Category: Collaborative

Basic idea of the Animation

Funny themes: Twist And Shout（sekko to kaeru）
The basic idea is that the paintings from the actual drawing room will be uploaded to the virtual world without permission by the sculptures and then evaluated, reflecting preferences through body language and bubbles, intending to show the preferences of different artists on the style of painting, expressing that there is not only one good style of painting. The art is diverse.
The general wish is to blend in the idea of metaverse(virtual space and identity) and a sense of belonging. So most of the stuff in the studio is alive, which represents the reality of the critics, which could be of different ages, different genders, different countries, etc. Being judged by the same standards is a nightmare that everyone shares. By doing this animation, we can show our embrace of the pain and the wish to overcome it with a sense of humor.

Animated Production Programme

Form of collaboration:
3D character animation and 2D character animation in two different 3D scenes
Time:
around 2 minutes
The main plot:
the paintings of the students in the actual studio are scanned into the virtual world and rated by the different sculptures for their preferences
Objective:
3D: to reflect the flexibility of character animation and the use of scene design and materials.
2D: design style and fluidity of animation in both worlds, fully reflecting the keywords “fantasy” and “sense of belonging.”

MY work

My main work: 3D Generalist of the art studio scene.

I was responsible for the full animation process of the first 40 seconds of the film’s 3D realistic art studio scenes
Including
Model (jieyi helped me build a clock and a fan)
Texture
Animation&part of storyboard
Lighting
Rendering
40 seconds of Special Effects (clio is responsible for adding 2d effects)
40 seconds of editing work

My secondary work: Designing the virtual classroom

Conceptualisation of the entire virtual set on a preliminary design sketch

Final animation (group)

Work-In-Progress (personal)

I didn’t put the whole modelling process into this video because the total modelling time took me about 280 hours, and the materials and animations and rendering part took me about 150 hours, so I had to try to keep this video to the length of a song, thanks for your patience!

3D part of previs （personal)

Collaboration Unit 3D Part (personal)

google document link-develop process

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VQ8Av_-l37XBU2dZvJ_jWcvJaWOnH13mrusaEW-5pyI/edit

Self-reflection on this group collaboration

Appreciation

Firstly, I am grateful that every group member is committed to our animation project. We are all under much pressure with other assignments in our respective disciplines. But we all tried to take time out of our day to participate in every group meeting, and we once had a six-hour online meeting in one day where we all got together to work on assignments and think of ideas. Luckily, we all did a great job of getting our projects done.

The early stages of the project

Secondly, at the beginning of the project, I was worried that the work for each of us was manageable. Especially for me personally, as I had to work on the whole process of an entire 3d high-quality scene in a month or so, which was a very challenging task for me indeed. And my work was a bit cut off from the 2D part of the group, so that I couldn’t see the progress of the 2D group, but my members were amiable, and we uploaded our work progress to a google document every week so that we could monitor each other. It’s a very effective way of communicating, and we can look at individual work progress each week and then give better advice on each section.

Google Document Link：https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VQ8Av_-l37XBU2dZvJ_jWcvJaWOnH13mrusaEW-5pyI/edit

In this document, each of our group members is posting their progress each week to facilitate comments. This link also contains a lot of our creative process and references

Communication and exchange of ideas-Problems found through group cooperation

Thirdly, Clio was responsible as the leader in the early stage of communication and design. She tried her best to motivate every group member to solve the difficulties of virtual scene design. But, for me my workload for the 3D scenes at the time was hefty. I needed to do all the modelling work alone in three weeks, so I was very reluctant when Clio first told me i need to do it. But I also understood that it would remained stalled my group if I couldn’t drive the design process. We also make a flowchart of each person’s design, which explores the most critical point of group collaboration: that we all work together to solve a problem and push our project to improve. I was happy to help my team members with the material, lighting and modelling challenges. I also received some feedback from them about the shots and the colour of the images. I like this efficient and healthy communication process.

Some thoughts on improving modelling efficiency

Personally, I am very good at doing technical work such as scene modelling and code and material rendering. As Clios said,more capable team members are responsible for more work. We all want to produce the best possible result in a short time. I’ve worked on many long-term projects before, but a situation like this, where I had to finish a film in two months, was really challenging for me. I discarded a lot of details when modelling, and I just focused on doing the corners that the camera could capture. This approach to production will significantly increase my efficiency.

