Building a scene in Maya

Extra Credit

Star Wars at the tech museum!!

Why is my  father in a glass case???!!!

Stereoscopic 3D Images

self portrait

Star Wars Exhibition: Wampa

Campus Site

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

Visual effects have being used since the day movies where invented and thru out years many techniques have being developed to make effects as realistic as possible. In the early ages of cinema, movie directors were experiencing with different resources in order to get the effect they wanted and had to use handmade props. For example to animate a dragon in a movie made in the 1930’s, filmmakers had to use maquettes, string and a toy dragon. It may have look fake but the audience had an idea that it was a flying dragon. Many years later, technology became advanced and so did visual effects due to CGI green screens and computers programs that could make objects realistic and in 3D. For this paper, I will be comparing two movies, The Day after tomorrow (2004) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) and how they created the effects of twisters. The day after tomorrow and Wizard of Oz had their own perception on how a tornado should look like and be as realistic as possible, however both effects used to create the twisters had flaws and qualities.

           

The Day after tomorrow is a movie about natural catastrophes and extreme weather changes in the U.S such as snowstorms, tornadoes, floods, and massive hail and how people try to survive. In one of the scenes, Hollywood is being destroyed by three giant twisters, demolishing everything that gets on its way. But when taking a close look, it is easy to notice that it was made digitally because it would look like it could belong in a video game. All this magic was created by a computer program called Maya. Maya is a program that allows artists to create objects in three dimensions and put realistic textures on objects. Not only is the object in 3D but it can also be animated. Because Maya provides such a variety of tools it is easier to experience with different brush tools and create this cloudy texture that tornadoes have while they are spinning and the ones in the movie have a believable texture. Not only the texture was accurate, but the speed of the tornados was about 300 miles per hour which is the most extreme according to some researches. These colossal tornadoes are unreal size and the amount of damages done in the city is proportioned to the size of the twister, which is why the tornadoes were able to destroy most skyscrapers.

Although Maya may have helped in creating a realistic tornado, it was not as “realistic” as it is the real world. A person that has no experience in the art industry may think that those tornadoes look so real that they can get trapped and fly off. However, a person like myself (Animation/Illustration major) can easily spot the difference between a real and digital tornado. A fake one would have a video game texture, it would look too perfect, the lightning would be off, and the disproportion of the natural disaster. When watching the movie and comparing it with actual videos recorded twisters, the three in the movie seemed that they were see thru and made out of glass, whereas the real ones look like grey cotton candy.

Everyone in the U.S at least watched the famous movie about a girl, her dog, and a yellow brick road. The wizard of Oz is a story is about Dorothy who dreams about the Land of Oz and where she meets her companions the lion, the thin man, and the scarecrow. The movie starts with a scene with Dorothy in her family’s farms in Kansas and the overall screen is in black and white. After she comes back from the Doctor or the medium, it starts to be windy and when she gets home it is extremely windy and tornadoes have formed. Unlike the digital twisters used in The Day after tomorrow, the ones in this movie were man-made from thirty-five foot long tapered muslin socks. There were wires and cotton inside the tube to hold while the tornado spun. To make the tornadoes move across the screen, a rod was attached to the base of the tornado and was then pulled on opposite direction to give that snake shape going back and forth.

Since this movie was shot in 1939, and beginning of the movie was in black in white, it is difficult to tell whether or not the colors were accurate but the values are correct. Those tornadoes happened to be the first hand-made and also considered to be the most realistic props for a movie. When comparing to another video of a real tornado the one in Wizard of Oz have a slender tube, it looks like it is made of rubber and the texture is not the same. Unlike the ones from The Day after tomorrow, the tube look almost rubbery instead of being build with dust and cloud, it does not have this “cotton candy” texture, just flat muslin. Just like the other movie both the speed and the destruction impact of the tornadoes were accurate and believable. Before Dorothy lands in the Land of Oz, she is still inside the house, who is trapped in the twister. Once an objects comes in contact with a tornado, it is torn apart. In the movie, the house is spinning inside the twister but still remains in contact. In real life, if the house would have landed on the ground it would have collapsed and possibly killed Dorothy.

