This was my third project using AutoDesk Maya and for this project, a fellow classmate, Kelly Root, who was also in my two previous animation classes, and I decided to team up and make an animation short together. The concept was pitched by Kelly and I really enjoyed it after hearing it from him. It sounded like a very fun project and creative idea.
First off, Kelly has had way more experience than I have when it comes to animating in Maya. Apparently, he's worked with Maya well before he even took the beginning animation course that I took at the same time as my very first Maya experience. His experience showed with the two quality pieces he produced during the two previous semesters we were classmates. I was glad I get to team up with him because I know I would be able to learn a lot from him outside the classroom setting. I'm not saying my professor isn't good at teaching the materials but sometimes, it's a lot better learning from your peers because they're not restricted to the criteria of the class.
For the division of work, we agreed that each of us will have a part in each phase of the developmental process of the animation, from pre-production to post-production. This way, we agreed that if we particular struggle with an area, the other would be there to help and give advice but not to the part where the one struggling doesn't do anything in that area and don't learn anything from the struggles. The only real noticeable division of work between us is that during the modeling process, I did the majority of the environmental modeling and sets & props while Kelly modeled and rigged the two character models. The reason for this division of work during the modeling phase was because I was more comfortable modeling the setting than I am with characters. Also, I struggled a lot with the rigging process during my last project, Tigerade, that I didn't feel comfortable doing it and potential set us significantly back from our schedule. Other than that, we split the work evenly between the two of us through each phase of the development.
During this partnership, I learned a great deal from Kelly, as expected. I learned how to improve my modeling techniques significantly, especially the UV mapping. The most important things I've learned from Kelly is definitely from the animation department. As I have struggled with that area during Tigerade, it was really important to me learn what I can on animating and applying it. I still struggled with some animation as shown in the animation compared to Kelly's portion but looking at the animation done in this animation compared to my previous one, I've made a lot of progress. Still not great with it but at least I'm getting better and improving which is a good sign.
The story for this animation is that a boy genius tries to create a robot that mimics the boy's movements. This is done so through a pair of gloves that the boy wears to control the robot and the robot responds by mimicking the boys movements. Throughout the animation, the boy has trouble calibrating the robot to follow his movements exactly. With all the calibrations the boy has made, the robot eventually began moving on its own free will and eventually escapes from its creator.
This project was the most productive one I've done mainly because of everything I've learned from the more experienced Kelly. I was able to take what I already know and the teachings of Kelly and apply it to this animation. I'm still struggling in the animation department but I like to think I've significantly improved compared to what I've done in Tigerade. The end result of the animation was fantastic and I was happy about how it turned out.
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