Character & Narrative- Study Task 4 - Doing DUIK

Doing DUIK

DUIK is a software free to use for After Effects. It is much like the puppet tool but with proper boning tools that can be added so the bending of the joints isn't as unrealistic. I really like how this tool makes animating faster and easier than if it were to be hand drawn digitally like i've mainly done in the past. Although the set up of this character was extremely difficult. As she doesn't have legs and there is only one arm, it meant that when setting up the mechanics, it caused a few issues.

Here is the first angle of my character that i was going to use, as she was front on, I thought that this would make setting up her bones it would be easiest. But I changed my mind when i realised the brief wanted to show a character doing something or having more story to it. So if they were walking, it had to be walking somewhere. This was when I decided to do the side angle.

This is how the character was cut up. She was cut into Head, Torso, Arm and Skirt. This meant that she could have different components moving without her looking too flat. The character on the left, is what she looks like when placing the layers in the correct places so she looks like one whole body again. 

The headstone is what she will be walking towards as it creates more context/ story to the animation.

This was just to show that the pieces slightly overlap, meaning she can have more exaggerated movements without raw edges and the background showing through her.

 Here she is set up with the boning, this was the real struggle for me personally and it took me ages with many failed attempts before asking a fellow peer for help, he showed me how to set her up and how to join the pieces so when her neck moved, her head followed and when her hips moved, her skirt followed. This really helped and let me understand more on the boning.

The issue and difficulty i was finding with this character was that the auto rig needs to find all the bones in a normal human, as she only has a skirt and one arm it meant it had to be done manually which was really hard to grasp.

 This is when she is all set up. After animating her to move the correct distance, I pulled her across to Premier so that sound could be added and she could be rendered out properly as it needed to be turned into an image sequence after, After Effects.

This is the final animation. Overall i do like the overall effect but this is not the best digital animation that i have created, but as it took so long to set up, I couldn't let it eat into more of the time i needed for the main production. I would like to use this software for another project as it had a nice movement that could be created. Although next time the character created will have the proper bones needed so the rig can be set up correctly. This would save me a lot of time as it would be automatically added to the character. 

Character & Narrative- Week 7 - Set Design

Week 7 - 

Set Design

For the set, i'm designing a small board that i will be building up into a graveyard. I need to create enough of a scene for my audience to know where the characters are being placed and live in, but also it must be balanced. This is so the eye is not taken away from the focal character but not bare enough for it to be empty.

To start with, I carved out headstone shapes from sheets of Polystyrene that I purchased. I bought 12 sheets for £10 which was more than enough for me to do the base as well as these so it was a good purchase. As there were many needed, 3 basic shapes, 3 crosses and one vintage style tied together headstone were enough. Originally there were more planned but the set will be small and I dont want to overcrowd.

To do the text on the headstone, these stamps were very small so I thought they would be good enough to use but when i tested them out they left the circles as well as the letters so this would not work. But it was good to test them and see if they could be a possibility.

To cover the headstones, I covered them with tissue and watery PVA glue. This meant that i could keep some texture, as well as the PVA being able to harden as it dries. I then covered them in a black undercoat mixed with PVA again, so it can be a dark base as well as adding to the harder outer shell.

It was at this point I found that for the older headstone, the Polystyrene was too thick and fragile, so i used tinfoil and covered it in the same PVA and paint as the other headstones so they all look the same.

These are what they looked like after being blotted with a sponge with a lighter grey coloured layer so that the black can still show through and give it texture as well as being able to still look realistic.

These are all of them together. As you can see the older headstone is made of wood so looks different but still looks to be from the same place. They also look like they could be made of concrete. I just need to attach them to the base when it is complete before adding more texture by the base so they look like they are in the ground not just placed.

As I needed a prop of the tree that my character will hide behind, this is the starting point of the tree. I wasn't sure if i was going to end up making this prop as i was at one point being to either buy one or digitally add it in, but since in the industry they have to make everything. I thought it was really needed to make sure everything in the world looked correct as it would all be made by me so all look the same, therefore belong.

I started with balling up tinfoil and tightly wrapping it before glueing with UHU so it will be very secure. I then kept adding more to the base for when it wasn't high enough, as well as adding a branch coming off at the top so it can have more body and structure. As there wasn't enough shape, foam came into use as it could add twists into the structure that add to the overall look.

Once it dried, I twisted it to give it more shape and add an authentic feel as trees naturally twist when growing.

After this I started adding more branches where I thought needed them to create a more realistic tree. As the glue took some time to dry, I knotted tissue around the base to the branches when they were drying so they could move or fall which proved very useful.

