Overview

To animate an object in 3D Studio Max I had to identify and utilize a number of the tools that form the foundation of a successful animation. I will briefly discuss the most commonly used tools when animate my film.

The Timeline: This lays out the duration and arrangement of the animation. The duration and frequency of frames can be set using the time configuration and time scale option on the right side of the timeline. The timeline represents the complete set of frames included in the animation and illustrates where behaviours or changes are made at certain points of the animation. To animate an object, key-frames must be set on the timeline by enabling the ‘auto key’. The timeline can be located near the bottom of the 3D Studio Max interface.

Key - Frames: A single key-frame will contain information about an objects attributes such as a change in scale, rotation, alterations to the parameters of a modifier etc… They are crucial to the animation process as they document and record the actions and characteristics of an object. As I have already mentioned, the ‘auto key’ must be enabled before animation and a key-frame can be drawn using the ‘set key’ tool (a manual key-frame) or by making individual changes to the object selected in the timeline which will make an automatic key-frame. The image below shows both the timeline and the key-frame structure in 3D Studio Max.

The Trackview Curve Editor: The trackview curve editor translates the attributes of the key-frame on the timeline into a graphical format. In this view it is easy to edit key-frame positions and characteristics. There are many options available in the trackview which can create interesting effects. A technique I used, which didn’t make the final edit was using ‘out-of-range’ types to loop animated objects e.g. to animate a propeller or a pair of wings. The image below shows the trackview curve editor.

The Main Toolbar and Other Features: To allow easy navigation and use of 3D Studio Max, the main toolbar must be fully exploited. It features some of the most essential tools available when animating. The ‘select and move’ tool can be used to shift the position of an object, and the ‘select and rotate’ tool is used to alter the rotation axis of an object. I found that a combination of the main toolbar and shortcuts increased my work efficiency by a great deal. For example, by simply pressing ‘H’ in 3DS Max I could select objects individually from the ‘object select’ list (also found on the main tool bar). This would save me a lot of time when selecting intricate parts of a scene. ‘Hide selection’ and ‘Freeze selection’ were also used regularly to allow me to concentrate on certain parts of the scene without disrupting other objects. The diagram below highlights some of the available tools.

 Stop-motion 3D Animation  

Animating the characters was one of the most difficult parts of the project. My initial method was to create a rig or bone system for the characters which would make animating limbs far easier. To do this I needed to create a biped, which can be done in 3D Studio Max 6 as part of the Character Studio feature. To setup the character was relatively easy as the biped is fully customisable to suit any kind of shape the character might have. It would also allow predetermined motions such as foot steps to be applied to the biped so the character could be walking in a matter of minutes.

However, I began running into problems when the biped was attached to the mesh via the Physique modifier. My supervisor Fred Weimer helped me put this right in his office but when I recreated the same approach at home the same problem reoccurred. So instead of wasting more time figuring out why this was happening, I moved on and decided that stop-motion animation was the only way forward. This allowed me complete control of every part of the character but was extremely time-consuming.

The process involved key-framing individual limbs of each character, 25 frames per second. So for example the body would be slightly moved, and then the right leg, then the left leg, then the right arm etc…To create bends in the knees and the elbows, the Bend modifier was applied and its parameters altered on the appropriate key-frame. The main advantage of this technique was that it allowed tight control of the complete character. Often relevant model parts of the character would be grouped so that the movement applied to the key-frame would apply to the complete mesh and not just the certain parts. I will now briefly discuss how two of the scenes were animated. For more on the making of the film please see the ‘modelling’ and ‘lighting and effects’ in the ‘making’ section.

Animating Juniper’s Walk --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To bring Juniper alive I gave him a simple walk which involved key-framing his movement using the rotation tool and adding convincing sound effects using a recording of my fingers tapping (please see composing music section). To do this I first had to configure the scene ready to be animated. To ensure the animation was running at the correct speed of 25 frames per second (British Standard) the time configuration and scale time were setup accordingly. As Juniper’s walk cycle only consists of two key movements, 45 degrees to either side, I grouped his entire mesh before animating his walk cycle. His movements were key-framed appropriately by switching on ‘Auto Key’ mode and using the ‘set key’ button on the relevant frame. Then the sound was synced in Adobe Premiere on two separate tracks, one video and one audio track.

Animating Juniper Flying through Ravensville ----------------------------------------------------------------

To give Juniper a smooth flight I used the ‘path constraint’ option. I drew the path (which will not be rendered as it is an unmodified spline) using the line tool and edited its vertex structure under the selection drop down menu (similar to the editable poly drop down). Then Juniper was grouped and named accordingly before using the path constraint to constrain Juniper to the path. I started animating his flight at frame 7 and ended on 99. To make the flight more natural, the curve editor was used to slow down the speed towards frame 71. The advantage of using the path constraint is that the object, in this case Juniper would only move along the path and no extensive key-frame animation would be required. If at any point in any key-frame animation the grouped object is ungrouped, all the key-frame data will be lost so I was very careful to plan the animations before deciding whether to group objects that were to be animated.