CRI2 Research Assignment: Rigging TD

Our assignment for our second rigging class was to find a job listing for a technical artist and compare the job qualifications to what we have learned in class.
I found this listing at Reel Fx, one of the companies I hope to work for in the future:
http://jobs.reelfx.com/positions/rigging-artist-dallas-location-361

To get the job you must meet the following requirements (as listed on the website above):

• Bachelor’s (BA) degree from accredited four-year college or university or equivalent experience

• 2 years production experience

• A strong understanding of animation and modeling workflows

• A strong understanding of human and animal form and bio-mechanics.

• Able to create rigs that allow for a full range of movement, with a logical, easy to use, and well thought out control structure.

• Excellent knowledge of maya, with a strong understanding of the dependency graph, utility nodes, and the use of expressions. A working knowledge of MEL is a must. A working knowledge of Python is preferred. Knowledge of the C++ API is not required, but is a distinct advantage.

• A general understanding of the principles of animation. Must be able to think like an animator when considering how rigs will move. Prior animation experience is a plus.

• Able to work in a team environment, possess strong communication skills, exhibit a high level of motivation.

• Able to communicate creative and technical thoughts and ideas

• Able to multi-task and prioritize

• Able to thrive in a high pressure, deadline oriented environment

• Able to follow directions well

In CRI1 and CRI2 we learned how to create rigs with a full range of movement that are easy for an animator to use. We were taught to always think about what the animator would want in a rig. We were exposed to python scripting and have done almost all of our work in Maya. We focused more on SDKs than expressions but we did go over them in class. We have worked with deadlines and had to follow directions. However, we didn't really go over MEL, we didn't create a non-humanoid animal rig, we didn't use the dependency graph or utility nodes, and we didn't have any sort of team projects.

I researched another job posting from Laika:

https://laika.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjob&jobid=214580&company_id=15887&version=2&jobBoardId=1112

The job requirements as listed on the website above are as follows:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant area of study or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2-3 years of CG feature film and/or Visual Effects or equivalent rigging experience.
• Experience working on a fully animated theatrically released CG feature film a plus.
• Knowledge of Maya, Python and MEL
• Experience rigging a variety of facial animation systems, including experience with body and prop rigs.
• Strong knowledge of character kinematics, deformation and biomechanics.
• Basic modeling skills and ability to understand polygonal mesh flow.
• Background in visual arts/design with a strong understanding of form, geometry and movement.
• Ability to provide feedback to team members on work under development and mentor lesser experienced team members.
• Knowledge of dynamics, Linux experience and Maya C++ plug in development, all a plus.
• 3D printing experience a plus

In CRI1 and CRI2 we learned how to use Maya for rigging and how to script with Python. We have learned how to rig and weight facial systems. We went over basic modeling skills in Mudbox to create blendshapes. However, we did not learn about Linux, C++, or MEL.


Comparing these two listings, both want experience and a Bachelor's degree, experience in Maya, experience with Python, and how to create basic and easy to use rigs. I think that on the surface it seems like we were more prepared for the Laika job listing because we spent a lot more time learning facial rigs and controls. It also seems to require less experience with certain aspects of Maya, but at the same time requires the knowledge of three other scripting languages instead of two. Scripting can be very hard to learn, I have multiple friends in Game Dev. that run into a lot of troubles learning C++, so it's hard to tell which one we are actually more prepared for. Overall I feel like if I were to get a job as a TD I would need to know more about scripting languages in general since that seems to be a big part of every TD job listing.

Fundamentals of Animation: Project 3

For project 3 our assignment was to animate the top half of a human pushing a box off of a cliff. We started by assessing one of the thumbnails our teacher provided for us. I chose the following thumbnail that my teacher created:

We received multiple files with a character and box in it. I chose the standard guy with the purple cliff, depicted in the picture below:

We then preceded to follow the thumbnails and put in the key poses and breakdowns. We then used the graph editor to create a smoother animation. This is my finished result:

From this project I learned how to manipulate a upper body rig. I practiced using the graph editor and using proper timing to show weight. In class we learned how to manipulate the rig and graph editor. I learned how to do the timing for my specific project on my own. Overall this was an interesting project to work on and I learned a lot from it.

Fundamentals of Animation: Final Project

For our Final project in Fundamentals of Animation we had to animate our character holding, taking three steps, anticipating, and kicking a ball. We started out by video taping ourselves doing the actions for the animation.

