BSA703 30/3

 Return of the non-graph liquid sim (aka potential regret)

After a little hunt through the Autodesk forum, I found a suggestion to increase the emitterprops Expansion rate. First attempt I moved it to 1.0 with over the top results. I have also set the liquidshape to include voxels in the display and found the setting to make the mesh visible also.

BSA703 29/3

 Blue cocopops! For some reason Maya at campus doesnt have issues with rendering the particle mesh, I do wonder if this is because it is 2020 and still has the Bif1 object like the tutorials(it is merged into the graph object in the latest version)

Progress but the mesh still isnt forming something waterlike just yet. Im not sure whether this is a particle size issue or a particle amount issue but its frustrating due to the amount of time it takes to create a cache.

At this stage I am going to revert my home install of Maya back to 2020 and see if I can find some water specific tutorials to help with the meshing issue as my current tweaks dont seem to be doing much other than increasing the cache time.

BSA703 28/3

Progress! Turns out the graph editor isnt too tricky if you arent trying to insert it mid scene build. My problem earlier was trying to merge the easy tutorial way of creating water with the graph and thats why it wasnt working. I merged info from 2 tutorials to figure out what I know so far:

This gave me a basic intro but I found some of it still kind of confusing so jumped to:

The second one helped a lot more but both of them are still a little behind in terms of adding materials so I have had to use a little logical jumping to figure it out

What Ive learned so far:

Use middle mouse button to drag the maya object into the editor and create the Input node. Hit tab to bring up the node list and in this case I used the basic_particles_graph.

Right clicking on the node gives you the Explode option to expand the node.

This is where all the particle settings and manipulators get connected. Drag the other scene objects into the graph editor and connect them to the collider node to make the particles collide with them.

Caching - as simple as creating a cache node in the editor and switching between write and read mode. One issue I ran into was when choosing the name of the cache files, make sure to use the naming convention filename.###.bob(default bifrost file extension) otherwise it will only cache the final frame. this defaults to the windows home directory also so change it to the project directory cache file.

Place an assign material node in the final spot before output. Connect a surface mat and name it the same way the other aistandardsurface materials are named, and adjust the values. I used hypershade to get the material looking the way I wanted then copied over the settings. It was after doing this that I discovered you can right click the material node in the hypershade window and copy to viewport selection.

Current playblast:

It actually overflows a lot nicer than the other sim however these particles dont have a mesh yet and that might affect how they flow. Once I can get the shaders and mesh sorted, I will worry about the direction of flow and that initial rush over the end(100% could just be the shape of the CC tub that I am using)

Trying to mesh the particles following this tutorial:

First step is placing a point_to_level_set node after the simulation, the particles will change to a dark grey colour if this is working. Next is a volume_to_mesh node after the level set.

Now you can link in the assigned_material node after the volume node to apply a shader to the particles. 

Like with ToonBoom nodes, you can select multiple nodes, right click and add a backdrop which gives you the shaded box to drag groups of nodes at one time, this is my attempt at a tidy graph with everything minimized while not in use. All the options are shown on the right under parameters so they dont need to be expanded really anyway.

I need to figure out why the particles/mesh are only showing up in the playblast and not the final render. Hoping its something simple.

BSA703 26/3

Zoom call with Melanie Langlotz from GeoArGames -  Magical Park 2

Works with gov depts and inclusive for ppl with disabilities.

Base game mechanic development on games we played outside in our childhood and convert them into a digital format.

Add a timer to create excitement and adjustable difficulty. Usable mechanics include anything a gyro in your phone can measure - jumping, crouching, looking around etc.

Rube goldberg style park game, broken machine and the player has to run around and deliver collected items to each broken spot to repair the machine. Focus on using brain power, gender neutral, problem solving. Age range around 11yrs old. Bright and colourful, big(im thinking a massively over sized machine) with a fun payoff at the end once its fixed. The aim is to make them run as much as possible.

We get promotional material, video of gameplay, Melanie as a CV reference. Timeframe is delivery in the next month or two.

GeoARGames uses Valve management structure for the company. 

Modelling and animation requirements - specifically for Mobile platforms.

Small studio - aim to be a generalist, big studio - aim to be a specialist.

Send CV to Rach with showreel(eep this needs work) for next semester project.

The density colour tutorial still hasnt worked, I have chucked a basic surface shader on and this gives it a rather flat colour but its progress. After talking to Rach I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and learn the bifrost graph from the beginning.

BSA703 25/3

 Ok so switching tactics. The room filling was good to practice locating settings etc but not actually going to be useful for the final product. 

Swapping to an overflowing bathtub is more productive as this will be simulated in the animation. Trying to get a smooth overflow is proving to be tricky as the water velocity keeps making it fly over the edge.

 A cool effect but not what is needed for this project.

