The Art Of

Leviathan

By Deanna Crisbacher

About ‘Fantastic Voyage’

For the final project of year one at Computer Animation Arts we were to choose on of four different Bioscientific Scenarios to create a one to three minute CG animation. The process begins in preproduction where I researched my chosen scenario: Antibiotic Resistance. I then began to look at visual influences and generated several influence maps that led to my thumbnails and final concept art paintings. After writing a script and creating a storyboard I then put together an animatic with a temporary voice over and sound effects that I gathered and edited. Then, I created orthographic drawings in order to model my assets in Autodesk Maya that I later created custom textures for. I also hired a professional voice actor to voice my narrator for my final animation. By following this pipeline from preproduction to production and finally to postproduction I was able to create my first Computer Generated Animation.

Visual Concept

My initial art direction was inspired by games such as Spore, The Binding of Isaac, Slime Rancher, Limbo, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and Don’t Starve. I was also inspired by images of cells and other microorganisms when looking under a microscope. However, as my ideas developed towards a ‘sea monster’ theme my visual concept and influences changed to be more realistic and less ‘cute’. My influence maps and thumbnails changed to reflect my project’s development. My final visual concept was inspired by films and games such as Jaws, Alien, and Subnautica. Various artists including Tim Burton, H.R. Giger, and artwork found on Artstation influenced my art direction. However, I drew most of my inspiration from animals and environments in real life such as kelp forest landscapes, Angler Fish, Moray Eels, and the Giant Tigerfish.

Initial Influence Map

Final Influence Map

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Thumbnails and Sketchbook Pages

Initial Thumbnails

Initial Thumbnails

Initial Thumbnails

After this group of thumbnails I came to the conclusion that the bacteria needed to look less friendly and cute. Since my animation is about antibiotic resistance, the bacteria needed to be the bad guys. However, I felt as though some of the colours and textures were working well. I also began to experiment with the idea of the antibiotic possibly being a character.

Antibiotic Thumbnails

Antibiotic Thumbnails

Developing Bacteria Thumbnails

Initial Environment Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Size Comparison Thumbnails

Environment Development Thumbnails

As I was exploring different types of environments for my bacteria, I decided to experiment with the idea of veins/nerves. I thought this looked similar to kelp forests which then inspired me to research kelp forests and other ocean environments instead of my original microscope idea. I believe this is what led me to a more interesting and engaging environment for my animation.

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

Kelp Forest Thumbnails

After experimenting with the kelp forest idea, I decided to redesign my bacteria once again to resemble deep sea creatures and other marine animals. These eventually sparked my ‘Leviathan’ themed story and script. !The kelp forest is a metaphor for the ‘ocean’ within the body, for example the stomach or blood. The sea monsters are the bacteria, which were inspired by the Moray Eel and Angler Fish. The ‘Leviathan’ is the superbug that has become resistant to antibiotics and was mostly inspired by the Giant Tigerfish.

Bacteria Sketchbook thumbnails

Bacteria Sketchbook thumbnails

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Final Concept Paintings with buildup

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The Script

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Storyboard & Animatic Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

Panel Selection

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Orthographs

Kelp Orthographs

DNA and Pill Orthographs

Bacteria #1 Orthographs

Bacteria #2 Orthographs

Bacteria #3 Orthographs

Leviathan Orthographs

Leviathan Orthographs

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Experiments and Tests

After Effects - Underwater Light Rays and Particles

I experimented with various ways to create an underwater effect for my animation. I decided to look into what sort of special effects I could add in post production in an attempt to reduce render time within Maya. I found a tutorial by Video Copilot to create light rays and water particles to give an underwater effect. I also played around with some filters as a way of coloring my animation.

After Effects - Underwater Light Rays and Particles still

Maya - Parti_Volume Node, Caustics, and Photons

I tested out a method of creating an animated underwater light through the use of the ‘parti_volume’ node in Mental Ray. Since Caustics/Global Illumination/Photons were turned on for this method it took a very long time to render a few seconds worth of animation or even a still. While this method of lighting looks great, the rendering time is a significant drawback.

