Rocky Soil Test Sequence

Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  This past summer was rather difficult because I had to balance house chores, projects, and work.  It has definitely not been uneventful.  Anyway, I finally finished the test sequence for the rocky soil.

I'm rather proud how I can convey his emotions.  I really like the eye brows.  I also like the texture of the character.  Unfortunately, the puppet itself was a little difficult to animate.  Not my best built, but it did last for the entirety of the shoot.  The character was a little top heavy, so I couldn't have him walk too much.  A heavier gauge wire may have to be used in his legs.

In this test, I also wanted to see how the ground would look.  I used the same stage as I did with the Wayside Soil test where all the holes were pre-drilled.  When I wanted the character to step his foot in a specific location, I poked through the hole in the stage and the layer of clay.  I then cleaned out the area around the hole and put the screw through to tighten into the tee nut that is in the foot.  When the foot lifts off, I take some clay to cover the hole back up.  This will be barely noticeble.  At worst, it'll be seen as a minor foot print.

The sequence itself does seem a little long, so I'll definitely have to strip it down to the bare essentials for the story.  My goal is to give each soil no more than two minutes.  Most likely the shots of pebble stacking will have to go.  It may also be to difficult to set up and animate.

I made the rain using my 3Doodler pen and some clear blue pla plastic.  The effect appears to work with each drop having a two frame exposure.  For the final product, I plan to draw the mid air drops and have them scanned into the computer.  They can be animated digitally, and still match with the drops hitting the ground.

The bird will appear to each soil in the film even though he is only mentioned for the wayside soil in the parable.  I think It'll be a good way to show how everyone struggles with an encounter with the devil.  As I work on the soil test animation, I do plan to make the bird puppet more sophisticated.  Hopefully he'll turn out to be a little creepy and scary since he is suppose to represent the devil.

I'm going to stick to my guns and have no dialogue or voice over.  There are too many preachy religious films out there.  I want my film to start a conversation, and not be a conversation.  I may use a bible verse to open up the film as well as one to close it, like bookends.

In the last post, I mentioned a film festival I thought about entering.  However, I did the math and realized the idea was too complicated to complete on time.  I still may make the film someday because I think it's a good idea.  I did however, go to the festival as an audience member which was fun in its own right.  I met new people who had similar interests, and I was able to see what was being made by others in my own area.  I have come to realize I don't have much of a social life, so I went on this little adventure.

Speaking of adventures, I'm going on another one in the middle of West Virginia.  My film Halloween Treasure was completed last year for a friendly competition on the animate clay website (now called stop motion magic).  Just for giggles, I entered it into a couple of film festivals.  It made it into the WV FILMmakers fest, so I'll be going there this coming weekend to meet more filmmakers.

This is also the time of year to update my animation reel.  I didn't want to put it together until I completed the test above.  So here it is...

In other news, I have started studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.  I don't remember everything, but I do recognize most of the material I'm reading.  I guess that's a good start.  Sometimes I feel torn between being an engineer and an artist, but I got to do what I can to reach my full potential.  Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Too Much?

So, in the last post I was hoping to have the Star Wars video done and uploaded by the end of January.  Naturally, I was wrong.  But it is finished now...

The project was more than what I anticipated.  For a fun fact, everything was improvised and animated in chronological order (for the most part).  There were no storyboards or anything.  The characters and story literally came to life as I worked on this project.  There was a point where I got so sick working on this.  I even asked myself if the trouble was worth it.  After sharing it on facebook, I found out it was.  It at least entertained my coworkers for five minutes and made them laugh.

However, I do think I spent a little too much time on something that was "just for fun."  Despite its faults (there are plenty because I didn't take this project that seriously), I am proud of the results.  The title says it all.  I wanted to see how I could animate these stormtroopers and the speeder bike in an exciting way.  Now that I know I can make something half decent with these figures, I think I have a more complex fun story in the works for a more polished short.

Anyway, I started feeling guilty for not making as much progress on Soil, so I started some material animation tests for the rocky soil sequence.

There were three mixtures I used.  The first guy in the video is made of clay and kinetic rock, the second is mixture of clay and orb molecules, and the last is clay simply covered with orb molecules.  I'm going to stick with my initial decision and go with the first mixture.  I can get a variety of bumpiness and texture for the character.  I might use the second, or third options for the good soil.

