SYLLABUS

ART 494 Computer Animation

FALL 2009

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES

Professor Jim Ovelmen

jim@jimovelmen.com

Jim.Ovelmen@calstatela.edu

FOR LAB TIMES: CHECK OUTSIDE THE DOORs OF FA-225 and MUS-220, for schedule, or click here

class schedule

FURLOUGH DAYS

top,tuts, week1, week2, week3, week4, week5, week6, week7, week8, week9, week10

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Collectively, this course will present to all students a focused study of high quality 3D animation using Maya as our platform. We will start with fundamentally rigged and simple-formed character, in which we will engage in weekly lessons of weight and locomotion within the 3D arena. We will begin with keyframing, and understanding animation tools like graph editor and dope sheet in Maya, to recieve the most control and a superior result of animation timing. The mechanical nature of a character will be explored early with IK, FK, and various ways of binding or attaching elements to bones. Student will spend time on their own learning about hierarchies and controls, which are the foundation of animating characters. We will then move onto to basically rigged bipedal characters, and continue our study of locomotion and timing, this time using concerns of human or creature locomotion studies. We will study aspects of basic rigging, although much of the emphasis of the class is on animation; so pre-rigged/downloaded characters will be used in many cases as we graduate to more and more sophisticated animation assignments. Advanced students or those who have built and rigged a character already may use their character to satisfy some of the assignment; but again, the emphasis is on a quality result of good animation.

Blend-shape creation for facial animation may also be explored and utilized at any point in the course, and such techniques may be optionally included in the students Final Project

Other subjects of Advanced animation study may include: animating various attributes, set driven keys, dynamics/ particle animation, and expressions.

PREREQUISITES

ART 480, Computer Graphics II (3D Modeling)

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

Class lectures, in-class assignments, and project related demonstrations will be provided from original or researched content. Supplemental homework assignments, specific tutorials from published sources will be given. Most of these assignments are, of course, to be done exclusively outside the hours of class time.

The expecation is 3 to 6 hours per week working outside of class on project assignments and homework. Lab hours will be posted.
There are numerous books and online tutorials on 3D and classic animation. I have listed recommendations of texts and URLs for further study. I will also distribute, handouts, images, and other reference materials to supplement your studies.

TEXTBOOK (s)

URL(s)

Assignments may be given out of these selected texts

NOTE: some links below might not work, please Google them yourself if so

MISC. ANIMATION TEXTS

-Timing for Animation, by Harold Whitaker and John Halas, Focal Press ISBN 0-240-51714-8

-The Illusion of Life, Disney Animation Walt Disney Productions ISBN 0-7868-6070-7

-The Animator’s Reference Book , Les Pardew & Ross WolfleyThompson Course Technology, USBN 1-59200-675-2

-The Animators Survival Kit, by Richard Williams, Faber, ISBN 0-571-20228-4

-Cartoon Animation, by Preston Blair, Walter Foster, ISBN 1-56010-084-2

-Understanding Comics, Scott McCould, ISBN 0-06-097625-X

-Character Animation in 3D, Steve Roberts, Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation ISBN 0-240-51665-6

ONLINE TUTORIALS AND DVDs

MUDBOX and ZBRUSH: brush-based displacement map sculpting (digital clay)

MUDBOX	ZBRUSH
brush sculpting, super easy learning curve. Runs on WINxp	bursh sculpting, more tools, z-spheres, more to learn. very powerful. runs on PC and Mac.

