Creating the Growing Tree Effect for my Animation

Now that a large bulk part of my animation has been created, I turned to creating the animation of a tree growing. Due to the interconnectivity of the branches and the way I intend on the tree growing, I predicted that this would be the most difficult part in my animation to produce.

Due to my limited knowledge of Cinema 4D I located a tutorial by MotionSquared which taught me a way to create a growing tree using Hair objects and tools. 

The first thing I did when creating my tree was create a base for the tree to grow from. I created a small plane object in the centre of the screen. Following this step, With the plane selected I went to the Simulate dropdown and selected Hair Objects, Add hair. 

After this I selected the Guides submenu in the Object Manager where most of the next steps occur.

With this step completed, the plane now has 4 hairs pointing upwards which fall when the animation is played. This is because of the way hair is affected by the gravity of the scene and shows that the hair is attached to the plane. To stop this select Dynamics and uncheck Enable.

Change the Root count of the object to 1 and change the Root  drop down to Polygon Centre. This hair will serve as the tree trunk so the length should be adjusted to the height needed. I changed the root length to 500cm. Moving then to the Generate tab, I changed the render Type to Circle creating several hairs in a thicker shape. 

In the Hairs tab, I clicked the Roots dropdown and changed the Root to As Guides which generates a basic line for my structure to be generated from.

Now selected the hair texture, I selected the Hair Thickness tab and adjusted the settings to create a trunk around the hair line.

With this tree trunks generated procedurally it lacks the imperfections which tree trunks have when they grow. To counter this, In the hair materials basic menu I checked the Kink box in that tab I changed the settings to the ones below which gave the tree trunk the imperfections which i wanted. 

Until texturing or later on in the project, the tree trunk is completed for now.

I then set about creating the first set of branches which come from the tree and due to the fact they will work in a similar process I duplicated the Trunk object and renamed it Branches. I also duplicated and renamed the Material used as this is essential to the manipulation and animation of the secondary branches.

Inside the Branches object I went into the Guides tab and dragged Trunk into the Link box at the top of the menu. 

The trunk then has a duplicate on the top of it which looks very out of place and to fix this I changed the Root area type to Polygon Area and the root count to however many branches I wanted, in this case 7.

With the branches now existing and being parented to the trunk, the next step would be the sizing and positioning of the branches.

In the Guides tab there is a dropdown named Editing which includes various buttons including Re-Root and Regrow which will be essential to the creation of the tree. By clicking Re-Root, the root area of the  branches is randomly places and by clicking Regrow, the branches are reset to these root positions.
The branches can then be resized in the same way as the trunk.

With branches of trees generally being thinner than the main trunk, they naturally Kink more and subsequently in my animation I will have to adjust the Kink of the Branches until I am happy with the result. However, due to the generation process, the placement of the branches is quite uniform and gaps between look unnatural.
To fix this I selected the Simulate dropdown and used the Hair Selection and Hair Tools to reposition and move the branches.

With the branches created to a pleasing level of quality, I repeated the process for the tertiary branches which I named Twigs. The process used was exactly the same as before but the branches created were smaller and more existed. In the Guides tab rather than having the trunk as the Link, Branches became the Link.

At this point I realised that my object did not only look like a tree but also veins and changed from the initial concept deciding that if an extra layer of branches/twigs was added on top of the twigs, the growth would be significantly more visually striking.
With the versatility of veins in regards to the organic nature of my animation, they could be used frequently and with little effort as this asset will have already been created.

With the current purpose of this animation undecided, I decided that the model was complete and I could begin animation without colouring the object.

Producing the Kaleidoscope effect for the Animation

In my animation, there is a sequence where the camera flies through a series of tunnels where the walls are constantly shifting and changing in a way similar to a kaleidoscope.

To produce this technique I based my idea off a tutorial on Greyscale Gorrila which helps to produce stylized low poly images using Cinema 4D.

http://vimeo.com/54563392


To begin with, I created a sphere object and changed the object properties to Icosahedron and unchecking render perfect. By changing the type to Icosahedron, The mesh changes to a triangular mesh which will help create the edges which make the low poly look so unique.

 This image shows what the mesh looks like. To view the object in this way go to the display dropdown and selected Gouraud Shading (Lines).

From here I went to the Create dropdown, selected deformer and then clicked on the Displacer deformer to create one.





I then dragged the displacer into the sphere and the mesh of the sphere changed into a less smooth, more deformed shape. Inside the shading submenu in object properties, I selected noise and manipulated the settings in a way which I thought looked the best.

