Week 1:
This semester, we will be making a 30 secound sequence exploring alternative, abstract & or experimental visualisations of movement and body motion. Must be vsiualised in a NON-FIGURATIVE way. In this way we can explore further possbilities of creating an original sequence using Mocap.
In the sequence we will be experimenting using pace, timing, space, editing, framing, camera movement, and audio. We must show some kind of transformation/progression, or some sort of a change.
nParticles:
This image sequence of me is going for a run up and doing a big jump before it lands on the ground. Motion blur is applied to create sense of intense movement.
Paths of movement are captured and transformed into wire-like trails, which reflect the intricacies of each action and result in a dynamic flow of patterns. The sculpture’s form is highly abstract, embodying what is considered a contemporary style. Presented above are two contrasting scenes: one, a man practicing martial arts, generating complex, intertwined paths with multiple circular trails; and the other, a girl being swung in a large circle by her grandfather, where the path traces solely her singular, sweeping motion.
DANA TOMIĆ HUGHES. (2013, September 23). HUMAN MOVEMENT DATA TRANSLATED INTO VISUALLY EXPRESSIVE MOTION SCULPTURE. JL Design. https://www.yellowtrace.com.au/human-motion-sculpture/
Gremmler, T. (Director). (2016). Kung Fu Motion Visualization. https://vimeo.com/163153865
This collection of artwork simulates the concept of animating motion. The same figure is repeatedly overlaid in a variety of poses, creating the illusion of leaving behind a trace of a dance in motion. What I find most appealing about this work is the way the torso and other larger body parts become almost obscured, while the hands remain distinctly recognizable. It’s as if the hands are narrating the story, conveying the essence of the motion even when the rest of the body is not clearly defined. This selective clarity provides a fascinating focus on the storytelling power of hand movements.
Abraham, Z. (n.d.). Dance Painting [Charcoal]. https://beartistbeart.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/contemporary-dance-painting-zarah-abraham/
In this work, I am captivated by the use of large fabric. The human body’s twists and movements are sufficiently dynamic on their own, but the incorporation of fabric enhances this notion, adding an element of drama. It creates a scene that reminds me of the fluttering wings of a butterfly in mid-motion. The lack of any extraneous elements in the composition serves to highlight the dancer’s skillful execution of the dance or pose. The fabric acts as a catalyst, elevating the overall impact of the performance.
Bunjamin (Abe), A. (n.d.). Balerina Butterfly Dance. https://www.mediastorehouse.com/1x-gallery/performance/balerina-butterfly-dance-31987318.html
This year, I am eager to incorporate the element of water into my sequence. The image above demonstrates a remarkable technique for utilizing water to depict motion, and it has greatly influenced my thinking. Initially, the idea of animating a character made of water was my first instinct. However, after being exposed to this particular work, I have become enamored with the concept of employing water as an external force to craft a trail of movement. I find this approach not only unique but also profoundly effective in conveying dynamism.
Stovka, J. (n.d.). Break The Surface [Photography]. https://oneeyeland.com/gallery/79484/image
Week 2:
Introduction to Mash:
Moodboards
Initial influence:
Water:
Fire/explosion:
Particle effects:
My experimental projects:
Tips: The lower the master voxel size, the more sharp the body shape will show.
Very useful tutorials:
Week 3:
This week, we were assigned to make our storyboard for our sequence.
This below is the BGM I will be working my storyboard from.
The sound track gives off a very energetic, dramatic and intense vibe. Inspired by this BGM, I decided I wanted to make a fight scene and/or convey some kind of dynamic action for my sequence.
To make the motion look much more dramatic, I will be heavily using camera works, nparticles, and Bifrost on Maya.
This storyboard below conveys the kata (movement) of karate. Personal connection to this is that I used to do Karate when I was younger, and because Karate is from my cultural background (Japan).
Introduction to nCloth:
In these works below, I experimented with the lighting and the texture of nCloth.
In this work below, I used the fog effect on Maya to give the strong lighting that creates a sense of atmosphere – Render Settings – Arnold render – Environment – Atmosphere to volume.
Inspiration:
Past students work I thought was cool:
Week 4:
At this point, Ive completed capturing our mocap data. However, I still havnt figured out what elements to add into the movement to create the dynamic exlosive effect.
I also finished the Cortex Clean Up
Introduction to Fluids:
Failed Attempt:
I this experiment, I attempted to make the figure he emmiter. I was expecting it to look more like he is actually on fire. However, it didnt really work out well for me, and the end result looked like it was faded.
nCloth Shatter Experiment:
Inspiration Moodboard:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/23102751/Latency-of-dynamics
https://www.behance.net/gallery/101069597/PAPILARNIE-VI
https://www.behance.net/gallery/53728939/NVIDIA
http://art.bt-3d.de/experimental/frg224str3.html
Week 5:
This week I focused on the Motion Builder stage, including: cretaing a control rig, retargetting to maya model, animating etc.
