Friday, 8 November 2019
Disney Animation’s Matterhorn Advances Particle Graphics
In 2016 Disney released a paper about a software called Matterhorn. Matterhorn is a physics-based graphics, which was behind creating the 2013 Disney film Frozen. By using Material Point Method (MPM), it allows the animators to create highly efficient large quantities of snow to interact with characters when simulated. In 2016 Disney upgraded the software to be able to stimulate more materials such as: mud, foam and sand.
How Matterhorn works
"Snow is a complex substance; on one hand it consists of individual grains and snowflakes, but on the other hand because each flake is so tiny as a mass they behave like a fluid. The Material Point Method uses both Cartesian grids and particles to represent the substance, and controls the strengths of each representation."
"Particles are the key illustration of the material. Every particle has a position, velocity, mass, deformation and further properties that control the appearance of the snow, such as stiffness, wetness, and breaking threshold. Each phase of the simulation upon the previous level. Since particles are not a decent base for computing material forces, they are primarily rasterized to a Cartesian grid, where the force computation is less complicated. These material forces act back on the particles, altering their velocities. Lastly, the particles are advected with their new velocities, generating the next frame of the simulation."
"Disney’s Matterhorn takes away the tedious work and helps the artist focus on the creative side of the project by solving animation production challenges like repetitive illustration of complex materials (snow, sand, water, fire, etc.). The video below provides greater detail."
https://gfxspeak.com/2016/08/19/animations-matterhorn-graphics/
https://www.disneyanimation.com/technology/innovations/matterhorn
Proposal
The
importance of how pathetic fallacy in visual effects can complement a character’s
temperament when used to reflect their emotions.
I propose
for this dissertation, that I will explore how visual effects can be used to
convey a character’s emotional state (pathetic fallacy), and how this use of
pathetic fallacy may change the amount of empathy the audience has towards a
character. By doing this, it will enable me to expand my 3D visual effects skills
in “Maya”, and further my knowledge of how psychology can be used to increase the
connection between an audience and an animation.
The first type
of research I will be conducting will consist of analysing a range of films (hybrid,
2D and 3D animated) to form a case study. To decide on what films to watch I will
be talking to peers, tutors, and using my own knowledge. With this starting
information, I will then watch and listen to interviews of the animators and directors
who have worked on the films chosen. By doing this, I will gain a better insight
as to how they are made and what the thought processes were behind them. Also, I
will be reading articles, books, and journals to understand empathy in relation
to an audience.
To further
my knowledge of ‘Maya’, I will be reading books and watching tutorials online
to ensure I have a greater understanding of how elemental visual effects move
within a 3D environment.
For my
primary research, I will be talking to professionals within the psychology and VFX
field via email. By doing this, I am hoping for original information on both the
subject areas of what they have experienced, and what they know within their area
of expertise.
The main case
study I will be investigating will be the relationship ‘Elsa’ (from Frozen)
has with snow, and how it’s used to reflect her emotions. I will also be exploring
animated characters such as ‘Te Ka’ (from Moana) and ‘Anger’ (from Inside
Out). Additionally, I will be looking into how pathetic fallacy is used in
the theatre using smoke, light and sound. By doing this I will have additional examples
of the use of pathetic fallacy, and the different degrees in which it relied upon
to enhance the emotional narrative.
My
practical outcome for this dissertation will be a series of short animations of
a neutral character physically displaying a range of emotions in different scenarios,
with 3D visual effects mirroring this. To ensure there is another animation to
compare this by, there will be the same neutral character performing the same
actions, but without the visual effects. By doing this, the audience will be
able to indicate if the visual effects are more useful in certain situations and
whether they will in turn have more empathy for the character.
Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Study Task 8 - Reflective Writing
The question of my practical based is, "Does the use of using the ‘Gestalt Theory’ of visual perception, help to create a more effective ‘Alice in Wonderland’ background?". Therefore, in the practical part of my project, it is about how to create a more visually pleasing background. The reasoning behind this is because I would like to enhance my skills at drawing my interesting backgrounds for future projects. I believe that it is best to focus my on the outlines than colours if I don’t have enough time, as sketching the perspective and getting Gestalts principles are more important.
The main principles that I have been looking at are proximity, similarity, enclosure, symmetry, closure, continuity, connection and figure and ground. I have been focusing more on the use of symmetry and figure and ground because it creates a more interesting image. Whilst researching these principles, I have watched the 1949,1951 and 2010 ‘Alice in Wonderland'; read the book (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and played the game 'Alice: Madness Returns'. The reason behind this, is so I can get more of a sense of how the characters interact within their scenes and whether Alice has changed as a character through the years. Also, it gives me the ability to compare different forms of media.
