Click here to view the embedded video.

In animation everyone tends to work slightly differently.  I am not saying that this is the only way to work but I tend to work in the following curve flow in my process.

Pass 1 - Stepped: Great for setting up thumbnail style key poses.
Pass 2 - Linear: Good for setting initial time. Action too fast = Keys too close together. Action too slow = Keys to far apart.
Pass 3 - Auto: Best of both worlds Spline / Plateau
Pass 4 -  Fixed, Plateau, Flat, and or Spline. Very specific curve type for specific reasons.

Maya Curve Types

1. Stepped
2. Stepped Next 
3. Linear
4. Spline
5. Flat
6. Plateau
7. Clamped
8. Fixed
9. Auto (New 2012)

Found on toolbar

    Stepped - Constant value until there is a new value.  A good use of the Stepped Curve is with a proxy camera to establish camera cuts.  To avoid motion blur issues you should replace the proxy camera positions with separate render cameras.

Tip & Trick:

1. Create or Import Render Cam
2. Parent constrain the render camera to the proxy.
3. Delete the constraint.
4. Advance to the next camera placement.
5. Repeat 1 — 5 for all camera positions.

    Linear - Constant rate of change.  This curve type is great to use while trying to establish the initial timing on an animation.  If the action happens to quickly then the keys need to be spread further apart.  If the action happens to slowly then the key need to be brought closer together.

    Auto - An Auto tangent type will adjust the tangency of a slope as to flatten out as it get closer to the value of the key adjacent to it.  THis is a nice feature and seems to be based off of the AutoTangent Script.  THe best of both spline and plateau seem to be at play here. Pitfall: the slope flattens more than needed as the key is adjusted. If you manipulate to the desired angle and then move the key it will hold the desired slope.

    Spline - Equal slope going in and out to a keyframe.  This will give nice smooth motion; however, it will create overshoots that are unwanted.

    Flat - A flat curve type simply sets the tangent angle to be a zero slope.  Most common pitfall I see students doing is selecting the whole curve my mistake and then converting to flat.  The will cause a slow and go type of effect like a car with an acceleration problem!

    Plateau - A Plateau curve type will eliminate over shoots as long as the key frame values are within a tolerance range.  This range is greater than the clamped function. Pitfall: Converting the whole curve. Make sure you only use it where necessary or it can interfere with ease in situations that you have already set up.

    Clamped -  A clamped curve type was most commonly used to eliminate overshoots on foot and leg movements. Basically we two keys are with a small value difference from one another that different on slope is clamped off.  The end result is much like flat and plateau but the tolerance range is much smaller.  Pitfall:  is in not zooming in on your curves to make sure that the values of the keys are equal.

Found in Menu Set

Fixed - A fixed curve type simply fixes the slope of the curve to a specific value.  If you move the value or time of the keyframe the slope will remain the same.  Note: Anytime you break a tangent it automatically converts to a fixed tangent type.  If you are curious as to what the tangent type is for your keys:

1. Select some keyframes
2. In the Graph Editor navigate to Display -> Spreadsheet.

In Maya 2012 the tangent type button at the top of the graph editor activates when a single keyframe is selected.

Stepped Next -  Stepped Next curve is used with FBIK.  The difference between the Stepped and Stepped Next is that there is no constant value out.  It simply is reversed so that the value does not hold on the out tangent but rather switches to the new value immediately.

I have had several people that have been having issues with Maya 2011 and audio clips.  I get statements and comments like this, “When I go to scrub my animation the audio is not synched up! Help!!!”…. “It works in Maya 2009!”  Well, specific issues with scrubbing the sound clip in Maya after offsetting the audio track in the timeline is just an update issue. It seems that the way Maya handles the audio in Maya 2011 is a little different.  All you need to do it import the file again offset it and then play through the clip by using the play button.  Once the file is re-cached or read then go back to scrubbing.  Everything should be fine then.  If not then email me and I’ll try to help.

For those newer users, or if you are using sound clips in Maya 2011 and have never used the offset features in the audios dialogue box, just run through the following steps.

With Maya open go to File->Import and then navigate to the clip you want to import or simple drag the audio clip into the viewport.

When you look at the timeline it should look like this:

It’s pretty thin and when working with audio clips for dialogue or general sound it can be hard to see what is going on in the waveform.

Q: “Why do I need to see the audio clip’s waveform?”

A: Often times it is beneficial to see the peeks and valleys in the sound.  It helps to see where the beats or rhythms fall within the clip while synching up actions and lipsynch.

If you open the preference window within Maya: Window->Settings/Preferences->Preferences you will see the following window.

Under the Categories column on the left select Time Slider.  The change height from 1x to 4x.

In order to hear the audio play set the Playblack Speed to Real-time (24 fps).

When you’re done make sure you save your preferences. — (Note the preferences window will close!)

You should now see the Time Slider is 4 times it’s normal size.

In order to see the wave form even clearer you can change the color in the Color Preferences.

Expand the animation menu and click on the color swatch.  I have changed myine to yellow.… the results look like the following image:

This will make it much easier to see that waveform!

You can pull in multiple audio clips and turn them on and off by right clicking on the time slider and going to Sound and selecting the track you would like to use.

In order to offset the audio clip you can go to the sound clips dialogue box and then enter an offset value.

Once you select the dialogue box the attribute editor will open that looks like this:

Enter a value in frames that you want to offset the audio clip.  Just remember that if you offset it just play through the clip and then you should be able to scrub the audio as well.

Tip: If you need to mute the clip there is a checkbox under duration that will toggle it audible or not.

To delete audio files from your scene:

1. Go to the dialogue box for the audio clip and then highlight the title of the name of the audio in the audio field.

2. Command+C to copy it.

3. In the Mel command line type:  delete filename;

4. Then press enter.

Another way to find and delete audio tracks is to open the outliner.

Under the Display menu in the outliner you will see several options.  Uncheck the DAG Object Only option. It is located here:

Now you will see many other things listed in the Outliner including Audio Nodes.

Now simply select the nodes and delete them.

Another way to delete sounds is to navigate to Edit -> Delete by Type -> Sounds and then pick the sounds file to delete.
If you want all the files gone then goto: Edit -> Delete all by type -> Sounds and that will delete them all at the same time.

There are probably two more ways to delete sound files because in Maya their are 5 ways to do anything.  See if you can find the other 2 and get back to me… LOL.

Additional Notes:
If you have imported sound and cannot hear it try one of the following:
1. Check and make sure you are on Realtime 24 in your timeline settings.
2. Check you audio file and make sure it is supported.
3. Reselect the audio file by right clicking on the time line — goto sound and choose file.
4. Make sure you are up to date on you Maya software.   I have found issues in 2011 until updating to the current service pack!
5. You cannot import files that start in a number — Example 1audiotrack.wav.

That’s it for now.  Find great clips and animate your heart out.

CraigBowman

Many animators new to 3D spend countless hours searching for the magic button in maya that will make there animations look good.

I found it .…… it is right here:

Seriously?.….all joking aside. IT DOESN’T EXIST!  .…. Being an animator is being an artist! And, in being an artist you must explore — make decisions — and have fun!

Three scenarios usually occur:

1.) The animator jumps in and starts tweeking curves before they have a strong foundation of keyframes.
2.) They Key frame too much and end up with “poppy” /  “clicky” animation that needs a lot of fixing and cleaning up.
3.) They open the graph editor after keying framing and get scared, then close the graph editor because they don’t want to mess anything up.

Here are few key strategies to combat these situations:

1.) Make sure you really understand the mechanics of the action that you are trying to create.  Act it out if possible! Use reference when you can.
2.) Make sure each pass is as solid as possible realizing that nothing is set in stone.  Refinement is the name of the game.  As Frank thomas said, “At the end, the character should be doing quite well without you — thank you!“
3.) After the first pass, work with the graph editor open!  Seeing the curves as you explore will help you to understand what is going on.

In order to help demystify Maya’s World I invite you to watch the following video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now that you have more understanding of Maya’s World and Directions watch this video about Timing & Mass:

Click here to view the embedded video.

On to another example that deals with curve patterns, Rotations vs. Translation and Accelerations:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pendulums (Energy being used up & Overlap)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whips (Favoring Breakdowns, Breaking Tangents, & Proper Curve Progression)

Click here to view the embedded video.

