cmsc340 3d character design & animation 3d character design
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CMSC340 3D Character Design & Animation
3D Character Design
3D Character Design
Breathing life into your creations is one of the hardest elements of character design
It can be easy to miss the magic when you're developing your own projects
While the most successful characters often look deceptively simple, it can be difficult to deconstruct why certain characters and their characteristics work, and some don't
3D Character Design
Understanding the importance of personality and environment is key to a good design
From inspirations and early drafts through to revisions and finalized versions, the design process can reveal complications that arise during development and how they are overcome
3D Character Design
In designing 3D characters, three types of visuals are essential:
Character sketches
Model sheets
Pose sheets
Character Sketches
Sketching may look simple but to sketch a single character a designer may have to do several sketches before a decision maker is impressed
With high tech programs and new software designing tools, a designer can exhibit freely their creative ideas to create symmetrical and proportionally correct characters
The final sketches of a designer can be translated straight from the computer to a fabrication stage, going through various procedures before the character is brought to life
Character Sketches
Note different facial expressions
Character Sketches
Note different sketch styles
Model Sheets
Aka character board, character sheet, character study or simply a study
A document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of an animated character
Are required when large numbers of artists are involved in the production of an animation
Help maintain continuity in characters from scene to scene, animator to animator
Model Sheets
Drawings of posed characters
Created to provide a reference template for several artists who collaborate in the production of an animation
Usually depict the character’s head and body as they appear at various angles (a process known as "model rotation")
Include sketches of the character’s hands and feet, and shows several basic facial expressions
Model Sheets
Depending on the whim of animation direction, deviations from the model may be permitted in the course of final animation
This "tightness" of model is a major distinguishing factor in overall animation style
It constitutes a tradeoff between expressiveness and smoothness/consistency
The usage of models varies widely between studios and projects
Model Sheets
Front Side Back
Model Sheets
Front Side Back
Model Sheets
Front Side Back3/4
Pose Sheets
Character pose sheets have been used for years by illustrators, animators and artists for the purpose of maintaining accurate renderings of their main characters
Think of how annoying it would be to have to constantly figure out how to draw your character in each situation they’re placed in
With a handy reference, you’ll remember key changes to your character’s look in all sorts of angles and actions
This will improve your work-flow and make you more efficient in the long run
Pose Sheets
Pose Sheets
Pose Sheets
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
A significant project in Studio AKA’s portfolio, the National Lottery ‘Big Win’ campaign saw the development of a signature style that has laid the foundations for future projects, most notably the current animated commercials for Lloyds TSB. “Early inspiration for the characters came from The Moomins,” explains Craste, who designed and directed the commercial. “The Moomins have a charming, if quirky and slightly spooky, quality that I very much like. I thought that mixture of charm and oddness might be the ideal direction to take the Big Win.”
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
The identity for each character was developed from scratch. Initial elements of personality were introduced at this stage, during the preliminary design process, as instructions on early sketches of Tyler show. “If every week you’re designing something new, you’re going to run out of steam on your own,” Craste continues. “Inspiration comes from various places. Very often something will serve as a starting point. The task is then to bend, break and reinvent until the source is no longer recognizable and you have something original.”
Characterization was developed very much with the target audience in mind. “We trod a fine line between keeping the design interesting enough for us creatively, and not being too weird or out there, because the characters had to appeal to a wide and diverse audience,” he explains. “The challenge was to make something fresh, original and hopefully memorable, within these constraints. We also had to avoid anything that might be too appealing to children. Animation is often seen as appealing largely to kids – slightly inappropriate for a Lottery ad.”
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
When designing new characters, Craste works from a pencil drawing first, often sketching straight onto a tablet in Photoshop where he then adds color.
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
The team used model sheets to maintain the graphic continuity, helping to standardize the appearance of the characters.
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
While the characters and costumes were drawn in detail at an early stage, their surreal environment evolved more organically, with input from Studio AKA’s CG set designers and builders. Initial designs reveal a darker feel to the National Lottery world than the finalized ad. “Invariably I’ll go too dark,” admits Craste, who spent the first 10 years of his career in Sydney doing adverts for children and working on children’s shows. “It’s probably a reaction to that. But I definitely have a preference for dark and moody stuff. It usually gets reined in on commercials and has its outlet in the short films we’ve made.”
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
The final ad plays to Studio AKA’s character design and animation strengths, particularly in its trademark deceptively simple geometry work, and the characters proved popular – not only with the client, but to other big names as well. “I think the National Lottery job was one of the points of reference for Lloyds TSB,” he explains. “They liked the ad – I think it suggested to them that they could do a CG job with contemporary design, comfortable in the knowledge it wouldn’t be perceived as too childlike.”
Example:Studio AKA's Big Win
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