Unity Assignment-Build a city

During the three-week unity course, I tried to build up a city. As I had learnt Python and unity before, this was easy for me, and I could do it during class.
I also liked the LOD mechanism for models in UE5 and unity, where the camera is very efficient at saving rendering resources when the object is far away. This way cannot be done in Maya and Arnold and Octane Render. I used the city building plug-in for this scene and adjusted the materials and layout of the city model via Python. It was beneficial for me as an animator to try out different software. I also really enjoyed the process.

Final Render test-storyboard-9 shots

During the week, I rendered the first frames of all my shots and discussed them with my members, who gave me good advice on adjusting the frames’ colours. But for rendering time reasons, I solved the problem using effects and Da Vinci colour grading. Because I needed about a week to render and submit the previs shots to the compositor for the sound, it was a tough week for me, and we were all pushing our limits.

shot intro:In these three shots, we wanted to create cinematic images with classical music to capture the viewer’s attention and demonstrate our basic modelling and rendering skills as 3D animation students. The collaborative part is essential as this project combines 2D and 3D animation. Still, we also needed to take advantage of 3D animation’s ability to create an atmosphere and work hard to capture the audience’s interest.

shot intro:

In the fourth shot, we focused the image on the blackboard, where our title appeared, along with the names of four students from our 3d group and two from our 2d group.

Next, I created animations of the fan and potted plant and b focusing the camera j on the q frog pencil, which would set the scene for the 2d to appear.

shot intro:These were the three most important shots in the film’s production, and we designed many versions of them. Choose three drawings discussed the choice of the main character many times, and David was the first to be chosen as our main character. Then we decided on a very famous Chinese poet, Lu Xun. When he was alive, he wrote many poems that attacked the darkness of society and advocated the pursuit of freedom and ideals. At the same time, reciting and understanding Lu Xun’s writings was a lingering nightmare for us from primary school to high school. So most students in China have drawn a portrait of Lu Xun in their textbooks, partly to add interest to a boring academic life and partly because they respect his courage in pursuing freedom and speaking the truth. But the fact that this drawing was marked with 49 marks means that the education system does not recognise the student’s ideas.

Reflections

I think the rendering of this image is too dull and needs to be recoloured. I realised that I needed to use DaVincih and ae to adjust the colours and add textures and filters. So I need to adjust the colours and effects before I send it to the compositor.

Previs test 1 link :

This week I mainly finished the animation parts of the clock, fan, paper, light and previs. In the scene I used the forest plugin to control the animation of the grass. I also created a previs shot to adjust the design of the screen and control the pace of the video.

Previs test 2 link

Getting Started with Unity

This week, Herman Ho gave us an overview of the video game industry and the Unity interface. But I already knew how to use unity before, so in the first two weeks of the course, I was able to import resources, use plugins, create a city

Generating model

This software is beneficial to me because, as a 3d generalist, I tend to spend a lot of time on the modelling and mapping part. If unimportant models can be achieved quickly by scanning, or if I only need to topologies into low surface count models, this method will significantly improve my efficiency

Group work

3D storyboard

This week we continued the group meeting. I made the first version of the Previs lens. In the design of the last two lenses, I and CLIO believed that if the paper was not allowed to move, let the camera slowly turn to the desktop and gradually pull it. Near the camera, it may be better. So I will adjust this secondary lens adjustment

Render Test 2

Luma AI-Scan

Tate Art Museum -Recording scanning material

Group work

Adjust the scene according to the draft design of the third week.
This week I completed the construction of the entire scene and discovered the shortcomings of this scene design during the production process. Because I need to consider the location of many cameras and the fineness of the scene scene scene, I discussed the details of many scenes this week, and I will only make it partially according to the design of Jieyi.

modelling part-screen recording

I set up seven cameras and started making Previs lenses for animation. I need to adjust my screen based on these lenses.

Render test 1

Looking at the model render for the first time, going through the rendered white film will give me a clearer idea of what my picture is missing now and where I need to think through the image to design the lighting and textures next. I’ve checked my timeline and will start texturing this week, which will take about two weeks, and the render will take another week, so I’m on a very tight schedule. Also, this week Jieyi started helping me with two models, a fan and a clock.

