects
showcasing some of them.
Software:
We will be using Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 almost exclusively. The machines in the lab, and those similarly equipped on campus have installed the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite 2014, which includes Autodesk 2014 versions 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, Motion Builder, and Mudbox. While 3ds Max is exclusively on the Windows platform, the others are available for Mac or Windows machines. If you have need, you may use other 3D software, but these will not be demonstrated or supported in class.
To assemble your animations, you are welcome to use any video editing package you prefer. The lab machines (Windows) have Photoshop Extended CS6 (with adequate video features) and Autodesk Compolsite 2014. On the Mac OS side, there is Photoshop Extended CS6 and older versions of Final Cut Pro and After Effects (these may be replaced with current versions from the Adobe Creative Cloud).
Consult with the instructor prior to using software not listed above.
If you are new to 3D art and animation, you are strongly advised to aquire expertise in one package before attempting to learn a second one. All professional grade 3D software packages are engineered from similar concepts. 3ds Max 2014 contains all fundamental features found in the competing products. Although all packages have particular features in which they excel, the biggest differences are in their workflows and interfaces. Your time is best spent achieving depth of knowledge in a single package before undertaking a second. Once you have expertise, the learning curve for other products moves quickly.
Assignments:
The instructor will make assignments in class to be brought to class the following session. In addition, there is a standing assignment is to review and be able to complete
the context-appropriate Tutorials provided with the 3ds Max software
(from the online tutorials that come with the software), and content from the 3ds Max Learning Channel (on theThe Area portal). These will not be reviewed in class unless you bring your questions to class. These assignments are given in lieu of an assigned text book,
Additionally, students should immediately choose
and direct their efforts toward producing four projects (below).
Success in the course should require you to spend at least as much time outside class as in, and preferably 2 hours for every hour in class on projects and techniques.
Communications:
Most communication outside of Class will be through the MyCOM portal. This system offers email to the instructor and among class members, a calendar, a forum and the ability to post URL's and files (although each file must be 1 Mb or less).
The instructor will use MyCOM, the Class
Blog or the instructor's site (www.zoomextents.com) - students are expected to check their MyCOM account at least once per week for announcements, and class uploads, and as instructed, the Class
Blog or the instructor's site (www.zoomextents.com). MyCOM will be our primary means of communicating with each other outside of class, and links to outside resources or material will be posted on MyCOM.
The instructor is privately available via email. All email from students to the instructor's MyCOM address will be copied to the instructor's personal email address. Where the question is of interest to all class members, it will be posted to MyCOM or to the class Blog can serve as an extended classroom, where we can share answers,
solutions, and comments.
Attendence:
Your attendance on time and timely delivery of assignments will impact your grade. There is no assigned textbook, or required materials. Most content, techniques and the assignments will be presented during the lecture/demo portion of the class, i.e. the first two hours.Your timely attendance is central to understanding what content you are expected to master and what assingments you are to deliver.
Consistent class attendence and communication with the instructor has proved basic to students' success in this course. The content varies with the preparation, experience and skill of the class. It works both ways: the sources and works in progress students bring often become an important part of the content, in part because it is current and relevent, and in part because it usually means something and that speeds learning. 3D art and animation generally is a collaborative art form, and the class experience builds these skills.
In addition to homework assignments , students
should immediately choose and direct their efforts toward producing four Required
Projects, two environment scenes, and two involving a rigged/animated character. . The projects can be anything of your own
choosing within the covered subject matter, i.e. design visualization
of environments for CAD, VizSim or Entertainment; character design,
building or product design, game scene or level design, etc.
which use techniques explored in class. More experienced students
should aim to push their skills. The instructor will work with
them on this, even if the content is beyond the scope of the
covered material.
Project Content & Due Dates
| No. |
Due Date: |
Description: |
| 1 |
February 20,2015 |
Animated Environment Walkthrough - first interior or exterior scene |
| 2 |
March 20, 2015 (Midterm) |
Animated Environment Walkthrough - second interior or exterior scene |
| 3 |
April 10, 2015 |
Animated, Rigged Character - animated simple poses |
| 4 |
May 22, 2015 (Final) |
Animated, Rigged Character - same character complex performance |
Process:
- Script: First, write down what you plan to do and what you want it to say. This can be a description of a scene to a full blown story. It can be one scene, or many.
- Reference Materials: Search for reference imagery (i.e. photos of environments, character ideas, etc.
- Concept and Template Art: Based on your references, (and if your content will be different from the reference photos), prepare drawings of your content from different angles and in different poses. These can be rough. Then prepare orthographic views of the same obect (i.e. top, front, and side views) to use as reference during your modeling/texturing.
- Storyboard: Draw a sequence based on the concept art that describes what you want to present (i.e. storyboard
the project).
- Animatic: Make simple, rough animations based on the story boards to check camera angles, layout & blocking, and timing As you upgrade scene elements, render them out as updated animatics.
- Final Render: Replace the animatics with the final versions of your content. Student's often think of rendering as the final step, as if making a print from film. Instead, consider rendering as the ongoing sampling of a work in progress. Begin rendering tests with your first versions. This is your best method to correst story, timing, movement, lighting and mood.
Please
consult with the instructor early for advice on the scope and
difficulty of your project.
Allow at least one week before the due date to render
out your project – students
always underestimate this process. For best results, make lo-res test renders as you go - this eliminates surprises at the end when it doesn't work.
