ART 350

3D Space II: Animation

SCHEDULE

IN CLASS WORK        

HOMEWORK

WEEK 1

nCloth Basics

Jan 15

• Overview of syllabus and course structure
• Intro to nCloth
• Artist: Claudia Hart
• Artist: Alisa Andrasek, Biothing and Open Synthesis lecture and now Wonderlab

• Start: Tutorial on Cellular Mitosis: Eric Keller pdf pgs 1 - 7 (stop at 'Dynamic Curves') - hand this in next class

• Continuation of nCloth: Caching
• Further demos:
  bubble_level_with_ncloth
  confetti
  paper airplanes


• In Class: work on Cellular Mitosis: Eric Keller pdf

• Finish: Tutorial on Cellular Mitosis: Eric Keller pdf pgs 17 - 21 (start at 'nCloth Cell Division' and stop at 'Coat the Geometry with Particles'


• Begin: Project Description - Due in 1.5 weeks

WEEK 2

nCloth  & Rigid Body Dynamics

Jan 22

• DUE: Mitosis Tutorial


• Project Meetings/ Discussion


• Intro to nParticles + Fluids: emitters and types of nParticles + Fluids.
• Fields: (Turbulence, Gravity, etc.)

• Begin Homework 1: Create a 30 second playblast using nCloth - suggestion - a mousetrap? (DUE Thurs Jan 31)


• PROJECT DESCRIPTION DUE

Jan 24

• Continuation of nCloth - Tearing, other constraints
• Intro to FLuids and Fluid Containers
• Demo: Zipper Tutorial

WEEK 3

Joint Systems, Linear Animation

• PROJECT DESCRIPTION DUE


• Basic Humanoid Rigging Continued
• Basic Character Sets, Bind Poses, and Animation Clips


• Creating a Character Set


• Importing and applying Character animations via Mixamo

LINKS:

• Character Generator AutoDesk
• Generating a Walkcycle from Script
• Make Human - Character Generator
• Mixamo

WORK IN CLASS on HOMEWORK I: Mousetrap

• HOMEWORK 1 DUE next class
  
  

Jan 31

CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER!

• Begin work on Assignment 1

WEEK 4

Particles + Fields, Constraints

• HOMEWORK 1 DUE: nCloth Project


• Basic fk animation based on hierarchy
• Graph editor for ease in/ ease out
• Simplifiying curves
• READ CAREFULLY this tutorial and this tutorial on working with keys in the graph editor


• What is Forward Kinematics? Here is an explanation.
• Basic FK animation
• Interactive Binding


• Creating and Using Clips in the TRAX EDITOR
  
• Disintegration Tutorial - start in class - Tutorial Videos Here

• Complete first half Vids 1-8: Disintegration Tutorial


• Click here to login to lynda.com through UIC authentication
• Watch all of Working with HumanIK Rigs in Maya

Feb 7

• Work Time


• Interactive Smooth Skin Binding
• How to use the Interactive Bind Manipulator Tool Interface


• Intro to Paint Weights with Binding
• Copying and Mirroring Skin Weights

• Work on Assignment 1
• FINISH: Disintegration Tutorial

WEEK 5

Work Time

• HAND IN: Disintegration Tutorial


• BlendShapes

• Assignment 1 DUE in Two Weeks: Still Life with Materials
  

• Sign Up to try VRAY Scan Library and Plugin for free ~!


• Review: applying MoCap data to Rig
• Review: Basic Character Sets, Bind Poses, and Animation Clips


• Work time and Individual feedback on Final Projects


• Character Remapping using Character Sets, Mocap data, the Trax Editor

• Click here to login to lynda.com through UIC authentication
• Review: Working with HumanIK Rigs in Maya


• DUE One Week from Today (next THURSDAY): Rig a character(s)/ object, bind the skin (ie, the mesh), and apply a sample (or Brekel) MoCap animations to your character


• Look up SIGGRAPH and Sundance: New Frontiers


• WORK ON Assignment 1 (DUE FEB 26TH): Still Life with Materials
  

WEEK 6

Rigging Skinning and Constraints + Skeletons and Kinematics

• Independent Workday

• Work on: Rigged Character Assignment

• DUE: Rigged Character Assignment


• Work time and Individual feedback on Final Projects


• Timeline Development

• Assignment 1 DUE on Tues: Still Life with Materials

WEEK 7

Rigging/ Build Out

• FK and IK solvers futher explained - video example here
• MutlichainIK and SpringIK solvers


• Intro to Set Driven


• Critique: Still Life with Materials

• Finish Homework 2: Renders Due Next Class meet

• Individual Meetings: Still Life with Materials

• Start on Assignment 2: Particle Motion

WEEK 8

MASH vs nDynamics

• Intro to Mash
• Particle vs MASH instancing
• Create a 620,000,000 Poly Forest in 10 Minutes - Youtube Tutorial
• Download Trees from XFrog

• Work on Assignment 2: Particle Motion

• MIDTERM CRIT - BRING UR A GAME!


