Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

#1. Home (Red/Cyan)

 #2. Art Quad (Red/Cyan)

 #3. Green/Magenta

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Original Image:

 Maya Copy:

Extra Credit: Lighting a Scene in Maya

Building a Scene in Maya

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

My first two term paper scores were 88 and 91; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

Term Paper #3 Outline

Introduction

A.     Methods used to create the water effect.

B.     Believability of the effects.

Body Paragraph

A.     In, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

- Planning of the visualization of the ocean surface, referencing from other films, live videos as well as personal ones.

- A program that simulates ocean waves was used called the Houdini Ocean Toolkit.

- The department that was responsible for these effects took into consideration the law of physics and the possibility of the audience getting “sea-sick/motion sickness.”

- Believability of the special effect was executed incredibly well.

B.     Evan Almighty

- 3 stages to create a believable journey: 1). Shooting the background plate and recreating movement on the computer. 2). Fluid simulation. 3). Rendering stage.

- Although if we weren’t the one with higher power, a 50 feet or so wave would never just appear out of nowhere in the middle of the city.

- Highly entertaining and comical but not as believable as the other movie mentioned before.

Conclusion

- Depending on the type of movie it is (serious, funny, or scary) there are limits on how believable the special effects can get.

- Special effects can be very realistic but if the story requires a being to magically conjure a giant wave, in Evan Almighty, the effects seem to elude the believability of it.




 

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

            It is often obvious when an action and reaction from a film is exaggerated. And, because it is obvious it can make a movie unrealistic, but it opens up our imagination and gets us to wonder, what if? Most movies go by Newton’s Third Law: action-reaction principle, but will exaggerate it to keep the viewers interest.

            In the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Bella has become a newborn vampire and was about to meet her daughter for the first time. Seconds after meeting her she finds out that Jacob had imprinted on her daughter, meaning that they are both destined to be together forever. Raging with anger, Bella lashes out at him pushing him around. To Jacob’s defense, his friend Seth who is in a large wolf form jumps at Bella. Instead of the large wolf knocking Bella over she catches Seth in mid-air and throws him against a tree. This is called an Action-Reaction Pairs, where Seth exerts a force on Bella, and as a reaction Bella exerts a force back on Seth. Because these two characters are both unusually stronger than an average human and an average wolf, maybe the action-reaction principle was realistically executed. However, if Bella was just a human and Seth was really a wolf then Newton’s Third Law would have been applied differently. Realistically speaking, Bella would have been knocked over easily and would not have been able to push Seth off at all.

            When person A and person B both push off of person C there should be a major reaction to person C but that is not the case in the movie Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Towards the end of the movie Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore are faced with an evil character played by Demi Moore. The last final kick that ends up killing Demi was an action where Lucy and Drew jump on Cameron’s hands and they push off from it, with a little push from Cameron as well. When Lucy and Drew kick Demi, her reaction is of her unrealistically flying far from the kick and the force causes her body to break through the stages wooden floor, causing Demi to fall to her death. There were a number of things that did not look right. First, when two people’s entire weight is on one person it shouldn’t have that one person react as if the other two were light as feathers, because obviously they are not. The two women that used Cameron’s hands to push off should have had Cameron reacting by moving back. Because Cameron did not react to the push, it only tells us how strong Cameron is because then that would mean that the action force of the two women and the action force from Cameron was equal. For Demi Moore’s character her reaction to the kick was overly exaggerated making it obvious that her character used wires in the scene because when she broke through the wooden floor it created a dramatic impact force. By manipulating the action-reaction principle it gave this semi-comedic/action film a “lighter” story line, pun intended.

            This next scene was obviously illustrated the action-reaction principle incorrectly. A 250 pound panda bear gets his teeth knocked out by an air filled punching bag, how is that possible? It is not.  In Kung Fu Panda, Po is asked to hit the air filled punching bag. He gives the bag a sissy punch and it just wobbles in place with not much reaction. The second time around he gives the bag a good punch and the bag swings off screen for a second or two then the bag swings back, knocking Po to the ground and even got a tooth knocked out of his mouth. Physically the air bag cannot possibly swing back so fast and hard that it knocks out someone’s tooth. Po is much more heavier than the air filled punching bag so it would be like the bag is hitting a wall, causing no reaction to Po. Newton’s Third Law is broken when Po gets knocked over by something that he should have knocked over. Even though the action-reaction principle was broken, it worked well with Po’s character. Po’s character was portrayed perfectly in that scene because it showed how big of a weenie he was and that even an air filled bag could defeat him. It pushed Po back so far that it was more entertaining to watch him bounce back and grow strong enough to beat Tai Lung. In this case I think that breaking the action-reaction principle played will in the main characters favor.

