Spaceboy char. for animation

[Troy]

I like the style of the concept, the head model looks fairly close but I prefer the drawing...

Maybe it's the nose that makes it quite different.

Anyway, its cool, i'd like to witness future progress...

[HenningK]

http://www.tcinternet.net/users/henning/curr/WIP_Cosmo11.jpg
Work day 11. love.hen

[HenningK]

Rigging the face.
http://www.henningk.com/media/cosRig1.jpg
Rigging the face.

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/cosRig2.jpg
Rigging the face some more. He looks good angry.

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/cosRig3.jpg
Body Rig. Y'all. Now his hair looks stupid (Maya PFX). I spent a whole weekend on it too. Blerg.

[p0lym0rph]

heyy nice work and design, very sweet :-)

[HenningK]

Thanks for the encouraging word. Good to know he has appeal to someone beside me.
-hen

[TheFreak]

I must say that i love this, he looks fantastic and it's such a nice style.

Any chance of seeing a wire of the head?

[nineinchneil]

wow! he looks awesome. could you model the underwear he was wearing in the concept sketch. it's so funny; he should be wearing his underwear over his suit.

[mikepolizos]

Great model!
Like the facials!

Wait to see it finished in a cool enviroment!

[Ruger]

Looks good, lots of expression in the face and over all hase a lot of character. Is it suppossed to be a young billy corgan? siamese dream, space boy.....smashing pumpkins? You know he used to have hair.

[The14thDoctor]

Nice model. Looks like he is fun to animate.

Great style too! I'd like to see the environment you create for 'm.

Regards

[Sean11]

Awesome HenningK!

I like your style.

[Giacomo_M]

Looks great!

I'd say, don't worry about the hair. It fits in very well stylistically with the rest of the character.

However: you might want to try a version with eyebrows. Right now he looks like a fetus.

Other than that, I can't offer any suggestion for improvement because everything is excellent. Carry on!

G

[HenningK]

Naw, dont worry. Eyebrows and lashes and facial textures are next.
Billy Corgin, heh. :)
I'll get a wire right up for ya, Freak.
Ive been waffling about the underwear... I know... they were red in my orginal conception. I have to see what everything looks like textured.
thanks for the love.
love,hen

[TheVision]

Very nice modeling! Hopefully I'll be at that level one day.

[Streetgrime]

Wow.. thats pretty darn cool...

Any chance in seeing the Skeleton you used for the Rig?

Awesome!

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/cosWireFace.jpg
Here is a wireframe of his face. I know its not the most elegant thing ever. Yes, this is the LOW poly.

http://www.henningk.com/media/cosRig4.jpg
And here is a picture of him which I find very funny but which doesn't necessarily contain useful information.

love,hen

[kausss]

a really nice work in progress

[DataForge]

Nice WIP, But just curious. Where did you get information on setting up the facial Rig. It looks a lot like Antropus's setup and looks pretty straight forward except for the Set Driven keys of the curves to the bones (I am correct in assuming that the curves on the screen control the facial features, right). How do each of the controls corrospond to the facial bones? Just wondering as I am about to start researching this method of facial animation.

[inaktive]

i totally agree with dataforge that facial rig looks awesome... im so frustrated with the limits of facial blends... any chance you would be able to explain where you found out how to do that style of facial rig?

it looks so much more versitile then standard facial blends...

thread bookmarked!

:)

[JTalbotski]

Great facial expressions! A lot of fun in this character.

Jim

[HenningK]

I guess the second picture was more informative than I thought! You're right guys: its all bones driven by the puppet Nurbs curves (red). I too was blown away by the rig on Antropus' plumber. "If I had a rig like this, animation would be so much fun!" thought I. So I set about getting one. I found I couldn't freeze transformations on the bones so I put them under locators which serve as their rotational axes. The locators are actually whats driven and the bones are there to get skinned.
I see that Cane-toad did the same thing, with the eyes at least. I think they still used some blendshapes. I wound up not needing them at all yet. As they said on Cane-toad, the most important advantage of this method is that things ARC!
So, in conclusion, you can get the idea of how to do this from Antropus and Cane-toad. You can do it if you know how to set driven keys and how to bone a face. Its just a lot of work to set your driven keys with the amount of bones I had. Was it worth it? I guess I'll get back to you when I start animating in earnest.
love,hen

[HenningK]

I did this one to show off the freedom for cartoony action or for subtlety in my facial rig "Whaa-aat?!"

The Test :01_WHAT 2mb (http://www.henningk.com/media/01_WHAT.mov)

Here're stills. The hair is just a stand-in poly cage in the animation.
http://www.henningk.com/media/cosTex1.jpg

Edit: by the way, there is no sound on the clip, in case you're wondering why you dont hear anything.

[heiesuke]

aww dam this is amazing.

[Dun]

This is sooooo great.
The eye twitches and jaw shifts are fantastic.
Please keep posting.

[captainboom]

looks good...............read your thesis on web site for the project sounds.cool......good job MAN!!!!

CAPTAIN

[tsunami4you]

ihaaaaaaa
this is great!
Bravo!

[lulaassassina]

Henning, I'm watching you! :)

[lulaassassina]

I'm watching you!... =)

[francoistarlier]

I love the different facial expression. and your setup is crazy !!! really funny !

good job

[baaron]

Henning. Your work is quite amazing. I feel like I know you somehow, through your work or something.

[animatty]

Henning, Way to go! This is a truely great piece. great display of both talent and creativity. inspiring.

[DataForge]

Thanks for the Locator tip, I always like to be able to zero out my transforms, and it should help clean up the interface while I am trying to set driven keys for them.

I have to agree with your comment about thinking it would be much more fun to animate this way. The main reason I am going to research this method, is because I want a “ready made” rig that can be fitted to different characters, then skinned and adjusted for that character. If I am able to set it up the way I want, it should save a lot of time over creating hundreds of blend shapes, not to mention much less tedious. And I love the freedom of deciding on facial poses as I am animating, without limits.

Looking forward to researching this more than ever now.

[inaktive]

sounds awesome data..

if you get a working script maybe you could share it?

:)

[Pony]

This reminds me of my son very much. Thanks. and I always enjoy seeing your take on things around the board.

[Pentagramma]

Very nice work, indeed!

Looks great, and a joy to animate. Looking forward for more on this project of yours...

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/gunpose.jpg
Check it. All textured and holding a gun. Had some unexpected rig issues trying to get the arms to extend all that way. Was expecting to have a walk cycle by now. Thanks everyone for the positive feedback.
Pony- thanks for acknowledging the care I try to put in my forum replies, and I hope your son is not as naughty as this little boy is going to be.
Lula- pressure's on. heh. :o
baaron- thanks for showing yer face here, buddy.
animatty- you too! You got any WIPs?
Dun-thanks so much!
Captainboom- sorry my website isn't more informative, but thanks for looking.

lovelovelove,hen

[mimo8]

wow!
doesnt just look good - also seems to be a quite good setup

I like the screenshots with the facebones a lot
perhaps you could add some more of that and perhaps also tell your technique behind
are the bones weight paintes or do they work right away? do you use clusters for finetuning or also belndshapes etc.

thnx

[YankyBJeans]

I agree with mimo8's post. I would like to hear more about your setups, both with the facial skeleton and the pfx hair. I am doing an animation with a young lad and the hair that you have looks very good. Can you elaborate on it a bit?

Otherwise this character is looking badass. Ive been watching this thread for a while and cant wait to see the finished product.

Yanky

[TheRow]

Groovy dude ^_^

but he somewhat reminds me of the images I saw of lsl8... well I'm going to watch this post and see what hapens...

[mimo8]

lsl8 ... xcuse my ignorance but who is lsl8
any links

if he does or did something similar that it must be good stuff
(I would have added somthing like thumbsup, but cgtalk seems to have stopped emoticons - or have I switched them of ?)

[mimo8]

the animation for the spaceboy found on your homepage is brilliant, nice in detail

don´t you want to link it to this post?
and doesn´t it have a sound?