             When I compared the visual effects of tornadoes of The Day After Tomorrow and Wizard of Oz, both had qualities and flaws. The Day After tomorrow used modern technology and computer program Maya to recreate massive tornadoes while The Wizard of Oz twisters were built out of muslin socks, wires, and cotton. Depending on the year a movie was produced and on the resources used, both movies had different interpretations of tornadoes, yet making them as believable as they could.

Outline for the Third Term Paper

For this paper I will be comparing the visual effects of tornadoes (or twisters) from two different movies, The Day After Tomorrow (2009) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

The Day After Tomorrow

_Tornadoes were created using Maya

_Realistic texture

_Realistic Speed

_Colors slightly off due to lighting

_Still see Digital effect

_Accurate destroying impact of tornado

_Disproportioned, gigantic tornadoes

The wizard of OZ

_Man-made tornado from Thirty-five foot long tapered muslin sock

_Color looks believable since it was in Black and white

_Tube does not have a cloud texture, rather looks like a moving tree trunk

_Moving speed is accurate

_Accurate destroying impact

_In real life, when the house lands on the ground it would have collapsed

Conclusion

When I compared the visual effects of tornadoes of The Day After Tomorrow and Wizard of Oz, both had qualities and flaws. The Day After tomorrow used modern technology and computer program Maya to recreate massive tornadoes while The Wizard of Oz twisters were built out of muslin sock and cotton. Depending on the year and the resources, both movies had different interpretations of tornadoes, yet making them as believable as they could.

Stop Motion Character Animation

Pink Water

For this assignment I decided to animate a lamb in a boat and a jumping fish. First I had to sketch on a paper to figure out the movement of each elements. I used my pink towel for the water, a makeup bag for the boat, a stuffed lamb, and a hand drawn fish on paper.  The water is undulating fast due to the current and the boat moves along with a rocking motion which is why I changed the surface of the water every single frame. The boat comes to a stop, and the lamb looks over when all of a sudden a giant fish jumps out of the water.  While the fish is in mid air , the lamb gets surprised and jumps backwards. He then stands up and meet the giant fish. 

Science fact or Cinematic Fiction?

Science fact or Cinematic Fiction?

What do super heroes movies have in common? There is a hero, a lover, a psychic friend, a vilain, and of course lots of actions. Those super heroes movies such as The Avengers , Superman, or Scott Pilgrim tend to break laws of physics in order to dramatize an action, also called cinematic fiction. If a movie was non-fiction or based on a true story, then it is important to follow the rules of physics, otherwise the viewers will think that it poor editing or a science fiction world. For example, conservation of energy is constantly changed to make a hero more powerful. According to Physics, the laws of conservation of energy state that energy can not be created or destroyed but transferred from one object to another. Down bellow are scenes examples of how the law has been broken.

1. The Avengers-Captain America's shield

There is a scene where 3 superheroes are in a forest and Captain America and Thor are getting into a fight and Thor throws his hammer to the captain. The hammer hits Captain America's shield but instead of knocking it out of his hand, the shield absorbs the energy and repels the hammer as well as the other super heroes. What makes this shield unique is that it is composed of Vibranium, Adamantium, and a third element which gives it’s strength properties. The energy force that was applied on the hammer transmitted on the heroes who fell 6meters back. If this scene was reproduced in real life, the hammer would have probably landed on the floor (considering of it's mass) and if it knocked the shield, the shield would have fallen on the floor.

2.Spiderman-Sandman fight

In that scene, Spiderman is in a truck fighting against Sandman and throws a punch in Sandman's stomach. Spiderman's hand goes thru his stomach because he is made of sand however, the energy of the punch is not equal to the energy of sand that flies of Mr. Sandman's stomach. It seems that the sand is projected at a very high speed like a rocket. Surprisingly considering the force that was applied by the punch, Sandman does not fall backwards nor collapse, but just stand in the same position. Because of laws of energy, the punch would have created a different reaction and thus less sand flying of the villain’s back. This scene was meant to show the strength of both characters: Spiderman’s punch and Sandman’s protection.

