Ascender Issue 4

Ascender

ISSUE 4

EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR CREATIVE ANIMATION Ross Anderson

LEGO movie

Artist

FREE Fredric Augis

Concept

TUTORIALS

Artist

ANIMATE

YOUR MODELS

GETTING STARTED IN AFTER EFFECTS

FEATURED ARTIST

We talk to ROSS ANDERSON from Animal Logic about working on the blockbuster ‘The LEGO Movie’

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contents

Ascender a

4 D igital Lego

Getting started in 3DSMax with simple shapes

6 3D Resources

Sources online for learning the basics of animation

8 A nimation Skeleton How to create a biped in order to enable animation

10 Virtual Paintbrush Handy tips to make your texturing more realistic

COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF ANIMAL LOGIC

12 A Cinematic Touch

Using the virtual camera for an effective cinematic feel

14 F eatured Artist Ross Anderson

Working on the LEGO movie and starting out in animation

16 F eatured Artist Fredric Augis

Creating digital concept art for the gaming and film industries

18 Video CoPilot

Handy online tutorials and tools to create cheap digital effects

20 Free Animation Programs Avoid spending thousands of dollars on software when you are learning

22 Pro Tools

Essential tools every animator needs whether professional or starting out

Ascender Magazine is published by GAP Marketing & Management Pty Ltd on behalf of WD. Managing Editor Dave Jansen Project Director Renato Catalan Designer Alexandra Cook.

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digitallego The basics of building a 3D model in 3DSMax

My Little Teapot

The teapot is one of the first things everyone learns to create in 3DSMax when starting out.

G

etting into 3D modelling seems like a massively daunting task the first time you fire up a program like 3DSMax. The interface seems unsurmountable and a little intimidating until you realise one basic truth about it all. Basically, it’s just high tech LEGO. Once you get more advanced, it certainly becomes more complex but when learning the basics, you can build impressive worlds and characters using basic shapes.

One of the first tools you will learn when starting out with 3DSMax or other similar programs is the shape tool. With it, you can create everything from cubes and cylinders through to more complex concepts.

These shapes are also called ‘Standard Primitives’ and include a box, sphere, cylinder, cone, pyramid, tube and more specialised shapes like the torus, geosphere, basic plane and the teapot (because let’s face it you can never have enough teapots).

These are placed in the 3D space simply by selecting which

one you want, clicking and dragging in one of the viewports (usually front view) for the width the releasing the mouse and dragging up for the height of the object. You essentially then have a LEGO set to build objects, buildings and characters from. By creatively putting them together you can create virtually any basic model and get it ready for animating and filming.

Want to create a building?

Well that’s easy, it’s just a big rectangular box. Put a door in it? That’s just another box.

Windows? more boxes again.

Once you have the basic shapes down, you can easily cut segments out of them and get down further into the program to refine your shapes but you can see that on a basic level, it’s like being a kid and sitting down with a LEGO set. The only limit is your imagination.

The great thing about using ‘Standard Primitives’ is that without any knowledge of 3D

modelling you can still get in there and get your hands dirty.

Experimenting with basic shapes will lead to more advanced concepts as you start to work out how to mould them better, how to apply textures and make your models more realistic. For now, just be a big kid and let your imagination run wild.

WATCH THE NEW BOSTON BASIC SHAPES TUTORIAL

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RESOURCES finding free online tutorials and guides when first starting out in 3D animation

M

ost 3D and animation students believe a fulltime course costing as much as a new car is the only way to learn the skills necessary for a job at WETA. However, they’re ignoring a resource that is just a few keystrokes away, and will allow them to learn everything they need without spending a cent.

They won’t even need to leave the house, as everything necessary to learn how to render and bring models to life is available free of charge on the Internet. There are dozens of sites dedicated to teaching newcomers, but we’ve rounded up a few of our favourites.