That’s it for this post.  I hope these help to demystify the graph editor somewhat. Just remember that exploring these tools and trying different things out is your best bet in becoming more comfortable.

Craig

This project was created many years ago for my students of animation.  It was designed to create specific situations to animate.

1. Stepping up on something.
2. Walking in a straight line.
3. Illustrating balance.
4. Stepping down.
5. Walking up stairs.
6. Change of pace on platform.
7. Jumping to a lower elevation.
8. Moving past and object already animated to control timing.
9. Make an attempt to remove sword.

Mike Duhatscheck and I worked together to create the little green knight character.  He designed and modeled the character. I rigged it. We had fun using this character in class for several years and feel that there is more in store for our little green knight than moving through an obstacle course.

I have decided to create a few new animations with him.  One being the old assignment and another that I will reveal in another post. The following example is obviously in the process of being refined and will be finalized and polished off soon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mike and I  are also in discussions about reworking him and developing new characters for a game.  How much fun will that be… huh?!  I am really looking forward to working with Mike again on something that was a good concept from the begin.

Craig

One year ago I created an animation club for my students called 8FramesIn.  The purpose was to add additional animation opportunities to an all to short animation curriculum.  Seeing as one semester of animation is not much time in developing skill sets, I felt that by providing extra projects for students to animate it would help to further their knowledge and experience as animators.   This projects is a result of my efforts to strengthen an under developed program.

CONCEPT: Sphin the Sphedish Phish has been placed on sale.  As hard he he tries he still cannot manage to get purchased.  A young girl with her mother comes into the shop to pick out her first pet fish.  She wants Spin of course but the mother is hesitant. She tells her daughter that she is not sure about Sphin being  a good choice because of his price and asks if she thinks he can do any tricks.  Sphin hears this and wants to empress the little girl. So, he spins around and jumps up and out of the tank.  The mother points out another fish to the little girl.  He is disappointed as she is pulled away.

STAGE: The setting is a modern pet store. The stage is set in fish tank. Mother and daughter are behind the camera. The story is illustrated by Sphin’s reaction to the dialogue.

OBJECTIVE: This exercise is designed to give the student an opportunity to create personality within a character that cannot be deformed.  Facial expressions are not possible.  No arms and legs are available to emote expression with.  Therefore, the student must focus on body position and change in timing to create a sense of life.

ANIMATION:

Click here to view the embedded video.

SOUND: A rough cut of the dialogue has been written for the block in.  Once the dialogue is finalized the animation will be polished and matched with the track for rendering.

VFX: N-Particles were used to create bubbles and other small particles of food that float about the tank.

CONCLUSION: I have placed 8FramesIn on hold for the time being as I am transferring the rest of it’s contents to this blog.  I will be continuing to develop 8FramesIn and all of it’s learning experiences into a classroom of my own.

So, If you are interested in learning how to animate in maya feel free to contact me and I will keep you up to date as things develop!  Spread the word.

Craig Bowman

The ORB Character was created by me for my students to use within my animation class.

CONCEPT: You are a new recruit at a military test facility.  You have been charged to complete several training exercises that will prepare you for successfully completing a test firing of the ORB.

TRAINING MODULES

1: Ball Bounce — Timing, Graph Editor Familiarization.
2: Orb Bounce & Roll — Natural Timing, Settle In
3: Orb Jump — Anticipation / Arcs / Inertia (Forces)
4: Orb Fly — Overlap, Over Shoot, Settle in, Banking, Ease In Ease Out

MAIN PROJECT: Orb Test Firing

1. Beginning — Character must start on the ground.
2. Middle — Character must move through air.
3. Ending — Character must return to the ground.

Additional Requirements: Must work with 3 separate cameras w/ 2 camera cuts

GOALS:

1. Chance to explore the principles of animation.
2. To gain a greater understanding of working in motion passes.
3. Working within a proper curve order.
4. Working within a hierarchy of controls.
5. Gain a better understanding of the Graph Editor and Dope Sheet.
6. Explore camera composition and flow of action.
7. Gain a understanding of directing the viewers eye.

MODEL:

Click here to view the embedded video.

