Hi all:
I'm about to embark on an ambitious project that will incorporate 2D character animation against 3D backgrounds. (Similar to what was done for the Tripletts de Belleville).
Here is my proposed work flow once I develop the concept and storyboard:
1) pencil test main characters and work out timing, etc. Once I'm happy with that...
2) ink and color individual cels using Photoshop layers, export out each layer as a separate file, and stitch the animation together using QuickTime Pro
3) model the backgrounds in Maya - cel shade the backgrounds
4) composite the 2D animation over the 3D (not sure what s/w to use for this -- Flint perhaps?)
Anyway, I'm only at the start of researching this. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Visit The PC Weenies Cartoon
"Tech Toons for the rest of us!"
hope you had a throught research on movies like Iron Giant and Treasure Planet, both having two D and three D combos in various ways ,
I would revise your plan of attack to model the backgrounds first, and then animate to them. Will work much better that way. If you do it after, you will haev some wonky looking backgrounds probably.
Cheers
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon
Wade's right. Do the environment ( could be BGs , could be animated cg, could be live action) the characters will interact with first.
Heck, even if all 2d the bg is layed-out first.
Just an idea, if you have moving cameras, you could do the background cg first, then print out each cg frame and roto the characters into the cg backgrounds.
Does that sound like it would work, peeps?
Ender
I would say yeh.
Remember Roger Rabbit. They shot the L/a first camera moves and all, and the animtors worked with that (Each frame of the scene as numbered photostat on their disk).
Now imagine doing the animation first and the l/a having to make it fit the animation. If not impossible then impratical.
Makes sense the animation comes after, don't it?
Ender, if you print out each frame of the BG in the camera move, there will be problems with boiling with the character animation. It will be very hard to get the action moving smoothly. What should be done (to make things easier) is you print out the entire BG (pan) as one image (stitch them together... Print each field individually, and tape 'em together, registering and making sure they all line up), and then animate to that background, as you would do traditionally. Then you would composite the moving background in accordance with the animation on top. This is the easiest way to go. Don't want to make more work for yourself.
Just out of curiosity, Graphiteman. What is l/a?
Cheers
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon
L/a .. live action????
P.
Oh... Yeah. Doh!!!
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon
Thanks for all the advice guys! I'm continuing to explore this topic and really apprecaite everyone's input. :)
Visit The PC Weenies Cartoon
"Tech Toons for the rest of us!"
Sorry:o . I didn't want to type the whole words and didn't want to write it as "L.A".
That might really confuse things further.:)
Btw Wade your suggestion seems best and in fairness to kms007 I have virtually no CG experience and my thoughts are not based on first hand experience. I suppose too things are fluid enough between cg and drawn that if there was an error it wouldn't be that hard to fix.
Thanks, Graphiteman. Actually, I have virtually no experience in CG either. I suppose I was just guessing to a point on that one. We actually did a featurette based on the "Bratz" dolls (I know, I am an animation whore, directing a film about freaking Barbies) in which the backgrounds were treated photos (treated in photoshop with posterization and solarization). We had to figure out how we were going to do this very thing. The decision was to take the photos with a high-quality digital camera of the locations, and use the camera's photo stitching capabilities to make our pans. Then we would print the BG's out field by field, and tape 'em together. Voila! An instant pan BG that resembles a traditionally drawn pan.
At any rate... I hope you put this to use, Kms, old man...
Cheers
"Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard" - Paul Simon