Maya - Parti_Volume Node, Caustics, and Photons Stills

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined

Even though my Leviathan model was not textured at this point, I thought it would be a good idea to test out the different types of lighting and effects I was experimenting with. This way I could see what look it would give to my models and possibly think of other ways to create similar effects that might have a lower render time.

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined Still

Maya - Fluid Test

To create the fluid that comes out of my pill, I used particle emitters and reversed gravity. I made the particles a ‘blobby material’ and changed the different settings in order to achieve a thick sludge/fluid appearance.

Maya - Fluid Test Still

Maya - Fluid Test Still

Maya and After Effects Lighting Combined

In one of my scenes, the resistant bacteria makes the antibiotics dissolve. In order to achieve this effect, I continued to experiment with particle emitters. This time, I followed a tutorial about using animated ramps and particle emission from objects to make a 2d plane appear as though it is dissolving away.

Maya - Dissolve tests Still

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Autodesk Maya Modeling

Kelp Model Progress

Kelp Models Untextured, Wireframe, Ambient Occlusion, Shader

DNA Model Progress

DNA Model Untextured, Ambient Occlusion, Shader

Pill Model Progress

Pill Model Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria Model Progress

In order to be efficient in Maya, I decided to model one of my bacteria, layout the UV’s for texturing, then reuse assets to finish off the model and to reuse for the other models. One of my first challenges was creating the mouth but once that was completed I began modeling the rest of the bacteria. I assigned the objects different shaders so the wireframe could be seen and added Ambient Occlusion to each of my models as well. The finished models are smoothed, however I tried to keep the models as simple as possible.

Bacteria Model Progress

Bacteria #1 Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria #2 Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Bacteria #3 Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Leviathan Model Progress

Unlike the bacteria models, my Leviathan is only going to be seen from the front. Because of this, his model looks odd since he is essentially a puppet. Since the Leviathan is the ‘superbug’ I decided to make his mesh a lot more complex and detailed than the other bacteria. Instead of just relying on bump mapping, I chose to model some gnarled parts on his face and jaws to make him look more skeletal and monster-like. He also has a second row of teeth and extra eyes. I ran into some problems making this model forcing me to rebuild some parts such as the inside of the mouth to try and keep the model as clean as possible.

Leviathan Model Progress

Leviathan Model Progress

Leviathan Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

Leviathan Untextured, Wireframe, UV, Ambient Occlusion

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Autodesk Maya Deformers, Rigging, and Skinning

Kelp Sine Deformer

Leviathan Rig

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Music, sound, and Narration

Adobe Audition - Sound Editing

I tested out a method of creating an animated underwater light through the use of the ‘parti_volume’ node in Mental Ray. Since Caustics/Global Illumination/Photons were turned on for this method it took a very long time to render a few seconds worth of animation or even a still. While this method of lighting looks great, the rendering time is a significant drawback.

Adobe Audition - Sound Editing

To create the sounds within my animation, I searched various websites such as freesound.org to find audio clips. I then brought them into Adobe Audition and edited them to change their sound to create soundscapes, sounds for my bacteria, or other sound effects.

By playing around with duration, pitch, reverb, and adding various other effects I was able to create unique sound effects. I also used some music clips such as Echoes of Time v2 (Kevin MacLeod) which I found on incompetech.com.

Voiceover Artist - Jon Strickland

After using a temporary voiceover a fellow student recorded for me to use in my animatic, I searched for a professional voice artist for my final animation. It was more difficult to find the right person who was available than I originally expected. Luckily I was able to hire Jon Strickland to voice my narrator. His previous clients included Volvo, Tesco, Sony, Microsoft, Panasonic, BBC2, Sky One, London City News Radio, and many more.