First person gaming and the story telling arc...

At the start of every new class each year, we begin with a short module on story telling. That means making sure students understand the simple concepts of 3 part narrative, what genre and theme are and of course the different ways in which stories are delivered (including classic old 1950's style radio plays, comics, written, etc).

One issue I've always run into is that the materials I've been working with never really take in the current trends and adapt to meet the new intakes. While we need to maintain the core principles behind story development and design, delivery and topics need to be dynamic and exciting, and should connect with the current generation - a generation that has a much shorter attention span as technology and delivery of information has changed the way we share and communicate.

The diploma is all about digital Animation and Film, and when students are young and so excited about the latest gaming, animated movies and vfx-laden action films it's always great to find articles on the way in which all of these story telling principles are applied in areas that students can relate.

Developing Meaningful Player Character Arcs in Branching Narrative

This article from Gamasutra is just one of those things - it encapsulates what makes for an interesting and dynamic story through character and conflict - in the gaming sense - and how to build around the branching narrative to compensate for player decisions.  A great read, and one I can use for my next session with an upcoming class...

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Attention to detail...

The number one thing that I've found while teaching over the years is that student projects (well, 99% of them) suffer from this - lack of attention to detail.  And that is exactly what makes them look like student work.

Attention to detail is important - we see it everywhere - in cooking, music, cars, software, movies, cellphones, etc.  If it wasn't there, we'd have music that was flat and simple.  We'd have food that was bland, or tasted bad. Software that was of a low quality and missing those small features that make it popular and powerful...  Its the exact same in CG - lack of attention to the details make for basic, uninteresting or unbelievable work.

I'll often use this model I built a couple of years back to point out some of the smaller detail points that students would miss without taking the time to look at what helps make such a model feel realistic (there's definitely many things on this model that still need work, mind you).

Small details such as the canopy slide (the rail that the canopy slides along when opening), mounting for guns in the wing (many times I see people simply sticking cylinders into the edge of a wing), the bulge in the tyre because the weight of the aircraft is pressing down are things that are picked up from attention to detail.

 

Looking with your eyes, not your mind...

So what exactly does attention to detail entail?  Its all bundled up into one very simple word - observation.  Look around you, collect visual reference, visit the things related to your project in person and absorb the reality of it into your visual memory...  That means sketching, drawing, photographing, touching...  Being aware of the way your subject matter looks or behaves is extremely important to how polished and professional the quality of your work will appear.

One typical example where a lack of this can be seen in many projects is always at the early design stage.  Often people attempt to develop ideas without reference - they base it on what they think they know, and without paying attention to the details, the results are always unpolished.  Proportions are wrong, small details are missing that make the design look more believable, or the design is not logical at all because the concept is based on what they imagined it looked like.  In particular, its character design where I see this occur most.

 

Knowing your tools from your Skills.

I don't know how many times I've told my classes this - but I'm starting to feel that its possibly a skill that takes time and practise (like any art form) to improve upon.  Its obvious when people with good traditional art and design skills already demonstrate better looking CG work.  The 3D software may initially be a challenge to pick up, but in the end it simply becomes a new tool for their creative output.

From my experience, I feel that its likely that students in particular invest a lot more effort into understanding how to create things by how they operate software, but not many spend the time to understand what it is they are creating before they touch the software itself.

This rolls back to one of my previous posts on software vs. skills - Its the artistic skills that have been built up that are then applied with the tools that they learn.  Its definitely not the case when its software operation first followed by creative skills second.

Students, or anybody who is new to CG or even experienced but struggling with their own design work, should take the initiative to get away from the software side and look around them.  Take a sketch book with you on your way to work, examine the world around you - and don't just do a google image search.

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Inspiration on the desktop... If you have space...

Ok, so I'm no spring chicken these days, but I'm just as much a kid at heart as I've always been.  Over the years, I have amassed a good collection of inspiring toys of characters from my favorite shows and comics.  Unfortunately though, many are still in boxes, or in storage purely because I just don't have space to set them all up...

Recently I did buy this guy - Wheel Jack - from the show Transformers:Prime.  I have to say, this toy is GREAT for dynamic action posing...  It also looks just as cool as the show! The other bonus is that its small enough to sit nicely on top of a DVD spindle right in front of my keyboard.

One day, I'll get the rest unpacked when I find some space for them...  Until then, I'm going to just be inspired by robots...

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Tools or Skills? Time for a quick vent...

This has always been a pet peeve for me...

The one thing I've noticed a lot here in New Zealand is that animation college graduates that I meet at events have formed the perception that knowing how to operate an advanced software application is the skill that makes them a professional artist.  This isn't just a one-off, it appears to be a trend that is common.

imho, mastering software is more something that makes for an employable artist.  Professionalism is built through experience and practise.  Having both is definitely even better, but in that case you'd probably have been an industry professional for some time.

We should never overlook the fact that software is just a tool.  The skill is in how you understand the art form/technical field and what you can produce with the tools - its like comparing brands of pencil as a way to judge how good a sketch artist someone is.


And not all professional artists master their craft with the same tools.  However once the skills are in place, transitioning between software tools is often extremely easy.

For me personally after almost two decades working with other applications, picking up Autodesk Maya (as complex and intimidating as it first looked) when I found it was an unavoidable necessity for my day job was surprisingly easy to do.  But I didn't have to change anything about the way I modeled, textured or animated - I knew these literally inside-out having done this for so long - I just found the same tools and adapted the approach to match the tools process.


This is the mindset we should be teaching our future artists in colleges - its about mastering the skills, understanding the processes and then being able to apply them in the tools we're provided with.  Too often its the other way around...

That's just my 2c on the matter...

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About time I blogged...

I used to be very active on forums and post up work frequently, but having been full-time teaching for almost a decade (steady work, steady income - the way the bank loves you to be when you are paying for a house) really takes it out of you over the years.  When I was working in an animation studio, it was always fresh and exciting - no matter what job came through, there were always challenges that would pop up and keep the old brain cells ticking over.

But hey - Most industry jobs tend to be contracts, and not long terms ones at that.  With a mortgage, its a risky industry to try and keep yourself in financially.

Don't get me wrong.  I love teaching - however after a few years, the daily grind really eats away at you.  Same questions, same subjects, same problems, and a whole load of paperwork to deal with.  There's something missing when you're not challenged with ongoing projects constantly and seem to be able to fix problems without thinking because they're so common year after year that you can literally answer them in your sleep.

Then there's the "I can't discuss this subject because its way too confusing for new students who need to learn how to make a box" that limits what you can talk about, and that is hard when you really want to talk about some dynamics feature or surfacing concept you've been playing with.

BUT - this year we have a whole new 3rd year 3D diploma - and it has definitely given me back my spark.  I can finally talk shop with students who have been through the basic training.  Its definitely a case of feeling "un-chained" from the restraints of keeping to the basics...


While I'm still passionate about CG - over 20 years and still as excited about it as ever - I've found my whole online presence has dropped back a lot.  A blog is my way of crawling back up that hole and with a new fresh diploma and lots of great new challenges ahead,  I'm excited about 2013 - Its going to be a blogging good time.

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