Once I was happy with this step, I went into the deformer menu again and this time created a polygon reduction object which I placed inside the sphere with the displacer (but not inside it).

When I placed the polygon reduction inside the sphere, the sphere changed to a more basic version of the previous state, with reduced polygons making the edges and faces more basic and defined. The effect can be manipulated using the object properties in the polygon reduction object and by adjusting the reduction strength. I decided that the looks gained from using 50% strength looked how I wanted it to.

Now that I had a basic shape to work off, I created a crude 3 Tone gradient texture using very dramatic colouring and applied it to the object. This effect can be easily manipulated at a later date to make a better colour scheme.

Now I have the object I will be using for making the walls of the kaleidoscope tunnel, I could begin working on animating the object. First of all, I created a Symmetry object and placed the sphere inside it.

If the object hadn't been centred properly, I would move the sphere to ensure that the sphere was duplicated correctly. In this instance I made the Symmetry Object's Mirror Plane ZY, although this can be manipulated in future to get different results.

Selecting the MoGraph dropdown, I created a cloner object and placed the Symmetry tag inside.

Using the settings above, I manipulated the cloner until I had a flower like pattern with the object as each petal.
While creating these settings, I made sure to allow a hole through the centre of the "Flower".






Finally to animate this step, I basically just keyframed changed to the radius making the image shrink and grow, changing the colours of the kaleidoscope.

Once I have created several kaleidoscopes I intend on animating a camera to pass through the centre of the "Flower" into the next kaleidoscope and either looping indefinitely or slowly transforming into the next stage of my animation

Use of Numeracy in creating an animated walk cycle

Use of Numeracy in creating an animated walk cycle

This animation is an example of how I would use numbers to simulate walking in a 3D environment.
For this example i will be making the animation 40 frames as it is a basic walk cycle and will be looping without any fluctuations.

I then posed my character midway through a walk, with the character stepping forwards.

Halfway through, in this case 20 frames into the animation switch the position of the legs in this pose

Every 10 frames (Or whatever even number the legs cross in between 0 and 20 frames) move the pelvis of the character upwards. Repeat this movement every 10 frames.

At this same point, move the foot stepping forwards upwards and outwards to simulate a leg raise.

For this animation, in the halfway point have the heel of the forwards stepping foot make contact to the the ground. Reflect and repeat this stage.

As one foot steps forward, Have the opposite arm swing forwards so when the Right Leg steps forwards, the Left Arm will swing forwards.

Every time the leg crosses (10 Frames), Have the arm straighten downwards to simulate the arm dropping.

To change this basic sequence of numbers to make the walk cycle to make it appear like the character in running, there are a few digits which must be changed.

For example, rather than using 40 frame to create the walk sequence you would use far fewer as the character is moving faster.

4 Frames - A very fast run with 6 steps per second
6 Frames - A run or a very fast walk with 4 steps per second
8 Frames - Slow run or cartoon walk with 3 steps per second
12 Frames - Buisness like walk with 2 steps per second
16 Frames - Leisurely walk
20 Frames - Elderly person
24 Frames -  Slow Step
32 Frames - Very Slow Step




For run
Double frames
20 frames
frame 5 and 15
more dramatic poses ie leaning forwards
cross over both legs are in the air

Artist Research - Studio AKA

Studio AKA

Studio AKA is a London based animation company known internationally for their multi BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated animations. Due to the large group of animators, Studio AKA has animations of several styles and techniques making it hard to distinguish a style for the company as a whole. 

BBC - Winter Olympics

For the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, Studio AKA had director and designer Marc Craste create an animation in a snowy black and white world where an Inuit hero has to journey through various perils to restore light to the troubled world. In the end of the 40 second long advert, as the Inuit warrior destroys the monster/glacier, the stone flies off and becomes the head of a statue in a village above the Winter Olympics text and logo.  

The animation is entirely in black and white, allowing the contrast between black and white to add interesting dynamics and a highly stylised feel to the animation similar to black and white graphic novels. The scenes with the wolves use snow to a very dramatic effect, reminding me in particular of Frank Miller artwork in comics such as Sin City. In this scene it seems as if they is more snow than in the beginning of the animation, perhaps to add intensity to the scene or to show how the Inuit warrior is pushing on through the storm because from the point that the canyon is jumped onwards the snow disappears. Although the most likely reason is that the bear ghost and many other key aspects towards the end of the animation would be obscured and incredibly hard to see through thick snow effects.

