Karl Mizzi @karlosss13 - Tumblr Blog

Learned Square

I’m starting a motion graphics course on learned square

I’ve been freelancing as a motion designer for a good part of last year but I realise that I’m lacking the fundamental skills of animation, this course will remedy that and help me move forward in 2017 as a better motion designer.

Let the Photoshop Tutorials begin

I asked a friend for a list of crucial tools to learn in photoshop, here is a list to start.... some of this will be a refresher, some of this will be new to me. I’m going to watch tutorials and make notes through Tumblr for my reference later, I’ve found this to be the most effective way of learning for me.

1 - Learn every adjustment layer 2 - Learn every blend mode, how it works 3 - Learn how to smooth skin using masking and bluring 4 - Remove blemishes 5 - Content aware fill, content aware rotation 6 - Perspective tool 7 - Puppet warp tool 8 - Liquify tool (good for making someone more muscular, or trimming some fat) 9 - Learn how to make a perfect mask, the latest version of photoshop has a brand new mask tool, so I would recommend getting good at that. Learn how to mask around complicated things like hair etc 10 - Learn how to enhance shadows, midtones and highlights in isolation 11 - Download a poster design off the internet, find a tutorial that will show you how to put it on a shirt, or a wall, seamlessly 12 - Learn how to selectively change the colour of an object 13 - Learn about vignettes 14 - Practice that thing I showed you, how you can change the blending areas of a specific layer 15 - learn the different modes for layer folders "pass through etc" 16 - Learn the keyboard shortcuts for changing a brush, it's softness, its size etc 17 - Learn how to seamlessly swap someone's face for another person 18 - Learn how to process RAW files, and create specific, moody or stylised effects. this is a pretty big area, but learning the basics will be pretty valuable 19 - Learn how to 'define brush preset' to make your own brushes. Make some grungy, splattery, cloud brushes 20 - Find a tutorial that talks about how to properly soften an image. another that tells you how to sharpenoh, and 21 - learn the difference between 8 bit and 16 bit mode and why it matters another good one 22 - how to enhance the quality of upscaled or shitty resolution art

Blending Tute

I applied a gradient afterwards just for a cool effect.

Using the pencil tool I draw a deer using reference images (including a skeleton) and drew over the contour lines. (it took alot of trial and error to get this right)

Pretty cool effect! +1 to the arsenal of skills.

Link

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/adobe-illustrator/create-x-ray-vector-art/#5

Infographics

Layout

Today I want to achieve a layout which delivers the information in a simple and readable way for the viewer by considering the hierarchy of information and its delivery. After I achieve this I will then add the finishing touches to make the page visually appealing.

Deconstructing the Brief

Day 1

Today I received the brief (due to other commitments such as work and finishing final assessments for university all I had time for tonight was phase 1: research)

I have compiled a folder on my computer desktop with examples and references of header banner styles, layout styles, infographic designs that could be useful for inspiration over the weekend.

I have read over the brief and conducted research into the Gold Coast’s Light Rail system.

I have done thumbnails of infographic icons with paper and pencil and attempted to visualise the information within the brief

I have created an InDesign file and loaded the text content and the pantone colour swatches

To Do

Create an EYE CATCHING header banner to assert the attention of the viewer first

Consider the STORY of the infographic... a beginning, middle and conclusion

DRAFT these

Format the content... Make important sections bold, bullet list information where it is possible

Note * Milestones would be important information for the reader (maybe use green for this... considering visual hierarchy)

Design Brief Research

Here is the colour palette of pantone colours to be used in the brief

(This is RGB for Tumblr only)

I have added the colour swatch group ‘the comms team’ to my InDesign for ease of access later

Font Choices

Qld Government Website ->

“Verdana must be the primary font. The default font family (in order of precedence) must be Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans serif.

Other font families, such as Trebuchet, may be considered for headings.”

References

QLD Gov -

http://www.qld.gov.au/web/cue/module1/checkpoints/checkpoint06/

Rendering in 3DS Max to After Effects and Sketchfab

I rendered a “beauty” and a “wire” sequence out of 3DS Max.

I animated the model to spin 360 degrees, and in the curve editor I applied a linear progression of the spin so that the model did not slow down at the end of the rotation which is does by default in 3DS Max.

I then exported the footage as RPF files and imported them into Adobe After Effects as a sequence. And then made a transition between the two!

I also went full nerd on this.... and made a star wars title sequence with the imperial march theme song. Which can be seen here (click here)

I also exported the model as an FBX for sketchfab and imported this online. Here is the link! (click here)

UV MAP and Texture

Here is my completed UV Unwrap of all the parts of the TIE Fighter.

Where it was possible I only used half or even quarter of the uv map for parts such as the sphere base of the model (top left of UV Map) and then applied a symmetry modifier on the X and Y axis to complete the whole sphere.

Below is the painted model with some highlights.

On the wings I used a pattern overlay in photoshop to achieve the mesh, and then a light grey highlight around this to make the grid POP out like it does on the reference model.

3 Point Lighting

The concept of 3 point lighting isn’t just exclusive to animation, it applies to photography and film and any other art where lighting plays a part.

In 3DS Max I’ve set up my 3 point lighting using a target direct light for the fill light, and expanded the target to light the scene. I used omni lights for the key light and back light or rim light. Each light plays a different role. The backlight or rim light lights the edges of the model for hightlights. The key light is the main light, and it highlights the form or body of the model. The fill light is placed opposite the key light and its purpose is to hide the shadows that the key light casts. Logical naming conventions really!