ORB RIG & CTRL DEMO:

Click here to view the embedded video.

TEXTURE Example:

ANIMATION PASSES:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pass 2 — Linear

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pass 4 — A this point I open student projects to edit and critique.  Finished animation to come!

Pass 5 — Clean-up — Demo Podcast to come!

VFX:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Future development:
1. Smoke
2. Heat Trail
3. Sparks

3D Models (Works in Progress)

This post contains several models that are works in progress.  Once my new class is finalized I will be continuing to develop these characters further.  Mudbox or Z-Brush will be used to add fine details. Texturing and shader development will then begin.  After rigging them I will proceed to animate and then it’s on to lighting.  Check back for developments!

HISTORY

Disney’s Nine Old Men developed the principles of animation as a way to communicate about the art that they developed so masterfully.  The 12 principles of animation are not meant to be a check list.  They are however concepts that can be used in combination to achieve a specific results.  If an animation is developed fully all of the principles will be present in varying degrees.  Goofy is a strong exercise in Squash & Stretch, Follow Through & Overlapping Action, Arcs, Exaggeration.  Timing and all the other principles still apply but may not be pushed as far.  Mickey has different traits that are pushed for full effect and his personality is effected because of it.  The realizations about the differences in character traits have led to the creation of many memorable characters over the years.

Here is a list of the Nine Old Men and some of their contributions to the art of animation:

1. Les Clark — Animated Mickey Mouse
2. Marc Davis — Character Designer (Maleficent, Pirates, Haunted Mansion)
3. Ollie Johnston — Mr.Smee, Step Sisters, Ichabob Crane, Sir hiss
4. Milt Kahl — Shere Khan, Edger the Butler, Sheriff of nottingham, Madame Medusa
5. Ward Kimball — Lucifer, Jaq & Gus,  Mad Hatter, chesire cat
6. Eric Larson — Peg, Peter Pan Flight, Brer Rabbit,fox,Bear — Became a trainer.
7. John Lounsbery — Gators, George Darling, the kings, The Elephants
8. Wolfgang Reitherman — Crocodile, the Dragon, The Rat
9. Frank Thomas — Wicked Stepmother, Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook

Frank & Ollie

Two of the nine old men I would consider to be the Fathers of Modern Character Animation.  Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston pushed the limits of animation and began to develop personalities in characters.  They were friends that worked on many scenes together and even live next to each other in California.  They played a major part in the future of the the Studio after Disney’s sudden Death. During that time they carried most of the load in the Jungle Book.

Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life (ISBN 0–7868-6070–7)

They authored The Illusion of Life which talks about Disney Animation, The Nine Old Men, The Principles of Animation, as well as the Animation Process and it’s history at Disney Feature.  Brad Bird having had known Frank and Ollie place cameos of the two in The Iron Giant & The Incredibles.

The Iron Giant

The Incredibles

12 Principles of Animation — Part II / Part III / Part IV

12 Original Principles

1. Appeal
2. Staging
3. Exaggeration
4. Timing
5. Anticipation
6. Ease In Ease Out
7. Secondary Motion/Action
8. Pose to Pose vs. Straight Ahead
9. Overlapping Action & Follow Through
10. Solid Drawing
11. Arcs
12. Squash & Stretch

Appeal - is where the character must ooze personality.  In other words, there must be some type of connection between the character and the audience.

In order to establish a connection you must clearly understand and feel the characters emotions. We must be able to see traits that we can identify and relate too.  If we are supposed to root for the character the reasons should be clear as to why? The character’s visual design, personality traits, emotional responses, and the ability to emote are all elements that work together. They define the characters personality and determine if we are attracted or repulse by them.  Therefore, understanding the target audience and there interests is crucial for establishing this connection.  Make sure you understand as much as possible about who you are trying to connect with.  Remember that peoples interests change with time, from culture to culture, and between age groups — so do your homework!

3 rules to remember when attempting to creating appeal in your animations:

1. It must be interesting to you.
2. Just because it may be interesting to you does not mean that it will necessarily be interesting to others. Reach out and relate to others
3. It must be interesting to someone other than you and your mom! Show it to multiple people and take a consensus.

Staging -  is about communication and opportunity.

3 things that should be considered in staging:

1. Character
2. Environment
3. Situation that unfolds

A strong silhouette is needed in order for a character’s pose to read quickly and clearly. Training yourself to see form in an image will help you to recognize a stronger more successful pose. The following image has a pretty good silhouette.

Silhouette

Notice that when we take away the details of the character that the pose still clearly communicates. I encourage you to strive to make your Key Poses read quickly and clearly to the audience. These poses will tell your story. With a strong clear idea you will then be able to build on and advance the complexity of your animation.

Little Black Riding Hood

In the above animation, none of the characters specific details are necessary for telling the story. The environment will either aid or contrast the situation.  All you will need to determine is which scenario will make your story more successful.  As an example: A fire monster in the desert is not very interesting; however, a fire monster in an ice cave is much more interesting because of its contrast. Conflict is good because it will bring about change!   The audience will take joy in watching a story resolve it’s conflicts and they will root for characters to overcome the obstacles before them.

Goofy — How to Swim — Environment Staging

Exaggeration - helps to bring emphasis to specific parts of an animation. Can there be to much exaggeration? Yes.  Often times animators think that by making everything exaggerated within their animations that it will breath more life into the character.  However, if everything is pushed to it’s extreme then what actions will stand out?  The point of exaggerating something is to bring emphasis and contrast between actions.  Use this principle wisely.

Tangled Exaggeration

Notice the exaggerated movements and expressions that read so well in the above clip.  Because the action is fast certain actions are pushed to the extreme.  The following image is a clear take on exaggeration.

Timing - is about the amount on time that it will take for an action to happen.  Different timing can result in different feeling, mood, and intention.  In maya the space between keys effects the initial timing of an action.  The following examples shows two different timings with very different results.

Daffy Duck & Elmer Fud — Comedic Timing

Luxo — Emotional Timing

Anticipation - is about making the viewer wait to see the end result of an action.  A moving hold is a way of creating anticipating in an animation.  Usually it is a hold in the middle of an action but can be held over a longer story line as well.    A moving hold is held for the length of time that feels right for the action.  This principle is very important for one simple reason.  If you have it in your animation then you will win every single time.  If anticipation is missing from your animation the audience will never be allowed an opportunity to participate in the experience.

Lady and the Tramp — Emotional Anticipation

Daffy Duck Story Anticipation

Ease In Ease Out - is about acceleration and forces. Actions often speed up and slow down over time which can spawn a more spirited results in your animations.  In the graph editor, the steepness of the curve determines the amount of acceleration for an action.  As time ticks along at a constant rate value changes.  The flatter the curve is becoming the less change occurs.  The steeper the curve becomes the more change occurs. In addition, acceleration over a series of actions can also be effected by manipulating the spacing of keyframes which will effect your over all timing.

Gentleman’s Duel — Ease In Ease Out

12 Principles of Animation — Part I / Part III / Part IV

12 Original Principles — Part III

1. Appeal
2. Staging
3. Exaggeration
4. Timing
5. Anticipation
6. Ease In Ease Out
7. Secondary Motion/Action
8. Pose to Pose vs. Straight Ahead
9. Overlapping Action & Follow Through
10. Solid Drawing
11. Arcs
12. Squash & Stretch

CONTINUED — (Principles 7 — 12)

Secondary Motion/Action - is any motion that happens because of a primary motion.  It is really dealing with speed and direction and newtons laws and relates to followthrough.  Secondary action serves as a way to build complexity and helps to support the main idea of the story. Think of a character crying and a tear roles down the cheek.  The character did become sad because the tear rolled down the cheek.

In Frank and Ollies words, “Often, the one idea being put over in a scene can be fortified by subsidiary actions within the body.  A sad figure wipes a tear as he turns away.  Someone stunned shakes his head as he gets to his feet.  A flustered person puts on his glasses as he regains his composure.  When this extra business supports the main action, it is called a Secondary Action and is always kept subordinate to the primary action.” The primary action is the emotion shift from happy to sad.  The tear rolling down is an aid in showing details of the situation situation and is a result of the primary action.

