Short Film: TimeOut

#1

Hi All - I’m creating this thread to establish a place for people to see the progress of TimeOut (working title). This is also for people who are working on the short to talk to each other and give feedback on what is going on or not. This project is my fourth short but my first collaborative project outside of work.

Here are some animations tests. I was trying to see if the rig works and if the mesh deforms correctly (still working on it). I’ll post some more once the other animators finish their tests.

     [http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/BodyTest.avi](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/BodyTest.avi)
   [http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/FaceTest.mov](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/FaceTest.mov)
 
        Here are images of the characters and layouts.
  
  [http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RoBob.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RoBob.jpg) Modeled  by Eric Lin
 
 [http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/kitchen2.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/kitchen2.jpg) 
[http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/travis.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/travis.jpg)
  
 
    If what you have seen is something that you want to be part of, then here are some areas that I need help in:
 
    Character modeler (only one character)
    3d Environment modeler (two small environments)
    Effects artist (dust, explosions, and sparks)
 
    Somebody with a very good understanding of rendering.
     
 
    Everything in this project is being done in Maya.  If you’re interested, [b][email="nhan_h_vo@yahoo.com"]CONTACT[/email][/b] me.
 
    Comments.
 
     
 [](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/FaceTest.mov)
#2

I just finished rigging the robot. I had some problems with the feet but I’ll see if it works once I start on the animation test. The animation test should be done by Friday.
http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RobotRig.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RoBobSit.jpg

   Animators check your email.
   
   I will also try to finish my website this weekend.
   
   I welcome any comments or help.  Is there anyone alive out there?  Anybody?
   
   :scream:
#3

Sorry no one in here , just us pixels :shrug:
…LOL

Hey, what I see so far looks great and that animation is real kool.
I can really feel the emotions of the character
…

So what will be the character that you need modeled ?
I don’t think I can help but I’m just curious what else you have planned.

#4

Wow, I’m not alone.

Thanks BOY1DA for replying. The character that I need to be modeled is the Mom or the guy playing the Mom. Here is the skecth of him. I’m hoping to finish this design after the robot’s animation test.

http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/MomConcept.jpg

I saw the thread on your project. It looks good.:thumbsup: Very ambitious.

#5

That is brilliant.
I have no idea what the story is about , but the characters
you have seem like a good recipe for some great comic antics.
And don’t tell me what it is about I don’t want to spoil it.

Yea, my project is somewhat of a big undertaking.
It’s like taking care of a new born baby that always needs your attention.
If it was not for my project I would have tried to jump in with you on this one.

Keep posting and sooner or later people will start to see that something
really kool with a lot of potential is going on in here.
Well I know it won’t help much but I can be your threads very first “fan boy” :buttrock:
PEACE !

#6

I finished the animation test for the robot. It took longer than expected. I kind of forgot that it’s just a test and did more than I thumbnailed (wasted a lot of time). After fighting with myself and the rig, I figured out what I needed to do with the robot. I had to change the hierarchy of the pivot points on the foot and simplify the face setup something more like a puppet mouth. Here is the test. Sorry for the abrupt ending.

 [http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RoboTest.avi](http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/RoboTest.avi)
 
 Any comments? 
 
 I managed to finish most of my website. If anybody wants to check out my very simple website, here is the link...
 
 [http://www.youngvo.com](http://www.youngvo.com/)
 
 what's my plan for next week? 

 I'm going to finalize the Mom character (still need a modeler :D). Also schedule stuff since there is enough now to go into full production.
#7

Hi, the C A looks pretty good. I like the robot. Can you post some ideas as to what the story will be about? How long will the film run etc. It might help people understand where your trying to go with the project and it may help you get some interest.

#8

Thanks for responding MPS_!

The film is 4.5min in length. The animatic and the voice recording are done. Of course there will be changes that will be made along the way but overall the entire story is finished. I’m hoping to finish early 2006. Then I will send it to one festival and see how it does.

What is the story about? It’s about bad actors making a bad show. The players: a child actor, a man playing a mom and a robot getting his first break. Yes, it’s a comedy :scream:.

Feel free to ask questions about the short.

