1. Character Design for Animation and Games
Week 7a: Evolution Challenge
Projects Feedback and Lab

2. EXERCISE: Evolution Challenge. Form teams of 5-6
EXERCISE: Evolution Challenge! Form teams of 5-6. Sit near each other so you can easily talk and work at computers.

3. EXERCISE: Evolution Challenge!
You will create a creature together. You will be given a parameter for this creature and you will then have a discussion about the form of this creature, and how it will do the following 6 necessary tasks for living beings:
How does it move?
How does it breath?
How does it eat?
How does it communicate?
How does it fight?
How does it procreate?
You design will emerge form this discussion. You will draw it, post your designs and answers to the forum, and present to the class as a team.

4. EXERCISE: Evolution Challenge!
What is the parameter for the design you need to solve?

5. Review Final Projects In Progress
We review for Completeness: a brief look at all projects to help everyone be sure of what they have left to do! You can work during this time but please listen closely, and take notes during your turn.
Clay Head Sculpt
3D Maya Character, with textures.
2D compiled Photoshop file: 6 concepts (silhouettes, drawings, and paintings) and designated/revised 3 best concept paintings

6. Maya Rendering: Use Provided File
For 3D character you will post the Maya file and textures. You will also post renders of front and back in 3/4 persp:
Open the provided Maya file. File > Import your character, delete the proxy boxes.
Windows > Settings/Preferences > Plug-In Manager to turn on Mayatomr.mll for Mental Ray renderer. If it is missing from the list, go to to download and install. If unable to install (at school), just open the Attribute Editor and set DirectionalLight shadows = “Use Depth Map Shadows”).
Hit 2nd clapboard to Render the current frame, choose Mental Ray in top options (if you activated), render with shadows. Render in 3/4 views to show front and back.

7. Maya Rendering: Render a Sequence
The provided file has 3-point lighting and a new Camera1 parented to a circle animated for a 360 degree turn.
Display Render Settings: Under Edit > Change Project Image Directory, set Images to a folder of your choosing. All other settings are prepared: size, extension, length.
Rendering Module: Render > Batch Render to activate. After a time, each frame will go in the folder your chose! Compile into MOV with video tool like iMovie
BETTER: Create a folder to contain our 3D work, then in Maya File > Set Project (Create Default Workspace). This creates a .MEL file which both connects your Maya file to your textures and will create the Images folder when you render, so you don’t need to set it, above.

8. Homework #13: Submit all Projects
3D: Revise your 3D character textures for enhanced detail. Render from provided final display file. Extra Credit:
Multiple texture maps for bump, specular, opacity, and glow.
Rig with joints, keyframe default pose at frame 1, animate new pose at frame 10.
Render sequence.
2D: Continue revisions on your 3 best pieces. Compile your final Photoshop file with ALL 2D projects from this term, including your 6 concepts (silhouettes and paintings) and your Orthographic diagrams for 3D modeling. Label folders for your 3 best.
CLAY: Complete your clay character head sculpt.
Post files and PNG renders and exports to hw13 folder in Piazza by noon Thursday: piazza.com/class/ippn0kwpb904xh

9. Post-Class Viewing: Miyazaki
Clips from multiple films:
Hayao Miyazaki - The Essence of Humanity: