Stole from my kin | WIP Playblast 017

I'm going to take a break from animation and work on decorating the scene because I feel that my eyes have become too accustomed to this piece to spot any further mistakes. cheers!

Once again, please critic, feel free!

Note: The embed in this post is slightly different from all previous posts. Used Youtube's iframe embed code (beta) to embed the video here. Please let me know if there are glitches! Thanks! :)

Stole from my kin | WIP Playblast 015

I have gotten a bunch of critics from my friends and I'm working on them now! Made quite a few significant changes and I've yet to smooth them out! Stay tuned~

Stole from my kin | WIP Playblast 014

Transcript:
Voice One: "You stole from my kin!"
Voice Two: "Who was fixin' to betray us."
Voice One: "You didn't know that at the time!"
Voice Two: "So I borrowed it till I did know!"
Voice One: "That don't make no sense!"

I've been having fun with this little animation during my free time.
The dialog, if I'm not wrong, is from the 11 Second Club January 2010 Competition.
Here's the latest playblast. =)
I'm going to work on the facial animation soon and lip sync will come last.

Please critic, it really helps me improve! Thanks!

Three Components of Communication

7% ----- Oral (What we say, the words we use)
38% ---- Vocal (How we say, the tone we use)
55% ---- Visual (Body language, Facial Expression)

"Visual" is where character animation plays a big part! :D

For character animation, this can be a useful list of the possible meanings of body language:

BODY LANGUAGE
Rubbing chin
Body not facing the other person
Fiddling with pens, keys etc
Finger pointing
Hands in pockets
Scratching head/neck
Looking at the other person when speaking
Frowning
Looking around the place
Slouching
Eyes looking up when talking
Eyes looking down when talking

MEANING
Uncertainty, deciding, considering
Not interested
Nervous
Angry, accusing, authority
Depressed, insecure, feeling cold
Confused, puzzled, frustrated
Focused, attentive
Confused, disagree, unhappy
Not interested, bored, distracted
Not interested
Recalling, thinking
Thinking of a reason, likely an excuse

Hmm, if I have time, I intend to grow this list because it can come in useful when deciding on acting choices! :D

Excel in Customer Service

I attended a course about customer service excellence recently. This is not exactly a CG related article but I thought it might be useful to some. =) So, I'm here to share...

When dealing with challenging customers, first, Deal with your feelings.
We need to understand that we cannot control others' behaviour but we can always control ours. It's very common that we can get very irritated by our customers however we must not show it because it won't help the situation.

Listen to what they have to say, our customers want to be heard. Allow them to relay their concerns thoroughly without interruption and maintain eye contact through the process.

Empathise with your customer. We do not necessarily have to agree with their claims but we have to accept it and help them from there.

Clarify what problems the customer has faced and what they want eventually. Ask appropriate questions to get more information in order to help them.

It's time to Take action and before that, you have to be sure of policies and limitations of what solutions you (in your position) can offer. If it's beyond you, suggest alternatives or refer the customer to the proper authority, or else, try to agree on a solution and work on it.

If it's required that you Refer them to the proper authority, maintain the responsibility for solving the problem. Follow up with customers until their problem is solved.

Cheers!

Kyle Balda's 3D Animation Masterclass

Useful tips on how to approach a 3D character animation dialog shot (above)

I am working on a super short animation right now. It's a 2 person dialog.
I felt slightly lost in terms of my workflow and hence I went to flip through notes from Gobelin's Summer School! In particular, Kyle Balda's lessons is really helpful! Not only do I now have a clearer mind on how to approach my shot, I am totally inspired now! :D

Do take precious notes when attending masterclasses or courses! They are really useful!
Alright, I'm off to animate!

Oh, I found this clip of a demo he did for June 2009 issue of 3D World Magazine. This 10 minutes clip is a summary! :) Enjoy!

Studio

The studio is coming together, check it out! :D



Note: "Studio Shot" added to portfolio.

Making of Spideron

Breakdown of Spideron illustrating the different w.i.p stages and/or 3D model and lighting elements when creating this image.

Casio Digital Piano

Product shot of Casio Digital Piano PX-130

[Camera Settings]
Sutter Speed: 1/60
Aperture Value: f/5.6
ISO Speed Ratings: 1600
Focal Length: 70 mm

On a side note, this is a decent and affordable entry-level digital piano just for purely playing and practising. In my opinion, perfect for a beginner!

Happy 45th Birthday Singapore

Happy National Day to all Singaporeans!

I'll try to find time to make a little poster or banner for every big celebration day, and so this one is for Singapore's 45th Birthday!
In conjunction with this year's NDP 2010 Slogan "Live Our Dreams, Fly Our Flag", I came up with this poster!
This a clearly a Spiderman inspired design, haha, because he is my favourite superhero.

Time Taken: about 4 hours
Software: Maya
Singapore National Day: 9 August
How old is Singapore: 45 Years Old
Last year: Happy 44th Birthday Singapore