My end goal for this project is to become a much better artist who can break more barriers whilst drawing. I believe that this is important as it will hopefully make my work stand out from the rest. For the rest of the project, I hope to create more backgrounds and possibly colour at least one in.
The main principles that I have been looking at are proximity, similarity, enclosure, symmetry, closure, continuity, connection and figure and ground. I have been focusing more on the use of symmetry and figure and ground because it creates a more interesting image. Whilst researching these principles, I have watched the 1949,1951 and 2010 ‘Alice in Wonderland'; read the book (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and played the game 'Alice: Madness Returns'. The reason behind this, is so I can get more of a sense of how the characters interact within their scenes and whether Alice has changed as a character through the years. Also, it gives me the ability to compare different forms of media.
My end goal for this project is to become a much better artist who can break more barriers whilst drawing. I believe that this is important as it will hopefully make my work stand out from the rest. For the rest of the project, I hope to create more backgrounds and possibly colour at least one in.
This is my first drawing that I did from the 'Alice:Madness Returns' game. I believe that this picture as a sketch, doesn't have much interesting to it.
Using a couple of images as inspiration, I drew this on Photoshop using the symmetry tool. I used different 'Gestalts' principles such as symmetry and figure and ground to create this. I believe by drawing in this manor for an 'Alice in Wonderland' style drawing is perfect.
That was created in the same manor as above. By drawing this piece in this way, it creates a hierarchy of chairs. This is good as Alice's seat is at the top of the table and she is a great importance of 'Wonderland'.
This piece was created the same as the previous two. As well as the principle symmetry, another principle called continuity was added. this can be seen with the use of the arrows. The reason for the arrows is to show the urgency of 'Alice' needing to go down the rabbit hole.
Study Task 6 - Planning a Practical
I intend to visually
and practically investigate ➜ How different techniques in films is
used to reflect the era of the character of ‘Alice’ in different
interpretations of the book, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
In order to do this I
will:,.
(complete the
following sections with specific examples, and a brief explanation of how you
have made these decisions)
Primary Research
Identify, collect,
record and evaluate visual material from the following sources:
- Watch ‘Alice in Wonderland’ 2010 and 1949
- read the book
- play ‘Alice:
Madness Returns’
-collect data from surveys I’ve made
Secondary research
Draw, photograph,
record and develop my own visual material through the following activities:
-I will draw my own backgrounds using ‘Gestalts Theory’
-Take pictures of relevant places
- research into
‘Gestalts theory’
- research how woman were perceived around the times of when
each of the films, books or games was released and whether it influenced the
main character Alice.
Media & Processes
Visually and
practically explore my subject using the following media and processes:
I will use:
-Photoshop
-Illustrator
Context
Contextualise,
reference, analyse my work in relation to the following
practitioners/disciplines:
-Salvador Dali
-Mary Blair
-Tim Burton
- Aymeric Kevin
Study Task 5 - Practical Approaches
This website is really interesting as it give you details about Lewis Carroll and how he created the story.
"The story of how ‘Lewis Carroll’, the pen-name of Oxford don Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), created what he called his ‘fairy-tale of Alice’s adventures underground’ is immortalised in ‘All in the Golden Afternoon’, the poem that forms a preface to the book. The poem relates how Carroll’s young friend, Alice Liddell, and her two sisters demanded a story to pass the time when they were boating on the river Thames one summer’s afternoon.
Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out –
And now the tale is done.
Carroll turned the story into a handmade book for Alice Liddell, complete with illustrations he drew himself. Carroll’s drawings feature a dark-haired girl much more like Alice Liddell than Tenniel’s vision of Alice, and the book is full of references to the shared social and imaginative world Carroll and his young friend inhabited in and around Oxford. For instance, during the Mad Tea-Party the Dormouse tells a story about three little sisters, Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie, who live at the bottom of a treacle-well. As Martin Gardner points out in The Annotated Alice, the sisters’ names are coded references to the three Liddle (little) sisters: L.C. refers to Lorina Charlotte, Tillie is a corruption of Matilda, the family name for Edith, while Lacie is an anagram of Alice.[1]The Treacle Well refers to holy well associated with St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford (‘treacle’ is an ancient term for a healing compound). Alice’s father, the Dean of Christ Church College where Charles Dodgson lived and taught mathematics, had recently commissioned a window in the saint’s honour for the college chapel. No doubt the Liddell sisters shared the fictional Alice’s perplexity at the idea of a well filled with treacle."
Salvador Dali has created many wonderful pieces of surrealistic artwork, which could be perfect inspiration for backgrounds."Dalà created twelve heliogravures for the occasion—one illustration for each chapter—as well as a four-color etching as the frontispiece. Only 2,700 of the edition were printed, and the artist signed each original etching."
https://mymodernmet.com/salvador-dali-alice-in-wonderland/
This is one of the films that I would like to watch and use.
