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Studio CG Modelling/Animation Project

Started by WP Rayner, May 25, 2019, 12:21:56 PM

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WP Rayner

Thanks Dave. Lol, I'm OCD too...watch the screws closely... they do rotate as they explode (a little too quickly to see as the explode is fairly sudden, only 5 frames, 1/6 second) and rotate again at a slower speed as the Tourbillon is assembled, slow enough to see if you focus on the screws. The clay is very useful and I do it on all my renderings for the same reason that car designers often use clay models... it's an excellent way to test forms without the distractions and perception distortions that can happen with various colours and materials, test how the forms appear with lighting and, in an animation, test if the actions and movement are what is desired.

Yes, in the finished animation all parts are fully textured in photo-real materials: various golds, polished and machined steels, brass, and ruby for all the jewels. The real challenge in this project was animating the "breathing" hairspring. The inboard end is mounted to the balance wheel arbor which rotates both clockwise and counter-clockwise with the balance wheel while the outboard end is fixed to the Tourbillon frame and does not rotate relative to the balance arbor and wheel. The spring coils expand and contract (breathing) with the opposing rotation of the balance wheel while the whole assembly rotates around the drive wheel at 1 rpm. In real life the entire assembly is roughly the diameter of a dime.
Paul

Stay low, keep quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.

Dave Fischer

I guess there's NOT a lot of time for the screws to seat-- yes, they DO turn! You can be justifiably proud of the action of the mainspring. That was certainly not a simple task defining the ever-changing dynamics of a spiral. Hard enough just to draw, much less making it move!  Keep it coming...   DF

Ray Dunakin

Wow, that watch model/animation is terrific! Should be really impressive when fully textured.
Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

finescalerr


WP Rayner

#34
Here is a link to the finished Haldimann Tourbillon animation plus a selection of frame stills which I completed in January. I had intended to post the link here earlier but have had to focus on other studio work and some distracting health issues over the past couple of months, nothing particularly serious but enough to force you to reassess your priorities.

And Dave, I took your suggestion and increased the frame sequences of the threading screws during assembly. You still have to watch closely, but it is easier to pick up the rotating screws!


Paul
Paul

Stay low, keep quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.

finescalerr

I've seen worse. It's good to have you back. -- Russ

Ray Dunakin

Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

SandiaPaul

Outstanding. I was wondering where you went. Take care of yourself!
Paul

Bill Gill


Dave Fischer

Paul-- I have watched the new version a couple dozen times and am still finding more to see. My illustrator's hat is off to you. Also very interested in the Gnome 9 on your portfolio page-- I am right NOW drafting an Uberursel UR-II, the Gnome's twin, for a possible large-scale Fokker D-VIII. Your cylinder head detail is much more clear than any photo I have seen. Anxious for more!   DF


WP Rayner

#40
Thank you gents, I appreciate the feedback... hope everyone is healthy and staying safe.

Quote from: Dave Fischer on April 08, 2020, 04:37:44 PM
Paul-- I have watched the new version a couple dozen times and am still finding more to see. My illustrator's hat is off to you. Also very interested in the Gnome 9 on your portfolio page-- I am right NOW drafting an Uberursel UR-II, the Gnome's twin, for a possible large-scale Fokker D-VIII. Your cylinder head detail is much more clear than any photo I have seen. Anxious for more!   DF
Dave:  I have a STEP file of the complete 9-cylinder engine which you are welcome to if it would be of any assistance to you. It's just under 55MB, so I could transfer it to you via. Dropbox if you're interested.

Paul
Paul

Stay low, keep quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.

WP Rayner

#41
It's been quite some time since I posted on this project. I made some major changes to the main character a couple of years ago, but never rendered it as I had shut down the studio, due largely to the pandemic - business vaporized. Unfortunately the proposed animation for this character is not going to happen, but I decided to render the revised character, both for fun, and to get back up to speed on the CG process (bit rusty after a two-year absence) as I now have to complete a watch animation for a client that had been put on hold for almost four years due to funding issues and the pandemic. So here is Melvin in his revised form: (Note: This is a new version of the image published a couple of days ago. There were issues with rendition of the original image on more generic monitors that tend to have a more limited contrast and tonal range than my studio monitor, resulting in banding, especially in dark gradients. Something I forgot to test prior to uploading the first image.. still a little bit rusty.)

melvin0922b.jpg
Paul

Stay low, keep quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.

finescalerr

Ol' Mel looks like a real, um, thing that somebody photographed. Not bad. -- Russ

Stuart

Wonderful creativity, modeling and rendering.  Sorry your Melvin project had to be scrapped after all.

I can attest to the extensive time and effort that goes into computer animation.  Early in my graphic art career I worked on a simple animation relating to the medical field.  It was of a series of blood cells twisting and turning to fit through a capillary and then expanding again upon exiting into a larger vein.  Kind of boring really.  Not much creativity associated with it.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

WP Rayner

Thanks Russ and Stuart. I just uploaded a new version of the render to the previous post to overcome some rendition issues with generic monitors as noted in the post... so, you're not losing your short-term memory!

You are absolutely correct Stuart about the extensive time and effort required in CG animation. The technology has changed so much, just in the past two years that I had the studio shut down, which also complicates the process when trying to get back up to speed. It's so complex now, most CG artists have to specialize in just one technical discipline; ie character modelling, environment modelling, rigging, animation, lighting, material development, effects, compositing, and on and on. Just look at the credits for any current animated film or film with a lot of CG effects to get an idea of how many artist hours are required... it's staggering.
Paul

Stay low, keep quiet, keep it simple, don't expect too much, enjoy what you have.