            Sometimes movies need to break Newton’s Third Law because if it were to be as real as it gets it would just make the movie boring, and have the viewers feel like it is something they already seen. Of course when it is a serious story line being extra realistic will heighten the seriousness of the story. However, for an action film or animated film it helps to exaggerate and break the action-reaction principle. We, as viewers want a break from reality and want to be entertained by something that isn’t possible in the real world. It not only opens up our minds for imagination but it also leaves us wanting more of it. If the Newton’s Third Law were based on human emotion and feelings, then I would say that the creators of these films executed the action-reaction principle correctly. The principle of action and reaction plays a big roll in how the animators want the characters to be portrayed. Being able to withstand a large wolf lunging at you or being able to push off two people with your hands and not reacting to it shows how strong that character is, which is what they want the viewers to know. Or, literally a full-grown panda being knocked over by an air bag shows how weak he is with an extremely low stamina, which is what the animators wanted the viewers to know about him before they take on the story further.

            Science fact and cinematic fiction are both considered when making a movie. They push the action-reaction principle to draw the viewers’ attention but sometimes not too much, where it might look extremely fake that the viewers don’t absorb the story and process it in their minds. There is a line between science facts and cinematic fiction, and it is up to us to decide where to draw the line depending on what type of theme, mood, etc., you want the viewers to get involved with.

Outline for the Second Term Paper

Term Paper #2 Outline.

Introduction

A. Action & Reaction Principle

B. The A & R principle is exaggerated in movies otherwise we are most likely able to predict what happens and that is not very interesting to a viewer.

Body Paragraph

A. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, when Bella is finally turned into a vampire she gets angry because Jacob imprinted on her daughter and when Jacob’s friend, Seth, in a large wolf form, jumped towards. Instead of the large wolf knocking Bella over she manages to stop Seth midair and throws him against a tree.

B. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Towards the end of the movie Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore are faced with an evil character played by Demi Moore. The last kick that ends up killing Demi was an action where Lucy and Drew jump on Cameron’s hands and she pushes them forward kicking Demi, and Demi’s reaction is of her flying unrealistically far and her body’s’ force breaks the wooden floor, causing Demi to fall to her death.

C. Kung Fu Panda: When Po is asked to hit the blow-up punching bag he punches it off screen and when the bag swings back it hits Po and the air-filled bag knocks Po and one of his teeth’s out.

Conclusion

A. If these movies were not exaggerated it wouldn’t have made the movies as fun or unexpected.

B. Even though the principle of Action & Reaction is broken it managed to keep the viewers interest by letting something/someone react unexpectedly.

Reverse Video Reference

Clip A

Clip B

 

Clip C

 

Clip D

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

Stop motion animation...

I had a coin, that I used as a "heavy ball", and had is roll down my hand drawn ramp and bounce a few times when it made contact to the ground.

Before all that I had planned out my key poses and timing which helped the shooting process to be much easier.

This was my first time shooting a stop motion animation, and I really enjoyed the process and the outcome of this assignment.

Term Paper #1: The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

            Who doesn’t like a good superhero movie? It captures our attention because no one in real life can actually fly, have super strength, or move at warp speed. We only wish we could. What makes a superhero movie so catchy is that it gives the audience a sense of what ifs. And, if superheroes truly existed how would if effect us normal beings and how would our laws of physics then change? In the Walt Disney feature animation, Hercules is set in a universe where mortals can physically communicate with mythical gods and shows how much they have an effect on the mortal society. The laws of physics is broken and exaggerated in this film in order to portray the difference in physics compared to real life, and to keep the viewers interest.

            As we transition from a musical introduction the story gets right to the point on who Hercules is and what his super power is as well. In order to make his character believable he is set in a weightless environment, it is only appropriate to begin the story in the heavens. Heaven is known to be a weightless environment in itself but to exaggerate baby Hercules’s strength, he squeezes his fathers’ finger and lifts his entire body weight parallel to the ground. We all know that it is physically impossible for an infant to lift his fathers’ entire body off the ground, so making the impossible, possible set Hercules’ power with the audience. After seeing this you can only imagine how much stronger he will be once fully grown, which is another attention getter.

            Having super powers on earth is an unusual thing to have when majority of the people are mortals and that is what Hercules struggles with during his teen years. This particular scene was a bit confusing to me because with super strength Hercules should have been able to stop the flying disk that was thrown by a non-super powered being. Instead, the flying disk picks up Hercules like he was lighter than the disk and gets thrown across the yard causing him to knock over heavy columns, and gets blamed for the mess.

       

Another scene that supports the weightless environment is when Hades unleashes the Titans. The molten lava was able to keep its construction of a human form, when in reality lava should not be able to hold itself up in any form until layers of dried lava is formed on top of one another. The tornado on the other hand looked an acted like a tornado, however when Hercules grabbed the tornado by its tail, sucking the Titans up through the wrong end, it lost the feeling of an actual tornado since normally tornadoes are formed and controlled by the top end and sucks up through the tail.