This is the final outcome for the shape. I've added many branches as it needed to look full but as I'm not even good at drawing trees this was a struggle but i'm very happy with the overall result. I've done what was done with the headstones and covered them in watery PVA and tissues as adding more foam to areas that needed more bulking out or shapes adding.

Character & Narrative- Week 6- Building the clothes

Week 6- 

Building the clothes

 Here are some of the many supplies needed for this project. Including; wire, fabrics, details for the females dress, sewing kit, glues, paints and set materials. This has all come to being about £60 which I knew it would not be cheap so this I was prepared for. As i bought this early on though, I have been able to plan with what i have to a certain extent, so i have a direction in which to design and build which has been helpful.

 As this is a book i have been reading for this project, I thought it would be good to look at how to make a proper armature but as the small pieces cost a lot just in pieces, I stuck with wire. This is how it was taught in the first year so it would be ok to use for this animation as it is still short at about 30-40 seconds. This shouldn't be long enough for it to cause the wire to snap, but if it does, I can try to repair it as best as possible.

These are the beginning wire frames of the female character. As she is wearing a dress, the legs were unnecessary but she still needed to stand. This is why she will be covered in foam on the base so it can keep the dress shape and not be too heavy. The body mass is also sculpted out of foam as well as the muscle being covered in paper mache as milliput was not needed to gain the effect of tough muscle between joints.

Adding a skirt to this wire frame added structure as well as stability. The first image shows the dress to not have as much as a curvature, so i added more of a mermaid style to the base as this was a modest shape to a dress in the late Victorian early 20th Century fashion. Foam was also very easy to use and carve, like whittling, you have to do it a little bit at a time till you can achieve the desired shape your looking for, which is something i've wanted to try for a while now, so this let me learn how to visualise what shape you want and keep carving until your happy.

This bottom design on the right, is a spare in case the first design does not work so doesn't let the fabric set the way I want it to on the base. This is all a learning experience and journey so it will be very interesting and fun to get going and add the materials and try to create a character i have designed, outfit and all. This means there may also be mistakes but it will all help in making me learn how to make small delicate things as I am quite heavy handed.

As my female character Belle is a skeleton, I wanted this to show through the outfit she was wearing, This is why when i designed the dress i had this cut out section that can show the chest plate, as well as the spine down the back. Its been very hard working on things so small as they are so delicate and finicky. Im slowly improving on working with my hands, so I think I just have to get into it and try my best to create the characters drawn.

After doing this with the female. The male character needed building. Using the same method as the female, the male is slightly taller and has a more built chest. This lets me have more room to build his clothing as his waist coat is going to be hard to cut out and sew correctly. Again the paper mache is in place of the muscles so the arm will not completely bend and he can have more structure.

 Pattern pieces have always confused me to this point when in life size designs so this was a real challenge for the characters dress. As she is so small, I needed the light fabric to fall down her body to create the tulip shape. But as there was so much fabric and it was too light, it would not fall. I added weights into the hem as well as mesh on top in hopes to weight in down before adding pleats to add more shape but it wouldn't work as i wanted it to so i had to leave this design and try again with a smaller pattern piece shape.

As i needed to work out the back plasticine for the spine before i went further with the clothing as they are under them, I designed this next. I was very happy with the way this turned out, as you can see it is a cartoon spine with notches and ribs. I was sad to cover most of it by the dress design but once adding all of the pieces together, I noticed that when the dress is on Belle, The rib shape comes through making her look more skeletal which was a happy accident.

 Attempting the skirt a second time, I used less fabric which created more of the shape i was going for. This was a good moment as i could finally see what the character was supposed to look like as she came together. It curves round the foam smoothly and comes out at the base so this is exactly what I had envisioned when i first started.

As a lot of my concentration has been on the female character, I started on the male character Vincent. As he is a zombie, the more green colour worked for his skin so it will be a big contrast in comparison to the skeleton colour. The trousers, like in the character sheets are a dark brown but i'm very proud with how they turned out as they fit perfectly, curve around his lower torso and have a fold at the front like a fly.

This was an incredibly difficult section of the outfit to do. As the top section had to go over her bust as well as round many curves, it made it difficult to sew onto her. I added darts into the bust so there isn't any fabric pulling out of shape. Then I measured up where the cut out section is before cutting it and placing it on the chest. After sewing, I pulled it all together and formed it to her as best as i could.

Then the lace material below was a perfect shape for the peplum design which split the middle and lower sections in half so it can look more complex overall. It is elasticated so i cut a small section and sewed it on a sewing machine before pulling it into the waist where it sits perfectly.