[mattmos]

That short animation test shows exactly why blendshapes are so limited. Great movement, feels very organic. Time to get off my arse and work out how to create one of these rigs in XSI...

Will be looking forward to the progress dude!

[Giacomo_M]

Great work! Your modeling and lighting skills are beyond reproach.

I feel a little pompous trying to critique something that's so far beyond my own technical ability. Nevertheless:

1. Does his mouth have a "fully closed" position? I'm just asking because I haven't seen it so far in anything you posted...he is permamently slackjawed right now, which makes the character seem sort of retarded. I'm not sure if this was your intent or not, but if your rig doesn't easily allow "neutral" poses (like "face relaxed, mouth closed,") that's probably going to mean trouble down the line.

2. The lip-sync animation you posted seems a little "soft" - if he's saying "What?", I'd like to see more facial definition: lips pursed for the "W," a bit of a hold on the final "T." Ideally, I'd like to be able to lip-read the words, which I can't do at all in the clip you posted.

Regards,

G

[SpiritWalker]

man i just love that character, i feel like it has a great personality

great job and i will certanly keep my eyes on this one

oh and u put the link in the animation in the thread

sorry for english

[TheRow]

mimo8
lsl8 ... xcuse my ignorance but who is lsl8
The up coming game lisure suit larry 8 from sierra, larry is an old classic adventure game... u can probebly find some images if u search the net. the 8 in the line will be in 3d and the main chareter looks a bit like the char in this post...

[brenton]

great job!

the modeling and the animation were great, i just found something funny when he realized he was on camera. but i would have to agree with Giacomo on the whole lip-sync issue, still a fantastic job none the less

[HenningK]

Heh. I guess you're right Giacomo. I havent showed him much with his mouth closed. I guess I just like showing off his teeth and going for a more candid looking pose, like he's in the middle of talking or yelling. Don't worry: he can close his mouth. As for W.... yes well... I think that's a weakness of his. One that Im aware of and tried to exorcise in the animation test (which, by the way is posted on page two of this thread, guys). I disagree that one couldn't lip read him "at all" in the test though (that was kind of the point of having no sound). Its a lot more than what his lips are doing anyway. Im sure you agree. Thanks for your critique.
I found LSL 8 and ... yeah I guess they have similar noses, smiles, and hairlines.
love,hen

[HenningK]

Everyone: thank you for your attentions. Mimo, Yanky, and Mattmos. Here ya go--
The bones are weight painted, yes... and driven keys...(see page 2, I think) it's ALL bones, no clusters or blendshapes, although I might have to do one for the "W" mouth shape if it becomes an issue (see previous post) in animation.
Did they work right away? (Mimo) When have you ever heard of something just working right away? :) Maybe I dont understand your question.The PaintFX hair was pure hell. I hate PFX. Its always the first thing to f* up in your render too. Thank God it doesn't need to move. Maybe Im the wrong one to ask about this...
love,hen

[Lance22]

I just stumbled onto this thread and have to say that your character has a lot of style, hes looking great!


Im also wondering if you could post a front view of the rig in its bind pose, and a front view render of the same thing. Because what really confuses me is where your bones are placed, and do they all connect to the head joint? I too really love this facial setup and would like more information.

Keep at it!

[fellah]

oh yea, what a great little character! one of the best cartoon charcters I've see in a while actually..
maybe you could strengthen the eye-hotspot a little. and add a little more spec here and there(gun maybe?)

nitpicks.. excellent work nonetheless, inspiring.

[YankyBJeans]

Thanks for the elaboration on the bones. I figured as much from your earlier descriptions...

Any extra info you can give about the pfx hair? Or maybe just where did you start? Did you use curves? I wouldnt think so because your hair is rather short... Is it a custom brush, modified preset brush...

Any info you can give would help...even a screengrab of your hair preset maybe...


Yanky

Still lookin good! Cant wait to see more.

[mimo8]

face or bodyrigs that work right away seem to exist. not that I am able to do them but reading through a skinning post in the maya section it is told that jason schleifer recomends to work out the modeling and the skeleton so that it binds just right from the beginning. this seems to be a big bonus in animation everytime you have to change something on you basic setup.

so I am just quoting but if you are interested in where the info comes from I could search for it

[SpaXe]

Hmm...very nice wip^_^...like the pose of the gun.
Hid is so cute...haha...^_^

[Giacomo_M]

>Its a lot more than what his lips are doing anyway.

Yes, I agree. Your control of facial expressions (eyes, brows etc.) is GREAT- no argument there.

But- (and, again, your techncial skills are WAAAAY beyond what I could accomplish personally)-- if I were directing this and I saw that test, I'd tell you to re-rig the model using blendshapes, no question. Judging solely from the clip, your rig doesn't support specific phoneme mouth-shapes anywhere near as well as the traditional blendshape method.

So then: If this project is personal, I'm *very* impressed by your inventive rig and I'll be watching to see how you develop it. If, however, this project involves a deadline to meet or a client to deal with (and especially if the story involves a lot of closeup dialog), well, I wish you luck. ;)

Either way,

G

[DataForge]

OK, starting to research this technique, and I must say that I have always been a little edgy about using bones in the face because of their limitations (i.e. not being able to parent Bones and weight normalization issues). But what about using Clusters? Is there any reason that clusters with offset pivots should not be considered in conjunction with the splines to drive them?

[ChrisHale]

Great job, I love the face its very dynamic. Can't wait to see a full body test of the animation.

[DenkoM]

nice WIP, very clear renders

[HenningK]

heyyy! I hope this post clears up some questions. I've got a another facial animation test... (.mov so you can frame-by-frame it!)
*download from MCAD (8 MB) (http://students.mcad.edu/~hkoczy/media/DannyVu_Test.mov)
*download from HenningK.com (http://www.henningk.com/media/DannyVu_Test.mov)
...and I've got a compilation of several revealing playblasts, if you're into that...
*from MCAD (8MB, mpeg4 encoding) (http://students.mcad.edu/~hkoczy/media/dannyVu_deconstruct.avi)
*from HenningK (http://www.henningk.com/media/dannyVu_deconstruct.avi)

and a picture too...
http://www.henningk.com/media/dannyvuSS.jpg

love,love,love, hen

[HenningK]

A few points:
-Remember when you look at the deconstruction that the bones are actually rotating around the green locators: they are not directly attached to a single axis as the playblast would belie.
-Neither of the voices on the test are going to be his actual voice.
-I still think I have a "W" problem. But these are a lot better, huh? I didnt change anything, rig-wise, I have just learnt the controls better. What do you think Giacomo?
-Chris: I have a walk-and-stop test, but it's unpublishable. Its function was to root out any rig problems... and it was very successful in that.
-hen

[ETJ]

Very nice.

[calebs]

this is so good. every once in a while i get really inspired by work i see. and it makes me want to do better work. thank you for that.
looking forward to more.

[Giacomo_M]

Looks good!

Your sense of facial expressions and gestures is beyond reproach. No comments there, and you have my enormous envy.

My immediate advice, right now, before you do anything else, is: RE-RECORD YOUR SOUNDTRACK WITH REAL ACTORS and then do another animation test. The test you posted still seems a little "soft," but maybe that's an issue with your soundtrack: it's also sort of "squishy."

I guess I'm looking for more emphasis on certain phonemes within an word. I don't have a professional actor nearby, so I'll try to get the point across by capitalizing the relevant letters:

"vOO, (pause) whaT is that THiNG on your Head? whaT? I lIKE my Hat."

Right now, your voice track is like "voo what is that thing on your head? what? i like my hat" and the lip-sync is about the same...passable but not really great.

Someone with any experience in voice, singing, or acting will be able to create a "sharper" soundtrack for you, and I can guarantee that will make animating this character MUCH easier. A lot of the impact (or lack thereof) of this character's spoken lines is going to be from the timing and skill of the actor who voices him, and you, as the animator, will be just sort of following along.

The soundtrack is the backbone of animation. "Real" animated films are made by recording the soundtrack FIRST, then animating to match it. But you probably knew that already.

