Animation Business.

After a small hiatus, I'm back. I know I don't have many people that follow this, but I still try to be fairly consistent with my posts for my own records and also out of respect for those of you who do stomach these long reads. If you get by with my rantings, I appreciate it very much! Thank you.

So where things are: In the midst of the pressures of an approaching deadline. Never a very fun place. What I try to keep in mind is that I know myself well enough to know that I stive to meet whatever deadline I have -- the more time I have alotted, however, the more time I will take to work. This is where self-management becomes diffcult. How long of a shift is too long of a shift... How long of a break is too long of a break... How much is too much... How little is too little... What are the major areas of importance in getting the project delivered on time and with positive notriety for yourself from your client? It's a daunting afterthought as I close in on many long nights and quick days.

But it's getting there.

I've officially started the first assembly of animation. I'm working a hybrid of straight ahead and pose to pose with the camera-- On major moves, I have a start key, an end key, and begin with one key in between...

It's been a pain animating with the target camera, a 3DS Max feature, and I'm starting to wonder the benefits of both:

So here they are:

Free Cameras:
-Easier to use when the camera's position is animated along a path.
-Offers a view of the area that is directly in front of the camera
-A better choice if the camera will be animated.
-A single parameter for Free cameras defines a Target Distance—the distance to an invisible target about which the camera can orbit.

Target Cameras:
-Easier to animate when not moving along a path.
-Both camera and target can be animated indepent of each other.

*Referenced @ http://www.expertrating.com/courseware/3DCourse/3D-Cameras-1.asp*

A couple valuable tips I've learned about Camera Animation:
-Always animate ONE axis at a time.
-The camera NEVER stops moving during an animation... EVER. Follow through.
-Watch for the fluidity, smoothness, and arc compliments of the animation curves
-The more animation keys the more complicated the animation becomes-- If I'm not able to get on track, I start deleting the weaker, less prominent, areas of movement and rebuild my animation from there.

After building and lighting a basic set, I decided to do some animation tests to try and achieve a look that my resembles my client's visions. Happily, a magazine that I subscribe to called 3d World offered a solution that I recalled-- The Slice Tool with Cap Holes is a wonderful modifier in 3DS Max (if your geometry is neat). They had a tutorial about a cheese grater cutting through cheese that stuck out mainly. The similar soltion in Maya I'm researching is the Cut Faces Tool or Animated Booleans and then the Append Tool.

I'm exploring another techniques now for the shots to follow, but I am glad I remembered this one tutorial in paticular, because it was exactly what the job required as far as creating a very specific "look" that was desired for a one of the shots.

I am now thankful that I read this article during my downtime my airlines job even if I can't actively do the tutorials whilst at work... For the past 3 years I have switched on and off each year between two subscriptions of both 3D World and Imagine FX.

As far as my personal work, it's been on hold temporary but I definitely plan to return to uploading the rest of my work to my website soon. And from there am hoping to get more work. To keep my own chops fresh, I have kept a now halfway-promise of "Trying to sketch daily" to "Trying to sketch more". This is smaller more realistic goal and a less discouraging option for me when under the madness of a busy schedule.