HEAD AND BODY MODELING

RYAN KITTLESON's method	JOAN OF ARC tutorial:	Another Head Tutorial	DIGITAL TUTORS	SPLINE CAGE Method	BOX MODELING Method	MODELING THE EAR
simplified poly cage construction, head only	strategic poly cage construction, head and body	strategic poly cage construction, head and body	strategic anatomically correct construction, whole body	using NURB splines to form face	Quicktime, (also called "blocking")	create Poly and append tools used to make an ear

STOP STARING : Facial Modeling and Animation done Right, by Jason Osipa

RIGGING SITES

RIGGING 101	GENERI	BLENDER NATION
professional rigging torials and samples to download	An often used, high quality rig with facial and hand controls	A good resources for many free rigs, including OTTO and ones used in the Animation Mentor Program

ANIMATION MENTOR (PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER ANIMATION MENTORING)

See Animation Mentor Class reels on

PROFESSIONAL CG SITES (research more on your own)

http://highend3d.com

http://www.awn.com

www.cgchannel.com

OTHER URLS

and TEXTS

Jason Schleifer Interview

click for other related resources and links

click for more animation related texts (Word File)

EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

upon completing this course the student should be able to:

-apply industry standard animation ability to create well-timed, high quality inorganic and organic character and prop animation.

-possess a versatility in tools to control, and modify 3D animated content

-create high quality rendered animated material, some of which should be suitable for a demo reel.

-be able to create basic rigged characters, and understand the properties of smooth/rigid binding/ weighting and painting weights on surfaces.

-create a finished final project which will stand as a finished film short, or production

PHYSICAL SUPPLIES

USB Flash Drive (1 GIG recommended)

Large sketchbook, graph paper, pencils, markers, and other drawing materials,

Maya Animation Tools and Keyframing

· Maya Interface reminders: (images here are not latest Maya version)

interface, channel box, attribute editor, commandline, helpline, modules , hotbox, layer editor, manipulators, outliner, panel layout, pivot, quicklayout, shelf, statusline, toolbox, move tools, shortcuts, timeslider, animation range , updating, or MMB with the K-key

· Maya Animation Basics

· Ball Bounce Principles

ball-bounce full, Bowling ball down, ball-bounce Part1, ball-bounce Part2, ball compare, inanimate object nature, anything a ball, parabolas, water balloon, weight and force, fast action antic

· Motivated Action Principles

anticipation explained, antic grab, antic cartoon, follow through, flag_cycle, stick_and_string, force,

S Sets a key the same as Animate > Set Key
Shift-W Sets keys for translation
Shift-E Sets keys for rotation
Shift-R Sets keys for scale

*You can also use the technique of Edit>Delete by Type>DELETE STATIC CHANNELS to rid flat curves.

· Ghosting/Onionskinning

Animate>GHOST SELECTED to see trail of selected, animated objects.

EXERCISE #1 CREATE multiple BOUNCING BALL ANIMATIONS (see below)

DUE at the end of class Wednesday, Sep. 30th (this will be graded as homework)

setup:

· Bouncing Ball (must be set up with 3-nodes: TRANSLATE, SCALE, ROTATE and in this precise Hierarchical Order) Animate the Ball on each node, one node at a time, and also in the above order.

create THREE bouncing ball animations:

A. A Squishy Ball Bounce (squash and Stretch)

B. A very light ball (balloon)

C. A Bowling Ball.

D. if time allows, animate one ball striking an object, ie "cardboard box"

turn these as: "YourName_squishy_bounce" etc., in to "JOvelmen" drop box.

Animation Tools & Animate the FLOUR SACK

October 6 and 8 will be taught by a visiting lecturer

IN CLASS LECTURE

Open Flour Sack Rig, but first Explore IK and define:

lecture about animation hiearchy IK and FK, joint orientation, joint axes, local/world/object axes

field size, x-sheet, ball-bounce full, Bowling ball down, ball-bounce Part1, ball-bounce Part2, ball compare, inanimate object nature, anything a ball, parabolas, water balloon, weight and force, fast action antic

Basic Concepts of Skeleton Control

Skeletons and Skinning, Kinematics, Joints and Bones, IK solvers, Pole Vectors

Useful Animation Menus and Tools

The Graph Editor

Normalize Curves, Buffer Curves, Breakdown Keys (Keys>Convert), prompt set keys

Animation Channels, muting Channels, Locking Channels,

Other Editors

Dope Sheet, Trax Editor, Outliner

Futher Study:

-creating expressions, create a Reverse Foot Lock, IK/FK switching

PROJECT #1 FLOUR SACK ANIMATION

DUE Wed, Oct 14

Your week2 project is to Animate an anthropomorphized FLOUR SACK. This character is a pre-made rig and can be downloaded here:

Flour Sack, character and Rig

in these actions:

A. pointing or gesturing an emotion

B. jumping

C. interacting with a prop

CONCEPTS TO MEET:
* Timing
* Anticipation
* Follow-through
* Overlapping action
* Weight and balance
* Staging and silhouettes

Option: You can use step tangents in the GE to clearly see each pose!