I just followed the same process as I did last year in mocap.
Inspiration:
Week 6:
My experiment this week:
Up to this point, I still can’t figure out what effect I want to stick to with my project. I initially wanted to do something explosive that matches my intention in this sequence and matches the BGM I have chosen.
This week, I focused on exploring with nParticles, fluids, nCloth (movement in the floor), and mash (playing around with the movement and beat of the audio).
By the end of the holiday, I am hoping to have chosen my element, setting my scene (lighting, background etc.)
This one below is a work I was experimenting with adding particles inside a model. I wanted to make the particles more malluable but I couldnt figure out how to, so I decided to try something else.
My exploration series using nParticles and fluids. I have to say, I still didnt know what I was doing, and where I want to head to.
This is my first attempt on putting the playblast scenes togethor, however, I didnt like how it turned up. It looks very boring, and looks too similar to the video that I was inspired by. I want to add more originality which creates more sense of IMPACT.
In this one, I explored the Audio tool on Mesh. Because my whole work is based off the BGM I chose at the very start, I thought it may be a good idea to make my scenes really basey.
I liked the idea of pervious student’s using nCloth on the floor to give it the flowy movement, so I gave that a try using my introduction scene.
Inspiration:
Week 7:
This weeks experiment:
This week, I played around with fluid agai, adjusting the movement, lighting, colour and attemptingh to moerge it with other elements (such as mash trail).
In this one below, I used mash explosion to scatter the mash body
After all these many experiments, I decided to start properly working on my actual scenes using my past attempts on different elements.
Inspirational videos:
Week 8:
During my break, Ive been experimenting with the effects and the layouts of what the final whole sequence would look like. I started with working on the introdrucion scene. I explored the use of ncloth, fluid, and nparticles on this scene. I will be using two shots for this one scene.
This is a scene where the character kicks the wall and the wall shatters. This will also have 2 shots in this one scene. This shattering effect is made using ncloth.
This scene will be taking the most time of the whole sequence. I mainly explored using mash and trails to create a motion blur kind of effect. Because I wanted to make an impactful sequence that matches the BGM I have planned to use, I wanted to exagerrate the movement by using motion trail.
Week 9:
I continued to work on the scenes, testing colour, lighting, and effects.
Week 10:
This week, I went back to the scenes I test rendered and attemptefd to polish and render with higher quality. After getting feedback from the lecture and other people, I realised that I should stop the fabric waving in the first scne.
As it was already cached, I had to break the cache in order to edit the movement of ncloth. However, by bresakingbthe cache, the fabric stopped functioning and just stays still. I attempted to open other previously saved files but all the ncloth in other files was also corrupted.
I tried many ways to get the simulation back, however, many did not work, so I decided to spend a whole day on remaking the scene and make the fabric move the way I truly wanted. Unfortunatelt they all didnt work and i couldnt revived the ncloth simulation. Therefore I decided to remake it from scratch, which also didnt turn out the best. But I managed to ge it back near to what I wanted. I did this by opening older files of this scene and exported the cache and imported it back into the most up to date file.
Previous successful attempt
Recent attempt on remaking this scene
I also decided to add some floating particles for the fast punching scene to give it more explosive and crowded intense atmosphere.
Before:
After:
Week 11:
This week my main focus was to finish all my rendering and move onto after effects and sound effects with the 30 secound sequence.
This was my test renders all togethor with the music:
In this experiment, I worked out the timing, layout for all shots etc.
In the running scene, the splashing element is not made of nParticles. I applied bifrost onto the surface and added bubble. Then I realised the bifrost itself wasnt working well as it wasnt bringing out the splashing effect I wanted. Therefore I played around and found out that bubbles are doing a great job in terms of the splashing effects and create a cool footstep trail.
This is the end result after rendering the whole sequence:
I decided to remove the nCloth for the introduction as nCloth was not used in any other scenes and did not work out. Instead I adjusted the fluid to be more twirling to give it a more energetic introduction to the sequence.
Week 12:
This was the last week in Uni before leaving for our study leaves.
I will be working on my making of video, introduction card, sound effects, and after effects, ready to submit on the 7th of June!
This is the last shot of the sequence, the figure smashing the wall and thye light shines from behind. I was already happy with how this turned out, but I believed I can improve on this!
After editing:
I am very happy of how this turned out. I added particles (shaped in explosive line, and shattering triangles) to give it a more impactful explosive feeling and I believe this was very successful. I feel like I can already hearing the shattering sound without any sound effects. I also added a glow effect to make this scene have more holy atmposphere with the curtain of lights.