Seiya's Blog

Author: Seiya Ito

Categories
Maya

Week 2: Pendulum

This week, I worked on creating a pendulum animation. In this motion, the pendulum speeds up as it reaches both ends, and overlapping action also occurs. It is difficult to reproduce this correctly without fully understanding the movement, so I studied it carefully using The Animation Survival Kit.

Additionally, through feedback from my teacher, I learned that adjusting the small movement just before the pendulum stops makes the animation look more realistic and natural.

This is a Pendulum motion before I receive the feedback from teacher. I focused on the gravity and speed in this project.

First making Pendulum motion
Polished Pendulum motion

For a Pendulum motion, I realised that ease out and ease in is significant important to make realistic motion like pendulum. And ease out and in means both ends are the slowest on the other hand, in the middle is the fastest in pendulum motion.

Squash and Stretch

  • Shows the flexibility, weight, and volume of objects or characters.

Timing and Motion

  • Controls the speed and spacing of movements to show weight, emotion, or energy.

Anticipation

  • A small action before a main action that helps the audience understand what will happen.

Staging

  • Arranging the scene and actions so the focus is clear and easy to read.

Follow-Through and Overlapping Action

  • Extra movements after the main action, or parts moving at different times, to make it more natural.

Straight Ahead and Pose-to-Pose Action

  • Two animation methods: draw frame by frame (straight ahead) or create key poses first (pose-to-pose).

Slow In and Slow Out

  • Start and end movements slowly for a natural feeling and to show weight.

Arcs

  • Most movements follow curved paths to look smooth and realistic.

Exaggeration

  • Make movements or expressions stronger or bigger to make them clear and interesting.

Secondary Action

  • Small supporting actions that add personality or emphasize the main action.

Solid Drawing

  • Draw with correct structure, volume, and proportion to make the animation believable.

Appeal

  • Give characters or actions charm and personality to engage the audience.
Categories
Unreal Engine

Week 2: At the beginning of the project

I explored UE5 and reviewed previous students’ works. Then, I tried building a world in UE5 by myself and noticed its unique advantages over other 3D software like Maya, Blender, and Cinema 4D. The large library of assets through Quixel Bridge and Fab, along with fast rendering, makes UE5 especially powerful. I hope to use these features to create beautiful and realistic worlds in the future.

Quixel Bridge: Quixel Megascans | High-quality 3D assets for games, film, and beyond – Quixel
Fab: Unreal Engine Marketplace is now Fab – UE Marketplace

I realised each Points (Strength / Weakness)

Strengths (Good Points)

  1. Fast rendering – UE5 allows real-time rendering, which makes the workflow very efficient.
  2. Extensive asset library – High-quality assets can be easily imported from Quixel Bridge and Fab.
  3. High-quality real-time graphics – Lighting and environment realism are excellent.
  4. Blueprints for visual scripting – Interactive behaviors and mechanics can be created without coding.
  5. Large community and tutorials – There are many learning resources, making it easier to find help when needed.

Weaknesses (Challenges / Limitations)

  1. High system requirements – Using detailed assets and high-quality rendering requires a powerful PC.
  2. Complex interface – The UI and many functions can be overwhelming for beginners and different compared to other software like Maya, Blender etc.
  3. Necessary to make material in UE5 – The material has to make in using UE5 because the system is different between UE5 and Blender and Maya and so on. So, I am not able to use Blender node and complex texture details in Blender. However, it might be possible to transfer the data in Substance 3D Painter. Therefore, basically, making original materials requires additional knowledge.
  4. Difficult to transfer data or change save location – Basically, I need to save the data in One Drive or same laptop when I do something.

What to expect from UE5

Through my works, I hope to create artworks that allow many viewers enjoy and at the same time, provide new insights and learning new experiences. To achieve this goal, I would like to produce a variety of animations, primary for children. For example, I get inspiration from Disney, Pixar, Illumination, and Tonko house. In particular, Tonko house has received Annie award in recent years is so fascinated for me because this artwork is so warmly and story is also impressive.

Additionally, I believe that one of the most effective way to reduce waste of time like rendering by using UE5. And this is the point I’m most looking forward to. However, I have limited experience with UE5 and my knowledge and skills are still developing. Through this class, I hope to gain a solid understanding of UE5 and, through further practice, improve my ability to use it effectively in future projects.

Tonko House

Dam Keeper: The Dam Keeper Graphic Novels — Tonko House
Acorns: Acorns — Tonko House
Oni: ONI: Thunder God’s Tale — Tonko House

Disney / Pixar

Finding Nemo: Finding Nemo — Pixar Animation Studios
Monsters University: Monster’s University — Pixar Animation Studios
Coco: Coco — Pixar Animation Studios

Categories
Unreal Engine

Week 1: UE5 First Class

The first class is to share our information each other. And we drawn the portrait by using left hand. Furthermore, I could understand about the Unreal Engine and what I should create this unit.

In the first class, we watched works made by previous students using UE5, and we also learned what UE5 is. At the end of the class, we introduced ourselves to the person sitting next to us. There was a task to draw their portrait with our left hand. It was difficult to draw, but it helped us start a conversation and made the self-introduction better. I was a little nervous, so next time I want to speak more actively and not only focus on studying but also grow by interacting with my classmates.

Categories
Design for Animation

Week 1: Introduction

In the first class, I learned what we should study and received an explanation about the final assignments, which helped me deepen my understanding. Specifically, the assignments consist of three task, such as a 1,500-word critical report, a blog, and a presentation video. Also, I learned about treatment of AI.

Based on this, I realized that in this class, it is necessary to read academic books and deepen my knowledge of anime. Actually, I am not good at writing, so I want to actively participate in the class, and carefully learn how to write, and steadily develop this skill.

Categories
Maya

Week 1: Bouncing Ball & Golden Pose

This is my plan in advance for creating Bouncing Ball by using Maya. Based on this drawing, I supposed that the ball’s shape and speed change at each stage. For example, during the first bounce, the gravity is stronger and the speed is higher, therefore, the stretch is the most strongest. On the second bounce, both elements are slightly weaker, so the stretch is also less pronounced.

This is a reference for different ball type. And The video shows the Physics of bouncing ball/Science Project.

This is a animated bouncing ball by using Maya.

First making bouncing ball motion

1. Changing Timing

Making it faster

  • The movement feels light, quick, and energetic.
  • Example: A character running in a hurry, or reacting in surprise.

Making it slower

  • The movement feels heavy, calm, and with more presence.
  • Example: Carrying a heavy object, walking slowly, or moving carefully.

Making the intervals uneven

  • You can show momentum, rhythm, or the force of an action.
  • Example: Preparing a punch slowly, then striking quickly.

2. Changing Space

Increasing the distance of movement

  • Movements feel big, powerful, and open.
  • Example: Jumping, swinging arms, or large steps when running.

Decreasing the distance of movement

  • Movements feel small, subtle, calm, or cautious.
  • Example: Gently picking up an object, or small facial expressions.

Changing the path (straight, curved, up/down, left/right)

  • You can express natural movement and personality.
  • Example: A smooth curved jump feels graceful, a straight jump feels strong.

Polished bouncing ball motion

These are practice for golden pose. Especially, I made four poses such as, Hero Pose, Standing Pose, Happy Pose, My favorite Pose. I realised that I need to focus on the Center of Gravity and exaggeration to express the reality and attractive.

This is a 360 angle video.

Categories
Uncategorised

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