Match Moving 0.3 - Manual and Automatic Tracking

Learning Matchmoving has been kind of slow process, I have to read a lot and didn't start actually working in the program will like a week ago. Still have a while to go and be better at it, but I think I am understaning the basics quite well and should be able to solve stuff. Things I am not sure about yet is about cameras and working with it in the anmation program (Maya in my case) but I will get to that soon. I have finally managed to get Matchmover to render image sequences so I can make videos out of them with my tracking markers to show. For now I have two vidoes, Manual Matchmove of Blue Screen and Automatic track of city pan. For now I personally preffer manual tracking, it might take longer but I feel it gives me greater control over the matchmove.

Maya 4.5 - Clown model

I should have started on this much much sooner, but today I have done most of the model, so I am happy. Need to finish the hands, face and some details, but then it should be ready for rigging. Not sure yet how I will do that, either myself or will try to look for some script or finished rig I could just apply, will see. I have to think about what all I want it to do, so I think I will just end up rigging it myself. I have done the model from scratch but followed a tutorial I found, it was useful but I was struggling with the head as it wasn't covered in the tutorial much, though I think it came out all right for now. Also the tutorial helped me to realize if I wont model from reference I can just model with closed eyes, it was really helpful. I did my reference picture by editing something I found on the net. Here are some images for the mesh and progress. Think week I have to finish the mesh, textures and rig it, maybe the rigging I will give extra week, but just wanna animate ASAP.

Maya 4.4 - Rocket Animation Final

Been a while since last update but I wasn't just wasting time, I have been actually doing some work, which wasn't easy but things are calming down at home. Anyway, I have finished the Rocket animation, didn't come out exactly as plannet because I didn't want to spend too much time on it, my fault for not working on it more often. Though since the topic was subtle emotions and movement I think it came out all right.

Maya 4.3 - Rocket animation First Test

Today I have finally started on the animation. I did change my storyboard, but dont have digital copy of it yet, gonna upload it soon. The idea is there is shot on two rockets, mean and big looking that take off quickly. The camera always moves from left to right so their eyes are in the shot first. Then the camera moves again but nothing is there, so it looks down and there is a little rocket with a sign in front of it. For now my idea is it says "Out of Service". The rocket sighs, looking really sad, then it kicks the sign and jumps off from the shot.

I have the scene ready and already animated the first two rockets. Getting teh scene clean and ready was kinda a bitch, its still not perfect but my teacher is to blame, it was suppose to be ready to animate. For now I did render of the two rockets but it looks like the same one repeating itself, I think I need to make them look different a bit, like adding numbers. The camera kinda jumps the way I dont like between them but there will be a shot of lights, red and green one. Maybe it will even be shot on red after the eyes, then camera zooms out, then green and rocket takes off. But I can do all that at the end.

Match Moving 0.2 - Matchmover

Matchmoving is quite interesting and so far I am enjoying it, only if my program would actually work correctly. I was doing some tutorial for the book I am reading the other day but my Matchmover 2011 wouldn't render preview video, what was rather annoying and put me off. I will have to try it on campus and will see, might end up in labs for few hours just doing matchmoving. It is certainly something I would like to get into as a job.

Even found screen on my desktop today:

Windows Phone App - Elementals

I wont be posting often about this but wanted to mention it now, next post will probably happen when its finished.I am helping one of the final year programming students to design game for Windows Phone. He is doing all the coding and I am making the graphics. It all has to be done from scratch beause he wants to publish it when its finished I believe. Fortunately WP design is kind of simple and we want to stick to the Metro style, so all the graphic looks fairly simple. The game will be made out of four games, each themed as one of the four element, hence the name. So far I have finished Noughts and Crosses graphic (fire) and pretty much done with Hangman (wind) images. Its all drawn by me in PhotoShop CS4. Here are some images of the interface. When I have them I will upload photos of how it looks on the phone itself.

Maya 4.3 - Rocket animation

So firstly I have decided to change titles a bit, still keeping the numbers to keep easy track of it but also adding short title to make it easier to see what the post is about, it kinda a pain trying to find something specific in just numbers.

Now to the post itself. We got first feedback from the Advanced Animation, I did good on the storyboard, got 75% but I think it could have go more if I'd put some text on it to explain the shot and maybe some timing too. Google Calendar got only average because I didn't use up the whole timeline. I found the whole think kind of confusing, didn't like we had to use it, it would have been much more easier to just write it down normally. I would have got better mark that way.

But anyway, we got a tast to create rocket animation over next three weeks, I hope to finish it mostly this week and then just spend time polishing it and begin working on my final animation. This is my first storyboard but it will change mostlikely. I want my rocket to look really sad or depressed that it is not good enough to fly.