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1 YouTube www.youtube.com

Surprisingly enough, YouTube isn’t just a place to host funny cat videos. It’s also arguably the world’s best self-education platform, no matter the subject. 3D Modellers and Animators in particular will find it invaluable. There are countless videos teaching viewers how to use every piece of software imaginable, from a beginner all the way up to advanced levels. Simply type in the name of the software package you’d like to learn in the search bar, as well as your skill level or search specifically for a solution to something you are trying to do.

2 3DTotal www.3dtotal.com

You only need to look at the number of entirely free tutorials to see how helpful this site is; there are 783 for 3DS Max, another 270 for Maya, but sadly just 33 for Blender. Although it favours the commercial software packages, this site covers everything from modelling to rigging and even the tricky art of texturing. The forums are a fantastic place to find help for issues that you’re stuck on and you will find that the animation community are more than willing to help with questions you may have or problems you are experiencing.

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Learn everything you need without spending a cent on courses

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4 5 3 Blender Tutorials 4 100 Maya www.blender.org/ Tutorials support/tutorials/ www.hongkiat.com/ Not only is Blender 100% free blog/100-maya-3dto download, use and create tutorials-beginnerscommercial artworks with, but it’s intermediate-advancedalso good enough to provide all users/ the training you will need free of charge as well. They’re not just boring walls of text either, as may of the tutorials are actually rather beautifully produced videos as well. Whether you’re a Maya expert switching to Blender or a keen gamer wanting to build their first ever game character, the Blender tutorials will take you through the entire process, step by step and having you creating in no time.

If you’re lucky enough to get a cheap copy of Maya, or perhaps want to make the most of your free 30 day trial, this comprehensive list of 100 Maya tutorials is one of the best places to start. The site doesn’t look all that fancy but the knowledge contained within is invaluable and will teach you many handy tricks. With everything from beginner to advanced tips, there is something for everyone.

5 CGWhat Tutorials www.cgwhat.com This online group is aiming to create the world’s first full-length animated 3d film, using the skills of a voluntary team spread around the world. To help bring new members into such an ambitious project, the site has a hugely comprehensive selection of video tutorials. Rather than teach you the basic steps of each program, they aim to show the user how to build an intermediate difficulty character or object, starting with a blank screen.

Ignore the spelling mistakes on the tutorial list screen – once you dive into each tutorial they’re very professionally produced.

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Animation Skeleton Basic model rigging for animation

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n order to get a 3D character to actually move about on screen, you need to give your model internal reference points to animate with.

This is called ‘rigging’ your model and done by allocating bones and joints to each element you wish to animate. By giving your model a skeleton you can manually animate or apply a pre-defined or motion captured animation sequence. For the purposes of this article, we will take a look at the most basic type of skeleton for a humanoid character, also called a ‘biped’.

A basic rig is a human skeleton with a head, neck, spine, torso, pelvis, arms, legs, hands and feet with joints at the shoulders, elbows, knees, wrist, ankle and neck. You can choose to create fingers and toes as well.

In 3DS Max, to create a biped go to create>systems>biped then in the front viewport click and drag from the feet of your model upward create a biped. When dragging, stop when the pelvis section is in line with where it should be on the model. You can adjust the rest of the biped later to

bring the other elements into line.

Once you are happy with the rough size of your biped, select the biped on screen and drag it so it is inside your model. Make sure the pelvis is lined up properly first then you can get to work scaling all the different bones so the joints line up with where the model would naturally bend. For this, it is best to work in wireframe mode (press F3) as you can see all the bones.

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By giving your model a skeleton you can apply or manually animate

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Select each of bones individually and scale them to roughly the size they should be. You can also select the joints and rotate the bones so they fit inside your model. You don’t want any part of the bones to be sticking out of the character skin. Start from the pelvis, then do the legs and feet.

Then scale the spine and torso so the shoulders are in place. Next do the neck and head. Finally get

your arms and hands in place as well. Once all your bones are in the right place you can do some basic animation tests with the preset routines. If something looks off, you may need to either adjust the bones or fix your model so the bends on joints looks natural.

