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Final

Comp Finished

Everything is done. I just have to add in the mastered audio file.

Update 18

Finished Rendering (Mostly)

I have rendered all the shots but may need to re-render some frames that seem to be glitchy. I have done most of the compositing when it comes to adjusting the lights, glow, and DOF. I am really happy with how it is looking. I also made a 3D title for it and am adjusting the lighting for that as well. The title was inspired by the Disney title for the Tiana series. I added the most recent version of the sound design which needs some small adjustments and finalizing with the composition and mixing. Everything is very close to being done!

Update 17

Rendering

I finished rendering most of the shots except for the ones that involve the albums because I am still finishing some illustrations for the photographs. There are some frames I need to re-render including the lighting glitches during the CD stack shot and anklets shot. I want to fix all the problems and have all renders ready for comp by the end of the week. I still need to work on depth of field, but I am happy with how everything is turning out so far.

Sound Design

The sound design is coming along well. There is work to be done on mixing and having fluid transitions, but that will be more near week 9. Daniel also came up with a piano composition that is very fitting of the melancholy and nostalgic theme of this short. I gave my input on how I'd like more layering and fullness to the piece. I especially want it to have an impact when we reach the albums shot over-looking the photographs.

Update 16

Shot 05

I did an initial render of Shot 05 and it went very smooth since I figured out the texture problem. I did notice that the reflections on the CD covers change in the middle of the shot due external geometry being hidden after being passed. I did this to optimize the scene but will change it back so the reflections stay consistent. I should have all of the rendered shots as well as initial sound design and composition by Class 15.

Troubleshooting and Shot 04

I added some tassels to the rug because it seemed too plain without them. I also added some spiderweb opacity maps to some more parts of the shot. Some textures would show up as pink (disappear) when I uploaded the file onto the render farm. I am not sure why certain object had this problem, but I solved it by taking each of those objects and making them into a new combined object so that the old identity would disappear. This allowed the textures to show up in the farm again. I believe the farm was causing the issue since other objects with the same textures rendered fine on the farm and the error objects rendered fine locally. I finally rendered the beginnings of Shot 4!

Update 15

Texturing and Shot 03

I finished the illustrations for the prayer area in Shot 3. I originally wanted to render the shot, but still need some more time. I finished modeling the Krishna swing and added labels and ripped tape to the boxes. I also remodeled the jasmine garlands and still want to add different colors to them. I fully rendered one frame of Shot 3 and there is gladly not much noise that I have to fix.

Sound

I also talked to the sound designer who has drafted the first 30 seconds of the animation and gave some notes on it. My mom found video tapes of my singing and dance performances from when I was little, so I want to incorporate those in the animation. I am really excited with how everything is coming along so far.

Update 14

Texturing and Modeling Detail Shot 03

I added more detail to the prayer pots' textures such as vermillion and turmeric powder and subtle changes in types of metals used to create more variation. I am also working on adding decorative detail to the Krishna Swing model. I may not have time to model more props and will probably get some free models to set dress and have more clutter.

Modeling Detail, Shot 02, and Shot 03

I rendered out Shot 02 and slightly modified the Shot 01. The first two shots are officially done now! For Shot 03 (with the prayer shelf), I added jasmine flower garlands and bead necklaces to the god photos to add more authenticity to the scene. I am also going to age the lamp light and the prayer area textures more. I also need to change the illustrations slightly to be consistent. I should be done with this shot out by the end of the week.

Update 13

Shot 01

I spent a lot of time troubleshooting to get the noise out and lower render time. This was the most difficult shot due to the low light level which was giving me noise. I brought in the different light AOVs into Nuke to get rid of the small amount of residual noise and make the lights slightly more vibrant. Below are all the light AOVs. For the orange light in the living room, I use one light to make the path in the door way and another to be the bounce light. I turned off indirect light for both of these so they would only hit the surfaces once. Since I no longer had to depend on a single light for both the direct and indirect light, the noise was eliminated.

Update 12

Sound Design List

Opening Shot - Cricket noises

Clock Shot - Ticking sound, faded cricket noises

Shelf Shot - Light electric buzz

Krishna Shot - Little swing's metal creaking

Voice Recorder Shot - Recorder scraping against box as it falls over, click of button, sound of kids singing traditional Indian Sangeetham

Anklets Shot - Singing fading into Indian dance sound with anklets dancing to beat

Indian Clothes Shot - Anklets fading to song

Albums Shot - song

Zoom out from albums - Light buzz gets louder again

Ending Shot - Cricket noises and another clock tick sound

Update 11

Texturing and Rendering

All of the main textures are done for the assets. I created a gold border for the Indian clothes in Substance Designer. I had a lot of fun and learned a bit more on how to make patterns. The whole pattern was made solely in Substance Designer using the SVG tool and some preset patterns and noise. I exported the border as a material into Substance Painter where I applied it on to the iridescent silk which was made in Substance Painter.

 

 I also have been working on getting the scene ready to render and get rid of noise. I did render out a test animation, but I found some problems with some textures not showing up. I also made some changes to some textures such as the roughness and normal of the wood shelf and the bump on the boxes, because they looked odd. The last things I want to do is change the illustrations I used for all of the photos into a consistent style which I do not find them to be in currently.

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I was originally going to do a second scene, but I may just limit it to this one. I believe this scene shows the story well and want to use the photos on the album to give more context to the objects that the camera travels through rather than use them as a transition into another scene.

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I am also working on the breakdowns for the assets as you can see above. I will be adding a background, but this is my current set up for the turnarounds.

