Plan for geommetry and rig.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Maya Character Rigging
Coolio.....just received An essential introduction to Maya Character Rigging by Cheryl Cabrera recommended by Steve. Can't wait to start!
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Willie Billium
Designs for Willie. He is a child fascinated with Gorilla's even to the extent that he dresses up as one. Button eyes and lots of visible stitching. Willie is wearing a gorilla costume with zip and stitch detailing. The whole costume is made of knitted fabric and natural material. Willies eyes are buttons and skin is knitted.
Character concept page for Cornelius the Gorilla. Made from distressed natural fabrics for a vintage discerning appearance. I had a nightmare with this page using Photoshop and Illustrator. I've kind of got the feel for what I want but still not right. The swatches will give you a better idea of what Cornelius should look like. I wanted Cornelius to look old and discerning reflected in the material and stance much of an old gentleman.
Monday 19 October 2009
Inspiration Tim Burton 9
If you haven't heard about director Shane Acker's "9," you should our exclusive clip below. The movie's features some super-cool art design and gorgeous CG animation. Now we have another tasty exclusive to share with you, a pair of images revealing Elijah Wood's title character, 9. Check out the official description right here and then proceed beyond the jump for the eye candy.
Made out of burlap, with detailed copper hands and feet, 9 is the most physically refined, emotionally attuned of the 9 stitch-punk beings – the closest to perfection. His curious, proactive nature causes him to oppose 1's strategy of hiding, opting instead for action and setting the stage for conflict over leadership of the group.
First, a look at 9's burlap head...
And now for the rest of him...
Reference material
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://grail.cs.washington.edu/projects/realface/faces.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.penciljack.com/forum/showthread.php%3Fp%3D398217&usg=__zJH5r_hjtkCRh5ZXEyK6CFQmX1s=&h=1024&w=1113&sz=223&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=jFI3E1lP8acSqM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dface%2Bexpressions%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1.co.uk/junkfoodmovie.htmlhttp://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/3920610924_1b218f6191.jpg&imgrefurl=http://graphicalerts.com/23-awesomehttp://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/GSH/GSH477/boy-observing-insect_~gs365002.jpg&imgrefurl=http://w
Sunday 18 October 2009
Visit to Howletts Zoo - 17.10.2009
Going to Howletts was a fantastic source of research. Watching the gorillas move, capturing expressions and just being there. Watching the interaction of kids with the gorillas was also very valuable.
(http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/2009/JD.html) that Jennifers article describing facial expression and its relationship to gestures in Gorillas beneficial for the characteristic representation of Cornelius. As she describes meeting the Gorilla he sticks out his tongue as he bangs on the glass. his lips pulled back and his teeth exposed. He raises his arms and starts to clap. When meeting the Gorillas at Howletts Zoo they seemed to roll there arms around each other in some sort of dancing display
' l thought I have recorded many gestures before, I was intrigued by the pairing of a gesture with a facial expression. While Shana’s expression may have looked like a smile, it was actually a fear grimace, or bared-teeth display. Although Shana pairs his seemingly happy expression with a gesture that is an attention-getter, it soon becomes obvious to me that he fears the duck that is approaching him. Irving Stone wrote, “All of the character that is necessary to show can be done through the face … and perhaps the hands.” I had never realized how much one could learn from simple movements that most do not notice'.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.alleycatscratch.com/movie/kong/2005/King_Kong/Doubles.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.alleycatscratch.com
'Weta Digital's senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri explains, "The motion capture we did with Kong was a new way of using technology. It's a combination of things that have been done in the past, but we've brought them together in a unique way. We have created a system that's based on emotional states. It depends on us figuring out all the muscles of the face and understanding the correspondence between a human facial system and a gorilla facial system. What that allows us to do is to look at how muscles work together to create believable expressions. We then extract this muscle-by-muscle technique into something that's much more emotional. The facial animation system for Kong is the next generation of the facial system we built for Gollum." ...'Once principal photography began, Andy Serkis was called to be Kong for his fellow actors, providing on-set reference and functioning as an emotionally present participant in the scenes. During these instances, the actor performed in a custom-made Kong suit - fitted with musculature, arm extensions and a hood that extended the shoulders and created a no-neck look - that allowed Serkis to mimic the physicality of a gorilla, such as walking on all fours. To supply Kong's roaring, the sound department developed a "Kongalizer," a system that took Serkis' wordless vocal responses (picked up by a headset mic), ran them through a computer (which dropped the range and increased the size), and then broadcast them through a wall of speakers in real time. For key, intimate moments with Watts, the suited and Kongalized Serkis not only partnered in the scene, but also provided sight lines for the actress, often from the correct vantage point of 25 feet off the ground - accomplished by raising the actor in a cherry picker.
'Peter Jackson elaborates, "Andy was able to be on-set every day, and he was able to stand in for Kong. He's obviously not 25 feet tall, but we were able to put him on ladders, up in cherry pickers, do whatever we needed to do to make him the right height. Most critically he was there for Naomi, who would be delivering this incredible performance as Ann relating to Kong…and she had Andy to look at and talk to. She had Andy's eyes to look into when she wanted to make these moments as real as possible. I think it would be virtually impossible for an actor to get that level of performance if they were just acting to a yellow tennis ball on a stick. It just would never happen that way. So it was critical to have somebody there."
'Serkis adds, "You know, these were absolutely significant moment-to-moment emotions that were traded between us. And so really, I could have been wearing anything. It was very much through the eyes, but once we locked into each other…that was it. You have to give as truthful a performance as in any other kind of film. I mean, Pete makes fantasy films, but he does it through a dramatic keyhole so that there is a sense of total reality."
'Watts comments, "I had no idea what to expect. I had been told that a good two-thirds of the movie was opposite Kong, so how would that translate into the performance? I thought, 'Okay, I'm going to be looking at a mark on a stick and pretending there's a connection…ooh, this is going to be hard.' But with Andy doing it, I had a pair of eyes to look into, a soul to connect with - what a relief! And what a privilege. I could not have done anything without him. I don't know that there's another actor out there who could have done what he did with the amount of preparation and work he put into it. It was mind-blowing on a daily basis."
Skeletal structure of the face of a gorilla compared to a humans
Bone structure of the face of a gorilla 
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Full frontal facial expression with extreme pose for dynamic force and weight. low brow with grimacing smile. Notice the high curvature of the upper regions of the back emphasising the muscular shoulders and extreme force of the arms. the primates force is all around the chest and the shoulders with muscular legs open wide stance for stability. A pivotal Mid-Waist action. Dynamic pose extreme foreshortening.
Couple of doodles just to get a feel of what I want Cornelius to look like.......
Looking at the basic geommetry and the style. Enphasis on the heart shaped large nostrils and the protruding low sunk frown line. I want Cornelius to look old and discerning with a slight dangerous nature. This will be achieved in the weight of the character heavy base with big long muscular arms and chest and in the expression........These drawings are quick prelimmenary drawings a gorilla to understand the shape and characteristics. These will be simplified and character resembled made out of material.
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