3D Animation

A long time ago, when I was only about 13 or 14, my brother started
messing around with a program called povray. It's an old text based
open source 3d imaging language. So he would type out code like
this...


box {

     <-1, 0, -1>,
     < 1, 0.5, 3>
     texture {
         T_Stone25
         scale 4

    }
rotate y*20
}


... and he would have a cube, slightly rotated. Then the long process
of making it a color! Can you imageine? Well lucky for me and my
non-programming ways, some guy makes a front end called Moray. So instead of typing all
that stuff in and learning a language, you have a screen that lets you
see your scene as you create it. So I started messing around with it
and my two best are these...

Portal

Shrine

Not fantastic, I know, but hey..I was just a little guy. From there I
moved to 3d Studio MAX in Highschool, which I was able to do an
independant study and play around with it. I dont have anything saved
to show you from that, but rest assured, I made a killer train on a
train track. There was no training in that actual art of animation in
that class. I just figgred out the software mostly, very little
composition or lighting techniques or anything were used.

Then I went to college and I didnt even think about 3d animation.
Eventually I graduated (it only took 4.5 years!) and transitiond smothly
from my part time posisition at Best Buy into a full-time one. Well the
wonderful people at Best Buy actually pay for continuing education, as
long as it is highly job related, and seing as how I was trying to get
an advertising job with BBY corporate, they signed the papers that let
me take a three course (read that as a year and a half) certificate
course at Parkland Community College. The rest of the page is devoted
to my courses at Parkland.

First Semester

The first semester was all about modeling. This was not a technical
class about how to use the software, but more of a design class, useing
the software as the paintbrush.

	The first project was to model a deserted city useing polygons. We didn't know how to use color yet so we had to make do with contrast in black and white.
	The second project we used NURBS to make more organic things, we also got to use color. The project was to make a scene that didn't have a focal point and to use an organic object for inspiration.
	The next project was a texturing project. The project requirements were to find a table snack and recreate the texture of it. So I did sour gummi worms.
	The final project was a file texturing project, so the picture in the background and the pages of paper all have file textures. I wanted to toon shade the whole thing, but the project requirements said that it had to be realistic.

Second Semester

The second semester was about animation. So we did a few projects in natural motion and breathing life like in a pixar movie.

	The first movie we did was the natural motion one. This lamp looks like it's being blown around by the wind.
	The second movie we did was on hirecrial animation...grouped objects and the probmems you have with you group things to gether and how you have set up that system. So the animation is not REALLY cool, but i learned alot technically. And you see I finally got to use the toonshader!
	The next movie was about "bones." Which is a way to add a skeleton to your 3d models and have them behave more like a real person. This was a pretty simple animation of a guy climbing up a cliff. Personally I like it because its so simple and monochromatic.
	The final movie was about breathing life. So the mailbox comes to life. Kinda cool.

Third Semester

Third semester was about character animation.

	A study in light and heavy....kinda like Sesame Street. Can't you just hear the kids yelling..."Light!" and "Heavy!" as the balls bounce. The interesting thing is that the balls are exactly the same, but they react differently 'cause I made em!
	My first walk cycle.
	My final project.

Self Study

So I got motivated and started working through the "Learning Maya" Book myself. I thought there were alot of things that my teacher had skipped over that might have helped me better understand things in maya.

Lesson one. Learn the basics of moving around 3d space, making textures, and animation.