• More Mash on Meshes
• MainFrame's Mash Demo Reel

• Work on Assignment 2: Particle Motion
  DUE: on Tuesday, March 19th

WEEK 9

Dynamics

• Takers for Bit Bash Pop Up Game Party on Thurs?


• Project check ins and schedule of rest of semester
• Online Tutorial: Point Attractor by Christopher Whitelaw
• Erwin Hauer


• Or, complete "Basic Dissolve Effect"
• Or, complete "MASH Tutorial - A swarm of butterflies and a basic crowd"
• Or, complete "Mash Distribution over animated figure" and/ or" Creating Mash Effects Plexus Text With Pixel Fill"


• Watch: Using an image sequence as a texture

• Work on Assignment 2: Particle Motion

• WORK IN CLASS ON PARTICLE MOTION

• Assignment 2 DUE: Particle Motion

WEEK 10

Mash/ Dynamics/ Focused Work Time

• Assignment 2 due: Particle Motion - in class critique


• Caching Mash Networks
• Reference Guide to Caching Mash
• Caching Mash Dynamics Vid Tutorial
• Using Paint Effects to Create Billboards (or Cards or Flats) - tutorial here
• Implementing Card Planes as Billboards - video tutorial
• Using nParticle Output Mesh to create water/ goo/ lava
• All Output Mesh Attributes Info Here
• Lava - particle Slag tutorial

• Work on Final Projects

• Work On: Voice Over Recording + Sound File Collection


• Mash continued - CurveWarp, Explosion, Collisions, Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Mash Full Documentation


• Download Mudbox
• Download Realflow

• DUE NEXT CLASS (April 2)


• Animation must be fully integrated + dynamics - ready for feedback
• First Draft Due - Group Checkin/ Feedback - can be playblast (instead of rendered) - show in video format - Camera animation should all blocked out
• Sound files collected/ ready to play with first draft for feedback
• Voice over roughs completed


• Sandino Due: MultiChain Solver IK Video tutorial and also Create Multichain IK solver and also Tentacle Rigging
  
• Deitrich Due: Maya Wing Rigging Tutorial Using nCloth Simulation
• Liam Due: • Build vegetation with Arnold Standins & Mash in Maya 2018 and also • MASH World Node - Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Yao Due: Substance Paint Designer

Break

spring break - no class - March 25-29

WEEK 11

Mudbox and Advanced rendering issues

• Intro To Mudbox


• DUE: First Draft Due - Group Checkin/ Feedback - can be playblast (instead of rendered) - show in video format - Camera animation should all blocked out
• Sound files collected/ ready to play with first draft for feedback
• Voice over roughs completed


• DUE: Individual Tutorial Assignments

• work on final


• Complete 24 Updated storyboard renders:
  Composite the 24 fully rendered frames to storyboard page(s) layouts.
• Include comments per frame describing shot contents / and camera movement.
• Save this as a tif or a pdf (roughly 12" x 11" @ 180 dpi).
• This storyboard should be the complete illustration of your camera blocking. It should also indicate your lighting and texturing scheme.
• This is due April 4.

• DUE: Updated Storyboard Screen Grabs -  Camera Work Due!


• Camera animation must be complete/ resolved
• Modeling + Texturing 90% complete


• Intro Mudbox Continued
• Review: AOV's - Rendering in Layers
• Pro EXR plugin
• Hardcore Henry Trailer
• Andy Lomas

• TBD

WEEK 13

Work Period

• Transferring Displacement and Normal maps from Mudbox to Maya
• PTEX instead of UV Maps


• Video Tutorials:
• Exporting Displacement Map from Mudbox to Arnold
• Mudbox: Sculpt And Export Displacement and Normal Maps
• Exporting Ptex textures


• work in class on final - SUBMIT RENDERS TO THE FARM TODAY!!
  

• work on final
• MORE TEST RENDERING!

• BEGIN: Editing/ Splicing/ Post-Production/ Adding Audio


• work in class
  
  

• work on AUDIO
• RENDERING!
• First Draft of Final is DUE
  
  

WEEK 14

Final Editing

• First Draft of Final is DUE - GROUP CRIT

• Revisions and re-Renders
• Upload: 5 finished stills
• final EDITING/ Compositing!

• Work Day

• work on final
• EDITING/ Compositing!

WEEK 15

Final Render/ Compositing

• work in class on final

• work on final
• EDITING/ Compositing!

Apr 25

• work in class on final

• work on final
• EDITING/ Compositing!

WEEK 16

Final Crits

• Guest Lecture: Travis Saul
  Drones and Photogrammetry

• work on final
• EDITING/ Compositing!

May 2

• Final Crits

• Enjoy your summer!