3. Scott Pilgrim-First fight with evil ex

 

I personally (sorry to say this) did not like Scott Pilgrim movie because I taught the acting and plot was cheesy and cliché. However I thought it would serve as a great example to point out the errors in physics. In the video above, shows the first time Scott Pilgrim encounters one of Ramona's first ex (Matthew) and needs to fight against him in order to keep Ramona. The movie is meant to look like a live action comic book which is why most of the action are exaggerated and punctuation marks appear. Scott is fighting the first ex and throws a Drum cymbal towards his enemies' face (while randomly floating in the air). The cymbal hits his head without leaving any bruises and then Matthew does a backflip in the air. What should have happen since Scott trowed the cymbal with great energy, Matthew would be looping a second time and moving backwards instead of the same spot.

It is common for super hero movies to break the laws of physics such as conservation of energy to emphasize an action. If a hero is trowing a punch to it's enemy, the villain it will fall further out than it should because it is showing the strength of the hero. Exaggeration in action is needed to create this style of cinematic fiction.

Outline for second term paper Science Fact vs. Cinematic fiction

       Many super heroes movies such as The Avengers ,Superman, or Scott Pilgrim tend to break laws of physics in order to dramatize an action, also called cinematic fiction. For example, conservation of energy is constantly changed to make a hero more powerful. According to Physics, the laws of conservation of energy state that energy can not be created or destroyed but transferred from one object to another. Down bellow are scenes examples of how the law have been broken.

1. The Avengers-Captain America's shield

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KekWFB4EPE

There is a scene where 3 superheroes in a forest and Captain America and Thor are getting into a fight and Thor trows his hammer to the captain. The hammer hits Captain America's shield but instead of knocking it out of his hand, the shield absorbs the energy and repels the hammer as well as the other super heroes. If this scene was reproduced in real life, the hammer would have probably landed on the floor (considering of it's mass) and if it knocked the shield, the shield would have fallen on the floor.

2.Spiderman-Sandman fight

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_2YqbS5X4Y

In that scene, Spiderman is in a truck fighting against Sandman and trows a punch in Sandman's stomach. Spiderman's hand goes thru his stomach because he is made of sand however, the energy of the punch is not equal to the energy of sand that flies of Mr. Sandman's stomach. It seems that the sand is projected like a rocket. Because of laws of energy, the punch would have created a different reaction and thus less sand flying of the villain. 

3. Scott Pilgrim-First fight with evil ex
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv5unIz8cZk

This is the first time Scott Pilgrim encounters one of Ramona's first ex (Matthew) and needs to fight against his in order to keep Ramona. The movie is meant to look like a live action comic book which is why most of the action are exaggerated. Scott is fighting the first ex and trows a Drum cymbal towards his enemies' face (while randomly floating in the air). The cymbal hits his head without leaving any bruises and then Matthew does a backflip in the air. What should have happen since Scott trowed the cymbal with great energy, Matthew would be looping a second time and moving backwards instead of the same spot.


It is common for super hero movies to break the laws of physics such as conservation of energy to emphasize an action. If a hero is trowing a punch to it's enemy, the villain it will fall further out than it should because it is showing the strength of the hero. Exaggeration in action is needed to create this style of cinematic fiction.

Reverse Video Reference

Clip A

Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkexeh8ucag

Reference video

Clip B
Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=steIAoUVFNY
Reference video

(yes that's a dragon on the floor :)

Clip C
Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5utYf-PdKQ
Reference video

Clip D

Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEdwyICZJXU

Reference video

Stop Motion Animation of falling

Hey!

For this project, I just wanted to keep it simple so I decided to animate my coasters shaped like cookies. I put tape on the back so i could stick them to the wall as a background. Very simple, the first cookie falls but acts like a ball, and the second cookie falls but missed the bowl underneath it. Before getting into action, I draw out the path of action of both cookies and tracked the distance each time it moved.  I used the iMotion app and it was difficult for me to edit the video, as well as the QuicktimePlay Pro 7 ( i'm not good with video editing).