[Vushvush]

Giacomo, are you suggesting I'm a bad voice actor!?!?!?!?!? :P

Hen, the voice acting obviously is pretty bad, but I think the lip sync could still be more powerful. It's just that the facial expressions and mouth shapes for the eotions are so big, snappy, and thus strong, that the phonems seem like mumbling a little. It's probabaly just a matter of getting used to your controls and nailing it on the head. Keep doing these tests (OR BETTER YET, get your sound recorded and work on your piece! :) ) and it'll come together.

[Giacomo_M]

Vushvush--

Um, well, I'm not exactly recommending you give up your day job right now. ;)

But if you study it a little you will be astonished at the results. My abilities as an illustrator improved TREMENDOUSLY after I took a few acting classes.

I'd recommend that anyone involved in animation or film get involved in drama, dance, and/or singing as a long-term (part-time) endeavor. It made a HUGE difference for me.

[SpiritWalker]

just wanted to say i loved it :D really liked it and great facial expressions

[HenningK]

Couldn't agree with you more Giacomo. Animating IS acting. I've studied mime briefly and I took an Acting for Directors class and I count them among my most valuable experiences.
Vush, really? I always LOVED your and Vu's performances...
I record the real sound tonight.
Caleb, thanks for your praise.
love,hen

[mmkelly011881]

bringing this back to the forefront! update henning!! :)

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/shipmake1.jpg
Here ya go, MMKelly

[Zycho]

Awsome facials!! How do you do it?? Since i can see a lot of bones (i think) on the last picture (page 1), I don't think you are doing it by morphing (that's the only way to do facial animation that i know of (newbie))...

[SyDemon]

This is truly inspiring...really love your work!

[Vushvush]

Hey Hen, I really like the overall shape of the concept much more than the model. Actually, it's not so much the overall "shape" but rather the smaller "shapes." Places like where the sings connect to the fuselage (sp?), or the air intakes (the way they curve more in the sketch and have more bulk). I'd suggest tweaking those just a little so that the shape becomes fuller, and more round like the concept.

[ETJ]

hey, coming along great. Love the rig tests so far, though Im interested in what you see as being beneficial in using a bone based facial animation solution rather than blend shapes/morphing.

I like the ship so far, though I do agree in part that some of the shapes you have in the sketch are a *bit* nicer than the model at this stage (to me its mainly the relation between the nose and the rest of the body, the nose in the sketch seems somehow more...bulbous (sp?) and rounded, it gives the ship more character, almost organic) The bottom of the ship is also flat in the sketch whereas in the model it bulges out/down. Im sure you're already aware of this though and probably have your reasons for going with the shapes you've got, not a big deal though realy as it looks V nice either way.

[capblood]

Why not a little more aeronautic (straight) wings?
So far they looks like fish fins.

By the way... AMAZING work.

[Shogun]

Henning, just wanted to say I've been watching this one for a while & I think he has bags of character. The only pose I've not been completely enamoured with so far is the one looking in the mirror with the hat on, not sure why, but generally this is going to be a great character.

[HenningK]

Hey guys, thanks for the critic. I fixed up the wings, trimmed the shape of the ship and also made the nose more bulbous. And I did the textures, that was fun. There is distortion, Im fine with it though. Any critic besides that?
http://www.henningk.com/media/shipmake9.jpg

Here is a turntable 1.6 MB .mov (http://www.henningk.com/media/shipTT2.mov)

love,hen

[glorydays]

very nice, refreshing and original spaceship design

[sapienz]

Both the characters and the little space buggy has a rather cartoon style to it and blends real well

[mimo8]

MAN U RULE
the character realy rocks - I hope I said this before
but this ship ... what should I say - I love it

I allready see it flying with a bit aprupt moves .. pop-pop-pop ... when the engine has some misfires.

the distortion of the 61 doesn´t bother - not me : )
I mean for sure you always could ad more details to a spaceship - cables lights - engines - stickers
but it just seems right as it is



honeybee 101 (http://www.xdv.org/mmm/download/portfolio/honeybee101_fin.jpg)
here is a link to a 2D spaceship I drew some days ago perhaps it gives you some inspration

keep it up

[cgg]

hey HenningK , very nice job so far
i think the ship should have asymmetric shape and maybe a few bumps ,that is why the concept looks so kewl .
good luck

[kribz]

i´m absolutely stunned..this i just amazing work
/kribz

[animatty]

Hey Man, damn!! your work just keeps kickin' more and more a$$ with every new update. Can't wait to see the final piece at mcad.