The other issue as seen in this image is that if the water layer is too thin, it becomes patchy as if the water is very viscous. The next attempt will have a lower false bottom too see if that changes anything.

I discovered an tutorial that suggests adding a motion field with drag, this has really slowed down the water sim and I cant seem to get the cache system working at this point. 

So close yet so far. This is with drag = 0.5 and normal drag = 0.2

At this stage I am going to have to rebuild the scene as I think one of the settings I changed has ruined the processing and everything is stalling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jDeRVBTpGg how to set up a cache using the bifrost graph, which I need to learn how to use first but putting the link here for future use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJnlEVwkAs&t=301s a trick to colour bifrost liquid

I definitely messed it up somewhere, the tutorial mentions bifrost material but my emitter did not have one so I think i need to go back to the beginning and find a little more detailed tutorial.

BSA703 23/3

Class Discussion on Learning Outcomes For This Paper

- Document individual and team contributions with analytical commentary via an online platform
    
- Use conceptual, aesthetic and technical skills and knowledge to communicate an original story/theme for screen

- Research and document applicable practices in relevant screen productions to inform project.

Research Production Pipeline

Wolfwalkers(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZdv_f9f5Jo&t=100s)

     - Iker Maidagan(storyboard artist) https://maidagan.medium.com/wolfwalkers-the-story-behind-story-96a8ee746911

Storyboarding Review

    - 17 expert storyboard tips for TV animation https://www.creativebloq.com/advice/storyboard-tips

Storyboard tips:

1. It's all about telling the story
2. Build on the line of action
3. One drawing equals one idea - we may have crowd scenes in our film, but the audience can only see one thing at a time, so in the storyboard process we need everything to be as clear as we can. 
4. Draw cleanly for animation
5. Find clarity in silhouettes
6. Communicate the story through character poses
7. Think like an actor
8. Use the frame as the 'eye'
9. Sketch thumbnails for a simple panel
10. Establish the point of view with the horizon line/eye line 
11. Use grids to help with object placement
12. Create rough storyboard panel
13. Clean up the storyboard
14. Ensure continuity -Unless when we have weird shots
15. Consider film time and editing - The storyboard artist and the director has to work together, Whether its the director saying what shots he would like, or the storyboard artists can pitch ideas, but it all has to be quick quick
16. Compose for movement
17. Think about animation layout

    - A Movie Storyboard Artist Reveals the Secrets of His Trade https://screencrush.com/movie-storyboards-2/ Gabriel Hardman has been a Hollywood storyboard artist for the last two decades, this link is showing the storyboard panels for 10 of his most well known projects with a behind the scenes sneak peek of the process.

For companies:

https://www.quicksprout.com/instagram-marketing-strategy/

For individuals:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-4-artists-share-tips-instagram-grow-art-practice

Social Media Advertising

There is a couple of ways we can take our social media, I really like the setup that the creators of Bojack Horseman took it (https://www.instagram.com/bojackhorseman/). They created an Instagram account for Bojack and made posts as if he was a living person, utilising common post styles from other accounts. It seems like a fun way to create hype for the animation, without blasting potential viewers with the same release posters over and over. I feel like people would relate to a character more than artist BTS posts.

BSA703 21/3

Starting with the first video from the last post. I had thought to use a plane to emit particles but early attempts failed, I have switched to following the tutorial and using a sphere.

To create collisions select the object u want the water to collide with then shift click the border of the particle box (in green in the previous image) Go to the Bifrost menu and select collider. Each new collider has to be added this way separately.

Successful collisions with the table and floor. I made the particles look bigger using the Particle Display box on the right.

To make it continually emit particles select the emitterprops in the outliner and select continuous emission.

To increase the amount of particles, adjust the Master Voxel size, the lower the number the greater the detail but it increases the computation time of the sim. I changed the size from 0.5 to 0.3 and you can see a big difference in the density.

The default gap with the colliders is a bit big, the adjustment is in the liquidproperties under Transport

Next to add foam select bifrostliquid in the outliner then select foam from the bifrost fluids menu.

Playblast with foam

Make sure the lighting is Arnold compatible(check in render view).

Go to liquidshape(bifrostliquid in outliner) for render settings and to enable the bifrost meshing. Under Bifrost Fluids menu there is Compute and Cache, open it and enable Cache Elements:Mesh. Save the polygon mesh under the Cache menu as a .bif, delete the bifrost particles from the outliner then import the cached mesh and assign the shader. This part is a little messy, make sure you know what shader it was before you cache the mesh.

Next step was trying to hide the emitter, this was hard because as soon as i shrunk the object or moved it close to the floor, the water flow really got reduced, to the point it didnt work sometimes. This bit was frustrating so I moved on to the next idea.

Tried to make a setup for the water to seep under the door instead of flood down. Didnt really work with this setup, all walls are colliders except the pink plane in the middle. The grey plane is slightly shorter than the pink one to create a gap. The following water shader test pics show why this wont work in its current form, more research is needed to adjust water flow.

