Begin reading chapter 3 in your Character Animation text. We’ll begin simple character animations soon. Also, if you have not, yet, make sure to have read the first two chapters in both that text and the How to Cheat in Maya text.

As discussed this past week, there will be a test this Thursday (Feb. 21) covering the introductory material from the past few weeks.  This will include techniques and principles for animation, narrative structure, visual storytelling, basic film grammar, etc.   A full review guide is posted here to help you remember all that we have covered in class. Also, do not forget the notes (particularly on narrative and visual storytelling) on the resources page of this site.   If you do not remember certain people (or concepts) from class or the documentaries, most of these will have ample information on Wikipedia and other websites to help you review.  You may also find these Wikipedia overview entries on animation particularly interesting and useful:  The Golden Age of American Animation and History of Animation (also, particularly History of United States Animation). [Although you have already studied some more recent history for 220, for this test, you do not need to study any of the history that we have not discussed in class or the documentaries for now -- such as foreign animation or animation more recent than the "Golden Age."]   There will be a written part of the test and also an animation practicum where you will complete a short animation in Maya to submit.  The test will count for two “quiz” grades.

Welcome to a new semester! I’m going to leave previous posts up and keep the blog going without starting anew. We’ll setup registrations, etc. soon.

We’ll be discussing some scripting in Maya with a few basic, hands-on examples.

• Simple Procedural City Builder
• Quick Camera Shake

One of the nicer ways to get started in coding with Maya is to use Python, particularly with the assistance of PyMel. Jump to the documentation here.

• Models organized, cleaned, scaled, and layered in one Maya project folder (Model supervisors, model leads, and others enlisted to help).
• Any additional set pieces added (such as ground, clumps of grass, floor, etcetera). (Model supervisors complete or enlist help).
• Characters cleaned, organized, scaled, and checked — ready to animate. Short guide text file for each. (Individuals, character TDs)
• All sets, models, props, etcetera in one scene file and project folder with organization and layers. (Layout artists and model supervisors as well as others)
• Set file is “pre-lit” by lighting artists and those enlisted to help with assistance as needed from model and layout sups to coordinate.
• Shot files with animated, locked shot cameras and roughly blocked characters for each shot on the shot list to coordinate to animatic. (Layout artists, storyboard artists, directors, editors, and others).
• Editors and assistants begin edit with animatic to blocked layout playblast transition, starting sound as well.

The overall goal for the week is to have a clean, organized, named project folder for each production with shot files for each shot. Playblasts should be made for each shot layout completed to give to the editor to work with the edit and begin working with sound, music, etcetera as well as check timing and cuts before final animations are begun.

Assets should be named ABC_shot#_whatever where ABC is the three-letter production code, # the number of the corresponding shot, and whatever corresponding to layout, animation, etc.

Either Dropbox or some other centralized server should be setup to coordinate production asset transition. A filespace in the DA lab can be created if needed to mount from all of the Macs in the lab.

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I’ll be giving a talk on the modern visual-effects industry and pipeline with some example shots and also some breakdowns from Sony Pictures Imageworks on Thursday, April 12 in King Hall at 6 p.m. There’s some nicely related material to the 320 class (and of course, 430, if you plan to take that in the future). Would enjoy seeing you there.