MODELING, RIGGING, and ANIMATING! (brief view at the whole process)

overview

DEMO ON RIGGING a bug-like creature

·demo on rigging an"Insect" using multiple parts and rig with Rigid Binding. Using IK handles, contraints, will be shown and how to create a simple walk and springing animation. also, Spline IK handles will be shown at the ends of the creature's Antennae. Also SpringIK (must be loaded) to accordian out complex legs.

Other Demos/Lecture:

Skinning techniques

Painting Weights, Component Editor

Showing Force and Weight in Animation

IN CLASS DEMO

BUILDING AND RIGGING A SIMPLE CHARACTER by creating the Skeleton first, and using SudDiv to "grow" out the body. The Convert to Polys. SMOOTH BIND to Skeleton, and Look At weighting issues.

Emphaszie the Difference between Rigid and Smooth Binds

Skeletons and Skinning, Kinematics, Joints and Bones, IK solvers,

Utility Nodes, Squash and Stretch Expressions, MEL scripting a sample setup, Facial Belndshapes, Wrap Deformers, Expressions for a Flapping Wing, Set Driven Keys

PROJECT #2, choose ONE of these THREE ANIMATIONS, of your choice: LIFT, PUSH, PULL(see below)

DUE: monday, Oct. 26

CHARACTER CONCEPTS:

character design concepts,

animating a lift,

You may use these PRE-RIGGED characters, or find your own on the web:

whatever you choose must be approved by me before starting assignment

GENERI_rig.mb	IK Joe.mb	PACKAGE MAN.mb	DIVA.mb	Basic_mayaman
Basic model rigged for character animation, Full lip sync and facial controls including the trigger UI. It's a simple model with a high quality rig.	Generic Segmented Character Rig. has a very nice, simple yet advanced facial setup, plus extra goodies.	Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, IK/FK spine, IK/FK arms and more.	Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, Low rez.	Extremely Basic rig. Minimal Controls. No Facial Animation setup. This one is good if you want want to avoid the complexity of controls of the other rigs, and you are not planning on facial acting
How to Use	How to Use	How to Use	How to Use

IN CLASS DEMO:

· create a "lifting" animation with your chosen Pre-rigged Character

· create a "pushing" animation with your chosen Pre-rigged Character

· create a "pulling" animation with your chosen Pre-rigged Characteruse reference:

dive, lift_2D, lift_3D, pull, push, animating a lift

High Quality Walk Cycle

IN CLASS DEMO:

show relevant FILMS or ANIMATED shorts relating to class topics.

PROJECT #3 SPIRITED WALK CYCLE (see below)

DUE Monday, Nov 2nd

· Create a particular WALK CYCLE from a pre-rigged character.

GENERI_rig.mb	IK Joe.mb	PACKAGE MAN.mb	DIVA.mb	Basic_mayaman
Basic model rigged for character animation, Full lip sync and facial controls including the trigger UI. It's a simple model with a high quality rig.	Generic Segmented Character Rig. has a very nice, simple yet advanced facial setup, plus extra goodies.	Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, IK/FK spine, IK/FK arms and more.	Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, Low rez.	Extremely Basic rig. Minimal Controls. No Facial Animation setup. This one is good if you want to avoid the complexity of controls of the other rigs, and you are not planning on facial acting
How to Use	How to Use	How to Use	How to Use

OTHER FREE RIG SITES

RIGGING 101	ANDY SLIKE	BLENDER NATION
professional rigging torials and samples to download	An often used, high quality rig with facial and hand controls	A good resources for many free rigs, including OTTO and ones used in the Animation Mentor Program

Animation ONE of the following of your choice:

Angry walk, Model Walk, Macho Walk etc.