This test was also an experimentation in cinematography.  I recently designed and built a rig for my camera that allows for smooth tracking shots (there are at least three instances in the video of the camera moving forward and backward).  I'm actually very proud of the results.  Below are photos that help show how I built it.

First a mold of the camera mount for the tripod was made using silicone puddy I bought from Michael's.

After the resin cured in the mold, it was shaved down by a razor blade until it fit perfectly into the tripod.  It was then screwed to a drawer rack.

Using oven baked clay, I made a new part that can hold the original tripod camera mount.

Another rubber mold is made using the puddy again,

When resin is cured, the part is removed from mold and screwed onto the very end of the drawer rack.  A metal part is bolted on.  When the camera with the mount is placed in position, the metal strip swings over and is bolted on the other side.  It's basically a seat belt for the camera.

There is just enough friction at the bearings to hold the camera in position for a frame.

The cardboard box is on the other end to hold counter weights to balance the camera and tripod overall.  The weight is calculated using the torque equation.

Equation:

Camera Weight x Camera Distance from Tripod = Counter Weight x Distance from Tripod

I actually used blocks of clay as counter weight since the characteristic is clearly labeled on the packaging.  Note how the camera distance from the tripod would change as it moves toward or away from a subject.  Adding or reducing weight as I go would disturb the camera too much in the shot, so I calculated an average of three pounds (three blocks of clay) to keep the camera balanced.

Despite the rig itself being very ghetto, I'm happy with the results.  However, it is mostly limited for straight ahead shots.  Because of the weight distribution, tracking with a steep camera angle (high or low) is near impossible.  With some modifications, this rig could potentially be also used for panning shots.  I may have to stretch my engineering abilities further, so I can continue to deliver quality shots in a variety of styles.

In other news, I'm thinking of entering a local festival to get my name out there.  Unfortunately, it's theme specific, so I have a create a brand new film especially for this event.  However, I think I have a nice short and simple story idea that can work for the time frame I have.  The early bird deadline is 6/20, regular is 7/20, and late is 8/10.  The theme is moon.  If it be God's will, I can get something of quality done on time.

Right now I'm also working on a test sequence for the rocky soil.  My next post will probably feature both videos.  At some point, I may slow down on animation in general because I'm thinking of pursuing an engineering license to further my career.  I'll see what God has in store!  Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Soil Test Sequence

So, last post I said I was working on a test sequence for Soil.  Here it is...

Obviously, the video above is not my best work.  It's really just a rough version of what's to come.  I was trying to figure out how to portray the bird, so that it'll come across as scary, like the xenomorph from the Alien franchise from which I drew inspiration.  I realize that the best way to portray a monster is to show pieces of him at a time to make him appear intimidating.  Then as time goes by, he can be revealed in all his terrifying glory.

Was this effect achieved in the video above?  I would say about 50 percent.  I think a lot of it may have to do with timing and editing.  In the final version I may also try some lighting options.  This was a nice test run.  Although not fully satisfying, I think I know where to go from here.

Below are some photos of how I built and bird for this sequence.  Like most challenges, I figure the best approach was to break it into pieces.

 Here's the close up for the bird's bust.

There are four twisted 18 gauge wires holding him up. 

The wire was bent in a ring that is under the block of clay. 

Here are the feet.  Each claw is metal wire with putty at the end.  The legs have metal tubing for bones.  They are covered by glued pieces of cloth that were painted black.  The tale has a wire mesh for some flexibility.

Nothing like duct tape to bring everything together! 

The wing also has metal tubing for bones.  It is in three sections with pieces of foam that have feathers glued on them.  The feathers were cheap.  They fall apart too much, so I may have to get them somewhere else.

Hey, as long as it works and the audience doesn't see it on screen... 

I went through three puppets just to film this test sequence.  Because of the raking motion, the ankles are definitely subject to more stress than the rest of the body.  The arms can break easily too. 

The armature design is fairly basic.  Pronged tee-nuts are the way to go for tie downs in the feet.

In other news, during the month of October AnimateClay.com had another one of their challenges.  The topic for the month was Halloween.  I can't fully explain except with the cliche that inspiration struck me early on in the month.  In a matter of one weekend, I was able to develop an original Halloween story, and figure out how to approach production in a timely manner.  In three weeks, my schedule consisted of eating, sleeping, working, reading the Bible, going to church, and animating.  That was it.  My Saturdays were completely consumed by animation.  I'm glad to say I had the full support of my parents the entire time.  The film below was completed in three weeks.

