(d-di(x))+di=s

Ok I spent about seven hours today trying to find some good information on how to do a stretchy-limb setup for Dans character. Unfortunately I totally failed. There just doesnt seem to be any tutorials that work for me, and they all involve either ridiculous amounts of scripting or tons of stuff I just plain cant understand.

The first one I tried was this:
http://www.tutorialized.com/view/tutorial/Stretchy-Arm-Skeleton/26944

This one suggests using a duplicate skeleton with more bones in for smoother deformation, which turns out to be massively complex with tons of intricate constraints and nodes I don't understand just to keep the second bloody skeleton following the movements of the first. I couldnt even get this step right, let alone making any joints stretch. Here's what happened when I followed the tutorial and tried to move the arm:


I got similar results on both attempts of this. Maybe the tutorial works, who knows, but with my limited understanding of what I'm doing when I'm following it I don't have a chance of getting it right; there are just too many variables I don't know about that might be effecting it.

The second tutorial I tried was this:
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/tutorials/character/c/stretchy-hand--2

This makes it look a bit simpler with no extra skeletons or anything, but has a massive section of scripting and expressions, but only for one side of the body. Even if I tried this it would be a waste of time because I don't know anything about scripting so I wouldnt have a clue how to get the other side of the body done.

The third tutorial I tried was this:
http://www.keegan3d.com/tutorial_view.php?id=7

This tutorial brings cluelessness to a whole new level. I literally have no idea whatsoever what any of it means but nevertheless I had a go at following it. This is what happened somewhere in the middle:



Unaware of exactly why my arm shrunk, I read further on to see if there were any solutions. Nope, it just relentlessly fills my head with nonsense and numbers, at one point proposing that the key formulae is (d-di(x))+di=s, but that we'd need to convert it to expressions.

Im going to give up for the day and come back to it tomorrow.

Character rigs

So the new terms started and everone's in production now. Dan and Phil of both approached me at the start of the year asking if I would be able to rig for their films "Polished Off" and "Splay", and the time has come for me to get on with it. I made a start on Jed from "Polished Off" today- he's a fantastic character and very true to Dan's style- he needs to be extremely flexible and bendy as he is something of a dancer. I've been asked if I can make his legs and arms stretch, so I will need to find out a bit about that before I start properly. Also the feet are modelled so that they curve upwards- this looks good so I don't want to request a remodelling, but as you can see it does mean the normal reverse foot setup I do isn't going to work this time. I reckon I can do all the movements I need for the feet through set driven keys, or I might be able to find an alternative. I got the reference curves and the spine setup today, but I will need to revise Sultans lecture from last year as I think it was a far better spinal rig than what I usually make!

I might ask for the hands to be adjusted so that the thumbs are in their more natural 'opposable' position, as this will help the skinning look more natural.

Apologies to Phil, I know you need your dudes rigged soon as possible but Jeds gunna take a whole lot longer so I started with him.

The other thing I have on my immediate agenda is to model Lonato on Red Rock. Lots to do this term, and I'm in my element in production phase, so I should be far more useful than last term.

trees rocks and huts

Just a quick colour sample using one of Nates sketches

Research boards

Heres most of the research to date. I arrainged theses boards last week, just havnt got around to posting them yet. I have a couple more on trees, rocks and huts that still need to be posted.

Degree show pitch

I took a couple of days to help with a pitch for a degree show. I built this basic geometric model of the layout based on the floor plans for the venue and Jodi's sketches. The ultimate plan is to have a full flythrough with animated explanations of how to use the central hub, as an introductory video for visitors. I figured it was worth posting my progress on that on this blog as well, as it is pretty much another whole project.

Research

Spent the last few days doin some visual research to try and help define the visual style. I posted a few key photos and ideas up on the group blog, and added a link to the full collection so far on the forum. I mainly looked into Native American art and culture, as I think this would be a fitting theme for our style considering the setting of Arizona.

The Life and Art of North American Indians, John Anson Warner proved a goldmine of a resource, as it contains hundreds of images of objects, clothing, landscapes, and artworks. The most appropriate can be found on the zip folder linked to the forum, and I explained the key ideas on the group blog.