Rigging a model is complex and time consuming and will require a great deal of troubleshooting to get it right, especially for beginners.

Look online for more detailed tutorials and videos to do more advanced rigging.

Remember, it will be quite challenging but the more models you do, the better and faster you will be. Practice will have you rigging like a master in no time.

Biped

In order to create animations, your characters need to have bones which you can manipulate for motion.

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Virtual

paintbrush Texturing tips to make your models come alive

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o you have built a great looking model and you want it to look as realistic as possible? This all comes down to proper texturing of all the surfaces and making sure your choices help sell the illusion that the model is a real-life object.

Texturing properly requires a great deal of skill and is almost an art form in and of itself. However, even the most basic textures can go a long way to selling the object to an audience. Here are a few tips that will help your texturing look more natural.

What material is that?

Sometimes you see a texture on a model that looks out of place and instantly get pulled out of the illusion. This is because the materials used in the texture image don’t suit the object they are being applied to. The most important and first step when texturing is to objectively look at the flat texture and tell if you can instantly recognise what it is. If you can’t, your audience won’t be able to either. Sometimes, if a texture just looks slightly off, adjust it in Photoshop to bring it closer to the intended look but if you can’t you should scrap it and look for a different texture map.

Save your base layer then build on top of it

Let’s say you are texturing a tractor, for example. Your base layer may be a steel texture which you will then build the rest of the map on top. Make sure you always save your base layer so you can reuse it later on other parts of the model.

You can then add more layers to the texture to add a paint job, some decals then remove some of the paint for scratches and to reveal the metal underneath. This brings us to the next point.

Detail, detail and more detail.

A basic texture will make an object feel like a cartoon. To really bring it to life you need to add a heap of detail, even if it will not be seen in the final product.

Wear and tear, scratches, stickers, dirt and anything you think is appropriate will help when you wrap the texture over the model.

Using light and shadow Light and shadow can give your textures more depth and therefore add to the realism.

This can be achieved through manually drawing in the shadows or by using Ambient Occlusion maps. This is getting a little technical for beginners but if you really want your textures to be top notch do some research into how to use Ambient Occlusion as it will really make them pop.

GET LEARNING Texturing is an art in itself and will take practice before it is perfect. There are always things to learn and

attention to detail

To really sell a 3D character or object it needs to have as much high resolution detail as possible or it will look too fake.

keeping the original

Your base layer is the most important thing to preserve when creating a texture as it can be applied elsewhere or revealed through other decals.

create imperfections

Wear and tear, scratches, stickers, dirt anything that helps make the object look used will make your animated object look like part of a world not a cartoon.

create depth

Light and shadow can give your textures more depth and therefore add to the realism.

You can achieve this by adding darker tones to emphasis an area or lighter highlight tones.

ask the professionals

There are many blogs, tips and tutorials out there that are matter of fact, simple to follow and have great sneaky tips from other animators. The animation community tend to be quite helpful and willing to lend a hand or offer advice for newcomers or someone stuck on a particular problem.

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cinematic

touch

using depth of field camera techniques to create a scene

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ave you ever wondered what makes a movie feel cinematic and how animated films achieve this effect? The answer is ‘depth of field’ and it is something that can only be properly achieved by using the lenses of a film or digital camera. Depth of field (DOF) is the part of the image which is in focus which is usually juxtaposed against the out of focus portion for effect. You can have an unlimited depth of field like on video camera and mobile phone footage but it doesn’t like a proper movie.

By changing the amount of the scene that is in focus you can make backgrounds or foregrounds appear out of focus, or blurry, which gives at a cinema feel.

In 3D animation, that effect is also required to add to the realism or provide an audience with the visuals they are accustomed to seeing when they watch a movie.

However, since no actual cameras and lenses are used in animated films, how is this achieved?

No matter which animation software you are using, it will have the ability to create virtual cameras.

