Hyperactivity.

Hehe. Hyperactivity, an aspect of excitement, a factor of hyperactivity.



^ I guess, a sense of hyperactivity, but in all honesty, this kid is just weird.





^ Results of hyperactivity in young children - randomness, restless, finding little things exciting. Why are they all images of a human boy? Because that's the character I'm creating. It would be out of context and irrelevant to research into hyperactivity in birds or something.



Dash from the incredibles. His speediness is pretty much what hyperactivity could be defined as in a normal human child. He's normal behaving in some scenarios until he starts moving really fast.

Step 1a - What am I actually doing.

*Reminder - NetFab. Free 3D printing software to print out models.

- Print out of model necessary.
- 3 LOD's necessary to meet assessment criteria.

Anyhow, so... So far I've pretty much gone into fine detail about what this project entails, and what's required of me to get a really good grade. So what am I actually going to do?

I've decided. I'm going to do the nine year old hyperactive boy. Why? I think it would be the most fun to do, as I can play around with randomness and hyperactivity, like I am :D

Stage 1, Research!

'Hyperactivity can be described as a physical state in which a person is abnormally and easily excitable or exuberant. Strong emotional reactions, impulsive behavior, and sometimes a short span of attention are also typical for a hyperactive person.'

Obsessive interest in creepy crawlies - Obvious

The journey begins..

Step 1 - Knowing my goal

• Your chosen specialism - I'm going to be a generalist. Why? It's the most employable, this however does not mean that I'm going to be average in everything, it means I'm going to be great in everything, that is my main goal.

• Your reasons for choosing that specialism - I want to be able to walk away from my degree and be able to pull off anything I want to regarding 3D animation. Why? Because that is the best option, it is as simple as that.

• How the way that you are working reflects industrial practice - Following a process. Having a fixed system that allows me to work efficiently. And generally being awesome.

• Your project brief - Character design. CHARACTER. DESIGN.

• Your project’s objectives for success - Assessment criteria + objectives. As long as they are met, I'm guaranteed a great grade. See below.

• Your success, or otherwise in meeting those objectives - Same as above

• Project scheduling. PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN AND MORE PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN.



In order to pass this Level 2 unit students must show that the following
learning outcomes have been achieved:

Knowledge and Understanding
A1: Gain a significant understanding of the core techniques and skills
underpinning the industrial animation workflows. - Basically speaking, how well the knowledge and skills I have acquired relate to the final finished outcome. In simple terms, Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y of the finished piece.

Values and Attitudes
B1: Demonstrate a level of personal creative interpretation in completing work while meeting technically explicit parameters. - How well I convey the character. How well it's designed. How well it works. How creative it is. These are factors which are going to determine how successful my piece is. In simple terms, this is the MOST IMPORTANT CATEGORY.

Skills (Cognitive and Intellectual)
C1: Situate their work in terms of its technical and professional merits in relation to contemporary practice. How to simply this? Technical and professional merits in relation to current practice. How well my working method and outcome relates to the technical and professional standards in today's industry?

Skills (Subject Specific/Professional)
D1: Competently apply 2D or 3D animation skills to standard animation and visualisation tasks. - Identical to the design aspect in terms of goal. How confidently am I going through this project in terms of skill level?

Skills (Transferable)
E1: Understand the role of planning and scheduling in the animation pipeline. - Not hard to understand.


• The level of understanding of the core techniques and skills
underpinning the animation workflow demonstrated in the finished
work; (A1)

• The competency in skills and techniques evident in the completion of
the exercises; (D1)

• The degree to which the completed pieces show that the student has
critically assessed the task or problem and successfully applied
established techniques and skills in its resolution; (D1)

• The level of personal creative interpretation evident in the completed
piece. (B1)

Individual Reflective Journal
• Evidence of evaluation of own work in terms of its technical and
professional merits and the contemporary industry; (A1, C1)

• Evidence of understanding and reflection on the process planning,
scheduling and realisation. (E1)

Introduction

To design and animate some characters for us for a potential animated advertisement for London Zoo. The characters should be worked up from
the following list:

1. Willie Billiams – A hyperactive nine year old on his first
visit to London Zoo with an obsessive interest in creepy
crawlies.

Potential - Alot. What are hyperactive 9 year olds like? Constantly all over the place, always talkative, always moving around a lot, they're pretty much restless. How can this be conveyed? <- Favourite option thus far.

2. Pocahontas Billiams – Willie’s sister, she’s seven
years old but much more relaxed and more knowing than
her sibling. She wants to be a gorilla.

POCAHONTAS!!! On a serious note, seven years old, but much more relaxed and knowing. Mature, intelligent, calm. However, she wants to be a gorilla. This doesn't mean she has to be human, which leaves quite a bit of potential. However, how can a seven year old normal human girl which is seemingly calm be used to create an outstanding character design?

3. Wilhemina Billiams – Willie and Pocahontas’s
grandmother, she thinks everything smells bad and is
worried that a chimp or one of those nasty bonobos
might escape and Poo in her hat.

This one could potentially be very funny to replicate, as I'm sure we all have an aunty which is pretty much exactly like this, or extremely similar. However, for this brief, I think this one is my list favourite. Old, stuck up, righteous. That's pretty much where it ends.

4. Wee Eck McGlone – London Zoo’s long suffering head
keeper sixty, bald, curmudgeonly, Scottish, fiercely
patriotic and obsessive about sweeping up dung.

This one is potential gold. I guess they all are depending on how it's actually pulled off. This one isn't going to be hard to pull off. But what are the aspects which could be exaggerated to make this a really good design? Mood? The way he looks? Posture? Attitude?


5. Cornelius – A middle aged silver back gorilla, the most
civilised and sensible occupant of the zoo by far.

This is probably the one that I'm actually going to do. This or the boy. Why? A middle ages sensible occupant of the zoo by far. 'nuff said.

The characters should be fully modelled to a maximum resolution of about 100,000
polygons, decent texturing is vital, we won’t accept a model alone at this stage. The model should be skinned and weighted to a skeleton for posing.

We expect to see:
Support work
Sculpted models
Armatures
Development drawings
Character sheets that should include orthogonal views, i.e. front, back, top, and side
More expressive drawings of the character in a typical pose.

Students are required to submit digital sequences, character turntables, and produce a 3d printed character to be creatively displayed and presented digitally online in blogs.

Whatever decisions you make, you should make them quickly as time is of
the essence. As well as generating this piece of work to demonstrate your
specialism, you will be generating an online journal.

Goooo me yaaay!