This give more indication as to what type of character Alice is and how to portray her brackgrounds.
"Alice is reasonable, well-trained, and polite. From the start, she is a miniature, middle-class Victorian "lady." Considered in this way, she is the perfect foil, or counterpoint, or contrast, for all the unsocial, bad-mannered eccentrics whom she meets in Wonderland. Alice's constant resource and strength is her courage. Time and again, her dignity, her directness, her conscientiousness, and her art of conversation all fail her. But when the chips are down, Alice reveals something to the Queen of Hearts — that is: spunk! Indeed, Alice has all the Victorian virtues, including a quaint capacity for rationalization; yet it is Alice's common sense that makes the quarrelsome Wonderland creatures seem perverse in spite of what they consider to be their "adult" identities."
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/critical-essays/alice-as-a-character
I would also like to look at the 2010 Alice in Wonderland and compare it to the book and the 1949 film made in France.
"Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American dark fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton. The film stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, and Mia Wasikowska, and features the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall. Loosely inspired by Lewis Carroll's fantasy novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and Walt Disney's animated film of the same name from 1951, the film tells the story of a nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh, who is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne, with the help of the Mad Hatter. She is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Underland's inhabitants. In this situation, Alice fights against the Red Queen to protect the world.
The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and shot in the United Kingdom and the United States. The film premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010, and was released in Australia on March 4, 2010, and the following day in the United Kingdom and the United States through the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats as well as in conventional theaters. It is also the second-highest-grossing film of 2010.
Alice in Wonderland received mixed reviews upon release; although praised for its visual style and special effects, the film was criticized for its lack of narrative coherence and overuse of computer-generated imagery (CGI). The film received three nominations at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland won Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and was also nominated for Best Visual Effects. The film generated over $1 billion in ticket sales and became the fifth highest-grossing film of all time during its theatrical run.[6]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(2010_film)
I need to know exactly what Visual Perception is so I have a better idea of how to use it.
"What is visual perception?
Visual perception refers to the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is not the same as visual acuity which refers to how clearly a person sees (for example “20/20 vision”). A person can have 20/20 vision and still have problems with visual perceptual processing."
https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/fine-motor-skills/visual-perception/
This video a short clip of me playing the 'Alice:Madness Returns' game. I have done this so I can use the scenes as inspiration for my work.
Study Task 4 - Introduction
What is
the psychology behind the backgrounds in the different interpretations of
‘Wonderland’ in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and how do they contrast
from one another?
Throughout this project I will answer the question, ‘What is the psychology
behind the backgrounds in the different interpretations of ‘Wonderland’ in
‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and how do they contrast from one another?’. This will be answered by comparing a number of different interpretations of
the classic ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’, published in 1865 by Macmillan
Children’s Books and written by Charles L. Dodgson who used the pseudonym Lewis
Carroll. The backgrounds of the world ‘Wonderland’ (talked about in the
narrative), will be compared to see if each illustration is what is portrayed in
the book. This will be explored by collecting different forms of research such
as images, animations, articles and books. By using this research there will be
a clearer understanding of what is the most accurate representation of
‘Wonderland’ and if there is still the same ‘world of excitement and nonsense’
(Quinton E.G.C), that Charles Dodgson and his family loved and is still loved today
by many.
Study Task 3 - Images and Theory
This give me a much clearer understanding of what I should be focusing on when producing my essay.
Study Task 2: Reading and Understanding Texts
The reason why I have shown four different texts is because I need to fully understand the topic in which I am studying.
In the book Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud states, "Dream is defined as the mental activity of the sleeper in as much as he is asleep". This therefore means that when asleep, the brain is just working through the what has just happened through the day.
Another favourite quote is from a book called Dreams by Carl Gustav Jung, "Freud says that every dream represents the fulfillment of a repressed wish.". This is a great way to look at something even scientists don't fully understand to this day.
Saturday, 27 April 2019
Research into the Psychology of Design, Composition and Layout
I believe that to fully understand layout and composition within a background, I need to research the psychology behind it. With this mind, I have investigated many different theory's and principles relating to this. The research can be seen below:
Gestalt's Main Principles
This is a psychological theory that has been around for over 100 years. "Gestalt means "unified whole", so the theory explore users' visual perception of elements in relation to each other." <https://tubikstudio.com/psychology-in-design-principles-helping-to-understand-users/>
I found further research that showed Gestalt in animations.