I'm honestly amazed what I was able to accomplish.  A one minute video is one thing, three minutes is insanity.  Seriously, something is wrong with me.  I'm very satisfied with how the characters, story, and animation all turned out, especially given the short time frame.  I'm so glad God allowed me to complete this film on time with such quality.  Without Him, it definitely wouldn't have been possible.

Yeah, it's because of fun little projects like this that I may get distracted from the bigger projects like Soil.  However, there are some benefits.  For one thing, I'm doing a lot of practice to help prepare for the bigger projects from an animation and film making perspective.  Solving problems on the smaller projects can also prepare me to solve problems for the bigger ones as well.  Also, having a wide variety of content, will help me get more attention on the internet which can hopefully carry over to the bigger projects.

I am working on another fun little Star Wars video.  I plan to upload it by the end of January next year.  I also hope I can start production on Soil in summer 2018.  I'll have to see what God has in store!

Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Eleven Years of Animatng

Yep, I have been animating for eleven years now.  Before I look back, I would like to show the progress I have done with Soil so far.  One of the challenges I have been experiencing is building an armature that can stand on one leg (this is important for a character in the middle of a walk).  Fortunately, all that's required is two pieces of twisted 18 gauge wire at the ankle and foot.

Another important challenge to overcome was figuring out what piece of hardware to use for the foot for tie downs.  I decided to use tee nuts which are located at the toe area of the foot.  To allow the puppet to stand firm a bolt goes through the animation table and screws into the tee nut until it is tight.  This hardware can be seen in the later portions of my test animation compilation.

Now that these challenges have been addressed and solved I was able to do better animation with the puppets.  You can see the progression in the video.

The tests above were more focused on basic actions.  Right now I'm working on an actual test sequence where the character will do things he may end up doing in the final film.  Practice makes perfect!

Okay, now I would like to look back at the progress I have made over the past couple of years.

You know, I think I"m a Star Wars fan.

Yeah, I'm a huge Star Wars fan.  I really can't wait for The Last Jedi.  I really enjoyed working on the clip above.  Chirrut is one of my favorite characters from Rogue One.

I shall continue to improve my technique.  I got a bigger space now, so hopefully that will help me expand my sense of scope in my films for the future.

Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Goofing Around and Some More Experiments

Something might be wrong with me.  I have trouble focusing on one project at a time.  Again, I'm still entertaining the idea that one day I can make a Star Wars fan film...

The truth is, I just wanted to take a little break from the project and think about how to solve certain problems to achieve my vision.  Fortunately, I have come up with some ideas, and I'll continue to move forward.  In other news, I had my wisdom teeth removed.

What else was I going to do with them?  Anyway, I have some more wonderful news to share!  In my last post, I mentioned I was going to work 50 hours a week building trusses in a warehouse.  Well, my persistence, college degree, and my one year of work experience have finally paid off.  I no longer build trusses.  I design them!  Yep, I now have a 40 hour a week salary day job.  Praise the Lord!  This means I will still have time to devote to my hobby!

I've been real busy due to this recent change, but I still manage to make a little progress on Soil.  The people who made kinetic sand have made a new material called kinetic rock.  It's basically a more granulated version of kinetic sand.  The video below is me pushing the limits of what you can do with this material in the stop motion medium.  There were no rigs or special effects used.

The material by itself wouldn't be very good for puppet building.  However, I have a feeling it can mix well with clay to create a rocky texture.  I'm confident I will be able to use this stuff for the rocky soil character.

Man, I keep thinking of that potential Star Wars fan film!

I have also made another Star Wars animation piece.  You see in Thanksgiving 2016, my cousin printed me a Millenium Falcon from his 3D printer.  Naturally, I wanted to animate it, but I couldn't figure out the little story I wanted to tell with it.  Then at Christmas, my oldest sister and her husband gave me a 3D doodler pen.  So, I was able to 3D draw (sculpt?) a turret and a base for my falcon to fight against.

In terms of stop motion, I think the pen would be good for special effects (like the lasers as demonstrated above).  I might be able to get some clear plastic and use it to draw water in different poses or something.  I'm sure there are other possibilities, but for now...

Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Wayside Soil

For the past several weeks, I've been doing animation experiments for the first character that will appear in my film Soil.  As explained in my last post, the character will be made out of a mixture of clay and kinetic sand.  This will give him a unique porous texture within the context of the film.  Below is all the test animation which will give you and idea of how things turned out...

As you can tell, the character appears to crack a lot during the animation.  This works in my favor for artistic reasons because I want to give the impression that this character can barely hold himself together.  However, it cracks a little too easily, and I'm thinking of trying out a different type of clay to mix with the kinetic sand.  I also may have to mix less kinetic sand into the clay.  For this puppet, the mixture was two thirds clay and one third sand.

The armature skeleton for this puppet was very simple being made out of epoxy puddy and metal wire.  However, the epoxy "bones" didn't dry on the metal wire properly or something because they became loose on the armature during the animation process.  I haven't had that problem in previous projects.  The metal wire also fought me a lot, but fortunately I got in the habit of using a homemade surface gauge to keep track of the puppet's movement.  If you look closely, the character is able to stay standing in certain poses because I put bolts through the foot of the puppet and floor of the set which was tightened by a nut.  I plan to make a new puppet to do a new set of animation tests.  I'm going to try a variation on some of the materials to determine an ideal final product for the short.

Also, I will address the bird you see at the very end of the video.  What you see is merely an experiment on what I can do with the head of the bird.  It's a puppet with no wings or legs.

The skull and beak are made of oven baked sculpey.  The beak was painted black, and the head is covered with shredded pom poms that are glued on to it.  The eyes are simply black beads, and the "body" is a tube of fur fabric.  I'm proud of how it turned out, but it can be improved.  My approach to this character is going to be as realistic as possible.  This will not be a cute cartoony bird.  I plan to make it as intimidating and scary as possible.  The design and movements are based on the white spectacled bubul.

I have done a couple of other little experiments with this character, but I won't write about it until the compilation of tests is complete.

I really am trying to make progress on this, but I do have some bad news.  I work a job where I build trusses on an assembly line.  During the winter, I had only 30-40 hour work weeks.  Now it's 50 hours.  I'll have less time to devote to my hobby, but I'll try to march forward as best as I can while pursuing other projects.

Thanks for reading and may God bless you.

Getting Back on Track

If you couldn't tell from my previous posts, I may be a little distracted from my film Soil because I might have a slight Star Wars obsession and a longing to make a fan film at some point.

However, I can say that I'm trying to get back on track.  After doing some preliminary experiments, I have figured out what materials to use to make each soil character.  Here are some of the puppet building experiments I did for these characters.

I also did some experiments with Flex-ooh and Mad Mattr (yes, that's how they're spelled) to see if they could be used in this film or in animation in general.  I was just shopping around at Michael's one day exploring all my options...

No special effects were used in the video above because I wanted to show what you could do with just the Mad Mattr.  This substance appears to hold its shape better than kinetic sand, but it does have a very similar texture.  It can be mixed with clay, but why do that when you can just mix clay and kinetic sand?  This is not a good material for puppet building by itself.

Again, no special effects were used in the above video to demonstrate what you can do with just the material.  Flex-ooh has this really nice gooey texture to it.  It appears to absorb and reflect light very well.  It can potentially be used for special effects with lighting (like stylized fire, glowing goo, lava, etc.)  By itself, it's no good for puppet building.  The volume of the character would change too much between frames, even with a beefed up armature.  When mixed with any amount of clay it loses its unique properties.  However, the mixture would be significantly lighter than using pure clay which can be used as an advantage.

With all that data, I have made some decisions on how to start building these characters.  The wayside soil will be a mixture of clay and kinetic sand (the mixture is a consistently porous material).  The rocky soil will have "bones" with protrusions made out of oven backed clay.  His "skin and muscles) will be regular clay, or a mixture yet to be determined.  The thorny soil will be a mixture of clay and granulated sand.  The final soil will be pure clay for the sake of symbolism unless I find material that better resembles fertile soil..

These decisions are of course subject to change.  I will soon be looking at each character individually to finalize designs.  However, there is one character I have yet to mention... the bird.  To have this one stand out from the soil characters, he will not be made out of clay (at least on the surface).  He will primarily be made out of pillow stuffing and or foam with fur and feather textures.  I have yet to do experimental animation for this character, but I have started building him in pieces to tackle this challenge one step at a time.

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading and may God bless you!