Assignment #9 (Final Project):
Orca Animation Character Study

Assigned: Thursday, November 29th, 2018
Due: Friday, December 10th @ 10:30 - 12:30 AM

This is your final project. Congratulations! We will be focusing on animation and personality and will connect your final project to our upcoming Capstone film with the working title "Untethered." Each of you have been assigned a whale to research, create planning sheets, find video reference, and animate approximately 15 seconds of motion that will distinguish the personality of your whale from the other seven whales that we have assigned.

You will be expected to use the block model(s) that we provide you and to spend quite a bit of time analyzing how a whale moves, why it moves the way it does and what motion defines its personality. Spend some time just practicing with the model.

The model can be found here: \\csenetid\cs\unix\projects\instr\capstone2\459_character_rigs\orca_block_model

You will assign three adjectives to describe your whale that is different than all of the other whales and then create motion/acting that illustrates your adjectives. You will work on making your whale behavior and acting unmistakably clear. What distinguishes a shy, reticent whale from an outgoing social one? How old is your whale and how does that affect the way it moves? How does it move above and below the water? What else can you do to make your whale distinctive and true to the special quality of that specific whale? You will each work with one other student as you research your whale but you will each create your own animation. When your motion is complete we will combine the motion of all of your whales into one scene and then see how well you do. The first step for each student will be to record video reference ( or find perfect reference) and then to create and upload a planning sheet. You might choose to think about how you can relate to the whale and whale's plight.

Whale Assignments

• Granny (J2)
  • Emily
  • Sabrina
  • Dana
• Tahlequah (J35)
  • Peter
  • Claire
  • Will
• Scarlet (J50)
  • Jose
  • Rebecca
  • Phillip
• Luna (L98)
  • Sherry
  • Ada
  • Andy
• Transient Whale #1 (Note: Find the most interesting one you can and tell show us why their personality is compelling)
  • Alice
  • Ellie
• Transient Whale #2 (Note: Find the most interesting one you can and tell show us why their personality is compelling)
  • Robin
  • Sharanya

Turn the below into Canvas.

• [lastname]_[firstname]_planning_sheet.jpg
• [lastname]_[firstname]_reference_video.mov/avi

You will be submitting files for the specified check-in points above in Canvas. Below is a list of criteria we will be using for grading, in addition to a list of the files you will need to turn in for each part of the assignment along with naming specifications.

Motion Check-In

• Some amount of progress for your Friday check-in.

Grading Criteria

• 24 fps
• 1280x720 for the final playblast resolution
• Scenes should have a water leve/line/plane so that we can see above and below water.
• Camera framed appropriately on the action
• Principles of animation and posing that we have covered thus far
• Weight + Mechanics
  • Does weight shift correctly from each pose to the next?
  • Are there sufficient breakdowns?
• Polish
  • Are there any additional details that further sell your character? Eye blinks and movement, follow through and secondary motion, etc.
  • No pops in the motion
  • No overshooting tangents
  • Motion is snappy, not floaty
  • o We can see the personality of your whale in its motion. We can connect your three adjectives to the acting of each of the whales.
  • Smooth arcs
  • Good timing and spacing!
  • EXTRA CREDIT
  • Borrow the motion of another student in the class and show how the two whales interact