Add detail to the 3d scenes

I discussed with Jieyi the windows layout, and we realized that there are some in the current design. I need to do a lot of details for some of the camera shots to the corners, so I need to set up the shots in advance, focusing on doing some of the table layouts

storyboard

This week I worked with Clio on the storyboards, I worked on the 3d scenes part, and she worked on the 2d storyboards. This discussion focused on how to incorporate 3d realistic scenes into the 2d footage, and this footage is essential for this animation. We devised two options during the week. The first was to design the ink to be incorporated into the 2D footage, and the second was to use AE to create the scanned footage. I considered using particles to animate the paper fluttering, but this method could take much rendering time, and I would need to take separate time to create the effects. After our discussion, the second method might be easier to implement. Clio is the student in charge of compositing, so I trust her judgement.

We had a few creative difficulties this week, as there were two scenes in the animation, and the 2d team needed a clearer idea of the style of the virtual scenes. As I was responsible for a very detailed part of the 3D animation and still had a lot of pre-work, I could only try to find time to help the 2d team with the sketches, and I didn’t have time to take full responsibility for the design part. I added a lot of new elements to the drawings given by the team, suggested design flaws and areas that needed improvement, and referenced the work of many sculpture artists and stage designers. So there is a lot of 2d set design in this blog

2D Virtual Classroom design draft

This is based on the creativity of Kiki and Yuting and Tingyi. I added a little detail and new ideas, and adjusted the position of floating paintings and gypsum, adding clocks that melts on the painting board, and so on.

Creative point(personal)

1: I added a flowing clock in the bottom right corner to echo the clocks in the actual scene and to emphasise the feeling of the virtual space
2: I added floating swatches in the air, but when it came to subsequent colouring, I found a more visually appealing way of presenting them. I replaced the swatches with screens on which various famous paintings would appear.
3: I created a floating palette in the centre of the palette, around which the gessoes critique the paintings
4: Adding the placement and layout of the frogs

Other ideas that we have been discussing this week concerning the characters, bingxue, YI and I were keen to find a character that could represent the students being scored in our animation. We also wanted to incorporate some funny y elements into the scenes, and I looked for many funny pictures that I would put in the photos and maybe not.

process recording

This design is based on Kiki and Tingyi’s creative drafts and basic models. I drew on some of David korins’ work in the design process, and I wanted to add some streamlined architecture and incorporate some high and low frames into it.

Issues identified in the group work

It took me a week to create the large frame of the room, as our real scene was an entire classroom, so the workload was enormous. Although I am very good at modelling and environment design, I realised that I would struggle if I was responsible for the first 30 seconds of scene animation and assets myself, so at the group meeting this week I brought up the fact that I needed an assistant to help me build the model as I also had to create decals and shots and lighting.

Asset

Modelling process

This week we started to choose a topic that interested us, and I chose the Subject: From an everyday object to a fantastical object. This was an excellent topic for some light-hearted and fun animated videos. I really enjoyed finding inspiration from reality and incorporating it into my work.

Subject: From an everyday object to a fantastical object

 Course： Radical Friendship, Gamified Collaboration, and DAOs

This week, we did lots of fun games, such as drawing a small animal on a piece of paper and then handing it to the next student to draw. I really enjoyed this little activity! I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately because I have to think of many designs this term. This fun activity also promotes motivation quickly.

Find a member

A fellow student who specialises in scripting and character design, and I want to make a film combining 2D and 3D animation. So we have been looking for suitable team members all week. Luckily, we found two 2D animation students who were also interested in the subject.

After deciding on the direction of the group’s project, we started working together to develop a plot and exciting ideas for the story and assigning work according to each person’s area of expertise. I, for example, am very good at building and animating 3D scenes, so my work will focus on the 3D part.

Group resource sharing

We created a google document to hold our inspiration for the project and put up a lot of references and interesting images, which was very helpful for the group to share inspiration.