Being in a weightless environment isn’t the only thing that can convince an audience that Hercules has super strength. Exaggerated anticipation and follow through actions gives Hercules’ super power that extra oomph and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. When Hercules had his first encounter with a damsel in distress (Meg), he had to fight off the centaur, Nessus. After putting up a good fight it was time to end it with a knock out punch, and to do so Hercules goes into an anticipation pose with his punching arm, spinning out to gain speed like a tire would at a drag race, and then upper cuts the centaur launching him into space. As Nessus is launched upwards, his horseshoes gets disconnected to his feet and follows his path of action. When all things go up, it must come down and that is what Nessus did along with the first three shoes that hits him on the head, creating a bump on his head. Then, the last shoe hooks onto the bump like it would in a horseshoe pitching game. In reality it is physically impossible for anyone or anything to knock a horse out of its shoes, so this moment showed that the physical strength of Hercules is much greater than the law of physics.

         

The squash and stretch scenes helped heighten the climax of the film, it helped Hercules transition from one mood to another. The squash and stretch principle applies to real life, however in the film, the characters were overly squashed and stretched out to show the severity of the moment.

When Hercules falls in love with Meg, Phil comes across Meg and Hades’ encounter and tries to warn Hercules about her. When Phil approaches him, Hercules’ head is in the clouds excited about Meg in his life. Hercules throws friendly jabs at Phil and gets really close to hitting his face but Phil dodges the punch but squishing his entire body but it arms, creating a silly “U” shape for a split second. Of course in real life there is such a thing called ducking in order to avoid a hit, but never to the point where your arms get disconnected to your shoulders.

While Phil is trying to get Hercules’ attention, Pegasus gets lured into a shed by a pretty pink horse and just as he enters, the pink horse stretches and gets divided in two. Pegasus’ shocked reaction is a reaction any normal “being” would have, but with that reaction came a Tex Avery’s Red Hot Riding Hood moment where Pegasus’ eyes stretched out of its socket, again pushing the exaggerated reaction.

       

In conclusion, the films unrealistic law of physics accentuated the mythical story of the Gods and their immortal power. It gives us an idea of how overly exaggerated a mortal being might have to be, physically, in order to keep up with the gods and their powers. It definitely made the audience experience what it would be like if the immortal Gods in heaven were connected to earth.

The film may not have obeyed the true law of physics, but without it made the story a lot more dramatic and imaginary. Gods and their super powers is not real but that is why it is called a myth, and because the law of physics is broken throughout this film, it made the mythological story believable in the imaginary mind.

Term Paper #1 (Outline)

Term Paper #1 Outline.

Introduction

A. Animated Feature Film: Hercules (1997)

B. Thesis- In the Walt Disney Feature Animation, Hercules, the reality of physics in the real world is broken throughout this film in order to push the mythological story.

Body Paragraph

A. Weightless Environment

1. Baby Hercules was able to squeeze his fathers’ finger and lift him parallel to the ground.

2. Hercules in his teens tried to stop a lightweight flying disk that went off course. As a super strong superhero he should be able to stop it with no effort, but the disk took his entire body like it had no strength and threw him across the yard causing Hercules to knock over heavy columns with his super strength.

3. When the Titans were unleashed the molten lava was formed into a human form.

B. Exaggerated Anticipation and Follow Through

1. On Hercules first encounter of saving a damsel in distress (Meg), the anticipation to punch the centaur Nessus was overly exaggerated where Hercules’ arm spun out to gain speed like a tire would at a drag race.

2. Prior to that punch the centaur’s “shoe” follows through Nessus’s path of action as he gets punched upwards and then falls back down, all four hitting his head.

C. Squash and Stretch

1. When Phil tries to tell Hercules that Meg is a fraud, Phil dodges a punch from Hercules by squishing his entire body down but his arm.

2. While Phil is trying to confront Hercules, Pegasus gets lured into a shed by a pink horse and just as he enters, the pink horse stretches and gets divided in two.

Conclusion

A. The films unrealistic law of physics accentuates the mythical story of the Gods.

B. It also made the audience experience what it would be like in the presence of a God on earth.

C. The laws of physics are exaggerated for the mythical/immortal characters but not for the mortal characters.

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Video Reference...

Shooting Video Reference

Mini-Portfolio

I am a third year at San Jose State University, studying Animation/Illustration. I have changed my major about three times, at first I studied fashion designing, then architecture, then painting & drawing at CCA (California College of the Arts) and finally I transferred over to San Jose State and decided to study Animation/Illustration. I wanted to be a Medical Illustrator but after two years I grew to appreciate and want a career in visual development.

This first image is from John Clapp's Light & Optics class. It is a graphite rendered piece I am proud of because his class had taught me how to be patient. I tend to rush through my work without even knowing it, but this time patience truly was a virtue and it showed through this piece.

This second image is a 3D model piece I had done for Dave Gustlin's class. When this project was done I felt extremely proud because I am more of a hands-on illustrator than a digital artist. So, going into this class was very overwhelming and scary for me, and when I had accomplished the assignment I couldn't believe that I (someone who stayed clear away, out of fear, from digital art) had created such a realistic model of a Japanese end tile.

This video was made by the one person who changed the way I look/think/draw in perspective... not to mention I became extremely paranoid about how my ellipses look in perspective because all I see in these ellipses are the face of John Clapp, smiling (not necessarily a good thing).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbGcki1Kv7c

The First Post

hi.