Computer Animation:Art, Science and Criticism

Tom Ellman

Lecture 1

Harry Roseman

Vitruvian Man

Leonardo Da Vinci

1452-1519

Complementary Questions

• What can an artist learn (about art) from a scientist?

• What can a scientist learn (about science) from an artist?

Maya: The world is an illusion created by the mind out of nothing.

The Purpose of this Course

• To learn how to use Maya?

No.• To make cool animated films?

No.• To explore the relationship between art,

science and criticism?

Yes.

Questions for Artists and Critics

• How does knowledge of computer animation technology influence an artist’s creative thinking?

• How does it influence a critic’s appreciation of computer animated films?

Questions for Scientists

• How do the needs of animation artists present challenges to computer scientists?

• How can the visual language of an artist be translated into the mathematical language of computer animation?

Questions for Everyone

• How are the concepts and vocabulary of my field different from those other fields?

• What can I learn about myself by trying to communicate with a person from another discipline?

Computational Cinematography

• Modeling• Shading• Illumination• Photography

• Animation• Rendering• Compositing• Editing

Maya File: demo-01-01.mb

Modeling: Defining Objects Composed of 3D Surfaces

• NURB Surfaces

• Polygon Surfaces

• Subdivision Surfaces

Shading: Defining the Light Reflecting Properties of Surfaces

• Shader: – Mathematical model of light/surface interaction.– Examples: Lambert, Blinn, Phong, … etc…

• Texture: – An image that is virtually pasted onto a surface.– Examples: Procedural textures, Recorded textures.

• Mapping: Specifying how a shader or texture varies across a surface.

Illumination: Defining Light Sources

• Objects cannot be seen unless they are illuminated by a light source.

• A variety of types of light can illuminate a scene in different ways.

• E.g., Ambient, directional, point, spot, volume lights.

Photography: Defining a Virtual Camera to Photograph the Scene

• An image is formed by projecting a 3D scene onto a 2D surface.

• The most common projection technique is defined in terms of the location, aim and orientation of a virtual camera.

• This defines a perspective projection.

Animation: The Time Dimension

• Define a time interval over which a scene will be animated. (E.g, Start at frame 1 and go to frame 100.)

• We say something is “animated” if it changes over the duration of the animated film.

• Almost any aspect of a scene can be animated.• These include:

– Shape, position and orientation of objects. – Properties of shaders and textures. – Locations and properties of lights and cameras.

Rendering: Generating One Image of the Scene for Each Frame

• Accounting for all of the elements of the scene: Geometry; Shading; Illumination; Photography.

• Variety of rendering software: – Maya Software (Comes with Maya)– Mental Ray (Comes with Maya)

• Takes lots of CPU time.

Compositing: Combining Multiple Layers of Animation

• Sometimes a complex animation will be partitioned into “layers”.

• E.g., Background and foreground layers.• The layers are rendered separately. • Compositing is the process of combining multiple

layers of animation into a single animation. • Not covered in this class.• Adobe After Effects available in the Science

Visualization Laboratory.

Editing: Combining Multiple Sequences of Animation

• A long animation is usually generated as a number of separate “shots”.

• E.g., A separate shot each time the camera position changes.

• Editing is the process of combining multiple shots into one animated film.

• Not covered in this course. • Adobe Premiere available in the Science

Visualization Laboratory.

Class Wiki https://www.cs.vassar.edu/courses/cs379-201403/top

• Overview of the course.• Homework project descriptions.• In-class studio descriptions. • Procedures for submitting work. • Summary of grading policy.• Professor Ellman’s lecture notes.• Maya files from Professor Ellman’s demos.

Textbook*

Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials, by Paul Naas, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2013.

* Available only at The Three Arts bookstore.

Readings (On Class Wiki)

• Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to Computer Animation, John Lasseter, Computer Graphics, 21, 4, 1987.

• The Principles of Animation, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, in The Illusion of Life, Walt Disney Productions, 1981.

• The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin, In Illuminations, Schocken Books, 1969.

Course Work

• Tutorial Lab Projects.• Homework Projects.• In-Class Studios. • Screenings.• On-Line Discussion Forum.• Readings.• Class participation.• Final project.

Project Work

• Focusing on effective use of Maya.

• Not on learning all of Maya’s facilities.

• Use only the tools we say you can use.

• “Do more with less.”

Critique

• We will show your work in class.

• You must be prepared to hear the instructors and your classmates speak candidly about your work.

• You must also be prepared to speak candidly about your classmates’ work.

Attendance

• We expect students to attend all classes, arrive on time and to actively participate in class discussions.

• We will impose grade penalties on students who have unexcused absences.

• We reserve the right to consider a student “absent” if he/she is repeatedly late for class.

Grading

• Projects are 50% of the grade.

• Studios are 10% of the grade.

• Class participation is 15% of the grade.

• Final project is 25% of the grade.

Expectations and Grading

• We expect different work from different students.

• Depending on the kind of background you have (I.e., ART/CMPU/FILM/MEDS).

• Depending on the amount of background you have. (E.g., Previous Maya experience.)

• Our grading of students will reflect these differing expectations.

Saving Your Work

• You should not store your ongoing work on the computers in the Sci Vis Lab.

• It might not be there when you return to the lab.• You should save your on the Google Drive

associated with you Vassar email account.• Procedures for saving and restoring your work

are on the class wiki.

Submission of Homework

• Assignments are due at the start of class the date specified.

• Students should submit their project work via Google Drive.

• Detailed submission procedures are on the class wiki page.

Final Portfolio

• Due at the at the end of the semester, when we screen your final projects.

• Should include all studio and project assignments.

• May include revised versions of work we already screened.

• Submit via Google Drive as per instructions on class wiki.

Screening Procedures

• Students’ homework projects will normally be screened on the day they are due.

• Students should be ready to screen their work at the start of class on the screening day.

• Each student should download a rendered, compressed movie file of his/her work to his/her workstation in the Sci Vis Lab.

Lateness Policy

• Late homework will be accepted with a 10% grade penalty.

• But only up until the start of first class after the due date.

• Homework turned any later will receive no credit at all.

Academic Integrity

• You may discuss general ideas with classmates. • You must do each project entirely by yourself, or

with a partner with whom you have been paired. • You must carry out your work using only the

programs and data that we provide to you, except that you may use image files you obtain from others, with proper attribution.

• Vassar regulations require the professor to report suspected violations of academic integrity to the Dean of Studies.

• Read the “Originality and Attribution” pamphlet.

The Myth of Talenthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4502KmBrGFM

Product and Processhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Mq6rkkLS4&list=PL922AD8DC2810139A

Student Work

• Irina Dumitrescu

• Jonas Cuaron

• Willa Koerner

• Sally Slade

• Leigh Johnson

• Kyra Elliott

• Terumi Cox

• Anca Sarb

• Alexandra Meade

• Lauren Dyson

• Rebecca Goldstein

• Mary Catherine Halfpenny

• Megan Lau

• Stephen Matysik

• Kelsey Forest

• Toby Fox

• Gretchen Heinel

• Kiersta His

• Morgan Werner

• William Wheeler