Creative Research - What's the initial plan? #1

WORLD BUILDING!?!

My Interests?

Story Telling, Creative Writing, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Concept Art & Visual Development.

What am I doing? [Draft Version]
Story telling is something I have a great passion and interest for, I'd like to take this subject matter and apply it directly to my own creative endeavours; producing visually compelling imagery. Researching various story telling methodology and creative art techniques used across a range of mediums such as film and game; applying them directly to my own creativity.

Why am I doing this? [Draft Version]
I aim to improve my own story-telling skills by observing the methods and techniques of various writers and artists both famous and lesser-known, adapting them for use in conjunction with my own style of creativity, imagination, art and story telling.

What do I want to produce? [Draft Version]
Ideally I would like to walk away from this module with a portfolio of work, produced to a high standard, that would be worth showing off to potential employers. Initially I want to look at creating 2D/3D concept art ranging from; Worlds, Environments, Cultures, Creatures and Characters. Fleshing out a world in full to which I could then attach and build a story around.

Suggested Reading Material:
Film Language - Cinematography.

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Creative Research Module Overview:
#1 - Conduct a self driven research project.
#2 - Produce media outcomes informed by an exploratory journey of enquiry.
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Animation for Games Final Show Reel... #22

Here is the Final Show Reel...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

Final Show Reel Animation Plan (List)... #21

Final Show Reel Animation List:
1- Blob Monster Walk Cycle. [Done]
2- Blob Monster Attack Sequence One. [Done]
3- Blob Monster Attack Sequence Two. [Done]
4- Blob Monster Attack Sequence Three.[Done]
5- Game Character Walk Cycle.[Done]
6- Game Character Attack Sequence. [Done]
7- Wolf Pet Run Cycle. [Done]
8- Sea Creature Idle Cycle. [Done]
9-Sea Creature Attack Cycle. [Done]
10-Sea Creature Death Cycle. [Done]
11-Robot Vehicle Walk Cycle. [Done]
12-Blue Man Walk Cycle One. [Done]
13-Blue Man Walk Cycle Two. [Done]
14-Wings Flapping Cycle. [Done]

Note: 
The above list is in no specific order as of yet.

KEY:
[Done] - Completed Cycles/Events + Rendered Targa Image Sequence.
[...] - Possible Additions If Time Permits.
[...] - Not Done Yet.

Research - Industry Level Animation Sequences... #20

Rain Studio: Loop Cycles For Game...

DOTA2 Game: Courier - Gnome Pig - Walking Animation Set...

CGI Animation Training: "Games Animations Workshop"...

Sea Creature Cycles... #19

The finished Cycles for the Sea Creature - Idle, Attack & Death...

Sea Creature Idle Cycle...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

Sea Creature Attack Event...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

Sea Creature Death Event...

Animation by: Scott Westwater. 

Sea Creature Breathing Cycle... #18

Sea Creature Breathing Cycle Tests...

Nothing really hard here,  it was a pretty straight forward idle sequence to create. The most attention was spent on animating the creatures breathing gills. The rest of the animation just involved a little bit of movement up and down with the main rig controller. The creature's tentacles received a little bit of rotation as well as the head...

The Sea Creature Idle View One...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

The Sea Creature Idle View Two...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

The Sea Creature Idle View Three...

Animation by: Scott Westwater.

The Sea Creature's Gills Animated (Gills Only)...

Animation by: Scott Westwater. 

Research - Idle Animation... #17

Idle Animation Sequence:

An idle cycle is when a game character or creature, in this case the Sea Creature, stops
moving (whether being controlled by the player or not). It usually happens and enters the
idle state when the character/creature is literally doing nothing.

If the character/creature doesn't have an idle cycle animation it would be frozen in place and not move at all, until a different animation cycle or event was triggered. In some cases more than once idle cycle is created for the character/creature.

An example being, Nintendo's Super Mario game for the Nintendo N64. If the player wasn't playing the game or left the controller alone for long enough, the Mario character would stand still, breathing heavily. Every now and again he would look around himself and if the player didn't touch the controls for a few minutes. Mario would look directly at the player wondering why he wasn't moving and eventually he would lie down/sit and fall asleep on the spot.

An Example - Mario Sleeping in Super Mario 64:

As you can clearly see from the video clip above, Mario sits down to start sleeping (Cycle One), then after a short time switches over to lying down on the ground to continue sleeping (Cycle Two).

Other Examples of Mario's Idle Animation:

(Super Mario - Heavy Breathing Idle Cycle Sequence.)

 

(Super Mario - Sitting Down and Sleeping Idle Cycle Sequence.)

Another Example - Ocarina of Time, All Idle Animations:

As the 'Ocarina of Time' video clip shows, having multiple idle cycles can help to make the character(s) seem more alive by limiting the number of repeating actions they do. Thus adding a varying number of cycles to chose from that help to ensure the game/animation on screen doesn't look static or very repetitive for the viewer/player to watch.