Messing around with the water shaders, upped the specular roughness to .4 which adds a little fog. 

Adding a 0.001 thin film, I didnt like the way this looked so restored it to 0.

Added a blue sheen with a weight of .750 and .5 roughness

Switched back to the tutorial scene that I did, as the water works really well in that one. Dont know if its the lighting or what but it looks completely different to the effects I got on the other scene.

Specular roughness: 0.5 weight: 0.5 IOR: 1.333, Sheen weight: 0.5 Roughness: 0.3, Still cant quite get a blue tint to it yet.

Turns out all the black is the foam but for some reason I get a render error when i remove the foam from the outliner.

and in blue. I quite like the way it looks, just need to figure it out without cheating by making the floor blue.

BSA703 19/3

 This weekends task is to look into Bifrost for water sim in Maya and finalise floor plan/layout for the restaurant bathroom. Not much else other than research at this stage due to waiting on an asset list and style sheet from higher up.

Tutorials to test:

BSA703 18/3

 Cosy room stylised texture tutorial that Rach found: 

Matching the cartoony style of the others is going to be my weak point I think.

Using anchor points and generators to add textures:

Playing around with Substance Painter, this is a Dust material on top of a Bone - Stylised layer that I have tinted blueish. The tutorial that Rach found suggested using the bone texture as a great base for stylised results.

Looking suitably scummy, I think knocking the specular down helped but Im still not sure if it really fits the "stylised" image they want. Another suggested video was how to create ghibli style textures in substance painter:

Attempt one in substance. I knocked the specular down for the second image, its subtle but I think i like the matte look better. 

I tihnk I should look into the Toon shader for arnold at some point: 

https://docs.arnoldrenderer.com/display/A5AFMUG/Toon

 At this stage I think Im going to go back to modelling some of the other bathroom assets in greater detail, as all I have been told so far is "work on making assets". 

Creating a working mirror in maya:

Uses mia which is not something we work with but was handy for making up a quick mirror model

This one was for arnold:

First couple attempts didnt go so well

Watched the video back and realised I missed setting the Specular roughness to 0 and the Thin Film IOR to 0 also. I really like the final look disregarding the fact there is no textures yet.

Just a couple sshots of where the settings to adjust are

Next experiment is to get dirt on the mirror to make it look a lil more used. Initial attempts the texture didnt show up but after reading:

 https://docs.arnoldrenderer.com/display/A5AFMUG/Thin+Film Ive started tweaking the Thin Film IOR up.

You can kind of still see the reflection which is cool but not quite as clear as I want. Adjusting the IOR lower gives me this which will not work at all. 

Next idea is make a mostly transparent plane with the dirt texture and overlay it somehow.

No-go, so did some more google searching and found this 

https://simplymaya.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24949 talking about adding a crack to a mirror using layer shaders, and thought I could tweak it for dirt.

After changing the base colour to stylised lighting in substance I got this:

Not quite what I expected but on the right track I hope.

Much better, all it needs really is some editing in photoshop to make it way more irregular and erase some areas. 

This one was the Grunge Fingerprint Smeared from Substance, just really large scale to recreate a streaky effect. Definitely looks a lot more random which is great!

Both dirt layers combined, its fun but not sure if its worth keeping at this point. I can perhaps use this technique to make the mirror look more cartoony.

Did some basic playing with the frame texture, also it totally looks like a skull in the smudges and I only noticed with the last couple of test renders lol!

BSA703 16/3

 Was on a minecraft parody binge on youtube and found this Revolver parody song. Funnily enough it is 3D background with 2D foreground like the project is. I really like the texturing on the background in this video, which seems to be a trademark of the Mineworks parody music videos regardless of whether the characters are 2D or 3D.

BSA703 15/3 pt 2

 So as mentioned my job was to create a basic 3D render of the restaurant bathroom based on Thomas' 2D concept. I was given a linework sketch and went from there.

First render, at this stage I had just blocked in basic shapes and was trying to get the lighting right

Fourth render, lighting was too bright and odd placement

Ninth render, I had added a directional light and that meant I could knock the intensity of the other lights down. 

Seventeenth render, by this stage I finished the basic mockup of the assets and was trying to fine tun3 the lighting placement.

Final render, more placement and intensity tweaking. There is only a subtle difference between the last few renders, but I couldn't get it the way I wanted and was running out of time, so I changed the camera angle slightly.

Putting the render into Photoshop and painting over it to try and make it more "painterly". 

Looking back I think I would have had more luck if I exported the UVs and painted those but again time was an issue. I had 5.5hrs from being given the sketch to produce a 3D render. If the original deadline of 5pm was kept, I would not have attempted the painting at this stage of the process, rather keep it for the development phase.