...

Haha snowboarding is fun....hmmmm :P

And So...

Tomorrow we will start to model the first environment and the character... we will do this at Uni at some point to get a basic size refrence for both of us which'll be good. Perhaps we shall use the reference editor or simply work around the basic geometry (eg cubes and cylinders to match up matts model. I'd like to think we are on track but I am a slight bit of a pesimist I must say and I think that we would be slightly over confident this early on in the game!!! I do however still think that we have a good chance to create something really nice for this project and therefore my hopes are still riding high... I believe!

This HAD to go up....

Myself and two others... Matt obviously and a PRO snowboarder we asked to help us for reference...'reference' I mean... the idea was to get as many shots which resembled the true actions of a snowboarder turning in snow... leaning into the the corner whilst keeping your balance... its a lot harder especially if you aren't actually moving and are held up by bricks :p We actually got a lot out of this little session in the car park and we may use the photos later on... but it was SO fun :D

Quick Concept Design

This is a quick photoshop sketch I did for a simple design... I think it'll probably end up being a compilation of all the photos you have seen already posted though as Matt and I, as previously discussed quite like a few of them. We shall look into them again very soon.

Monday Day

Today we've been looking at Microsoft Project with Jared and it all seems fairly understandable. Matt and I have got to grips with it all (we think) and it seems to be going swimmingly. At lunch Matt and I (with help from our technically consultant Sam Saunders) went out into the car park and took a few photos of ourselves in different positions on a board and some bricks attempting to get some key poses together. I think it's safe to say we are faily happy with the way that they've turned out and we can use these at a future date.

Character Design

As I didn't have time to finalise the character I did the best I could with what time I did have. I managed to capture a number of different angles of different snowboarders doing tricks etc. Key poses are going to be key for the animation in our project and the sooner we understand what poses we want, how high etc... it'll be a lot easier to animate and talk about the shots we need to do with the feel we want to get along side them.

Music still an issue - need to look into/listen out for suitable tracks. Fast pace track but slow for first 8 secs?... possibly 8-10 secs VERY quiet with just footsteps? hmm... theres a thinker.

Initial Story Board

Ok so a very rough scrap together idea for a storyboard. I wasn't going to spend too long on it as I had to get a lot of key poses done for the tricks and character.

I feel that our story has potential. A few alterations will obviously be made to accomodate for different processes going on and problems occuring. Matt will be working mainly on the storyboard over the weekend.

Quick Illustrator Pic

Whipped this together for a bit of concept work... just thinking allowed really with this sketch done in illustrator.

Character Style Design

Using the Burton website we've decided to go for the look and style of Burton as we are ADVERTISING burton...otherwise we wouldn't be advertising anything.... and the advert would be FAKE...A FAKE!!

Ice Age Video

Even though in french... shows a nice landscape with simple mountains.

Snow Tests

Just a few test renders from Maya here where we are experimenting with Snow and the texture of Snow. Also considering possible landscapes for our snowboarder to board down. Possibly needs to be more mountainous. Considering looking at Animated films eg Ice Age to see how they've done it. Also probably too much glare from the light source and it spreads across too far upon the snow.

Trail Hurdle...

One of the biggest hurdles Matt and I were worried about was the trail left by the snow in the environment. Today we came together and discussed this along with a number of different matters about shots and the leading up to the snowboarder actually boarding. We managed to do it in After Effects in the end using layers - top layer - flat plane (pre snowboarder with mask subtract) bottom layer set as normal... and hey presto. With some snow being kicked up behind to hide the transition it'll work like a dream.

Alleyway Research

Research into alleyways for our opening shot of our animation. Timing will be up soon with a quick run through of the shots ... so all will be explained soon.

Snow Attempt 01

Just had a quick attempt at making snow. Really easily done with the correct lighting and materials put together.... think we could do with some more blueish tint though considering it'll be reflecting the bright blue sky... but for a first attempt... *Thumbs UP*

SSX Tricky Ads

Ok so we are not creating a game environment granted however I felt it was worth looking at as Maya can create just as good, if not better quality... we can hope anyway.

Below are a couple of trailers for the game SSX tricky which is quite an old game now.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/3758.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/3758.html

Animation...

Break done those key frames and you can really see the detail of some jumps snowboarders pull off :)

Board Entry Idea

This was done in about 5 mins to show the kind of entry where the board could come into play... before he 'jumps' he is running towards screen and then as he is jumping over the camera the board will appear below him... just a thought I put together.  Obviously it would look FAR FAR better than this as I spent two minutes on this but this is to get an idea across to Matt ... we'll discuss it tomorrow - not too fussed about this shot to be honest as I think the alternative that we have spoken about was also good!

Snowboarding Clothes

Snowboarding Images

Studio AKA

CLICK ME

This is a good website for loads of different animations in a certain style.  Although its not exactly something we'll probably go for it just shows how sound really can make a difference and animation can be so entertaining :)

Warren Miller

First bit of research then... 

The Brief...

The Brief-
For this brief you will be required to work upon a 30 second animation piece to be either broadcast on Rave On Air, or used in teh associated animation exhibition at the end of term.

You have the choice of working towards ONE of the following outputs:
1. An advert or promotion of the brands that level 2 Product Design students have been working on.
2. A character based animation piece to take advantage of the musion setup that will be in place for Rave On Air.
3. An animation piece of your own design.
4. Additionally, there may be the possibility to produce animatied content for CCB students if their programmes require it, this will depend upon demand, and will be subject to negotiation with your tutor.

Deadline will be 3rd of June to meet ROA. A form of production scheduling will form an integral part of your submissiong for this project. You will be shown how to use MS project in order to create viable project schedules.

You will also be maintaining a production journal or blog as you have done in previous projects. This new blog will serve another purpose in that it is designed to serve as a means of communicating and sharing progress with all parties involved with ROA.

Brand List for output 1:
Avon - make up for men...
Wholefoods - looking at lunch time buffet...
Red Bull - looking at new energy products...
WKD - WKD without a glass...
Dove Soap - looking at self esteem fund and attracting teenagers...
Uncle Bens - Sticky Rice...
Burton Snowboaring - apres snowboarding culture/lifestyle activities...
Nokia - a non phone product for Nokia...
Pyrex - material science based, clever clookware...

Project Set Up

Looking at the briefs I have to choose from I am angling towards the Product Design one for 'Burton's' - snowboarding equiptment and clothing. I think this can be done quite well and professionally by a team of two. Lucky Matt Messenger has agreed that he will be willing to work with me on this project which means that we can share the enjoyment of it together over the 6 week period until the deadline (thats if my maths is correct). 6 weeks doesn't give us a lot of time and therefore we'll have to get cracking right away. Which is why I've literally just got home from work (Monday night) and I'm creating this blog and getting going right away - strong start STRONG FINISH! I think Matt and I's know how will work well much like Sam and I did last term. Hopefully again I can learn from him and vice versa. Am looking forward to this project as I've already got a few ideas about what could happen in the story ... just hope Matt approves.

Only time will tell.

The Project Brief will be uploaded soon once we get a digital version upon Moodle.
Dan Shufflebotham