Step By Step

How did I make this animation?

I first scanned in my final design I drew in my sketch book to the computer. Once this was done I entered Photoshop and saved the Front and Side of my character as Bitmaps.

Next, I opened up 3DS Max and created two “Planes” to the same size/dimensions as my Bitmap images I created in Photoshop. Once this was done, I went into the Material editor and created two materials, one for the Front view and the other for the Side view. I assigned each one of these to the “Planes” then positioned them to begin creating my character (See Below).

Now I was ready to begin building my Ninja. First of all I created the head. So I began with creating a “Sphere” shape. After right clicking on it and converting the Sphere to an “Editable Poly”, I began to stretch out the Sphere, cover the area of my Ninja plane. I made the shape “See-through” to make this part easier.

I only did one quarter of the head, as I wanted the rest of the head to be exactly the same. To do this I deleted the rest of the Sphere and then used “Symmetry” on both the X and Y axis to be able to get the other 3 quarters, all exactly the same of the first. (See Below).

All four sides are done now; time to start adding detail to the head.

 I began the eye band by drawing another “Plane”, around the same size as on my background drawing.

I then added more sections to the “Plane” so I could edit it more. Once the shape was designed, I started to curve it around the head. Once again I only did one side so I could “Mirror” it back later.

By adding more section it enabled me to be more effective in move there “Plane” into the position I wanted it to be in.

 I wrapped it around the head to make sure it was a perfect fit and no part of it went inside the head.

Now I’ve done the “Symmetry” again, and the shape is complete.

 Now I move onto the body. First I create a “Sphere” and flatten it down and stretch it out over the body of my drawing.

I also shaped the body against my side picture; this allowed me to get the size and depth absolutely right.

I then converted this “Sphere” into an “Editable Poly” to make sure the body matched my drawing perfectly. By moving the two ends inwards allowed me to do this.

The final outcome of the body, ready to join the head.

Next I decided to create the Ninja’s feet. I did this by firstly creating a “Cylinder” shape around the same size of the side pictures foot.

 Converting this “Cylinder” to an “Editable Poly” allowed me to edit the shape to my design. 

 Once the foot was completed, I “Cloned” it, making the second foot to go alongside it. This meant that both feet were exactly the same and saved me time in creating both feet individually. 

I then decided to put my so far completed shapes together to see how my model character was coming along. Not too much left to do.

The hands were the next step. These were fairly simple, as I merely created yet another “Cylinder” and stretched it out slightly to form one hand (See below). It was very simple to do.

Just like the feet, I cloned the hand to make sure both hands were exactly the same. (see below.

Next was the nose. This was slightly trickier, as this time I cut a “Sphere” in half, then stretched the bottom of it out to form the bridge of the nose. I then placed this on the head on my Ninja. (See Below)

  I had to make sure the nose was visible through the eye brand before continuing. 

 Now that all my models body parts were complete, I began to start creating the “Materials” for them. I did this using “Photoshop” to create all my colours and skins I wished to use.

Starting with the nose, I made sure that the colour was a little darker than that of the eye band (not really an eye band as such, more the characters actual skin!) just so it would stand out more and that the viewers could see it.  

  Next, to the rest of the Ninja. I made the head and body the same black colour, the hands the same colour as the eye band, and the feet were a lighter grey than the body and head. Again, this was so the viewers could see the modals feet properly. (See Below)

To finish off the details of my Ninja, I created the loose threads that would go behind the Ninja’s head, or balaclava. I wanted two, so once I created one I simply “Cloned” it like I did with the hands and feet. I created the thread by using a thin “Box” shape.

 Adding more segments to the “Box” shape allowed me to edit it further, making the ends thin. I then added the same colour “Material” as the head, seeing as this would actually be coming from the head.

   One of the most important parts of any model is its facial features. Seeing as my model doesn’t have many of these (seeing as most of it would be behind a balaclava) the eyes were the most important part of it. I began by creating a “Sphere” shape, then flattening it and stretching it out to create a reasonable looking eye.

I then “Cloned” the eye to have another matching eye to go alongside it. I created many different eyes so that my modal would have many different features for use in my animation. These included eyes for:

·       Bored/Tired

  Shock/Amazed

·       Suspicion

·       Angry

  I then created another “Material” to colour these eyes. I selected a bright blue, as I found from my research that this colour normally symbolised Hero characters. 

My model is now completed. Here it is compared to my original drawings. I am quite pleased with the outcome of the model, as it does look pretty much the same as how I drew it on paper. 

To add a finishing touch to my character model, I decided I needed to create my Ninja’s weapon. His sword. I did this by firstly creating a “Cylinder” for the handle.

Next I created the blade, I did this the same way I created the thread on the head of my character.

  I added materials to these two shapes, but I wanted them to look a little more realistic. I did this by finding materials on the internet, before applying them to my shapes. A metal like for the blade, and a wooden one for the handle. 

  To allow movement to my character, I needed to join all my shapes together. I did this by using “Bones”. This would allow realistic movement and keep my model together.

 I began by doing the basic skeleton for my Ninja. As my character does not have arms or legs, I needed to somehow connect the hands and feet to my model. This was simple: Build arms and legs using Bones! They do not show up on the footage when my animation is “Rendered”, so this was a perfectly fine thing to do.

  Creating joints on the hips, ankles and wrists would allow extra “Bones” to be added, as well as provide more realistic movement.

My skeleton complete. Now I need to attach it to my character.

I firstly moved the skeleton in front of the model to match up all the “Bones” with the correct shapes in the correct position.

  Next, I move the “Bones” inside of the model. Looking through the wireframe windows, I could still see the “Bones” and make adjustments if needed. I next select the shape (in this case the Body) and go onto “Modify”.

Under the “Modify List” is a section called “Skin”. I select this, and by this stage I can add “Bones” onto the shape. In the case of the Body, I added the backbone, hips, upper arms and legs to the list on the right.

A quick test, the model and “Bones” move perfectly