Animation - Computer Generated - Revamp

After showing my animation to the class I received a mixed bag of feedback.

Some people pointed out one error that I was already aware of (the hands of a character weren't touching a table).

Others said it was a great piece and have asked if I will record their audio, as my audio was completely original, recorded with my own voice.

Some on the other hand refused to believe it was my work.

I also got some fantastic feedback from my tutors who've given me a boost of confidence to go a step further.

I'm keeping the original idea of parodying "Saw", however I've decided to build an entirely new set, as well as add more audio, and reanimate my characters to have smoother movements, and to show a wider variety of movements in an attempt to show my understanding of the rigs and their limitations.

With this in mind I worked up a new story board, which doesn't differ too much from the original.

I had also decided to create a larger, more detailed setting.

One of the first things I wanted to do was to show a deeper understanding of lighting and shaders. To do this I decided to create some strip lights.

Render Comparison

I used a surface shader for the bulb and changed the properties to get the desired amount of glow. I added two small spot lights at either end to light the inside of the cover much like a real bulb would, and then used the light linking editor to stop the spot lights from effecting anything else in the scene. I then added an area light to try to create a specific lighting area.

I duplicated this to give my scene the required amount of lighting and played with positioning and shadows to create a gloomy atmosphere.

Lighting Example

During this process I noticed that these lights weren't giving enough light to effect my characters, and much of their detail was being lost.

To combat this I created to spotlights outside of my scene, one for each character, and again edited the relationships of the lights to be character specific and to have absolutely no effect on my scene.

Character Lights

This allowed the facial movements of the characters to be entirely visible.

By using hierarchies I was able to create sections of my scene that are interactive. My favourite being a cupboard. By creating hinges and a door, I used the parenting feature to make sure the door will only move with the hinges.

Hinged Door

Although this is very basic it allows for a smoother interaction within my scene. My characters will be able to interact with the item and it can look fluid.

I've done the same thing with a valve handle on a pipe within the scene. This item will probably not actually be animated at all, but for practice's sake I decided to make it nonetheless.

Finally I've been playing with making cameras, and moving them through my animation.

Cameras

When planning my frames I decided to look at where I would want my cameras, and started creating different cameras and then locking them into position (unless I want them to move) so that during my rendering I can quickly switch between views and have the correct shots waiting for me.