Sunday 22 June 2014

Sorry for lack of updates

These are the final weeks where all my university friends are in cardiff, so I've been very social! Unfortunately, other than an animatic and a load of sketches, I've not had time to update; sorry.
I've now moved back home, and am clearing spaces, so there may be a bunch of sketches loaded on to here.

The first is the bone sketch I did for the BFX competition, of the Roc, this was later turned into a rig diagram!


Lots of fun.
See you soon,
Claire

Monday 9 June 2014

From Start to Finish - PMF Director





Hi All,

For my dissertation this year, for which I scored a high 2:1 - YEY, I studied the 12 principles of animation. More specifically my dissertation looked into the 12 principles and how they are applied differently to the different mediums. Eventually the conclusion was CG uses motion blur to aid in quick movement that is often seen in 2D animated films, however, like 2D, it also uses 'smear' frames; where one segment will stay with the beginning, or hit the end, of a big movement. This technique causes huge extremes in certain part of the body...

So how did this work with this piece:
Obviously I ended up using ARNOLD's motion blur features, however I also used some features on the malcolm rig (which is insanely flexible), to stretch out some features to aid the blur. In this piece, fingers were elongated, arms bent and stretched, and the head sevaerly stretched until it didn't really look like a head anymore!

Obviously I will be experimenting with the technique in future animated pieces, including the full film of this.

Hope you enjoy!

Oh yeah! That's me, and that's my dialogue too...

See you soon,
Claire

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Painting Fun times: More alien mischeif


Now to animate....


Zekros in his bounty hunter garb, which glows in the dark.. he's pretty arrogant with his hunting, but likes to hear from the hunted's point of view; so he wants to be seen...
Anyway he's holding his Salak Kahim, which loosely translates as his 'beloved mind' in his language... The Tharinos do not normally speak like humans do, as their sandstorm ridden planet dislikes their throats, so they have developed a way of psychic communication. Their equivalent of a thumb, index and middle finger have nerves that can transfer thoughts and feelings to another Tharinos, while it started off like this (which is already a crazy stretch), it evolved into them generating small psychic fields around themselves for communication (this would help particularly grouchy Tharinos understand each other from a distance). Then it developed as the species grew, as more joined the world the network grew, until the connection of 'beloved minds' were formed. These are two individuals who would be mentally healthy for each other to be around, it is a mutual connection felt by both involved. This does not make them mates or anything, just able to hold healthy conversations and understand each other on a further level. With the Tharinos, a connection is formed when both are mentally advanced to the psychic stage, then the need to find each other grows like fire.
As the council expanded the psychic fields for all species in their airspace, the Tharinos found themselves connecting with other species.

A millennium since the first Salak Kahim bond between Tharinos formed, the first bonded with a human. The human is a gifted psychic, unable to control her powers fully her mind reached out for help, and an adolescent Zekros heard. No one from council space is legally allowed to enter earth's solar system, and all must be cloaked to avoid detection. Zekros, driven mad by the years of wanting to meet his Salak Kahim disobeys all orders and laws and finds the 'great psychic' he's dreamed of... But she's small... and fragile and not at all what he's expecting... Until she unleashes her powers.

Months later his ship unexpectedly beams her and him up, and she is soon the first and only human in council space... or so they think...

ANYWAY

This image??

He doesn't understand the idea that human's don't like their butts grabbed, his species doesn't have this social problem, butts are hard and not seen in that way. Humans do have this problem... and she's about to let him know that....

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Painting fun times


Filed under 'This is not the work you should be doing'

A quick colour and shade of my Alien character Zekros. His species, the Tharinos, have an adaptive carapace that allows them to adapt to most environments, however this does not account for clothing... So they tend to walk around naked on their own spaceships. The design basically became 'make a human bearded dragon', because bearded dragons are my favourite lizards.
They put on clothes around other alien races so as not to make them feel uncomfortable... (Also to save line mileage on those scales!).
No... I have no idea why Zek is pacing aggressively on his spaceship...

See you soon,
Claire