The creation process must balance creativity and implementation techniques. Allows free conception of the universe and, simultaneously, demands a pragmatic realization for their realization in the real world.
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| PIZ |
The design of a character includes detailed analysis of their main aspects:
- Aesthetic characteristics, with the conceptual form, the color and texture.
- Technical implementation and process of creation of the model.
- Psychological personality and movement aspects.
What is more interesting, Animate a rigid object or an elastic model?a form spherical or elongated? A human, plant or an inanimate object?
The animated element should be credible and capable of transmitting emotions. It is necessary therefore to focus the design towards the critical aspects that govern these issues. Likewise, the scenario is another factor that complements the work, and must be simple to reduce the time of rendering, and at the same time complete to transmit its essence.
PIZ has been rendering using MAYA animation package. In this first work is beginning to reel off his design process. What are the most decisive? Gradually revealing them.
Character design
The tasks of design of a character can be structured to make a conceptual analysis, but each of the following concepts can interfere and even limit to the rest.
How simplified base are therefore proposed different aspects in which focus our study.
- Idea
- Structural design
- Skin design
- Facial design
- Muscle definition
- Movement and personality
The character
The credibility of the character is an aspect that presides over each design decision. An inanimate object of common use as a pencil can be an interesting element in which it is necessary to search for simple solutions that enable you to provide it with humanity and personality. A clear example of these works are found in the work of Disney.
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| PIZ: Model surfaces |
The appearance or most relevant form of a human being can be assimilated with the of a drum. When projecting it onto a two-dimensional plane you obtain quasi rectangular shapes. The idealization or conceptual approach may be a simple more or less straight line.
Visual communication force to look into the eyes of persons. The head is the most characteristic feature of the human being. The hands are needed to interact with the world, While the locomotor system allows their exploration. These elements therefore should be integrated in one way or another to characterize our model.
The solution adopted in our case has been modeling from a rigid cylinder, that can be scaled and deformed with ease. This simplifies editing animations, as well as the simplification of the calculation of the images.
The application of a deformable elastic model however subtraction credibility to the inanimate object: a rigid pencil.It is necessary therefore to add some “hard expression” It offset these effects. The expression is extremely important in this case, now that the time is intended to design an attractive and fun character.
It is necessary to incorporate the model arms, What breaks the silhouette of the original object. The adoption of a solution to this challenge has been resolved through very thin cylinder to solve the problem of outline, but at the same time as sufficiently rigid to increase robustness.
Textures apply only to the main body to visually separate the different elements and maintain the original appearance of the object.
Structural design
The structure determines the nature of the movement.
The articulated structure of a human can serve as a fundamental basis for the design of our character.
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| PIZ: Articulated skeleton |
The head must assume part of the expression of the character's movement, already to the feet they have been simplified with respect of a human. Will not perform movements of heel and is only available from a free standing.
New credibility establishes limitations and relates the different concepts of the design.
The degrees of freedom of the movement of the character are restricted mainly to the torsion of the body that has been defined through a chain of articulated elements. Small rotations of these elements can approximate the motion of the human being.
As we can see, a first approach makes us care for a large number of details that determine the final appearance of the character. And we have not yet entered into the most relevant details, as the expression and personality. As I prepare this analysis do you can imagine which are elements of the same??
Do you find you easy to design a character?