Use reference, or gather your own reference:

angry walk, cool walk, depressed walk, dreamy walk, happy walk, macho walk, run, run_away, run_toward, skip, sneak, tip toe

body mechanics and anatomy:

Human Anatomy, joints, pelvis, rib cage, arcs, arcs_movie, spine, shoulders, skull and jaw,

WALK CYCLE CONCEPTS:

walk description, walk description_2, walk mechanics,

WALK CYCLES:

basic walk, even more walks, more walks, overlap,vibration, walk moods, norman walk,

STYLIZED WALK CYCLES:

hick cycle, pirate simple,

You may use the Character you rigged or any good online Pre-rig

IN CLASS DEMO

· Path Animation

· Create a Path animation: School of Fish, flock of birds, Missile trajectory

ANIMAL LOCOMOTION

PROJECT #4 ANIMAL WALK CYCLE, create a quadraped walk cycle (see below)

DUE: Mon, Nov. 9th

Animal pre-rigs:

· Basic_MayaDog

quadroped walk references:

using reference animation form above (or find your own), create THREE different animation walk cycles:

ie:

· animate an animal walk (relaxed pace)

· animate an animal walk (cantor)

· animate an animal walk (run/gallop)

Acting and Emotion

Lecture on Acting, Demo and Display of various short Examples

BillieJean, FandB, see Pixar examples saved to Intructor HD.

PROJECT #5 AN ACTING EVENT

DUE: Mon. Nov 23th

· if you have a character with a facial rig already set-up, or even if you don't, you can convey emotion through a chracter's body language and timing. Animate a pre-rigged character in an emotional event: rage, dissapointment, happiness, boredome, etc. Use any combination of FK or IK whatever suits your situation best. make sure you Animation is at least 15 seconds.

 

Again, you may use your own rigged character if you have one, but needs to be Approved by me.

You may choose ONE of the below:

PACKAGE MAN.mb	IK Joe.mb	GENERI_rig.mb	MEEPER_low.mb	BasicGuy_guy
Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, IK/FK spine, IK/FK arms and more.	Generic Segmented Character Rig. has a very nice, simple yet advanced facial setup, plus extra goodies.	Basic model rigged for character animation, Full lip sync and facial controls including the trigger UI. It's a simple model with a high quality rig.	Fully rigged character. Facial Setup, Low rez.	This one have very nice Facial GUI and great contols. If you are interested in doing alot of facial acting, this is a good choice
How to Use	How to Use	How to Use	How to Use

Note: adding your own texture to these characters is optional and does not effect your grade.

SEARCH WAV files:

I love waves

movie waves

daily wave

Simply best waves

WORK WEEK

use this week to continue to work on your "Acting Event Animation"

DEMO ON BLENDSHAPES CREATION and Facial Setup

creating blend shapes

(CTRL + MMB to slow down interp)

Models to add your own facial rig to (optional)

· Face mask

· Devil Head

·Jason Osipa's "Stop Staring"

"ACTING EVENT" PROJECT #5 IS DUE

IN CLASS DEMO, LECTURE, PRESENTATION:

Dynamics, Motion Graphics, Abstract animation,

PROJECT #6 FACIAL ACTING AND DIALOGUE OR ALTERNATE CHOICE*

DUE: Wed, Dec. 2nd

*you can do the below assginment of Facial Acting, or you can pursue your own different idea for an animation. It can be based on a previous assignment, or you can think up a brand new idea/animation situation. Keep in mind that whatever you choose, this is worth 20 points! a major contributor toward your grade, so choose wisely, and do the absolute best job you can on this project. All projects must be at least 15 seconds and will be graded more rigidly on all the learned skills and creative ingenuity you have gathers in class so far.