The camera shots used throughout the animation have been selected quite intelligently, many of them (in particular the bob-sled section) representing camera angles which would be used in the real Olympic games and helping bring the sport to mind before the text is even revealed announcing it. Mixed in with these shots are brief first person shots and close ups to help add even more drama to the animation.

To me it seems that the animation has been created in a 3D software and a cartoonish style applied to help enhance the black and white style. The characters, the Inuit warrior and the wolves seem to have been designed specifically for this style of animation, contrasting the white snow background but still keeping levels of detail to their models. The use of lighting has been used strangely as in many of the Olympic style scenes it does not really feature as intensely as in the beginning of the animation. However an explanation for this might be the location or again the way that the animation tries to emulate shots in the real Olympics.

In regards to the 3D animation trying to replicate 2D animation to some extend, I am impressed at the balance found between the two. The animation and character designs have obviously decided that by using thicker, more stylized linework, that this would push the animation more into the 2D styled category and remove several scenes which rely on silhouette for the illusion or 2D animation.

With the animation showcasing various sports in such a short time, the most obvious structure of the animation was a Journey/Quest style story in which the hero tries to get from point A to B showcasing a lot of action in the middle building up to a confronting the monster style finale eventually calming down to all the viewer to focus on the text. In the beginning of the animation, the Inuit warrior puts on his mask, this is a symbolic gesture frequently used in film to show how he is prepared for the mission, similar to a knight donning his armour before a joust or a soldier reading his gun.

The concept of the animation is quite clever as it shows the most popular Winter Olympic sports without being too direct with a protagonist that might appeal to children due to the high level of action. By choosing to have an Inuit as the main character, the animation references the age and heritage of many of the sports but in a modern way which might help appeal to the older audience. The defeating of the bear ghost and the glacier crumbling serves almost as a "big reveal" for the Olympic text and by leaving the description of the animation towards the end, it might surprise many of the viewers and excite them for the actual event and cause them to view the animation in a different way next time they see it. The whole time the animation is playing, a well known song builds up in the background to further add excitement to the finale.

Artist Research ‐ Julia Pott

Julia Pott

Julia Pott is a British Illustrator and Animator currently living in America with varied success through various festivals and has been named as upcoming talent by various print publications in 2012.

Belly

Belly is a coming of age animation featuring 2 animals at the beach and dealing with themes of loss and friendship. The animation follows the story of the elephant character trying to save the brother from the inside of a whale in the ocean whilst being helped by the buffalo like friend. 

The animation seems to have been created in a very unorthodox way, using a variety of media from magazine clippings with varying styles of 2D animation overlayed and merging this each other. The overall aesthetic of the animation is childlike and dreamlike, giving an innocent psychedelic feel to the story. Despite the innocence of the art style, many of the scenes feature death and mutilation which help shock the viewer as the contrast to the rest of the animation helps give extra impact to the situation or theme being approached. 

It seems like the sections of 2D animation have been created with a digital program such as Adobe Photoshop and intermixed with the magazine cuttings and photographs in a different software such as Adobe After Effects, A technique which makes adjusting the final composition and the animation itself a lot easier due to the way alpha channels can be made and used in After Effects. 

By using photos and random shapes in the animation not only does this help influence the nostalgic and childlike aesthetic, but it also helps add depth and texture to the animation, giving the backgrounds of the animation an abstract feel adding to the dreamlike concept. 

The characters themselves seem to have been based on people which Julia Pott has know in her lifetime and by using animals to represent them, helps give a less realistic view to the characters. This is almost like she is looking back on herself and making her memories more accessible by using the characters animation and various frames of the animation to over exaggerate her emotions at the time the memory was created.

The plot seems to follow a basic Voyage and Return plot as the characters go to rescue the elephant characters brother from the ocean however returning without her friend. The scene where the elephant is talking through the whales flesh to her friend and he says "You know I didnt mean it, right?" seems like the character is realising why he said those things and has learned various lessons throughout the "Voyage".

As the elephant is on the back of the dolphin, it uses its thumb to draw a line on its back in the same way which it used to do on the buffalo helping bring the animation full circle. 

Artist Research - Elliot Dear

Elliot Dear

Elliot Dear is a British animator who is most recently famous for his work on the 2013 John Lewis advert and also for creating music videos for Jon Hopkins & King Creosote.