Here is a before and after lighting shot of my model.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

In Class - Phone Bump Map Workshop

Crazy Bump

TIE Fighter Upgrades

So the other day in class I fixed up the window and made the hexagonal pattern which now replicates the model I am referencing. I did this by creating a separate sphere primitive and lowered the poly count down until the topology outlined resembled the outlines of the sphere on the reference model (to about 16). I then created the borders and deleted the unnecessary lines and extruded the faces to resemble the frame of the window. I then deleted the remainder of the sphere and simply placed the cockpit window in place to fit the frame I had previously made neatly.

I deleted some topology lines on the wing (the blue section) to make the map for efficient with less lines / polys. This will help in the UV mapping phase later.

I then adjusted the size of the plane to fit correctly to the reference sheet, and created the sections of the plane by dividing the plane into 3 sections with 2 edges.

I also learnt to use the symmetry modifier, rather than the mirror modifier. (ask why its more efficient again later)

Current Game Engines

In this day and age current game engines are able to process assets from 100,000 polys upwards.

My model only has around 1000 polys so any engine in the current generation of gaming systems would run this asset with ease. My darth vader TIE fighter space ship may be better suited for older generations of gaming platforms such as nintendo 64.

- What are their limitations to ensures your model is suitable for its intended purpose

- Target Platform

Find out how to export into Unreal Engine 4 - Discuss this

Unreal Engine 4

To export an asset into Unreal Engine 4 you can export the 3DS Max file as an FBX file.

MDU115: 3D Model. Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter!

Here is step 1.

I have just set up the 3DS Max File with the reference images, and I have taken the time to make sure all the references are to the same size.

I have also a uvw map modifier with a bitmap fit to all of the reference images.

Step 2: Setting up the primatives (I used a plane for the wing)

Here is the result of the square after editing.

Extruded the inner section of the wing

In the process learnt and used to constrain to edge function.

Added extra loops at the edges of the wing (to smooth the sharpness of the edges)

Later I will use the mirror function to complete the other half of the TIE fighter model.

From the sphere primitive I aligned it to centre so that the edges of the wings were in the exact same position.

I then reduced the poly count down to 868 from around 1350.

I then deleted the front area of the sphere for the window and then capped it to close off the area. Then inset and extruded all the volumes to make the window frame.

Next step: Figure out how to simply the window effectively to the hexagon grid that is seen in the reference image below

I retrieved the model reference from sketch fab, which is helpful for viewing the model at specific angles for further detail.

References

https://sketchfab.com/models/pObcGdfCISPpMie6CtZLN3ef0Fd

After Effects Rendering in After Effects

I put some final touches on the scene to make it seem less flat.

I added adjustment layers over the animation to improve the mood of the scene. I added a vignette to help frame the actual scene, and I de saturated the colours around the edges so that the viewers attention isn’t distracted by details on the outer of the scene eg leaf details. I also made an adjustment for line treatment to make the lines a bit softer on the eyes, which is barely noticeable but still effective. And I also added a glow layer to give the scene a real desert orange burning feeling.

Here is the before and after shots:

I then animated the pirates gold logo to come up from the bottom of the screen quickly so it almost looks like it is coming out of the treasure chest itself. And then in sync with the bob marley music in the background the ‘google store’ logo comes in - which took a while to animate in after effects.

Note : I realise the bushes in the background are floating, and the final render that I did fix that in had more errors occur than the original scene. (the board was sinking under the sand and I couldn’t get this to stop happening in the render only) so i decided to go with the render I submitted as the bush error, was less noticeable than the sand. Or the far left control bar showing - which I know I could have ticked off ‘renderable’ but I ran out of time to re do everything from the last save in the end due to other commitments unfortunately)

Animation

Treasure Chest

I decided to have the treasure chest rise up from under neath the board, while also enlarging with the scale tool, and having it pop back to its natural size after enlarging beyond its intended full size (for a dynamic animated cartoon feel) This was done by adding key frames and then moving the scrubber and changing the placement of the treasure chest with the movement tool and then placing another key frame.

The crab

I applied a similar effect to the crab body and repeated the key frames to make his body grow and shrink to give him a bit of life.

I animated the crab arms and then repeated the key frames over and over. I spent some time in real life waving my arms around in the air to get the feel of how I would be animating this, as silly as it might feel this really did help me animate what I was imagining - which was simultaneously waving arms from size to side in parallel motion. I also timed the arms movements around the movement of the crab - to gesture towards the board, and towards the treasure chest board at pivotal times. This was all done by taking a mental note of the the time increments and movements on the first arm and then repeating this on the second arm. Using the arm and the parented forearm I was able to move sections of the arms together more easily

3D Modelling the Tresha Chest

Here is our treasure chest.

At the very beginning, this is simply a primitive square drawn out to the measurements specified in the tutorial.

This tutorial was divided into two sections.

The base of the treasure chest

And the lid of the treasure chest

The process of sculpting the treasure chest involves a lot of extruding of polygons as seen below.

By adding rings we are able to

Another tool used was the “Chamfer” tool. This allowed us to create the lines for the back hinge, and lock.

Chamfer

Below is an image of the treasure chest model done.

Next step. Uv Unwrapping! This will enable us to place the 2D texture we create later in photoshop on the 3D model we have created here in 3DS Max.

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Karl Mizzi