Feel free to help. :slight_smile:

#9

This week was more productive than I hoped. I finished the design for the Mom. I’m still looking for a modeler :deal:. If I don’t find anybody by next week I might do it myself. Speaking of modeling I finished the Army, the superhero, and the normal versions of the kid. Learned alot doing these models. There are still some changes that I will make but nothing major. They will be textured later by a friend of mine at work.

http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/ArmyMesh2.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/MomConcept.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/SuperMesh2.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/TravisMesh2.jpg

I should finish binding the mesh to the skeleton by next week. I’m also planning to do my first shot this week. It will involve some dialogue and acting. I might finish this week or the middle of next week. As usual I welcome any critques or comments. :smiley:

#10

I’m loving it… looking good. :thumbsup:

#11

I finished my first shot :). Let me set it up for you. He (the child actor) just sneaked into the kicthen to get some cereal. In his attempt, he drops the box. The mother gives him a time out.

[http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Animation/Scn1s8.avi](http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Animation/Scn1s8.avi)

There are definitly things that I want to clean up. I probably will revisit this later this week if I can. I welcome any critiques or comments.

What do I have planned for this week? Rethinking some design ideas for the Robot. This is what he looks like now. 

[http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot5.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot5.jpg)
[http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot3.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot3.jpg)
[http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot4.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/robot4.jpg)

He was modeled and textured by Eric Lin ( [http://www.darklynx.com/](http://www.darklynx.com/)  ).

As for the design, I am think of adding a logo or something to give him more character.

I will also research hair in maya for the kid characters. Does anybody know of any good tutorials? :scream:
#12

Well i must say this is looking very impressive :slight_smile:

I only stumbled on this thread today and I am very impressed at the content and the speed at which it seems to be produced.

I see BOY1DA has already made it to fan boy #1 so I guess I am later on in the list :slight_smile:

I would love to help but I also want to get the other projects I am working on finished and I don’t think it would be fair to start here as well :slight_smile:

Keep posting requests and if think I can help without disrupting other schedules then I will do my best.

Great stuff. Keep it up :slight_smile:

#13

Thanks for the reply, TheFreak. It’s great to hear that someone likes what I’m doing. It’s hard to know if what I’m doing is good or not, when I work by myself in front of this thing I call the Beast (my computer) – who doesn’t talk to me but taunts me with each error message I get. It’s good to read a word out of the wilderness that is the web. :slight_smile:

When or if you have time to help, I would love it. :thumbsup:

#14

I must say good job so far. I would like to help out but 1 I am using 3ds max and I think I am going to start with 5 blades sorry.

Like the way its going so far good job.

#15

I’m taking a break from researching the hair. Why? Because hair is a pain but I should have something this weekend.

I did scan some pictures from my sketch book.

Drawings related to the film.
http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/roboAlone.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/Sitting.jpg

Just drawings.
http://www.youngvo.com/portfolio/scare.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/portfolio/wizard.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/portfolio/AngleDemon.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/portfolio/creepy.jpg

#16

Impressive start. Good luck :thumbsup:

#17

This was a rough week. Maya’s hair system is a foreign beast with no love.:twisted: I made so many mistakes and it has cost me so much time. This is what I have so far.

http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/HairTest2.jpg
http://www.youngvo.com/CGTalk/HairTest.jpg

     This is what it's suppose to look like.
     [http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/Norm.jpg](http://www.youngvo.com/timeOut/Art/Norm.jpg)

I used maya’s paint effects instead of hair dynamics. I felt it was easier to sculpt the look of the hair then what the dynamics was allowing me to do. Basically my lack of experience in this area really limited my ability to do things (that I felt were possible). My next objective is to make it move now. I need to research dynamics, expression, and cloth. Not looking forward to the madness.

#18

Thanks Kid Mesh for the reply.

Doing my best. :buttrock:

#19

I think it would look better with modeled hair,
to give it that cartoon feel like the drawings.

#20

BOY1DA, I am glad you said that;). It’s been a question that I have been thinking about especially since the more I headed down this path the more bumps there are. I’m trying to weigh the payoffs for both. Right now I’m leaning towards the modeling. Simplest and most cost efficient. The look would be more towards “Corpse Bride”. The other way would be more costly. I would have to render the hair separately (Maya’s hair paint tool can only be rendered in Maya software render), then composite it in Premiere or something. :banghead: The look would be “The Incredible’s”.

I already passed the time limit that I gave myself to look into this. I’ll have to revisit this after the holidays. I’m planning to animate during the break.

 BOY1DA thanks for the feedback. :beer: