3D Adrian

I've finally finished modelling Adrian in 3D, but I did not refer to the previous tutorial that I've posted because I realized that they are modelling a more realistic model whereas Adrian is very stylized and of different proportions.

So, I started a new file from scratch and here it is!

Because this is a humanoid character, I've asked Mr.Kim on how to properly animate Adrian. He said that I need to add the spines for him and that will take some time, so he said he'll show me how to do it. And for the eyes, I left that part because I wasn't sure how am I gonna animate it to blink if I build the sockets (based on the tutorial video I watched). Mr.Kim said that since this is a stylized character, I don't need to make the eye sockets, but put a button-shaped polygon for it. 

So once we get the spines done, we can animate it with the other objects and hopefully, completed in time! :D Amirah is still animating the letter 'Adrian' and 'Aeroplane' and that would be it for letter 'A'! 

Samples of Lower Third

We're having abit of issues with the lower third, as Mr.Muzamir noticed that right now, the transition of the letters looks like it is typed out from a typewriter. So, he gave a suggestion that we animate the letters to make it look like it is being written, in a way that would help the children to learn how to write properly as well.

But now that we are doing a 3D model, we're having some issues because we don't know how to make that kind of animation on Maya. I found other samples of lower thirds that in a way, does not look like a typewriter but still has an educating factor to it.

Winnie the Pooh
The animation of the honey pot is synced with the syllables of the letters.

What we have in mind is that, when the letters appears on the AR, there will be a little solid (maybe a little ball) that bounces across the letters similarly like the one shown by Winnie the Pooh. 

Bringing Adrian to 3D

Following our previous tutorial with Mr.Muzamir, he suggested us to model Adrian in 3D instead.

I've never actually tried modelling a character before (I'm okay with objects, but not an actual finished 3D character), so I went to Youtube and look for a video tutorial.

Since Adrian is of a chibi proportion, I had to be specific and look for a chibi modelling tutorial :D

And here's what I've done so far!

I'm not exactly finished with the tutorial, I've only done the topology of the head. Now I need to import an image of Adrian so I can tweak it as close as how Adrian originally looks like.

Stay tuned!

Tryout with Lower Third

Instead of putting the whole 'A stands for Apple' text in the animation for the children to read, we decided to change a little bit on how the text would appear.

We'll spell out the letter word by word, so that the children would be able to read the letters and pronounce it at the same time. There will be a narrator that will spell aloud the letters for the children when they play the animation as well. For now, we chose the colour Red as the letters appear, but when the narrator reads the whole sentence aloud, it will turn to Black.

Here's a sample on how it'll look like.

Research on Colours

We were asked to do some research on colours that would appeal to children, so I went on Google and here is what I've discovered.

• Blue - In a study at the Surrey Baby Lab, babies tended to look longer at certain colors for the longest amount of time. One of these colors in the study was blue. Much of this hue's appeal is in the type of feelings it conjures. Blue is often associated with mellow feelings like peace, tranquility and calmness. Blue is synonymous with water, ocean life and swimming pools.
  
  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8699422_colors-appeal-children.html#ixzz2je1rxVcE
  
• Red - Another bright color that has mass appeal with children is red. An emotionally intense color, red has high visibility, which is the reason it is used for stop signs, traffic lights and fire equipment. When you see something red coming your way, you are not likely to miss it. Red is also used in many ways to indicate courage and valor.
  
  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8699422_colors-appeal-children.html#ixzz2je1wmTtT
  
• Orange - Orange is a very hot color that is also very highly accepted by young people. Not as aggressive as red, the hue increases oxygen supply to the brain, according to Color Wheel Pro. This effect creates a sensation of heat and produces an invigorating effect in the brain, which then stimulates mental activity. Orange is also a popular color because it is the color of many citrus fruits as well as the shade associated with fall and harvest.
  
  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8699422_colors-appeal-children.html#ixzz2je27S22L
  
• Purple - Rarely found in nature, purple combines two other popular colors to produce a powerful color on its own. According to Color Wheel Pro, purple has the stability properties of blue with the energetic capabilities of red. It is often associated with magic, wisdom and mystery. Purple is often a favorite color with pre-adolescent children, but babies also showed interest in the color during the Surrey Baby Lab study. Purple makes a great color for girls fashion but it is also a color fit for a king because may royal robes are dyed in this particular hue.
  
  Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8699422_colors-appeal-children.html#ixzz2je2RAUva

Most of the websites also states that children prefers blocks of bright primary colours, particularly red, as red is the first colour that they distinguish. 

Sample Animation

I manage to complete the first animation, which is for the letter 'A'! 

The feedbacks given were;

• For the lower third, have more considerations for the colours that would attract the children to read it
• Take note of the fonts used, maybe 'Arial Black Rounded' for instance
• Think about how the lower third can help the children to read, since it is targeted to children aged between 3-4, research on how much they can read
  

Other Characters

The characters/objects that are going to be in the animations are;
A - Adrian, Apple and Ant
B - Boo, Ball and Book
C - Chair, Cat and Cow

Mr.Muzamir suggested that the rest of the characters should have the same style as Adrian. Now that we've broken down the list, we narrowed down our characters to the Ant, Cat and Cow that would require the same style as Adrian.

Here are the tryouts for the character designs :D

Behold... The apple.

 The rest of the objects would probably appear in the next post. Stay tuned!

Angie & Amirah