Any how I did my best, here's the video:

The Laws of Physics in a Animated Universe - James and the Giant Peach

                     The Laws of Physics in the world of “ James and the Giant Peach”

James and the Giant Peach is a stop-motion movie that was made in 1996, based on a British novel written by Roald Dahl in 1961. The movie tells the story of a boy named James, who lives with his two evil aunts and wishes to escape to New York. He accomplishes his dream by traveling in a magical giant peach across the Atlantic where he encounters human size insects such as Mr. Grasshopper, Mrs. Ladybug, Mr. Centipede and other bugs. The style of “James and the Giant Peach is very similar to another stop-motion movie “ The Nightmare Before Christmas” because Tim Burton worked on both productions, meaning that shapes, characters, and actions are exaggerated. Due to the style of the movie, many laws of physics were broken and dramatized to create this magical world even though, the story takes place in real locations such as England and New York.

James and the Giant Peach has a distinguishable dark and humorous appearance to the settings and characters. Just like Tim Burton’s other movies, buildings are distorted, dark and disproportioned, and seem as if they would collapse if they existed in real world due to laws weight in Physics. Characters as well are elongated, stretched or diminished making them look inhuman. For example, the house that the two evil aunts live in would not be able to exist in real world because first of all, it is an old house on the edge of a cliff, the walls are crooked, and the base of the house is much smaller that the 2^nd floor, thus creating an unbalance of weight.

The Peach slowly growing. The distorted House in the background.

Bending the laws of weight is a common element found in other scenes in this movie, such as the weight of the peach itself. When the peach slowly grows into a giant fruit, the tree that it is attached to does not seem to break like a regular tree. With the weight of the peach, the tree should’ve cracked or have some branches broken off. Instead, the tree looks as if it was made of rubber or plastic and slightly bends along the peach. Another mistake that the producers made was the scene where James and the insects get silk cords made by the spider and then used to capture the seagulls so they can fly across the ocean. Yet looking at the size of the seagull, they are as big as James’s head. Such small creatures, even in large numbers could not lift the whole peach due to the size of their wings and body.

Seagulls carrying the Giant Peach

Weight is not the only law of physics that has been ignored in James in the Giant Peach, but also gravity. Since this movie is stop-motion and all props and characters are handmade, and therefore it is difficult to control gravity by hand. In one of the scenes when the shark attacks the peach, some strings were cut loose releasing some seagulls so Mr. Grasshopper jumps up high just like a Rocket and catches the strings. However when he falls back, his speed is even, and does not accelerate, as it should when an object falls. Mr. Grasshopper seems to be descending as if he was attached by a cord. A similar problem happens when James dives in the ocean to save Mr. Centipede, but the way he is swimming looks like he is gliding in the water, as if there was no water pressure or gravity.  Another obvious scene where gravity was not applied was a part when Mr. Grasshopper pulled a chair for Mr. Centipede to sleep on. Interestingly the chair is on the top edge of the peach, where the surface is curved and tilted but yet the chair does not fall. In real life, gravity pulls objects downwards so if this chair was in real life, Mr. Centipede would probably fall off both the chair and the peach.

Mr. Grasshopper jumping for the seagulls

Mr. Centipede (left) sleeping on the edge

Aside from weight and gravity being ignored in the movie, the path of action is another example of rules of physics that was not properly followed. The reason why some paths of actions were changed was to exaggerate the actions and to add humor to the story.  A good example to illustrate the mis-use of path of action can be seen in the whole sequence where James and the insects are inside the rolling peach, and the fruit travels downhill towards the ocean. After Mr. Centipede cuts off the stem of the peach, it starts to roll and heads towards the aunts car. It then rolls over the car and crushes the vehicle. In real life, the peach would have stopped because of it’s speed and because of the car being in the way, and then it would bump into the car roll back and change directions. After rolling over the car, the peach continues it’s journey downhill towards a village and does not crush or bump into the buildings. Then, the fruit bumps into a tomb, flies upwards towards a church and stops at it’s highest apex above the church’s tower for 5 seconds then safely lands on the ground. It’s path of action is suggesting that despite it’s large size, it will crush the evil aunts but yet avoid the kind people (village, children, church). Finally, towards the end of the story, James lands by miracle on top of the Empire State building, even after a storm, the peach fall perfectly towards the building.