These are placed in the 3D space and animated in order to create a shot for your film. This is where knowing a little about real cameras comes in handy. You can tell the program what type of camera you want, how wide it should be and

the type of lens. Then when you place it in the scene you will get a similar result to what you would in a live action film.

When placed in the scene, you will see a visual representation of the camera and it will have a cone coming out the front of it representing what the camera can see. You can then drag the camera to where you want it and set the DOF of that camera. By setting the DOF so that everything behind your model is out of focus, you instantly create a cinematic feel to that shot.

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By setting the DOF, you instantly create a cinematic feel to your shots

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Once your camera is in place, you can then use keyframes to animate the path the camera will move in the 3D environment.

This can be a simple pan or tilt, or something more complex like a tracking shot, a dolly in or a complete fly through of the scene. Once you get the hang of using cameras, your animated sequences will have the same look as a proper film and you can wow and entertain your viewers.

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anIMAL LOGIC’S

Ross anderson why everything is awesome WORKING ON THE LEGO MOVIE - ONE OF THE BIGGEST FILMS OF 2014

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eet Ross, originally a 3D generalist in advertising from Brisbane, he landed some work at Plastic Wax in Sydney as a lighting technical director on various games cinematics. This led to feature work in lighting at Animal Logic, most recently on The LEGO Movie.

What training have you done?

I started at uni doing courses in 3D and photography but found collaborating with other students more effective for learning new techniques. My friends were studying film and drama so I used any project as an opportunity to try my new 3D skills.

Since then it’s all been on the job learning – you can’t beat it! Most people I meet along the way have something valuable to share; the important thing is to share what you know so everyone benefits.

What was it like working on the LEGO Movie?

The LEGO Movie was a great experience on a challenging project.

Creatively, the art direction very focussed. Lighting supervisor,

Craig Welsh, and production designer, Grant Freckelton, communicated their vision to artists very clearly so you were never left in the dark (‘scuse the pun!) about what direction to take.

The main challenge for the lighting crew was working with technology that was evolving almost daily to meet the demands of rendering millions of plastic LEGO bricks to a photorealistic standard.

Overall, it was a very rewarding experience, creatively and technically, and I hope the results speak for themselves. I’m very proud to have been a part of it.

What is one tool you can’t live without in your job?

My Wacom tablet! Mice are a pain in the wrist!

Do you find the work overwhelming at times?

With any project, the pressure is on to hit a deadline and production can certainly get pretty stressful at times if left un-

checked. When the workload gets hectic, I start by making personal task spreadsheets. It sounds dull, but it definitely helps. This means I can micro manage and focus on my work more effectively.

Last question, who is the most interesting person you have got to work with so far?

Hmmm, that’s a hard one…. I think Max Liani from Animal Logic, he was my lighting supervisor on Walking with Dinosaurs. He created a new renderer for the production pipeline of The LEGO Movie and his technical advancements played a huge part in the success of the film.

He is one of those rare people who can walk the line between art and technology.

Watch the LEGO Movie Trailer

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c i r d e r f augis

from advertising to concept art

getting started, staying true and making it big as a digital artist

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eet Fredric Augis, working out of France his amazing work is among the world’s finest. We sat down to talk to him about digital art, his inspiration and how he started.

What made you want to be a concept artist?

My education prepared me for work in advertising, but I had a tight vision of working in illustration and graphic design fields. In France, video game studios like Ubisoft, Cryo, Delphine software and Infogramme gave me many attractions. Their games were a big inspiration in my childhood.

Who are your favourite concept artists?

The first artist to impress me was David Levy with his work on Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. His utilisation of the custom brush in Photoshop was very innovative at the time.

Gregory Szucs and Sergey Kolesov are very impressive, and thecreativity and talent of James Jeans, has inspired me a lot.

Did you learn most of your skills at Lycée du Premier Film or did you find you had to do a lot of self-teaching?

I learned many things about graphism, compositing and Photoshop when working in advertising. After 5 years, I did a year at Emile Cohl School to learn more classic technics like anatomy, painting and charcoal work. Self-teaching is very important to improve yourself in any new art field and it's good to forge your personality.

