#theundercoveranimator

[undercoveranimator]

Week 11 - Something to show for

Tomorrow marks six weeks since production began, and there are six weeks remaining until we showcase our films. Time sure does fly when you’re busy, doesn’t it? And although my production got off to a bit of a bumpy start, I am happy that I’ve managed to grab this beast of a project by the horns and wrangle it back on track. The past two weeks in particular have proven to be very productive for me. I’ve managed to complete animation for the first sequence of the film, which equates to roughly a third of the total length. I’ve managed to refine my work process to the point that I’m completing a shot once every day or two. As I move into my next sequences I believe that trend will likely continue, as the shots become more numerous and dynamic, but shorter and less animation heavy.  Here is the first sequence (aka roughly the first minute) of my animation:

The last major component I’m still missing is voices, but that should change very soon as well. I have finally established contact with a voice actress that may be willing to help. I will likely have to go back and resync some of these clips once I have the final voice clips. Having that done will take a lot of anxiety of this project off my shoulders. Then it will be a simple matter of finishing off the animation, and adding music and sound; that’s always the final stage of my work. And the short will then finally be complete. When this project is over, don’t try to call or message me for at least a week, as I will be busy sealed away in my room, catching up on all the sleep I missed this semester. Haha! Just kidding. I’m excited to see what work other people have managed to get done over the break. But let’s get back to it people! Break time is over. This is the Undercover Animator, blasting off again. 🌟

[undercoveranimator]

Week 7 - The Next Step

So this week was packed with work, as always of course. On one hand I am fairly happy with what I’ve produced, but I do have concerns moving forward.

So first, let’s unpack the good stuff. 

Here you’ll find an updated view of the homestead exterior:

I added some new objects and a hole on the roof. There are some elements I am still contemplating adding. I know I will want more rocks and a dirt path, but it may be more productive and satisfying to simply edit them in rather than model and texture them, but that is a choice that can be implemented later.

Next, here’s the first modeled interior view of the homestead:

I decided it works better using a combination of 2D and 3D elements, and I may make some adjustments over the next week, but I’m overall pretty happy with this look.

Now, as promised, I have some character animation to show. It’s not much, just a walk cycle, and that will lead me to some of the concerns I have that I will discuss in a moment. For now, check this out:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lBPtz3pCJeM9MBjmZSqe2QwwH12LO9X5/view

It’s a walk cycle for Juna, from the very first shot of the film. I did go through the whole process of drawing, inking, scanning, digitally coloring, and finally assembling the frames - 15 in total. Now, I’m relatively happy with it; there is some distortion, but she will be quite small relative to the frame, so it will work just fine. 

My concern is that this is all I was all the animation I was able to complete thus far. Now, I didn’t plan on coloring it, but I wanted to go through the whole process at least once to get a feel for it. I am worried that the process of working tediously on paper, just to digitize it in the end, may be a bit too inefficient. Don’t get me wrong though, I love paper and will continue to work with it as much as possible. 

That being said however, I am considering going full digital for some of the shots. Perhaps the tougher ones at least, to save time. Now granted, this shot was ranked difficulty level 4- the highest difficulty on my shot list. So I can partially forgive it. But I have to add two more character walk cycles to complete this one shot alone. I am definitely considering cutting their frame rate down, but for now, this is what I have.

One last thing, here’s a revised Talvitra logo:

I tried to make the background a darker tinge to help differentiate it from the letters, but there is a color and style motif I definitely want to try and stick with here. I may make more changes down the line.

Well, that’s all I got for this week. Wish me well as I try to tackle the issues here, and get even more animation work up and ready for your viewing pleasure next week!

Until then, this is the Undercover Animator, signing out.

[undercoveranimator]

Week 6 - First Building Blocks

First week on production, and things are going relatively well, although I think more could be done. I will be frank, my work flow this week was constricted due to multiple extracurricular video projects that needed immediate attention. As a result, my production work was limited to finishing off the 3D environments. But that’s okay, as I needed to get them done first anyway.

Here are a few examples of what I have background-wise:

At this point I am about 80% complete with my 3D environment progress. Textures are basically complete. The last thing remaining is the homestead’s interior environment, as well as hammering out some lighting and shading details. But despite the minor setback this week, I am as excited as ever to bring you examples of my character animation for next week!

My goal for Friday is to finish the environments, and then dedicate the vast majority of my time from this weekend onward to character animation.

As a bonus, I decided to create a “Talvitra” title graphic included here:

And so, another week, here and gone. Expect some major updates in the weeks to come! 

This is the Undercover Animator, signing off.