For each project, deliver:
(1) an animation 30 - 60 seconds in length at 30 frames per second (fps) i.e. 900 to 1800 frames finished animation to be delivered as a compressed
Quicktime movie or an AVI movie , at 640 x 480 (or 720p HD) resolution,
(2) your 3ds max archive file (*zip format)
(3) 4
to 6 hi-res still images in JPEG format at 1024 x 768 or greater resolution from the animation sequence
which showcases detail and dynamic poses or angles
(4) any drawings and storyboards.
You
are responsible to make sure your projects are delivered
in a compressed format and on media compatible with the equipment
in the lecture hall. (Jump Drives or CD's). You will present
your projects in class on the due date.
Student
grades will be based primarily on projects and secondarily on their attendance and completed assigments
All projects are due on or
before the
due date, which are the dates set for the Midterm and Final
Exams . No
extensions or incompletes will be given.
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Part
I: Environment and Set Design
Introduction
and Overview.
What factors into designing a good environment?
What factors go into making a good set? How is
this different from a good environment?
Pre-rendered vs. Real-Time 3D graphics: considerations;
similarities and differences
3DS Max: a “virtual film studio”;
-- the role of the camera
Identify the big issues at the earliest stage.
Modeling and Texturing Environments and Sets
Concept Art - defines the look, the inspiration,
and identifies challenges
Story Boards, Color Scripts, Animatics -- progressive scene building
Modeling/Texturing - review general techniques; considerations
peculiar to environments
Output Cosiderations for building exteriors & interiors
for movies and games.
Organizing the scene; Tools in 3DS Max, using external files.
Lighting Considerations and Techniques:
Using Standard vs Photometric lights, limitations
Max's Advanced Lighting --General & Global Illumination (render-engine specifics)
Consider baking in lighting effects
Animated camera and lighting effects
Intermediate Texturing:
Cameras and lighting impacts texture design
Atmospheres and effects impact textures
Shader types; Material Types; Map Types; how
they inter-relate.
Procedural vs. non-procedural materials; gradients,
falloffs, antialiasing
The two 3DS Max Material Editors; how and when to use each
Building multi-layered and complex materials and maps
Texture Baking; Normal Maps
Specialized and Complex Textures; what is "Realism";
"Stylized"
Painting Textures in Photoshop
Applying textures
- UVW Mapping and Unwrap UVW issues
Special Effects:
Particle Systems
Lens Effects
Rendering:
Appropriate pre-rendered movies/cut-scenes vs. real-time
rendering
Output and output formats -- tips and techniques
The default Scanline Renderer vs Mental Ray.
Other Rendering Engines.
Fogs, Atmospheres, Volumetrics,
and Special Effects.
Particle Systems: Basic, Advanced and Particle
Flow.
Post-production considerations:
Anticipating the requirements of a real-time
renderer.
Maximizing flexibility for post production
editing
Isolating
and rendering to layers; Render Elements; EXR
Overview of Autodesk Composite workflow
Part
II: Character Design, Rigging and Animation
Introduction:
Overview of the character development process: design,
modeling, rigging, animating.
Importance of drawing and understanding anatomy
Character animation principals from the 2D world
(squash, stretch, anticipation, exaggeration)
Everything is based on the intended audience, budget,
output device(s), team.
Design, Modeling and Texturing Issues for Characters
How to develop a character from scratch
Concept Art, Storyboards and Animatics
Box modeling in Edit Poly mode
Edge Loops & Subdivision Surfaces
Working with Max's Graphite Toolset
Modeling issues specific to characters
LOD and MRM
Modeling with Textures (Subdivision Surface Displacement
in the Material Editor)
Other Texturing issues: Texture size and detail;
UVW mapping issues; Unwrap UVW
Introduction to Mudbox
Non-bone-based Rigging
Why do we need bones?
Applying modifiers to deform the mesh (whole mesh
vs. selection sets)
Manipulators and wiring issues
Secondary animation effects (bounce, jiggle using
the Flex modifier)
Animating with Splines and the Linked-Xform modifier
Rigging with other animation controllers (eye-rigging
with the Look-At Constraint)
Introduction to Morphing – the
Morpher modifier
Bone-based Rigging
Why not just use Biped? Advantages and Disadvantages
Review Hierarchies and how they work
Forward Kinematics (FK) vs. Inverse Kinematics (IK),
Uses
Setting Up a Bone chain (scaling, fins)
Setting constraints
IK Solvers; Helper Objects with IK
Setting Up a character
Simple bone rigs using Forward and Inverse Kinematics
Pre-rigged Animation Systems Biped, CAT, Motion Builder - The Basics
What it does (and doesn't) do.
Figure Mode (modifying the skeleton to fit the mesh)
Footstep Mode (Footsteps vs. Freeform modes)
Keyframe Mode
Importing motion capture data
Recycling motion files; layering motions
Motion flow mode, stitching motions together
General Overview of CAT
General Overview of Motion Builder
Interoperability Issues for transferring date between character animation systems
Attaching the model to the Biped
The Skin Modifier
Character Studio not required
Techniques for fine tuning the Skin modifier for animation
Painting Weights
Built-in Deformer Gizmos
Animating the Character
Biped
Keyframing in Footstep Mode
Keyframing in Free Form Mode
Bone Rigs
Keyframing and function curves
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