What do you use to help inspire you when you are struggling?

I try to pay attention to small things like a color or a simple shape. Also, I can extract a small piece of photo just to have a volume of information and shader.

Pay attention to the small things like colour or simple shape

Do you have any last advice for people starting out?

Working hard is the key if you want to participate in good projects. Keep communication clear and try to satisfy your clients by respecting their deadlines and briefs. Your best work won’t matter if it’s not what you were commissioned for.

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It's not easy to take the independent route but it prepares you for a freelance career. I did fictive concept art until a studio hired me and at the same time I made logos, graphics and animations for events studios. I worked for 3 years to be able to create quality artworks since leaving school.

The next step is to build an artwork with my imagination. I'm comfortable with Sci-Fi universes but I love to be open toward different and unusual projects. It is the better way to force me to be open to other cultures.

There's more than one way to get work in this industry but your motivation and curiosity are a good start to create beautiful things.

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O E D I V PILOT O C Impressive visual effects on a low or no budget

Learn online

The Video Co-Pilot website has a slew of useful tutorials videos that are completely free

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o matter your budget, knowing a few handy tricks in Adobe After Effects can instantly boost the cinematic quality of your video and animation projects.

Learning compositing and visual effects techniques within After Effects may seem difficult at first glance but thankfully, it is actually quite easy to learn with the right teacher. For many beginners to After Effects, Andrew Kramer from Videocopilot.net was their first experience in the world of visual effects thanks to his incredible free online tutorials.

Video Co-Pilot offers a number of paid elements packs which you can use to add high quality visual effects to your projects. Everything from explosions, gun effects, bullet holes, grading packs, 3D models, fighter jets and a huge range of other options are on offer to use in your movies. While the packs can cost anywhere from $49 to upwards of $700 each, the tutorials on the site are absolutely free.

To start your journey, visit www. videocopilot.net and head to the

tutorial section. From there click on basic training and simply follow along with his tutorials.

The first ten lessons teach everything from an overall introduction to After Effects , adding simple effects and animation, learning motion tracking and green screen and some slightly more advanced things like adding 3D elements to a video. Once you

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If you are wanting to learn After Effects, Video CoPilot should be your first stop

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have mastered the basics, you can then move on to some of the more complex tutorials.

To date, there are almost 150 tutorials on the site for you to learn, practice and master. The brilliant thing about many of these tutorials is the site offers a free download with all the elements used in the tutorial so you can follow along with the video and end up with a final

product you have created yourself.

There is no better way to learn that actually doing it while being taught.

In addition, Video Co-Pilot offers a number of free presets you can use in your projects and further tutorials on how to use them. The site has been the first port of call for many visual effects enthusiasts and also has an active community which you can talk to and ask questions to make your work look even better.

The community even came together and recently created a free download with over 30 futuristic buildings to allow you to create a Sci-Fi setting.

If you are wanting to learn After Effects, videocopilot.net should be your first stop. It is completely free, you will learn so much and if you want to advance your skills you can purchase more toys to play with as your skills blossom. head to www. videocopilot.net to get started.

CLICK HERE FOR

WWW.VIDEOCOPILOT.NET

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e e r f n o i t a m i n a s m a r g o r p how to Learn the basics of animation without the need for expensive software

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ike most most creative software, professional 3D modelling and animation packages often cost more than the PC or Mac they’re running on. The extreme budgetary damage these software suites can cause often makes them far too expensive for students, beginners or freelance 3D modellers.

Unfortunately this has led to a high rate of piracy for programs like 3ds Max or Maya, but there is a legal way to get around the problem.

Thanks to the increasing popularity of the art of 3D rendering and animation, there are now several programs that handle both tasks totally free of cost. Here are our top 5 recommendations.