 This is the corset that was made by getting thicker white material and sewing it to a felt backing piece. After that, I worked out where the pattern pieces for the corset will sit on a torso. Instead of cutting out all of the individual elements, I found, if I just sew in the shapes, they will create a corset look overall without having to make it fragile by cutting it too much. When I was happy by the sewn shapes, I painted the white material to look older and have a more brown stained look to it to suggest age and being worn. This also adds to the skeleton effect as she could have been dead for a very long time.

 When they are both complete, they will look like a couple, at the moment her outfit is nearly complete compared to his so i need to do his shirt and waistcoat. But as I haven't been able to do the set yet, I might do those after his shirt so I can get some of the larger elements out the way. Overall she does look good when I think that i made everything so i am proud of this but Im still weary on time and time management.

 These are the pattern piece for his shirt, they are without the sleeves as i will sew them on last as to make it seem more like a real shirt. I wasn't sure of these shapes as I've never attempted male clothing before so its very much about experimenting and seeing which works best.

 I have pinned his shirt to him to look at the size and see if it is correct, this lets me try and get a more accurate result. After this base, i will add sleeves as well as a small collar and bow tie but i need the base done first.

 This was a failed attempt at doing his shirt. I pulled too much on one side so when i finished hand sewing one side, it had pulled and become too wonky and off centred. I have cut a new one and need to re-sew it to his torso and be more careful with the tricky shape.

As i need to start on the set i will complete more of the clothing next week.

Character& Narrative-Study Task 2- Research 3- Stop Motion Sustainability

Research 3-
Stop Motion Sustainability

 For the characters i'm building, sustainability would be difficult. As they have a wire framework without removable limbs as replacements, the risk is it could snap if bent or moved too much. This is a definite limitation of the armatures I will be using but that isn't the case for the industry. As they use removable limbs, metal frames and silicone flesh instead of plasticine. This means they can last for a considerable amount of time compared to the wire frames. I went to a lecture meet up in manchester for this project called Meet the Masters. This was where some of the most well known animators attended to talk about their journey into stop motion and what its like.

Chris Tichborne and Merlin Crossingham were both very useful for me to see as they have both worked for Aardman, therefore been submerged into the industry, and even worked on Tim Burtons movies. This let me see how they went about keeping their characters safe and even repurpose them.

As the characters can be reused in terms of the armatures, they cannot be altered most of the time for the characters. This is like; Bob the builder cant take his shoes off as there is nothing underneath. This limits what the characters can do if in a series. This is why children's television tends to repeat in plot.

Character& Narrative-Study Task 2- Research 2-Stop Motion Aesthetic

Research 2-

Stop Motion Aesthetic-Potential&Limitations

For some, the aesthetics of stop motion should be rough, should have finger prints, dents, jerky movements. Yet in recent years, becuase of technology advances, the industry has changed so CGI is mixed with stop motion. This creates a very smooth overall appearance that can look digital at times. For my animation, it will look very old style rough as it will be a first attempt but I dont mind that look as it further back up that it is hand made, which draws people in as it holds more character, like when you look at the original Wallace and Gromit or Creature Comforts. 

As you can now also 3D print heads for the characters, I do think it would be incredibly useful as you can have as many as you want and they would be guaranteed to look the same. This is why so many of them look so smooth and well done, although as the process is long and difficult, this racks up the price considerably. Which brings it back to cost again, which is always an issue if your not in a big company. Below are some images of the Boxtrolls book showing how much aesthetic was thought of for this movie, the book it filled with concept art, character design and CGI faces for the moulds.

Character&Narrative-Study Task 2- Research 1- Stop Motion Costing Limitations

Research 1-

 Stop Motion Costing Limitations

When choosing stop motion, I knew the risks in term of costing. It is a very expensive industry that can lead to hundreds and thousands of pounds for each movie just on armatures and characters. This is before equipment, materials, sets, animators, voice actors, etc. Reading up on the industry and what different studios are doing has really helped me with doing this project, but it has really opened my eyes into the sheer astonishing prices of stop motion characters. I've been reading this book bellow that shows just how the figures in Corpse bride were made. These were cutting edge, using rigging within the face that they could move with keys to mimic facial movements and expressions could be achieved without swapping off the heads every minute. This therefore meant costs went up to crazy prices.

 Although I have found the Ray Harryhausen's book to be very useful as it shows what his early models looked like, this helps as they were very basic fabric and wire armatures. I will be doing more of this for this in particular project but this really shows how much costing can effect the overall finished piece.