Let's start back at the beginning of the year. We started off strong by redoing one of the first things we ever learned in animation. The classic Bouncing Ball. But this time, we bumped it up a notch. We learned, for the first time, how to animate in After Effects. Mr. Olson had walked us through it step-by-step and then we got to try it out for ourselves. It took me a long time to get the hang of After Effects and I ended up using my Power 50 a bunch to finish this on time. I picked this project so I could show where we started doff at the beginning of the year and see how it progressed. I took a long time on this one making the bouncing look at least mildly realistic and I feel like I did an okay job. If I could go back and change this project I would have made the leaves blowing in the background and the bouncing look even more realistic than it may have already. The leaves are the only reason I called this project Ball In the Fall. It makes sense that they should move.
I included this one not because I wanted to, but because it felt necessary. This snail was-no- is a burden I will carry for the rest of my life. Meet Barold. A happy, care-free Girl Scout who happens to be a mutant three-legged snail. I gave this snail a whole background story. Turns out, animating something with three legs is a whole lot harder than something with two legs. It took me at least ten solid tries to get his legs to look right and right at the tail end I made his leg go the wrong direction. We were supposed to be demonstrating a walk cycle with a creature of our own creation. I don't know what I was thinking, creating this free-loading, cookie-selling snail that doesn't pay his half of the rent. I did learn how to do a walk cycle though, and I was able to later apply that knowledge to an animal I'm actually proud of. I have definitely improved on my ability to make a walk cycle but I haven't learned not to choose projects that will give me a hard time in the future. If I could go back and change one thing about my walk cycle, it would be the entire concept. I would have had such an easier time if I hadn't had to deal with this monstrosity. I know I shouldn't be this hard on him, but I'm just holding on to unnecessary bitterness. Contrary to now popular belief, I did enjoy this project at the beginning. I just got myself in over my head with extra work and I did learn a lot doing this project.
This here is a project I am 100% proud of. For our second project in Maya we had to create a castle. I leaned a lot about Maya here. There was a lot packed in this first project. We learned how to maneuver in Maya, how to manipulate shapes and change their configuration. We also learned how to add colors and textures to the different shapes and, of course, I covered my little castle in gold tinfoil. I picked this project because it shows how far we came in this program in such a short time. I'm proud of myself for (mostly) getting the hang of Maya quickly. My dad wants me to teach him how to use Maya and I am really excited. I want to start exploring the different areas in Maya and go beyond the basic instructions of each project. I can apply what I have learned to my future projects in Maya. If I could go back and change anything in my project I would add more details to my castle. I have a friend who made her castle taller and put a dragon on it. A dragon! That's so exciting! I am really looking forward to all of our future projects in Maya.
I chose this project because it is our most recent animation project. Mr. Netterville calls it a "polything". We learned about booleans and all about lighting. Mr. Olson was out due to surgery while we worked in Maya and Mr. Netterville came in and taught us. I am really getting the hang of the basics of Maya but if I get stuck on a step it takes me awhile to get back on track.what I learned in this project is definitely going to help me on future projects. If I could change anything on this project, I would redo all of my lighting. I had to have a friend help me fix my lighting and make it look at least slightly correct. We have come very far form the beginning of the year and I'm really proud of her far I have come.
No comments:
Post a Comment