Bee Scene

# 1 26-05-2009 , 12:04 AM

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Hi all. Havnt touched maya for a little while. I've been trying to put together my first website. But I did a doodle the other day at work and started a little scene, which I've ended up using to try out different things that I havnt used really before, like fur, cloth, env sky, and a couple of other bits. Was kind of pleased with it. There were things I wanted to sort out, and then today, when I went to open up the scene, Maya said it had problems writing the file, and removed all but the very basic bits of geometry. Materials, cloth, fur, render settings...e.t.c. So it's a good excuse to use this as a prep shot and rebuild the scene but better hopefully. (and can you use your imagination that I took the render at like frame 400 rather than 1 when the cloth actually fell into place!!)

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# 2 27-05-2009 , 12:55 AM

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New Bee. I hope to practice the little bits that I learned from the first (above) scene in this new one and try a couple of different bits out. This is just the first shot of the start I've made. Pleased with the fur so far, def improvement on the first go. Irritated I don't do animating yet, I can see in my mind all sorts of sequences with this scene

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# 3 27-05-2009 , 12:57 AM

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Carried away..forgot to post the picture!

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# 4 30-05-2009 , 07:36 AM

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Had a quick go at animating the bee today. Lots of lessons to be learned. But then I just started playing around building a scene and I ended up with this, which I quite like. Would like to carry on and add some more objects into the picture.

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# 5 31-05-2009 , 07:54 AM

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This is a curious scene, there are a lot of things I'm not understanding, especially in the last image, what's it about? My main crit is, if you didn't state it was a bee, I wouldn't have guessed, it has no antenna or wings etc.

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# 6 31-05-2009 , 10:43 AM

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ah, thats handy to know. It's not really about anything. I think I started it cause I wanted to try out using fur, made a sphere, stuck a couple of eyes on, and then it just became a bee. but then I lost the scene, so I remade it. Iv'e never properly learned how to animate but it's something I've always meant to get round to, and I've been feeling likely getting round to it lately, so I just thought I'd try and rig it and see what happened. As for the actual 'scene'. It's not about anything. I'm just making it up as I go along. My rig messed up just as I was about to start keyframing, So the 80 frames or so I rendered where like this hideous walkcycle, with the bee tearing at the scenes and the geometry buckling into all kinds of shapes. Hence why there are some odd angles on the bee itself. It was just the bee in the room, which was just a spontaneous thing, then when i looked at the renders I just thought, I know, I'll put a table there, and then I thought, I need a window there e.t.c. It's been quite fun. Got to practice some materials and modelling, different lights, the fog, might put some cloth in some where... so it's just a bit of experimental play really. Will add antennae and wings for you aswell. I also made my first use of Render layers, with an occlusion layer. I put the two layers together in Photoshop and put a cooling blue photo filter over the top. Dont know why. just did.

Added a couple more bits in last night..

I can't think what to put on the plinth either. I thought maybe a pot of honey, or something in glass casing. Thought i could practice glass.

This is why I have quite enjoyed doing this scene, cause it has no end goal, and because its quite 'cartoony' I can just try out some different things.

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# 7 31-05-2009 , 10:47 AM

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P.s....this is what it looks like out of maya without photoshop stuff.

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# 8 31-05-2009 , 02:04 PM

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Sorry Genny, I just reread my post and dont think it made alot of sense. The three shots are not related. I started making an outdoor scene, but then that changed. What I have now, the indoor shot, is one frame of a failed animation. It's what I will stick with now. Im just randomly fillingly the room with objects now to fill it up a bit, just with the aim of creating a nice single frame piece. Im just thinking a kind of dungeony/study type room, with a bee in it, and the bee is getting drawn to whats on the plinth in the spotlight. but not sure what that will be yet. hope that makes more sense.

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# 9 01-06-2009 , 02:18 AM

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last I'll probably do on this for a little while, I'm off to Santorini for a week tomorrow.

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# 10 01-06-2009 , 02:56 AM

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Very cool...this latest image is looking very good. I like the new lighting.... better shadows.

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# 11 01-06-2009 , 05:28 AM

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Mayaniac: Cheers man. Yeah, I havnt added any lights, but obviously the extra geometry towards the back has helped. And up until this last one it had all been procedural textures. No Photoshop stuff really except the render layers thing, so I've known that I had that 'weapon' to come. the little Ive done has given it more of a patchy feel, which helps develop it from the 'too clean' look it had before I think.

Ive been thinking alot about composition as Ive been doing this, drawing angled lines though the picture and placing objects to lead the eye. But the most annoying thing, Ive had it loads before but never get round to figuring out how to stop it. When I spend along time on one scene, I always seem to end up losing control of my viewports. One will be perspective, say, and then the other three somehow will end up all being the side view, or the top, and when I change one, they all change. How do they get to the point of being connected like this? I always end up thinking, tch, and putting up with it. I need to make a stand on this issue!! What this means is that I end up losing control of my framing, as every new render ends up being from a different position as the last, and its annoying with this scene, cause theres always a bit I have to cut out that i want to keep in. This last one however, I just pulled right back, but happy accident, I get the nice pink light, kind of (kind of) following the golden thirds rule, Its just it doesnt quite work with the the other stuff in the picture, which has all been placed for a closer up frame. sigh.

One minute Im really into it and thinking, hey, thats quite good. Then the next Ive lost the composition and Im sick of looking at it!
And sick of bees!:shakehead

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# 12 01-06-2009 , 07:46 AM

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Ha! I like the randomness, it has an odd grimy look about it as well. And I totally understand where you're coming from, just throwing stuff in there because you're experimenting with the features. Also, it doesn't matter if its in different panels, if they use the same camera, they'll all change hence you're having the viewport issues.

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# 13 01-06-2009 , 08:40 AM

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GecT: I dont understand. user added image

I clicked on film gate to help get an idea for framing. Is this where the problems would begin? I'm guessing it is. I just want to have say 4 panels. 1 perspective with filmgate (and it would be handy if I reminded myself how to lock it - note to self: You lock the attributes don't you), 1 perspective for moving around and generally working in. And then top and side for grid jobs, like when I have to position things accurately or use the curve tool. I think the main problem is once they're linked and one panel is switching at the same time as you change another, their seems to be no remedy. Or am I missing a trick?

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# 14 01-06-2009 , 09:07 AM

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You had me up until you said linked, maybe I'm misunderstanding but why did you link the cameras? If you did link them then that's the problem, break the connections on those.

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# 15 01-06-2009 , 11:43 AM

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I meant the panels get linked. not the cameras. When you change one view panel by going to predefined bookmarks>top, perspective, side e.t.c, it changes two are even three of the panels at the same time. Im not doing anything with the cameras, other than I displayed the film gate on the perspective camera.

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