Update 10

Texturing

I finished UVing everything and finished some more textures of the albums and the boxes. I am currently working on the illustrations for the photos and books.

Update 9

Lighting and Texturing

I focused a lot on lighting this week. I am proud of how the opening shot is turning out and finished most of the textures for it. I am not sure if there are too many lights going on in the first shot though. I also textured the voice recorder and began on the books. For the dark areas in the box canyon, I added a flashlight as another light source but am not sure if it works yet.

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For the second half of the week, I textured the anklets and the little Etch-A-Sketch toy. I also added another light source to highlight the anklets since it still looks too dark even with the flashlight. I want to continue texturing and at least finish texturing the boxes and albums as well as render my turntables and have rendered stills for my shots. It would be nice to fully render out my first two shots but that may not happen.

Update 8

I textured the couch and finished texturing the stereo and ukulele. I brought in the textures from Substance to Maya and rendered out some frames. Because I decided that the Indian dance clothes should be an important part of the scene, I changed the camera move to show off more of the clothing in detail. I plan on making fabric material in Substance Designer.

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I also played around with sound more and found a really nice melody to go with the animation. It is far from finalized, but the sound gives off a better vibe and flow than from before.

Update 7

Clothes Sim

I imported the Indian dance clothes from Marvelous and used nCloth to sim it over the hangers. It is really nice that they are already UVed and I just have to make a few adjustments.

UVing

I UVed more assets. For the baby Krishna, I brought the low poly version into Maya to UV and transferred the UVs to the high poly version in Zbrush using UV master. I learned that deleting history and freezing transformations makes unfolding a lot easier and more proportional.

Texturing

I began texturing as well. I baked the high poly onto the low poly of Krishna. Baking also allows me to use smart masks to add extra details to the crevices and curves of the asset. For the wooden shelf, I made a wood material in Substance Designer which I really enjoyed.

Update 6

Lighting

I began blocking out the lighting. I want everything outside of the closet to have a somber night time feeling while the closet and memories are more warm. These are not the final colors of the lights but are just a test. I really like how the light is casting through the door. The overall lighting in the closet looks ok, but there is still a lot to think about when lighting the areas between the boxes since they are quite dark right now. I want the shadows to have a slight purple saturation as well, to make the scene a little more vibrant.

Marvelous Designer

My first approach to modeling the Indian clothes in Zbrush did not turn out like I wanted. I decided to use Marvelous Designer which was a bit of a learning experience. It was really interesting that I had to have partial knowledge of sewing patterns to draw out my own clothing pieces. It seemed as if I was drawing out the UVs for the clothes before even simulating them. Getting the fan-like pattern for the front piece was especially difficult, but I am glad with how the outfit is turning out. 

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Rather than having the clothes falling out of the box like I originally planned, I want to make these clothes pretty detailed and prominent in the scene. I will have them hanging from a hanger on a clothing rack instead so that the whole piece is shown and exemplifies my background.

UVing

I also began uving some of the finished assets such as the lamp and wooden shelf. I had to fix some topology while doing so but am glad to get started on texturing.

Update 5

Modeling and Concept Lighting

I added more props to fill the living room and closet to make it feel more lived in. I refined the models more and want to begin texturing even though there are still more models to be made. I didn't get a chance to make the traditional Indian clothes yet but have been researching and looking at Marvelous Designer tutorials to understand it. I am a lot happier with how the style is going and how everything is coming together. I also did a concept lighting set up with the opening shot to demonstrate the atmosphere I want to portray.

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I was also able to create a new animatic, but am still having trouble with smoothing out the camera moves. I fixed the stereo model as it showed faceting before. I still need to go back to fix some topology and bevel the edges of the boxes so they are not so sharp.

Update 4

Stylizing and Modeling

I finally sculpted the Indian dance anklets in Zbrush and also added hands and feet to the baby Krishna and adjusted its proportions. I also modeled more of the ukulele. I don't have much experience with modeling stylized assets so after blocking everything out, I began experimenting and researching what type of style I want to create. I began warping the assets and getting rid of parallel lines. I am happy with how the shelf is turning out and want to add wooden planks to the floor as well.

Update 3

Second Environment and Animatic

I began blocking out the childhood home environment even though I was not planning to originally. I did so because I realized that creating an animatic would be really helpful to experiment with transitions from the first to the second environment, to see if the shots are coherent together, and to figure out what I want to do with the sound design and if my concept of multiple audios would work.

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While creating the animatic, I found some shots that may need more time to settle and some that can be cut shorter. I also found that multiple audios are a bit hard to portray since they may sound like abrupt switches rather than smooth transitions. I still need work on the shots but am glad to have a basis.

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I also modeled the dance anklets in Zbrush and added fingers and toes to the baby Krishna statue. For the anklets, I made an Insert Mesh brush for the little bells that go on the leather which made the process father.

Week 2

More Detail

I did more blocking and began adding more detailed objects. I started modeling a baby Krishna figurine and traditional dance clothes in Zbrush. I hadn't used Zbrush in a while, so it took some time to understand and get used to it again. I may decide to use Marvelous Designer for the clothes though.

Update 1

Blocking Environment

This week, I solidified my concept, gathered references for the assets I want to include, created a shot list for the closet environment, and began blocking out the closet in Maya. I am starting with the large and simple assets first. For the God figurines and dance clothes, I want to use Zbrush since they are more organic. That will be a learning experience since I have only worked with Zbrush a few times and will also have to re-topologize the assets in Maya. I am excited to make the models more stylized soon.

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