Bubble - Music Video for King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

This music video is mainly shot using various camera techniques and a model environment with 2D animated features added after the original footage is shot. Once these layers have been combined, effects to add snow and to make the footage look aged are overlaid ontop of the footage.

The animation itself appears aged and none of the models look recent, for instance great care has been taken in making the stranded car look aged and the boat itself looks worn and well used. To accommodate the amount of detail needed in this animation, the models themselves are quite large.

Rather than rotating the camera (which could appear jerky and a good rig would be quite expensive) the model set itself was placed on a board and was rotated. The combination of this with the overlaid particle effects gives the impression that the camera is moving through fog or snow without having to program complex reactions to the camera's position. 

For the underwater sections where the dog moves through the reflections, the only which had to be done was overlay effects to darken or distort the image slightly and reflect the footage taken of the models from before. 

As for the light "bubbles" towards the end of the videos, Elliot Dear created plastic orbs with lights inside and floated them in water. After recording this, he must have reflected the recording and edited out all of the wires which could have ruined the illusion. Once these parts were filmed, I imagine all shots were combined and adjusted in a movie editing software leaving it ready for the 2D animation with alpha channels to be overlaid. 

The animation progresses relatively slowly, helping create a sense of wonder and familiarity with the scene and how the dog moves in between the underwater and surface worlds. As there is no sound in the animation, it is entirely dependant on the pace of the song and when the stringed instrument is introduced towards the end of the song, the light bubbles appear helping bring the animation to a climax and then finish. 

I think that the concept of the animation is based mainly on the interaction between the dog and its reflection perhaps representing the relationship described in the lyrics of the song and how both dog's will constantly be there for each other in a more literal than emotional sense. The general aesthetic of the animation could have be created due to the strong Scottish accent that King Creosote has and that the model village created is reminiscent of a small Scottish fishing village. 

Artist Research - XYZ Studios - Eran Hilleli

XYZ Studios - Eran Hilleli

XYZ Studios is an animation company founded in 2003 made up of several international animators working on briefs for companies varying from McDonalds and Honda through to Ribena and BankSA. 

In particular, the animation style which stood out the most to me was the work of Eran Hilleli.

Between Bears

Between Bears was Hilleli's graduation film from bezalel academy of art and design and won him numerous awards, helping jumpstart his career and promoting his work through various festivals and award processes. 

Between Bears begins with a bear shaving off its dark fur and becoming white in the middle of some woods. The fur then transforms into butterflies and leads several cloaked men on a journey towards the bear. When the cloaked men reach the bear, it is floating on a piece of ice past them. The scene then changes to the white bear dancing with its past self and changing back to black infront of all the cloaked men. 

Initially in the beginning of the animation, the camera is used to show everything apart from the bear, giving a sense of suspense which ends as the butterflies take off and the camera pans upwards to track them, showing the bear in the foreground. This section of the animation serves almost as a prelude to the "journey" the hooded men take. The camera for the majority of the animation follows their journey from a side view, often cutting in time with the music mid walk cycle to give the impression that a lot of time has passed and the characters are still walking.

The animation seems to be made to look like all the objects are constructed with paper, the people, the bear, the trees and even the bears fur are constructed in a 3D program but due to the sharp edged nature of the characters, appear to be crude paper characters. The intensity of this effect varies depending on the lighting and other effects used in the scene such as rain. For example, the scene where the hooded men all look out across the water appears much more 2D than the scenes of the men travelling through the woods. I believe that this variation in effect is entirely down to the particle effects and lighting of the scene making the characters figures change from looking like 2D cutouts to origami figures respectively. Another factor contributing to this 2.5D appearance is the ribbon each of the characters wears, helping to give the animation depth and contribute to its style.

With the characters being designed to appear so basically constructed, the animation relies heavily on its colours and effects to help add intensity to the scene. By sticking to a basic matte colour scheme for the main characters (the hooded men and the bear) Hilleli is able to manipulate the environments to compliment and contrast the characters helping them become the focal point and to add a sense of isolation to the world and by adding fog effects and varying gradients, indicate the weather in these barren, highly stylized environments.

With the exception of the introduction with the bear shaving off its fur, the animation seems to mainly follow the journey of the men, perhaps symbolising a passage through some sort of time personal to the Eran Hilleli such as adolescence or growing up with the hooded men joining the main characters on the walk representing friends or key events which helped change him throughout the "journey". At the end of the animation, the bear turns black again returning the character to the same colour it began with at the start of the animation creating a full loop in some sense.