---

Facial Rigging

ANIMATE PIECE OF DIALOGUE with LIPSYCHING and EXPRESSION.

BasicGuy_guy

is a good one to use for facial animation

.

VOCAL ACTING: stressing for drama and emotional intent:

but, I HAVE nothing to say!, I have nothing to SAY, I have NOTHING to say!

OR find at least 15 seconds of expressive dialogue from a movie or TV show with emotive dialogue.

DEMO on ALTERNATE RENDERING TECHNIQUES:

Toon shader, or Animated Shader Experiments.

Rendering Alternatives:

· Toon Shaders, Ramp Shaders, vector Renders, and otherwise 2D-looks Options:

1- SurfaceSample+Ramp and Facing Ratio->Condition
2- TomCat get the plugin for TomCat
3- Render Man
4- Mental Ray
5- Ramp Shader

Render Services (Farm)

Render Rocket (has student discounts, trials)

DEMO on RIGGING

-creating expressions

-create a Reverse Foot Lock

-IK/FK switching

PROJECT #6 is DUE

IN CLASS LECTURE:

Distribution and Portfolio

Consultation on last leg of production: Editing, proper formating, media, specs and content delivery

Demo Reel TIPS:

what to put on a TD reel

face robot: old lady, young girl

image metrics (facemocap): lady, guytohulk, old man

sample rigging reels: HsuangWei-Liang,

FINAL COMPILATION Put Each of the 6 projects on a CD/DVD is Quicktime Format.

Homework assignments will be given points based on accurate completion of assigned readings, assignments and tutorials.

All Projects will be Graded oin the following Criteria

* Timing, Weight and Locomotion Effectively Shown

* Staging and Strength of the Animation Design

* Appeal & Effectiveness of Communication of Animation

* Relative Challenge of the Chosen Animation

*Originality, Creativity and Content (if Applicable)

Each given an equal weight of 20% of the point composition for each project.

It is, of course, the responsibility of each to ensure his/her work in completed an handed in on due dates (see below)

Critical review of your work will provide the source most assessments. Participation grade includes the extent and quality of the participation in the critiques, presentation of projects and positive interaction with classmates and professional approach toward the class. Students requiring any kind of special assistance should speak with the instructor at their earliest convenience.

Attendance: % 10 (click to see rubric)

Class Participation: % 5 (click to see rubric)

Homework & In-Class Assignments, including Exercise #1 %5 (click to see rubric)

1st Project, 2nd Project, 3rd Project, 4th Project %30 (click to see rubric)

5th Project, 6th project %40 (click to see rubric)

FINAL COMPILATION%10 (click to see rubric)

GRADE SCALE: A 90%-100%B 80%-89%C 70%-79%D 60%-69%F Below 60%

The learning curve in Maya is steep, missing even one class is enough to put you significantly behind. Regular class attendance in mandatory. Class attendance is also part of your class participation grade. Arriving on time is equally important. You would be fired in a job you do not show up on time for. The expectation here is similar. You will be considered absent one class period for every three tardies. (more than five minutes late)

Missing 5 classes, consecutively or not) is an AUTOMATIC FAILURE for the class.

Expect to spend from three to six hours a week on your working outside of class. Lab hours will be available and posted by the end of the first week.

Students are responsible for any material missed due to tardiness or absence. Readings, and assignments, and projects are expected at the beginning of class on their due dates.

Late submissions will be lowered one grade per class day late.

student may be able to re-submit any assignment for an improvement grade. The policies are specific to each assignment. Check specific project descriptions for more details.

Late assignments, or absences due only to emergency or illness may be granted leniency only per the instructor's discretion.

Extra Credit:

Students may be able to re-submit any assignment for an improvement points as long as that assignment was turned in the original due date. The policies are specific to each assignment. Check specific project descriptions for more details.

Other opportunities for extra credit are possible involving visiting realted exhibits, films, museums, specific research, attending relevant shows or conferences, or related study, etc. Such points are limited and per the instructor's discretion