The Giant Peach rolling on it's journey

Many laws of physics are being applied to create James and the Giant Peach; some are more or less noticeable, while weight, gravity and path of actions have been dramatized to create this magical world. Because it is a movie produced by Tim Burton, viewers will know that those rules of physics will not be the same as in real world. Buildings and objects are being distorted, characters are moving in space as if there was no gravity, and path of action does not lead where people expect to be. Rules are meant to be broken, and James and the Giant Peach movie clearly proved that it could be used for entertainment.

Outline Paper: the Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

I. Introduction

A. Movie: James and the Giant Peach (1996)

B. Thesis:  James and the Giant Peach is a movie that tends to ignore laws of physics and tweak them in order to create this magical world.

II. Body

1.Weight and Balance

-The style of the movie has this “Tim Burtonesque” style to it because the house where James lives with his Aunts is distorted and narrow, and also on the edge of a cliff, making the house look like it could collapse any time.

-The magic man who helps James achieve his dream, pushed a brick off a wall with just one hand. It seems impossible considering that the brick was the size of his chess.

-As the peach grows rapidly on the tree, there were no branches braking or falling due to the weight of the peach. Even the tree seems just bended like rubber or plastic.

-The seagulls seemed way too small even as a group to carry the large peach.

2. Gravity

-Mr. Grasshopper leaps in the air to catch the seagulls and falls back at a constant speed.

-Mr. Grasshopper puts a chair on the edge of the peach and Mr. Centipede sits on it but does not fall.

-James is swimming underwater but the way he moves looks like he is “sliding”. Gravity is not applied underwater

3. Path of action

-The giant peach rolls over a village without destroying any houses on the way and then rolls above a church and then slows down on top of the bell towers for 3 seconds and then speeds up.

-Mrs. Ladybug toss a top hat and a cane to Mr. Grasshopper, it seems as if they were moving like magnets and straightforward.

-The Peach lands by coincidence on top the Empire state building.

III. Conclusion

A. Laws of physics are ignored and changed

B. Although James and the Giant Peach broke many rules of physics; it served as a purpose of entertainment and creating this magical world.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Video reference #1

Video reference #2 (with Track)

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Shooting Video Reference

Video Reference

Mini Portfolio

Hi!

I have been taking A/I Classes for 5 years and I passed the portfolio review, so I am now able to take upper A/I classes. I am currently taking Ani 114 and Ani 117. This major was like a yoyo to me because I wasnt sure If I wanted to stay or graduate as a Fine Art Major. But 2 semesters ago I took Ani 113B and this class helped me build my confidence and realize that I wanted to stick with this major. This class really pushed me to do my best and improve my skills. Because of this class, I would like to do environments either for movies, video games, or books. I would like to work for different companies to give me experience, but also for start up companies.

This is a painting that I did for Ani 113B. This was my final for this class and it is one of the few paintings that I am actually proud.  I have never rendered a tree and a forest before so I was really please with the ending result.

This one is a personal sketch that I did of the Aintley's House in Downtown Campbell. The reason why I drew this house is because I am attracted to historical subjects, objects or buildings that has a history behind. I am also found of English cottage house, so this one caught my eye.

                                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skb2gKR7rOk

This is video is an italian animation called " La Linea" by Osvaldo Cavandoli. This is the first episode from the 90 episodes that exist. As a little girl, I used to watch those episodes and I loved the simplicity and the humor.

The First Post

Hi everyone!

My name is Lea Joyeux, I was born and raised in France and I moved to California in 2004. I first lived in Southern California, and started high school in Aliso Viejo ( Next to Laguna Beach). I knew English before coming to California because my mother is American, so I grew up learning french and English. I still have family in France on my dad side, including my younger sister. I also have an older sister, who lives in San Francisco and she majored in graphic design. I chose Illustration as my major because I enjoy telling a story thru a painting. After graduating SJSU, I would like to be an environment and concept artist for movies or video games. :)