2065 551 02 ST:3D Modeling for Animation
Duane Palyka
Fall 991
September, 1999
3 credits Tuesday 8:00am- 11:50am Room 7B-1212
Thursday 12:00pm- 1:50pm Room 7B-2050
As you go through the lessons you will be modeling a scene using the things
that you learn each day. You will complete the lessons, design characters,
sets, props, and create digital character sheets. The final project will
be an animatic based on a storyboard for an animation using these characters,
sets and props. Completion of the projects will provide a review
of the materials covered in the lessons. Your progress will be reviewed
on a regular basis in the lab classes.
Required Books:
Learning Maya by Alias|Wavefront, a division of Silicon
Graphics Limited. Copyright 1998 by Alias|Wavefront, 210 King Street East,
Toronto, Canada M5A 1J7, (416) 362-9181, Fax: (416) 362-6140, $50.00.
Digital
Character Animation by George Maestri. List
Price: $55.00. Paperback - 369 pages Bk&Cd-Rom edition (December
1996). New Riders Publishing; ISBN: 1562055593
Recommended Book:
Principles
of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation: Modeling, Rendering, and Animating
with 3d Computer Graphics by Michael O'Rourke (List price: $48.00).
Lessons:
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Week 1
Lessons 1, 2, 3 (Due in lab 2)
Read the introduction to Learning Maya
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Read Chapters 1 & 2 of Maestri.
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Do sketches of a character you would like to model. By way of the look
and posture of the character, the character should indicate one of the
following traits: (1) sneaky, (2) dumb, (3) arrogant, (4) stingy, (5) mischevious,
(6) goofy, (7) braggart, (8) nasty
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Week 2
Lesson 18, 19 (Build Salty) (Due in lab 3)
(In Lesson 19: Skip "Building the eye control node" (p.385) thru "Adding
a pupil attribute" (p.391).)
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Drawing: Refine and abstract your character. Make his design fit within
the tools you are becoming familiar with, keeping his characteristic trait.
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Week 3
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Lesson 13 (NURBS Spaceship) (Due in lab 4)
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Using ideas and styles from Chapter 2 of Maestri, model your simplified
character.
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Week 4
Lesson 21 (Build Salty a set) (Due in Lab 5)
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Design and build another simple character. Give him a trait that would
make him a good foil for your first character.
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Think about a story for your characters. Story must be told in physical
movement, expressions and gestures.
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Using a sphere, create a "pole-at-the-mouth" character head as in Chapter
4, exercise 2 of Maestri.
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Use exercises 4 & 5 to put a nose and mouth on this character. Continue
with eyebrows, tongue, teeth, etc.
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Build a body for him as well.
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Week 5
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Lesson 22 (Texture Mapping) (Due in lab 6)
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Extend the set into a workable environment for your characters to interact
in.
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Create a simple skinned head (exercise 3, chapter
4 of Maestri). Make the head of a pet for one of your characters.
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Design a storyboard based on your characters, set
and props.
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Upgrade your first character to match the technical
quality of the second.
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Week 6
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Lesson 12 (Polygonal Spaceship) (Due in lab 7)
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Use artisan and/or lattices to create a series of
expressions for your character. The expressions must fit the character.
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Model a vehicle for one or more of your characters
to ride in.
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Build other characters and/or props needed in your
story.
Week 7
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Create digital "Character Sheets" showing the characters
in various poses and expressions. (Due in lab 8)
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Begin working on an animatic, where each frame of
the storyboard is rendered in 3D and timed in the animatic.
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Week 8
Do the layout (camera positions) and lighting
for the final project. All camera moves like zooms and pans should function
in the animatic. Likewise, we should see fades and cross-dissolves when
appropriate.
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Week 9
Work on the final
Render at 320x240
Make a quicktime copy of your animatic on zip disk or CD (Due on the
last day of class)
Week 10
Hand in final project. Zip disks will be returned, CD's will not.
All work will be graded on quality, completeness, timeliness of submission
and neatness of presentation. Weight of grades will be distributed
as follows:
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Completion of the lessons: 40%
Completion of each lesson counts as 4% of the grade (there are
9 lessons) 4% is automatic for completing all lessons.
You must present the work you have done for each lesson to the
instructor before deleting the rendered version. Do not delete the scene
itself.
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Creative work will be graded on both technical expertise and esthetics.
Each frame of the animatic should reveal an integrated sculptural space.
Proportions of the characters and scene elements should be esthetically
pleasing. Pay attention to framing the scene, good timing, good poses,
strong silhouettes, good staging, definite line of action. No cross over.
Digital Character Sheets 15%
Final animatic: 40%
Studies and Character Drawings: 5%
Each unexcused absence from class will result in lowering the final grade
by one full grade point. Excuses must be provided in advance of missing
a class. Messages can be sent via email (dpalyka@rit.edu) or left
with Duane Palyka at 475-2771.
Cheating, plagarism or other dishonest behavior relative to this course
will result in failure in the course.
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Duane M. Palyka, rm 2286
http://www.rit.edu/~dpalyka
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The structure of this syllabus is based on syllabi designed by Marla Schweppe.
Note: This syllabus may change from time-to-time, so please review it periodically.
Syllabus updated from Maya 1 to Maya 2 on 9/13/99