3D animation project
Embedded Files
Brainstorming ideas
Principles that could apply to a Jump-scare animation;
Staging,
Appeal,
Pose to pose,
Arcs,
Ease In and Ease out,
Anticipation,
Exaggeration,
Secondary Action,
Timing,
Chosen animation: Jump-scare
I've chosen to do a Jump-scare animation for this project as it's an interesting option and I have a lot of ideas for it. Before I saw the brief and only knew about an animation project, I originally wanted to do a 2D animation of AltaÏr doing a leap of faith, (a character from the video-game franchise Assassin's Creed) and the same franchise I based a character from in the Character art project. This idea changed when I was told the brief and made me realize I'm pushing myself too much and instead I'm doing a 3D animation of one of the options we were given. Jump-scare.
References
These two videos from past students inspired me to make my own Jump-scare animation instead of the other options I could've chosen. The reason for this is because I would like for the character/characters to show their emotions through facial expression, as this can indicate what they're thinking and help the audience understand the story more clearly. As well this option was more interesting compared to the others; Sit down stand up, Sneeze, Pick up put down, Catch.
Storyboard
With this storyboard idea I made, I really like it however on "3" and "4", it's difficult to understand who is screaming (as they would look the same in the end result) and either of the characters could be screaming which would be hard for the audience to understand who is who. The way I could differentiate the characters from each other is by making character 1's jump-scare be a different expression then character 2's scared face.
The storyboard also shows some instructions for the movement of the camera, that way when I come to animating I know where the camera will go and ruffly where it will cut.
Ultimately it's simple but just like my other projects I have a limited amount of time (18 hours (3 weeks)) however I could do some work at home.
My animation consists of 2 characters, one walking towards a wall. For this I have already done a practice walking cycle so I will be recalling back to that. Next I have to add in another rigged character, which so far I don't know how to do without disrupting the other character's rig. After that I have to animate both characters responding to each other, the one hiding at the start - jump-scaring the one walking and that character being startled. Once this is all done I have to have camera cuts between key frames like shown in the storyboard, however because of time restraints I might just have one camera angle of behind the block so the character hiding is visible at the start. It seems I've bitten more than what I can chew as usual because with this project I've only got 3 weeks and that being the case, just like the VFX project I might have to change the script for something more simple.
The worst case scenario is I might only have one character in the animation, that being the one walking and a imported image or riggless character to appear to scare him, as the main focused of the theme is not the initial scare but how a character responds to it.
Production process
When I finished my exam I continued the project, first I fixed the problem with the knees by simply moving an arrow that determines the direction. After that I finished the walking cycle and altered the direction by 45° clockwise after he saw the block. Then once he came to a stop, I added more Anticipation (one of the 12 Principles) by having him look around, followed by the eyebrows raising. And scratching the back of his head, Secondary action (another Principle).
First I started by importing the same character which I used for the practice animations, that has already been rigged. Then I started having some problems such as when I tried to animate the character to do a walking cycle with the help of a template. When I finished the final step and was ready for the other foot to step forward, the knee on the leg bends inwards as I move the foot. So far with this project all I've done is update the Portfolio and started to create the walking cycle, alongside revising for an exam. With the amount of time it took to get this far, the plan of adding another character might have to be scrapped. As this exam determines if I can continue onto next year and it being that important, I'm having to focus more on it than this project.
Next I started to work on the scare, I chose to fully animate the first character completely to prevent me having to go back and forth between both characters. First I made the character flinch, because his back was turned, which I focused a lot on his expression through the emotion on the face with a fast response. The principle for this is Squash and Stretch. I then had him turn 180° anti-clockwise and continued this with a response to the other character's presence with the character becoming startled. After that I finished it off with the character becoming annoyed.
For the other character I will be animating over the top of the first one, this will become difficult as the first character at the end looks in a certain direction, so I will have to match where the other character will be. But first I will have to figure out how to import another character without affecting the rig on the first one.
I figured out how to import another character by simply doing the same as the last character but instead of editing the blank template, I imported it into this one. After posing the second character and matching the key frames with the other, I added a camera. The camera includes 2 cuts, the first shot has both characters in view, the second shot is on the second character's shoulder showing him looking at the first character scared, and the third shot is on the first character's shoulder showing the second character laughing.
Once all of the animating was done, I began to render it. This is where a lot of problems began, I tried many different ways by altering the setting but I was unable to have the same amount of quality as the rendered images above as it was going to take 4 hours to render so I chose to drop the quality. Shadows are still present in the video however the opacity is low.
Final Piece
Evaluation
Animation Reflection
The principles I've included in my 3D animation include;
Squash and Stretch - the facial expressions on both characters,
Anticipation - the first character walking towards where he will be scared, the character looking around, the other character hiding behind the block,
Arcs - the realistic limb movement on the first character, not looking robotic but instead smooth movement,
Ease in and Ease out - the first character becoming suspicious as he notices the block and slows down, speeds up during scare and slows down when panic is over, the reaction to the scare,
Timing - the difference between the start of the animation and the end, less frames at start and end but more in the middle, the first character becoming suspicious,
Pose to pose - the whole thing, only making important frames (key frames) and the software filling frames in-between,
Staging - primarily only the first character moves at the start,
Secondary action - the characters' limbs other than the head moving alongside other actions, the first character scratching the back of his head,
8/12 Principles
My animation was really effective when telling the story as it was very clear for viewers what was happening. What went well when making it is the posing of the characters, I didn't branch off too much from the storyboard but it was necessary to add in more frames to set the scene more for the story. If I would to improve this further I would spend more time on posing the second character as I did feel like I rushed it a bit towards the end as the movement looks less smoother than the first character. Also the timing between the frames.
The principles I was planning on having at the start of my animation; Staging, Appeal, Pose to pose, Arcs, Ease In and Ease out, Anticipation, Exaggeration, Secondary action, Timing.
By the end of my animation, I was able to include the principles out of the list; Staging, Pose to pose, Arcs, Ease in and Ease out, Anticipation, Secondary action, Timing, (+ Squash and Stretch).
I was unable to include Exaggeration because of time restraints and it would've made them much harder to pose as at the time I was under pressure of getting this project finish before the time ran out. Although if I would to do this again I would defiantly add it in so the characters look more cartoonish. However I chose to not include Appeal as it wasn't necessary because I wouldn't get marked on what the characters look like although It would've made them more visually appealing.
Peer Feedback -
"Animation good but make the jump-scare a bit faster."
I believe I successfully made most of what I wanted in the time I had, although because of time restraints, I didn't add everything I was originally planning to have (exaggeration). But the main idea of a jump-scare is still noticeable.
By the end of this project, I want to improve my rendering skills if I want to achieve a merit or a distinction. Honestly, I‘m going to need more feedback on my work and what I need to improve on as I’m struggling to know what I need to add next. My personal target is to improve my time management as I’m spending too much time on perfecting every key frame in places not that important (the walking cycle) and tinkering with the amount of frames in-between the key frames, and not enough time on the actual scare.
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