"Animation simply isn’t drawing slightly changing figures over and over again and flipping through them quickly—it’s the process of recording an image that goes through continuous motion and shape changes in order to portray the "illusion" of movement. This illusion—as seen in almost all motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon, a psychological belief that originated from the work of Max Wertheimer, the creator of Gestalt psychology. According to Gestalt psychology, the apparentGestalt psychologists developed a set of principles to explain the concept of perceptual organization—how our brains group smaller objects together to form larger ones." <http://zacharyespiritu.com/ArtOfAnimation/>movement' 'created by an ever-changing series of images happens because our minds automatically fill in missing information.
On top of this research I was able to find another website that had an excellent explainer video within it. <https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/gestalt-principles>
Psychology of Colour
I found a great piece written by Kaitlin L. Brunick & James E. Cutting from Cornell University about the perception of colour in animations.
"Animated films present a unique set of challenges and questions to scholars examining films from a cognitive perspective. When the confines of the real world don’t exist as they do in live action films, the filmmaker is confronted with creating the entire narrative space from scratch (Buchan, 2011; Buchan, 2006). How do animators manage this seemingly enormous task? This question certainly predates film; creating space and life in visual art has been a subject of intense study by artists, historians, photographers, and psychologists alike. While the goal may be to create an extremely realistic visual space, the option given to visual artists and animators alike is to abandon tenets of realism in favor of an alternative perspective on the visual world. Animation alone can bring life to inanimate objects, defy laws of physics, and create visual effects impossible in live action film1 . Animation and color have coevolved since their respective inceptions. Color has been both a distinct challenge as well as a space for exploration for animators throughout animation’s history. Scientific discoveries regarding the perception of color also influenced its use in art and animation, making color an ideal target for further exploration in a cognitive context." <http://people.psych.cornell.edu/~jec7/pubs/ColoringKate.pdf>
Psychology of Composition
" Composition is discussed in other books about art and photography, but here we'll expand the usual definitions of this concept by taking a peek into its underlying psychological dimensions. The principles of composition evolved for a good reason: they address the human need for unity, order, and emotional expression. They activate the mind’s natural ability to make sense out of things by stimulating associations from everyday life, by encouraging us to ask, “What does this remind me of?” "<http://users.rider.edu/~suler/photopsy/toc_composition.htm>
Psychology of Perspective
Below is a summary of a text I have read and two known theories in Psychology.
"A lot of information reaches the eye, but much is lost by the time it reaches the brain (Gregory estimates about 90% is lost).
Therefore, the brain has to guess what a person sees based on past experiences. We actively construct our perception of reality.
Richard Gregory proposed that perception involves a lot of hypothesis testing to make sense of the information presented to the sense organs.
Our perceptions of the world are hypotheses based on past experiences and stored information.
Sensory receptors receive information from the environment, which is then combined with previously stored information about the world which we have built up as a result of experience.
The formation of incorrect hypotheses will lead to errors of perception (e.g. visual illusions like the Necker cube)."
"Bottom-up processing is also known as data-driven processing, because perception begins with the stimulus itself. Processing is carried out in one direction from the retina to the visual cortex, with each successive stage in the visual pathway carrying out ever more complex analysis of the input.
Top-down processing refers to the use of contextual information in pattern recognition. For example, understanding difficult handwriting is easier when reading complete sentences than when reading single and isolated words. This is because the meaning of the surrounding words provide a context to aid understanding." <https://www.simplypsychology.org/perception-theories.html>
Thursday, 28 February 2019
Task 1: Initial ideas (Alice in Wonderland)
I have been thinking more about what I should focus this topic more on. After a lot of thought I have decided that I should explore my love for Alice in Wonderland more by comparing some of the films and games based on the original book by Lewis Carrol.
The reason why I have changed my idea is because I believe I will be able to relate this more to background and layout, which is the specialism I would like to do.
My idea for this project is to look into how each character is perceived by their background, layout and lighting.
The films and game that I am going to look at are "Alice in Wonderland (1951)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1951_film), "Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1949)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1949_film) , Alice: Madness Returns PS3/ Xbox 360/PC (2011) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice:_Madness_Returns and "Alice in Wonderland (2010)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(2010_film).
White Queen
Queen of Hearts
The reason why I have changed my idea is because I believe I will be able to relate this more to background and layout, which is the specialism I would like to do.
My idea for this project is to look into how each character is perceived by their background, layout and lighting.
The films and game that I am going to look at are "Alice in Wonderland (1951)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1951_film), "Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1949)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1949_film) , Alice: Madness Returns PS3/ Xbox 360/PC (2011) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice:_Madness_Returns and "Alice in Wonderland (2010)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(2010_film).
White Queen
Queen of Hearts
Wonderland
Cheshire Cat
Alice
Mad Hatter
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