Someday I'll get to say, " I knew him when..."

matt

[mmkelly011881]

pop it to the top... beautiful work so far.. lets see some updates.. keep it going!!

matt

[mimo8]

yep ... this is also for me one of the posts I am waiting to be updated.

so henning dont waste your weekend with friends and family, sports or barbecue. take your seat, open your apps and let the spaceboy fly ...

[HenningK]

http://www.henningk.com/media/cosmoBob.jpg
You guys are demanding! Thanks for that. Gotta keep going.
Feel free to weigh in on the voice. Oh and also the animation. Sorry so sloppy (the compression I mean),
hen

the playblasts (http://www.henningk.com/media/begin.mov)

[Strang]

aahh thats, brilliant!

only problem i have is the lip sync, i personally dont believe he is saying that. of course i am also very picky :)

good stuff

-Strang

[YankyBJeans]

Lookin good! Cant wait to see more. I like the voice, but perhaps it could be a bit faster. seems a bit slow and drawn out.

Yanky

[mmkelly011881]

i agree with both previous posts... its really good.. the voice is great.. just the timing seems off and its not poppy enough

[HenningK]

Some screen shots.
http://www.henningk.com/media/someSS1.jpg
and the first two shots again, fully rendered except for a dust cloud on the landing.
.mov (http://www.henningk.com/media/begin2Web.mov)

love,hen

[Boggy]

Crazy little guy you got there! Fanstastic job on facial expressions!

[MikaelPersson]

Nice stuff Henning. Such a lovable character.
I really like when the spaceship settles down on the planet. Your animation is nice throughout the whole piece there is a little bit of floatiness towards the end, but not much. The only part I have trouble with is when he jumps down on the ground. His contact should be heavier. He is lifting his foot a tad to easily and moving his body withouth having any contact with gravity.
Apart from that, your piece is great!

cheers,
Mikael

[MaTaDoR]

Man I love this character! he reminds me of Hogarth (sp?) from the iron giant.

I would think that you would want his gun holster to be on his left side being that he's left-handed... it would be kind of odd if you have a shot of him pulling out the gun, kinda hard to go across his body.

[mattmos]

Wow. That looks amazing! Gorgeous render quality, and the animation is solid. I am also a little bothered by the foot picking up movement as he lands, I don't think you need it, and it takes away from his sense of weight slightly. Great stuff though, keep those updates-a-comin!

[HenningK]

He's ambidextrous, and he's just playing around with the gun anyway. He's very irresponsible. Besides, there is this one shot of him pullin out the gun, and I thought it would be more faux-dramatic if he reached across to do it.
The step on the landing was just supposed to be a little bit of realism. He's not a big hero or something, he's a little clumsy kid and he wouldn't stick the landing. I'm seeing what you guys mean though, and I shall revisit it.
Thanks,
love,hen

[iamjijav]

It amazes me how much character your animation has.
I really like how funny the guy is, and his facial expressions are just awesome. The way he looks kinda tough when he steps on the ground is hilarious. Great work!

[Lance22]

whats the status on this little guy? hows the animation coming along with him? btw, i really like your facial setup and am planning on doing something similar in the near future...thx for the quick heads up on how you did it earlier on in the thread.

[HenningK]

Thanks for asking... dont worry, I'll get this done eventually. I've been redoing the major dialog scenes. You can look at a proper WIP at henningk.com >current projects >Cosmonaut.
love,hen

[Lance22]

good to know your still going with it, i look forward to seeing the end result.

[tilite]

hey..

fair bit of attention on this thread but alas nothign is here.. all the links are down:cry:
i thought i would post.. so i could post #101 )sry sucker for cool numbers). but if u happen to get this back up or these images are posted somewhere else on the web... can u PM me. cheers

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