Final!

Didn't think I was going to say this but my assignment is final. I've put alot of hours into it and I'm happy with how it turned out. Just a gym with a sunset behind some palmtrees. What more can you wish for right. Well as I said I call this assignment done and I'm already preparing myself for the next one.

This week we're actually doing some very basic animation. The assignment is to animate a bouncing ball. Nothing fancy, it doens't even have to look great. It's just so we learn how to set keys and work with the animation tools in Maya. But I'll try to make it look decent and not like a total disaster. But all that is next week, now let me show you a image of my last assignment...

Here I gave all the objects in the shot a texture, wich took me about...4-5 hours.

And then all that remained was to light the shot. This took me about 2-3 hours. I've put 3 lights outside the gym wich simulate the sunlight, and there's one light in the gym to fill up the room with some extra light.

So there you go. Three weeks in Maya and you'll end up with something like this. Now let's make some basic bouncing ball animation! :)

Maya SpringBoard!

Ok, It's been a while since a posted something, and alot has been going on.

First of all Maya Springboard started 3 weeks ago and we've been doing alot of excersises, wich is good! We started to learn how to navigate around Maya, but I've used Maya before so that wasn't much of a problem. After that we learned some basic moddeling, so creating 3D objects in Maya. After that it got a little harder when we had to create a character. A simple one though, but it was harder then the first assignment.

Now this week were actually working on a set. We have to build a enviroment for our character. I decided to make a gym, because there are alot af props you can put in a gym. Now the set is pretty much ready, still have to tweak some things, but the biggest problem is texturing ang lighthing the scene. That'll be hard since i have never textured or lit anything in Maya before. But i get alot of help from the students here so I don't think it'll be that big of a problem. Now before I go here is what the scene looks like now.

Next week I'll show you the final scene, so texured and lit and all. Still so much to do....

Gearing up...

Ok today I dicided to call my internet provider and upgrade my internet speed. I upgraded my internet connection from 4Mbit Download & 1Mbit Upload to 12Mbit download & 1.5Mbit Upload. I need a faster connection because I dont want any problems while I'm attending AM.

Talking about AM, 3 days ago I got my Username and Password , so now I can actually go into the school for the first time. There's not alot going on yet, just some training video's to teach us how to use the schools website and get used to the tool and interface. But it's pretty cool to see the people behind the school and to see how everything works.

I can't wait to actually begin animating, lets hope the days go fast ; ) The Maya Springboard begins on the 29th of Sept at 12 PM PST, wich in my time is at about 21:00 at night. I guess I'll continue counting down days and read some more books on animation... ( You don't hear me complaining ; )

Almost there....

I woke up today and i realized....just seven more days to go before the account setup begins for the Maya Workshop! Can't believe how fast the days are going! To be honest they're not going fast enough, because im bored senseless at this point...I know alot of people are going to hate me for saying this, but I really have nothing to do all day. And on top of that the weather here in Holland is getting worse every day.

So with nothing to do, bad weather and days passing by like nothing, I decided to continue reading the two books we have to read for AM. The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston and The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. I think I'll start with The Illusion of Life, because it's about the beginning of animation, the Walt Disney company and those classic animations we all know and love.

So I'll let you know how all that goes and I'll be posting again on the 10th :) Till then....

The Beginning...

Today I finally got the GREAT news that I got accepted into the program of Animation Mentor. I've been waiting all week to get the result of my application and now it's official. In the Winter of 2009 I'll be a student of the Animation Mentor Online School.

But before that I have signed up for the so called Maya Springboard Workshop. The Workshop basically teaches us how to use the 3D software Maya and the Animation Mentor online campus tools. I can't believe how fast the days are going.

Anyway...just a few more weeks and it's time to start persuing my dream as a 3D Character Animator!

'' Congratulations Winter Student! You have been accepted into the Winter Term 2009 for the Advanced Studies in Character Animation program at Animation Mentor!

From everyone here at AM, Welcome to Animation Mentor!''

WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!