3D Modelling & Animation

‘Computer Generated Imagery’ CGI ‘Computer Generated Imagery’

3D Modelling and Animation Content generated from modelling and animation systems appear in many applications and scenarios including: Short or feature length animations 3D content generation for virtual environments Character design and animation (e.g. lip sync) Broadcasting and entertainment systems TV advertising, web marketing and product evaluation Composition and integration with still imagery Photorealistic image production.

Typical Features of 3D Modelling and Animation Environments Interface with several orthographic views + perspective view Creation of mesh primitives (polygons, NURBS) Applying materials and textures Creation of lights and cameras to view the scene Animation of models, lights , cameras Character construction and animation Importing de-facto standard mesh models e.g .3ds Application of cinematic effects and physics modelling.

Polygon: Polysphere Faceted Smooth

Polygon Characteristics Vertex Selection Mode Selected vertex highlighted Polygon sphere in vertex selection mode

Polygon Move Selection:Vertex

Four views of model showing alternative shading in each viewport: wireframe (top left), full shading (top right), flat shading (bottom left), wireframe on shaded (bottom right).

Nurbs Sphere: Object Mode Isoparms

Nurbs Sphere: Control Vertices

Nurbs Sphere: Add Isoparm Line follows mouse cursor New Isoparm added

Animation Keyframe Animation Key (important) frames are set in model scene Animation is interpolated between set keyframes Rigid Body Objects are assigned material with properties that react with other objects in a manner that is defined by there physics properties e.g an object with metal properties colliding with an object that has elastic properties Inverse Kinematics Animated components have inverted hierarchy which respond to each connected components movement in a predefined expected way.

Animation:Motion Capture Motion Capture (MoCap) Motion is recorded by optical systems attached to people carrying out particular human movement and activities Motion capture data is digitised and then applied to characters in the modelling environment via popular motion capture file formats such as .bvh Motion capture records subtle nuances of human motion that would be difficult to reproduce by traditional animation techniques.

Motion Capture Devices Moven see:http://www.xsens.com/

Biped character with skeletal rig (hidden) ready for animation inside Maya or export to character animation studio.

Character Animation Character showing internal skeletal structure (rig)

Character Animation Character showing internal skeletal structure with animation keys

Particle and Motion Effects Particle systems Smoke and vapour Combustion Waves Hair and cloth.

Rendering

Rendering Workflow Preview rendering with playblast Set project common rendering configuration in render globals Set renderer-specific parameters Use ‘Interactive Photorealistic Renderer’ (IPR) for preview and adjustments of lights and materials Preview animation from batch-rendering n-frames Batch-render sequence from menu option Batch render from the command line allows rendering to take place while continuing to work in the modelling environment.

Choices for Rendering Renderer - Hardware, Software, Vector Image Format - avi, mpg, gif, jpg, .tiff, .tga Resolution - width x height y e.g. 640 x 480 Sequence - start frame, end frame, nth frames to render File name and extensions Anti-aliasing Quality Raytracing options (increases rendering times!) Network Rendering - Mental Ray

Examples of Rendering using Mental Ray

3D Software Applications Days of Yore 3D Studio (MSDOS) Povray (Open Source) Maya (cross platform) 3D Studio Max (PC) Softimage ( PC & Linux) (2015 final version) Cinema4D (PC & Mac) Others including Truespace & Blender.

Theme Resources Video Tutorials for Maya and Mudbox Art of Maya (Sybex) ISBN 1-894893-13-1 Abridged version available from the module homepage Software Maya 2015 Mudbox 2015 Adobe Premiere

Additional Resources Autodesk ‘The Area’ http://area.autodesk.com/ www.lynda.com (UWE Student Login) TurboSquid - 3D Models for Sale (some free!) www.turbosquid.com

Autodesk Student Licences Autodesk currently provides three-year licences for students. Register with your UWE email at: http://students.autodesk.com (there is a link on the programme homepage) Once registered you can access a range of free software including Maya and many other industry-standard software applications.