Face Robot Animation

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izze
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Face Robot Animation

Post by izze » 28 Dec 2010, 16:47

Hello everyone. I am trying very hard to expand my skill set so I can broaden my employment opportunities. So I spent some time working in Face Robot for lip sync animation. It is difficult for me to steer clear of the uncanny valley, but I think I am getting better with each attempt. This is also my first try and animating hair, so I want to thank Mathaeus for letting me drive him crazy with all my questions.

Even though I am very proud of my finished product. Please provide criticism, as I am very eager to improve my work.

[flv]http://www.christopher-mccabe.com/animation/lg/godfather.flv[/flv]

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Hirazi Blue
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by Hirazi Blue » 28 Dec 2010, 17:22

Impressive... :-bd
(Was this all done by hand or was there mocap involved also?)
If I had to criticize, I'd mention the eyes.
Somehow the blinking bothers me.
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

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3DTutorial
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by 3DTutorial » 28 Dec 2010, 20:52

Nice job!

The further down the road to realism you travel the more difficult the task becomes, so I think you've done a excellent job...this isn't easy.

I have to agree, I find the eye blinks perhaps too noticeable. I think they might benefit from being a bit not so "in your face" so to speak.

Again, impressive work.

Cheers,

Joe
Certified Softimage Instructor & Old Timer
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Nizar
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by Nizar » 28 Dec 2010, 21:06

Impressive! Congratulation :ymapplause:

Agree about eyes: look a bit "death" (sorry, cannot explain better...

izze
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by izze » 29 Dec 2010, 01:53

Great, thanks for the feedback. The eyes seem to be my biggest issue. There was a recent post on CG Talk about the eyes being the most important feature when it comes to realism. I still don't have the shader correct. And, I still have yet to find a good setup for the reflections etc. I have a few ideas and hope my next shader will look more real.

I had the eye blinks setup to blink a little faster in the beginning, but felt that the mood of the audio track required a slower blink. This could possibly be allowing more time to notice all the problems. Also I need to learn how to start sculpting my heads with the eyes closed. When I sculpt with the eyes open I get a harsh crease on the eyelid when they are closed. And that looks a little odd when blinking.

To answer your question Hirazi, there is no mocap. All hand key. I did the lip sync first. Then the eye blinks. Then the eye movements. Then I animated the head movement.

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3DTutorial
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by 3DTutorial » 29 Dec 2010, 02:09

izze wrote:Great, thanks for the feedback. The eyes seem to be my biggest issue. There was a recent post on CG Talk about the eyes being the most important feature when it comes to realism. I still don't have the shader correct. And, I still have yet to find a good setup for the reflections etc. I have a few ideas and hope my next shader will look more real.

I had the eye blinks setup to blink a little faster in the beginning, but felt that the mood of the audio track required a slower blink. This could possibly be allowing more time to notice all the problems. Also I need to learn how to start sculpting my heads with the eyes closed. When I sculpt with the eyes open I get a harsh crease on the eyelid when they are closed. And that looks a little odd when blinking.

To answer your question Hirazi, there is no mocap. All hand key. I did the lip sync first. Then the eye blinks. Then the eye movements. Then I animated the head movement.

Hey, thanks for sharing a bit about your workflow...awesome!

Very inspirational work, I can't wait to see how far you can push this -- you are certainly off to a brilliant start!

Keep us posted on your developments, I'll certainly be watching :-bd

Cheers,

Joe
Certified Softimage Instructor & Old Timer
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Rork
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by Rork » 29 Dec 2010, 10:10

Indeed, great start. :ymparty:

What you have to concentrate on now is the emotion in the face so it will fit the audio. It's fairly emotional, and that is not reflected in the face atm.
I would suggest more expression in the eye area and forehead/brows for starters.

rob
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SamHowell
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by SamHowell » 31 Dec 2010, 22:44

Good work so far.

If you ask me the eyes are everything. Nothing screams Uncanny Valley more than dead, lifeless eyes. Human eyes are never still, there is always some kind of movement even if it those movements are almost imperceptible.

As everyone else has mentioned, you must pay attention to the blinks. The timing and placement of blinks are a crucial clue to your characters emotion. Use them to emphasise and punctuate the dialogue. At the moment they seem random (a nice trick is to offset the blink of one eye by one frame compared to the other, that way they seem less mechanical). Don't worry about the shaders more than the movement. Your audience will always notice something wrong with the animation before they register anything else.

izze
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Re: Face Robot Animation

Post by izze » 01 Jan 2011, 00:28

Yes, that's a great idea to offset the blink for each eye. I will remember that one. Thanks for the tip.

Thank you all for the feedback. Every bit helps.

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