Houdini Apprentice Learning Edition

www.sidefx.com

Houdini is a popular piece of animation software widely used in the industry, but the full version costs a pretty penny. Thankfully the Apprentice Learning edition is free to download, and it includes the cutting-edge features of the main program. There is a catch though, with video exports are limited to 720 x 576 resolution, and they’ll also include a watermark. Still, even with these limitations it’s perfect for students or those looking to build a portfolio of work.

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Maya Free Trial

www.autodesk.com.au

If there is one software suite that dominates the 3D animation market, it has to be Maya. It’s one of the most widely used, and includes every feature necessary to deliver Hollywood level animations. A free 30 day trial is available to download if you want to try it out.

DAZ Studio

www.daz3d.com If you only want to animate character models, DAZ Studio could be the freebie you’re looking for. It’s built around the concept of using existing models and sets to create your unique scene, all of which can be downloaded via the DAZ website. These include everything you could need to build a complex scene, from the environment to the props lining the shelves. DAZ Studio can then be used to set the scene up, before lighting and animating it. DAZ makes its money by licensing 3D assets, but there’s a healthy amount freely available.

Blender

www.blender.org Blender is one of the most ambitious open source projects to ever come into fruition. This fully-featured 3D animation suite does it all – modelling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and a whole lot more. In fact, it’s become such a powerful piece of software that many professional 3D animation companies are now adopting it. It’s absolutely free to use no matter how you choose to use it, whether it’s for learning the basics of animation or for creating a commercial TV advertisement. The interface isn’t quite as slick as others but being free overcomes that issue.

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pro tools Taking your skills to the next level

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s you begin to evolve as a digital artist the next step is to build an arsenal of tools to help you grow and expand. We have gathered collection of some of the best tools, software and books around to help you on your way to becoming one of the best in your field.

Moleskine Notebook

It may seem odd in such a digital age to be suggesting a physical notepad, but there as some places out there that just aren’t suitable for digital devices. Having a small and robust writing pad can be wonderful for places like the beach when inspiration hits and you just have to jot down an idea.

Intuos Pen and Touch Tablet S( mall)

Just starting out? Still eating noodles due to little to no income?

This tablet is just over $100 and gives you a great place to start by giving you a quality drawing tablet to begin building your skills.

Eizo ColorEdge CG276

Behold, one of the best digital screens on the market, High resolution with accurate colours, it is the choice of many professionals working in the industry today.

Digital Art Masters books

With eight books available and several guidebooks as well, this series is a great tool when you have a block. Bursting with colour and style, one look will have you back on track to making amazing art.

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ImagineFX

Even the best artists in the world sometimes need inspiration and ImagineFX is a magazine devoted to showcasing some of the most talented people in the business. What’s more it offers step-by-step guides on how to draw in different styles, trials of new and exciting software and tips from pros, worth every dollar.

Wacom Cintiq 13HD

Coming in at over $1000 dollars may be an item to long for later on down the track but the 13HD combines the best functions of both a drawing tablet and a hi-res monitor. It’s the crème de la crème of digital tools.

Adonit Jot Flip

Offering the best of both worlds, the Adonit Jot Flip is both a high quality tablet stylus and when twisted the opposite end offers a fine tipped pen meaning you’re never without a means of scribbling down a though or brainwave.

WD BLACK hard driveS

Animation projects require a large amount of storage and the PC you use to create them need fast reliable drives to keep you working at maximum efficiency.

The WD Black is the fastest high capcity drive around and is perfect as the main drive of your high performance animation PC.

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

Ascender

GAMING ISSUE Delve into the world of PC gaming, talk to developers, game designers, creators, and professional gamers.

interviews

We talk to artists and developers on how they make their games and the work that goes into creating game worlds

PRO TIPS

Learm how to get into the gaming industry, what developers are looking for and creating an impressive portfolio

gaming gear

We take a look at the best gaming gear around and how to build a beast gaming PC to obliterate the competition.

professional gamers

Explore the world of professional gamers, how they made a name for themselves and what it takes to make a living as a gamer.

Issue Five