Chuck jones explains secondary motion as a way to show things that we cannot see such as gravity, magnitism, wind, ect. We can’t actually see these things but we can see the effect of  forces on them.

Secondary Motion

Pose to Pose vs Straight Ahead - are 2 different keyframing techniques. Each method has it’s on pros and cons. Most beginning animators tend to start the animation process with the straight ahead method because of it’s natural feel and spontaneity. The process is much like a child playing with a toy.  They will naturally act out situations by starting at the beginning and then playing out the plot on through to the end of the story.  The danger with this process is that animators can get carried away and keyframes too much along the way and also not pay attention to timing. This can result in a watery type of animation with even timing and no real life.  Life is about change, emotion, and reflection.  These qualities need to play well to the audience and allow them to recognize situation and provide time for them to participate.  I feel that pose to pose is a better place to start.  Pose to pose establishes a framework of poses that communicates strong moments in time.  It is also less difficult to run over frame count and you can get feedback from your supervisor before you do to much work refining something that it not what the director will want. Using both techniques will give you both strong moments and a natural spontineity with in the the animation.

Overlapping Action & Follow Through - is all about speed and direction.  Actions to not start and stop at the same time. They will blend and unfold as time goes by.  In the key framing process during the 1st and 2nd passes we are establishing whole poses and the action will not have much overlap, follow through , or settle in.  Although having your extremes established for your settle in and overshoots before you move into your 3rd pass is a good idea.  There are two ways you can establish overlapping actions.  You can key the overlap as you go or you can offset keyframes within a timing editor such as the dope sheet and or graph editor.  Follow through is all about physics.

Newtons Laws state:

• 1st Law — Objects in motion tend to stay in motion in a straight continuous line forever unless a force is acting upon it.  And, objects at rest tend to stay at rest.
• 2nd Law — Force = Mass * Acceleration — An inversely proportional relationship exist between mass and acceleration.  Example: A MAC truck possesses a huge amount of mass therefore is would take a large amount of forces to accelerate it.  Transversely, a small object such as a 50 caliber bullet containing a much smaller mass can still generate a lot of force if it is accelerated to 3044 feet per second.
• 3rd Law — For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.  Forces are transfered from one object to another.  Objects of similar mass and potential energy can be give back equal force and cancel out. However, the greater force always wins out.

Hula Skirt Follow Through & Overlapping Action

Solid Drawing - in 3D is about clarity and intent.  Traditionally solid drawing deals with consistency in line, volume, and perspective.  An animator would ask, “Is this animation drawn solidly and consistently?”.  Even though we are not drawing all the necessary frames in 3D we do have to  pose the character to communicate the story over time.  We still must think about the overall refinement and quality of our work.  Therefore, solid drawing in 3D is concerned with the overall quality of animation and the consistency of clarity and intent!

Arcs - are all about creating Organic & Natural motions. Without arcs actions can feel stiff and linear.  On occasion arcs are not needed such as with hard actions that illustrate great force or mechanical style movements.  Movements with arcs will give a natural flow and can even add weight to a characters actions!

Mushu comes to life — Arcs

Squash & Stretch - is all about creating a sense of visual weight.  When a force is applied to a volume the surface will tend to naturally displace. The force generally travels along the path of least resistance.  In addition to characters that deform. Every day objects such as Listerine Bottles, Hershey’s Kisses, Chevron Cars, Reach Tooth Brushes, etc all have been animated with squash & stretch in order for them to feel more organic and alive.  On the technical side, animation software uses a cartesian coordinate system utilizing  X, Y, & Z values representing Translation, Rotation, or Scale.

If Y decreases then X & Z will increase in order to maintain a volume.  What happens when you have a character that cannot be deformed like Buzz Light Year?  How would we be able to create visual weight in the character?  We can squash & stretch the pose. I use two animation clips Goofy Learns to Swim and a Buzz LightYear animation test created by Cameron Miyasaki.

Goofy Learns to Swim

Buzz Lightyear Animation Test

Ultimately, there are 4 different ways to create squash & stretch with a character.

1. Direct Manipulation of individual scale values
2. Expressions Driven Scale — Inverse Proportion.
3. Use of a Deformer
4. Change in Pose

12 Principles of Animation — Part I / Part II / Part IV