Sc 6 _ Staged Closer

In terms of staging, I moved Salome closer to Herod at the end of the dance. Herod pulls away from her when she asks for the head. Does this work?

The Plague of Locusts

I decided to animate the swarm of locusts for the scene where the head of The Baptist becomes the plague. I initially thought I would use sand for the animation, but I found the sand hard to control and hard to detail. I tried using paint on glass for this animation. At first, it was not clear how I would achieve the movement of the swarm. I tried 4 or 5 different patterns of movement which were more random and spotty. This inspired me to go further, but I still wasn't sure about the effect. Several people asked me why I wasn't using a dynamic simulation for the effect. The proof for the paint technique came when I began animating the whole swarm as one entity. I concentrated on drawing the frame after before erasing the previous frame as I learn from Sheila Sofian. I think this has given me some great results and it was fun to do. I don't think I would have had this much control with either sand or a dynamic simulation.

Layout_April

Here is the layout for the second half of the film. More to come...

Progress after Spring Break

Compositing

Salome Animatic_Revised_3-12-08

Salome's Dance All in One

Salome's Dance_rough animation

Style Frame 2

Style Frame Refined

Experimentation with Background Elements

The underlit paint on glass experiment didn't work as well as I had hoped. After some good luck on the first test, I was really excited to continue painting. However, this past weekend I tried to do background elements for the first shot of the dance scene. After 2 or 3 hours working on just one background for this shot, I found myself struggling to control the values in the background. Even after the tempera paint dried, I was still brushing furiously to change the different values. Basically, I can't seem to get away from the high range of values that happen when underlighting paint on glass. My characters were getting lost in the high contrast backgrounds. Also, frustratingly, my peers said they couldn't tell what they were looking at (which is always my favorite piece of critique). After imagining what it would be like to struggle all of the backgrounds for all of the one hundred shots for my ambitious film, I thought it was time to change course for the paint on glass route. Again, the contrast in the background fights too much with my highly detailed characters. In all honesty, I think the characters looked better against simpler backgrounds, like the stained cloth I used early on. By keeping the backgrounds simple I can focus more on playing with light, etc. As I was thinking of experimenting with sand again, I was looking at my mother's cell microscopy pictures that I have on my wall in my cube. I remembered that Christine Panushka had urged me to use them as a background. I also had an idea about using the beautiful cell patterns in combination with soft outlines of sand. I think this would go well with my character designs. Contextually, the cell patterns look like organically placed stones and textures in the environment of this old terrace. Also the idea of projecting the cell patterns onto the cloth compliments my research in the Wayang Kulit. My goal is to immerse the audience in this world of projections, light, and shadow. I am ecited about experimenting with this, and already a simple test proves it easier to achieve and more complimentary to the design of my film. The next step will be to test the sand outlines with the cell textures. One difficult thing that I had with my early tests in sand was that I had the same troubles controlling the values and gradations within the sand. Just like the paint on glass I found that everything became too dark. So instead of using the sand to create the different values, I just suggest the outlines with sand lines. From the huge stack of cell photos I have from my mother's 30 year career, I will find different values of textures to use. I remember one of the art projects I did cutting up pictures of cells. This actually is a fond memory for me because I really got into the creative flow using these cut-up photos. I made a ornate box of cd's for an old love interest when I was 21. Using the cell pictures, I made a strange-looking fly. I remember having so much fun making this thing that I see the opportunity to experience this medium again. Also, I've been recently studying the work of Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how this artist carefully uses materials from the natural world and arranges them in value, creating these beautiful and miraculous images. Something I really like is the calm, meditative simplicity in his forms. The beauty is in the details once you realize how carefully he worked to make these. Seeing a collection of his work was really inspiring for me because I connected with his love of nature. It surprised me how much his work related to animation because he takes a picture right after the work is done and then several more as the work naturally decays. Sometimes the decayed work was even more beautiful than the initial shot.

Animating the Dance

Mesha Kussman - Final Performance

1st Render

paint test reference to storyboard

paint test_motion

Paint on Glass Test

Mesha Kussman - Choreographer

First Frames of Animation

Over the past few months, I've had many breakthroughs with this project. Even though this is very rough, it was exciting for me to see her begin to dance. And in the scope of the whole production, this may be the biggest break through yet. My personal goal is to begin showing smooth animation by February 1, 2008.

Character Turnarounds

Today has followed the same momentum as the rest of the week. I have been modeling and modeling. After Effects to Maya and back.... I have learned some helpful tricks by doing Herod's turnaround first, especially since he's the most complicated character. I have spent a lot of time on this side view of Salome, but that's because I had to clean up the mess I made while using textures at an exceedingly high resolution. So here I am. My goal is to finish modeling the three turnarounds by Wednesday for the early-semester thesis meeting.

Modeling

Today, and most of this week for that matter, I have been meticulously modeling these characters. I really hope this goes faster this weekend so that I can finish it soon. My goal is to start animating by February 1 and if I don't keep hammering on the modeling I won't be able to push it through. Even in a cut-out project, the modeling is extremely demanding especially when you have to translate what you did in the front view of a character to the side, back, and three quarter views. I have finished all of the views of King Herod. Here they are...

Front Views Done

Here are the front views of my main characters. I had to do a great deal of problem solving to move them from after effects to maya and I believe this is only the beginning of the many challenges I will face with this pipeline. However, I believe it will pay off with the quality of the lighting, the movement of the camera, and the better performances of animation. I feel like I achieved something with these designs, especially of Herod. Finally, I can see the potential of these characters to perform the play and contribute something to the long heritage of Salome.

Digital Art

As I work on this project, I would like to identify some of the experiences of working in this medium. To those who see me sit all day in front of this blinding screen, it must be a mystery to them to understand how I can be making and experiencing art. Today I worked on the design of King Herod again, to make him more likable, and to finalize the design. My only references are in my head when I begin. I wish I had the time to sit outside and study a subject for each character. I wish I had the ability to render a face on to paper. Instead, I looked through art books for basic shapes and tried to create the character in my mind, concentrating on him during exercise to keep him in my head. I open up the software and ready my hand at the mouse. I always try to picture myself holding a pair of scissors as I start working. As I click points, I'm cutting shapes from the black paper. The computer is not immediate, but there are some aspects of the process that are very enjoyable and produce great results. In working with the roto-masks, I start with with the hard edged shape and place everything to try to complete the image I have in my head. As I close in on it, I change the points of the various masks to bezier curves and begin to shape each part of the cut out puppet. This is where the process becomes lively, instinctive, and fun. Sculpting the roto-masks and cutting holes in the paper produces the silhouettes and the style that I am pursuing for Salome. I never thought that clicking a mouse would allow you to get into the zone of creativity, but its happening for me. The important part is that I can use the textured paper and see the beautiful patterns to cut. I will continue to right about this experience but I'm not sure if I'm articulating it very well. Thanks for reading if you got through this.