We then created thumbnails to map out the actions that the character and the ball would take based off of our reference video.
Here were mine:

We were also asked to do practice work based on research we did to help us with our walk cycles. I chose to do figure drawings to study human poses:

We then created key poses and breakdowns using our thumbnails, using the graph editor to clean up our movements. Here is my final playblast of my project:

 In this class and through this project I used how to manipulate the graph editor and how to move a character's hips to create a believable walk. I also learned how to use the playblast and how to animate a ball in Maya. We also played with the rigs and were introduced to new types of rigs. Overall I learned a lot about animation from this class.

Activity 1: Aesthetics- Compare and Contrast

I wanted to recreate Picasso's "Portrait of a Young Girl" so it would be more naturalistic and appeal more to my personal artistic preferences. I kept the subject of the artwork the same, both subjects are young girls with sun hats with a black ribbons on their head. It is difficult to see in the above photo, but there are also hints of red and green in the eyes of my portrait similar to what Picasso did in his piece. Both subjects are wearing blue and green outfits and I incorporated swirls and lines into the flower detail that are similar to Picasso's. One of the main differences between these two is the more naturalistic appearance of my recreation. I also changed the background to better match the colors used on the subject and incorporated value into my recreation.

Activity 1: Aesthetics- Prepro

Activity 1: Aesthetics- Objective Critique

This piece by Pablo Picasso shows a portrait of a girl from the chest up wearing a yellow sunhat with a black ribbon. The girl is wearing blue and green clothing with something white over her shoulders. Her face is abstracted, with a large nose and lips on a bean-shaped head. The face is painted with the colors white, red, green, and blue from left to right in that order. The left eye is colored red and the right eye is colored green, both have see-through eye whites that show the face's different colors underneath. The girl has a large black scribble on the right side of her face and a black diamond around her neck. There is also a large black space to the left of her face that could represent hair or black fabric hanging off the hat. The background is a single color that shows multiple paint streaks. The portrait of the girl takes up the majority of the canvas. The artist shows contrast through value by painting a large amount of black next to the stark white of the face. The artist creates emphasis on the face through color, making half the face a warm red against the cool colors green and blue. The artist creates unity in the piece through the multiple black and white lines in the painting, the vertical and curved lines are painted on the chest, face, and hair. Some Elements of Art and Principles of Design are visible in this work of art.

Activity 1: Aesthetics- Subjective Critique

When I first saw this piece it made me angry. I have seen Pablo Picasso's other work and I think that he is a talented artist, he has this ability to paint beautifully yet chooses to create something as disgusting as this portrait. This portrait is just one big ugly mess. My main issue with this piece is the very apparent brush strokes, you can clearly see the base color of the canvas through the paint which makes the whole background look like one big sloppy mess. His color palette is also atrocious. He uses a nasty brownish-red in the background that looks disgusting and a strange mix of red-orange, green, and blue for the skin. The red-orange is very off-putting and doesn't compliment the green next to it and also feels out of place because the rest of the skin is painted with cool colors. None of the colors he uses are very vibrant, but are dull and lack depth. The only color that isn't dull is the harsh black that he uses, which creates some contrast in value but ends up flattening the piece even more. He also doesn't attempt to create any variation of shadows in this piece, which leaves the painting looking extremely flat and unappealing. The way he abstracts the subject is also very distasteful and inaccurate. The gigantic nose and lips give strange shapes to the face and the boxiness of the hair makes it look flat and lifeless. The subject is inaccurate because she is painted to look older. Picasso has given her breasts and developed facial features, this wouldn't normally bother me but in this case the subject, according to the title of the piece, is supposed to be a "young girl" which this painting in no way resembles. If I were to change this piece I would change almost everything about it. I would start by using a subject who looks more like a young girl and rendering her in a naturalistic way. I would incorporate different colors into the skin to make it more vibrant but still believable and use more attractive shades of blue and green in the clothing of the subject to incorporate some of the original color scheme into the piece. I would also create more depth in the piece by using value. I believe doing so will help me to create a more visually appealing work of art.

Activity 1: Aesthetics- Photo and Information

This painting is by Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist who lived from 1881–1973. This painting was made with oil paints in1938 and is titled "Portrait of a Young Girl."