Assignment #4
For this assignment, we will continue to focus on the movements of the mouth, specifically the open mouth. You will show your ability to move the mouth into a relaxed open mouth (a little open, more open, and opened to the max), lower lip stretcher, snarl/disgust, and a smile. You will be using the Valencia rig for this assignment. Keep in mind that even the slightest details can change how the face is read, so make sure the movements you make show the correct expression you want it to be read as. Use the mirrors in the lab and yourself as reference.
First make a new folder in your student folder and label it “assignment_4”
You can get the maya file for the assignment 4 template on the course website or
You can copy and paste “assignment_4_template” from this pathway into your student folder:
\\ntdfs\cs\unix\projects\instr\production1\cse464a_su17_student_files\assignment_files\assignment_4
Once you’ve opened the assignment in Maya, you’ll notice that a neutral expression has been keyed and labeled for all the poses.
000 – Open Mouth – A Little Open
040 – Open Mouth – More Open
080 – Open Mouth – Open to the Max
120 – Lower Lip Stretcher
140 – Snarl/Disgust
160 – Smile
Remember: ONLY MOVE THE MOUTH. You do not need to move the eyes and eyebrows; this assignment is focused on just the mouth movement.
Another reminder: Make sure you are keying your poses!
And a last, very important reminder: SAVE OFTEN! The “Save It” button is a great thing to use to save the different iterations of your entire process. Sometimes Maya freezes and crashes and sometimes something weird happens and you’re unable to get it back to normal. SAVE SAVE SAVE.
Use the “front_face_cam” to see in the view in which you’ll be turning your assignment in. It is highly recommended that you also use perspective and side view as you work on this assignment.
On some of these poses, you might want to turn on the secondary anims. Remember, if you want to turn on the secondary anims, first go to the outliner.
If the outliner is not there, click the outliner button on the left side of the screen to open it.
Inside the outliner, click the plus sign next to the “character” group.
Click on “Girl_Face_topCon” so that it is highlighted in blue.
Go to the channel box on the right side of the screen. Next to “S Face Anim Vis” change the 0 to a 1 and push enter.
If you want to turn off the extra anims, change it back to 0.
For some of the poses we will be opening the mouth. To open the mouth, we will move the jaw anim located on the chin.
Although you are allowed to both move and rotate the jaw, ONLY USE THE ROTATE TOOL. The rotate tool moves the jaw in the correct way. Rotate it forwards/backwards.
The move tool moves the jaw incorrectly, distorting the jaw area.
Only for the “snarl/disgust” and the “smile” pose will require the use of the “curl” and “push” attributes inside the channel box.
For the snarl/disgust, use a combination of both the curl and push attributes on the 3 UPPER lip anims. I suggest using values between 25 to 35 for the curl attribute. For the push attribute use values between -1 to 0.
For the smile, use a combination of both the curl and push attributes on the 3 UPPER lip anims.
For this pose you might want to turn on the secondary anims. It’s important to get a sense of tension in the upper lip, so we will make the top lip look narrowed and stretched with the curl and push attributes. Play around with the different ranges. I suggest using values between -20 to -35 for the curl attribute. For the push attribute use values between -4 to -1
Don't forget to use the cheek anims for the smile!
Before you start playblasting and screenshotting, make sure to click 7 so that the correct lighting is on.
MAKE SURE YOUR ANIMS AREN’T VISIBLE!
AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE IN FRONT_FACE_CAM VIEW!
Screenshot each pose. Name your screenshots:
open_mouth_a_little_open
open_mouth_more_open
open_mouth_open_to_the_max
lower_lip_stretcher
snarl_disgust
smile