#68 - Animation - Evaluation
Now that my animation is complete, I will evaluate how I think the overall process went and what the main issues were, as well as how to overcome these and improve my animation skills in the future. A lot of this I might have mentioned already but I would just like to summarise it all together.
One of the most important aspects of the animation is the storyboard, which outlined all of the camera angles, timings and positions of the models which I planned to use throughout the animation. I can safely say that my animation followed this storyboard exactly. The camera angles are the same as the images in the storyboard suggest, and the models are in the right place. The action and motion is the same, and it all happens at the right time, lasting exactly thirty seconds. Except for the first couple of scenes, where the camera was taking too long to move into position, I did not have to adjust the timings at all for the rest of the animation. The only models which do not move in time are the debris objects, which I could not get to move for reasons previously explained, but otherwise the ship models themselves are always in the right place, positioned well, with good lighting so they are visible.
Another extremely important aspect are the special effects. I did try to use some of these, but generally my attempts to use particles were disastrous, and I barely got the EMP blast working how I wanted it. The lighting was good in places, and the reflective texturing alongside the glowing engine texture really helped the animation and made it look much better, but I think overall I could have tried to use a lot moire special effects. I had no additional constraints in to make turrets rotate, and the hangar doors were keyed manually instead of constraining the scale to the Invisible Hand, something I'm realising I could have done as I write this, but now it is too late. The actual texture on the hangar shields made up for the lack of special effects at the end. The glow made it look like it was actually made of electricity, and the glow of the engines made the warp jump look much more realistic than it would have with no textures. The sun I made also made the scene with the hangar much better, as it was a thing in the background making the whole scene look much less dull, and gave me an opportunity to experiment with the textures on the Invisible Hand more. I could have put a planet in but I didn't want to as the whole narrative suggests deep space secrecy. In the end, the animation was not a disastrous as it could have been, but more special effects could have made it much better.
As for the sound, I am disappointed that I could not use any sound effects. The background music does improve the final animation and makes it worth watching, just about, but without sound it is confusing as generally sound is expected.
The main problems I had to overcome were firstly, the batch rendering not working, and secondly, my Jedi Starfighter file corrupting at home. If these two things had not happened I might have had more time ultimately, and not been demoralised at the start when I tried using the star fighter before I knew it would crash Maya. This delayed the whole process quite a lot as I had to wait for help.
So I have established that the storyboard was successful, the special effects were fine, and the sound was disappointing. I'd say that this balances out to fine, and after watching the actual animation through, from an audience perspective I think it is decent for someone who has never animated anything before in their lives. If there is a next time, I know exactly what I end to do to give myself an easier time and achieve a better animation. Mainly make sure that the scene is tidier, as it was difficult to control the parent constraints once I had done something irreversible, that was causing the objects to behave strangely. But mostly I should give myself more time and spend more time learning how to use emitters than stressing about not being able to use emitters. I also realise now that by making a storyboard where everything is being stealthy really limits my opportunities to use explosions and lasers. Overall, I am reasonably happy with the animation, but I think it could be much better.
One of the most important aspects of the animation is the storyboard, which outlined all of the camera angles, timings and positions of the models which I planned to use throughout the animation. I can safely say that my animation followed this storyboard exactly. The camera angles are the same as the images in the storyboard suggest, and the models are in the right place. The action and motion is the same, and it all happens at the right time, lasting exactly thirty seconds. Except for the first couple of scenes, where the camera was taking too long to move into position, I did not have to adjust the timings at all for the rest of the animation. The only models which do not move in time are the debris objects, which I could not get to move for reasons previously explained, but otherwise the ship models themselves are always in the right place, positioned well, with good lighting so they are visible.
Another extremely important aspect are the special effects. I did try to use some of these, but generally my attempts to use particles were disastrous, and I barely got the EMP blast working how I wanted it. The lighting was good in places, and the reflective texturing alongside the glowing engine texture really helped the animation and made it look much better, but I think overall I could have tried to use a lot moire special effects. I had no additional constraints in to make turrets rotate, and the hangar doors were keyed manually instead of constraining the scale to the Invisible Hand, something I'm realising I could have done as I write this, but now it is too late. The actual texture on the hangar shields made up for the lack of special effects at the end. The glow made it look like it was actually made of electricity, and the glow of the engines made the warp jump look much more realistic than it would have with no textures. The sun I made also made the scene with the hangar much better, as it was a thing in the background making the whole scene look much less dull, and gave me an opportunity to experiment with the textures on the Invisible Hand more. I could have put a planet in but I didn't want to as the whole narrative suggests deep space secrecy. In the end, the animation was not a disastrous as it could have been, but more special effects could have made it much better.
As for the sound, I am disappointed that I could not use any sound effects. The background music does improve the final animation and makes it worth watching, just about, but without sound it is confusing as generally sound is expected.
The main problems I had to overcome were firstly, the batch rendering not working, and secondly, my Jedi Starfighter file corrupting at home. If these two things had not happened I might have had more time ultimately, and not been demoralised at the start when I tried using the star fighter before I knew it would crash Maya. This delayed the whole process quite a lot as I had to wait for help.
So I have established that the storyboard was successful, the special effects were fine, and the sound was disappointing. I'd say that this balances out to fine, and after watching the actual animation through, from an audience perspective I think it is decent for someone who has never animated anything before in their lives. If there is a next time, I know exactly what I end to do to give myself an easier time and achieve a better animation. Mainly make sure that the scene is tidier, as it was difficult to control the parent constraints once I had done something irreversible, that was causing the objects to behave strangely. But mostly I should give myself more time and spend more time learning how to use emitters than stressing about not being able to use emitters. I also realise now that by making a storyboard where everything is being stealthy really limits my opportunities to use explosions and lasers. Overall, I am reasonably happy with the animation, but I think it could be much better.
Comments
Post a Comment