Group work

This week we had our first meeting for the group collaboration, as I am very good at modelling, binding and rendering, so I should continue to be responsible for more of the 3D part. We exchanged a lot of ideas about characters, scripts and subplots for the animation in this meeting. Through this week’s discussion, our group roughly settled on a basic plot and character set for the script. A highly detailed 3D scene, and a 2D scene with a virtual twist, will be needed for the animation.

Animation style reference

https://www.behance.net/gallery/116575331/-MIRACLE-LOVE-CITYPOP-MV

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/383368987041889091/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/425590233550088773/

Introduction

This week we talked about Collaboration Unit; in the first session, I learned about the structure and objectives of the unit and the specific assignments and projects I would be working on throughout the semester. We were exposed to different disciplines and shared various exciting topics. We were also given bracelets in multiple colours and had some games to help each field meet new people and share different interesting ideas.

Miro Board-First question

Firstly, we learnt a lot about different professions, such as VR.VFX.2D animation in the group work unit this week. We shared our professional skills and creative ideas in other fields and met people from different professions through this course. And we set up a working group to help the group work together more effectively in our areas of expertise.

Miro Board-Second question

Firstly, the first requirement for a collaborative unit is to identify the main topic of our group work and then find various members who can help us. Secondly, once the subject and key members have been identified, we communicate and refine the details of the topic, with each member actively talking about their inspiration. Finally, the group will begin to allocate work, using the strengths and specialities of their professions to draw up a timetable for each stage and start the first steps of prep work.

Miro Board-Third question

In group work, the first step is to distinguish each person’s areas of expertise and interest in order to assign group work. In the second part of the preparation, communication and sharing of resources become very important, as well as the need for group members to give dialectical feedback on different ideas, for example, by analysing the idea’s feasibility. The third step is at the end of the project when we have to deliver our respective parts on time and be prepared to work out a second set of solutions and responses if someone cannot submit it on time.

Sharing our Ideas & Social Event

It was an excellent opportunity to meet many friends from game design, special effects, 2D animation and VR who had been in the class together last term.we discussed exciting topics and ideas and how 3d animation could work with various disciplines. Some people wanted to combine 3d with motion capture, and some people wanted to use 3d technology in 2D animation. We discussed the possibilities of implementing multiple projects together. We envisioned what the projects would look like when they were finished. I also found areas and topics that interested me, and I look forward to meeting interesting people again next week.

Formation of cooperation groups

1)Title: Twist and Shout

Description of idea:

The general wish of this animation is to blend in the idea of a metaverse (virtual space and identity) and a sense of belonging. Being judged by the same standards is a nightmare that everyone shares. By doing this animation, we can show our embrace of the pain and the wish to overcome it with a sense of humour.

My inspiration and motivation for making it

At the beginning, when deciding on the project’s direction, Clio and I discussed whether we wanted to do a project about art criticism. We are in an examination-based education system in China where you must constantly pass exams to get into a good university. Chinese drawing exams are very harsh, and the system does not consider a student’s creativity or thinking ability. It means that if we want to get high marks to get into university, we must draw precisely like the photo. A student’s whimsicality would be scored as a failing grade.

When I was an undergraduate student, I tried to discuss whether early art education in East Asian countries like China and Japan was suitable for children by making picture books. For example, as a child, I loved to draw, and I loved the moments of drawing all the beautiful colours on paper. But my mum thought I needed better art lessons, so my mum sent me to a painting tuition class, but during the course, I was trained to paint all kinds of bland bottles and plaster day after day. I fell into a long period of self-doubt, wondering if I really enjoyed the painting process, and to be honest, I still don’t have the answer. We are taught from an early age to get good grades, to listen to our parents and to get a good job, but the reasons why I was so determined to choose art in the first place seem to have been long forgotten.

• Team Members:

Yiyu Wang	y.wang03202218@arts.ac.uk	Role：Realistic scenarios-3D Generalist
Yuting Yan	y.yan0320223@arts.ac.uk	Role：Character animation
Tingyi Huang	t.huang0420192@arts.ac.uk	Role：Virtual scenes -3D Generalist
Jieyi An	j.an0320221@arts.ac.uk	Role：Scene and character design
Fangyuan Shao	f.shao0320221@arts.ac.uk	Role：2d animation
Bingxue Xiang	b.xiang0320221@arts.ac.uk	Role：2d animation