Learning 3D in Maya and Max

3D modeling and animation is something that I really wish. We have learned a bit of Maya in class, but I wish we could have taken more time to really go in depth with the program and make more 3D animations using it. But thanks to this class I have scratched the surface of Maya, and I am planning as a personal project to learn as much about it as I can to take my VFX to the next level.

But besides Maya, there is another program that I have been desiring to learn and try: 3Ds Max. Its another program very similar to Maya (they both come from Autodesk). And in some ways, I feel like I know how to use this program, and I haven't even used it yet. 

I think the reason for this bold claim is because I watched this particular mini series on YouTube from BrandonJLA about learning 3Ds Max. Brandon is famous for being the 2nd in command to Freddie Wong on YouTube back in the early 2010s. They post a lot of cool videos that have a lot of VFX and 3D animations. The programs that they use to make their videos are After Effects and 3Ds Max. Both of these programs are very comment among YouTube and Independent filmmakers. But like any 3D program, many have found it intimidating to learn 3Ds Max. So Brandon takes the audience through the program, how to use it, how he learned it, and some of the pitfalls of 3Ds Max.

I've watched this series of videos a few times, and somehow I feel like I really understand 3Ds Max on at least a basic level. But I just find it humorous that I feel like I know it, and yet I haven't even used it yet. But I am planning to very soon. 

The only problem is that 3Ds Max is exclusively on PC. You cannot download it for Mac (unless you dual boot your Mac to run a Windows operating system, but that process can be very annoying). And as a Mac user, thats kind of annoying, especially when Maya can be used on both Mac and PC (which is ironic since both programs come from the same company). But hopefully I can dowload it on my familys PC back home (if the specs are at least the minimum that I need to operate it).

But that is a project that I plan to do over the break: learn more about and practice 3D in 3Ds Max and Maya.

If you want to learn 3Ds Max in the future, I highly recommend watching this mini series from Brandon: 

    

Avatar

Last month, the famous Nickelodeon series, Avatar, just concluded the fourth and final chapter of the Legend of Korra. It's amazing to think that an animated series that began in early 2005 consistently entertained so many viewers over the span of ten years. What's even more amazing to realize is that while the characters have changed throughout the series, the style of animation has remained the same. In elementary school, I remember rushing home to catch the latest episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender; a fictional series, based on modern martial arts, that highlights a group of friends who can "use the force" to move the world's elements: water, fire, air, and earth.

The color pallet utilized throughout the series, accompanied by the varying camera shots and object motion tracking draw the viewer into the animated world. Even though each of these characters are fictional, the accuracy of detail in the faces, skin tones, and emotional storyline invite the viewer to befriend Aang and his friends on their journey to save the world (Even the animals resemble real-life animals!).

It's also interesting to note that each of the voice actors for the series physically act out their lines to better interpret the scene and provide strong vocal emphasis to increase the realism of the cartoon. Even the direction of vision for the actor is identical to the cartoon (below). And it's interesting to note that this animation doesn't even incorporate motion capture.

 Give it a watch; you'll enjoy it!

Resident Evil Zombies

You know, I know that the zombies in Resident Evil are CGI. Well, rather the BIG zombies. The "normal people zombies" are  clearly just people in makeup. But I've always wondered about the CGI zombies.

There isn't a lot of information online about the making of these things, but I can do my best to try and describe it as best as I can.

Being a fan of all of the Resident Evil movies, I have been able to see the evolution of the CGI from the first film to the last, and when I tell you how much it's actually changed, it is honestly crazy. In the span of 10 years, the technology has obviously become more and more advanced; so being able to create more intricate and more "gruesome"zombies was becoming more and more possible.

Watching the first movie, the CGI for 2002 was honestly not too bad. But watching the last (2012), oh man was it so much better. The way they were able to improve it to make it look so much more... well.. as real as they can without getting cheesy.

But relating this post to my previous posts, with great detail comes great render time. I was unable to find how much time it took for the render times, however, you can probably guess that it wasn't a short time. But all in all... they made a great movie.

Batman Gotham Knight.

    One of my best friends is obsessed with comics so being the great friend that I am I promised him I would watch this Batman series with him this weekend. It's not that i don't like comics I just never really got that into them however this series definitely might have turned me over to the dark side.
     There are 6 fast paced unique episodes to the series and what I love most is that they all are directed and written by different industry professionals  (Writers: Josh Olson, David S Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg and Alan Burnett; Directors: Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yashuhiro Aoki, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Jong-Sik Nam). This makes the series so interesting to watch. The reason being is that although there is a clear connection in between each episode within the story you really get to see how one idea (batman) being interpreted in so many ways. Its really quite beautiful and it really captures the essence of storytelling and how one story is unique to every viewer.
ENJOY