This week, we learnt how to use MASH tool in Maya and we also started to figure out how out loop animation would look like.
Moodboard
I did some previous brain storming ahead to this class to have some idea of what I would like my animation to look like.
- Loop animation possible themes:
- Zen garden
- My day routine loop (train trip)
- Dough like texture getting reshaped
- Laser cut
- Double perspective sculpture rotating
- Imposible shapes
- Simple face expression changing because of interaction with other object
- Solar system
I also checked some oddly satisfying videos in YouTube with some animation examples, and one of them caught my eye in the minute 7:04 of the video:
I liked the style and the ‘impossible’ movement visual effect that was giving with the rotating torus and the zig zagging ball.
However, I was not sure about these standard oddly satisfying loop animations as they looked pretty much the same to me and I felt like it could be hard to do something different if I follow this style.
I also found an animation of a rolling ball following a rail in ArtStation (see animation here), which was simple but the look reminded me to Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau designs:
Later on, as I am also very interested in astronomy, I also founded interesting these solar system models that spin due to a gear mechanism added to it:
My main inspiration was this artwork of ‘The Astronomy Tower’ made by Cathleen McAllister, which conveyed, in my opinion, both Art Nouveau aesthetic and astronomy:
Once I had my design idea settled, I continued to research how to approach the animation in Maya.
MASH
In the lecture of this week, the professor introduced us to MASH tool in Maya, which could be used to make our loop animation.
With MASH tool, after we ‘create MASH network’, we can create procedural effects with nodes such as:
- Distribute. To arranges several copies of an object in formations.
- Curve. To animate objects following a curve.
- Influence. To use an object as a guide to influence the transforms of the network in MASH.
- Signal. It adds noise to our animation so it varies like a signal wave.
- Amongst other features…
I did not have the time to fully explore all MASH features but the few I discovered were really interesting and fun to play with. I tried to implement MASH in my design but it seemed to be way easier to just key frame every movement by hand (and also I would achieve a better result).
First draft design
I started taking as reference a picture of the solar system to see the position, shape, and distance of each planet and satellites towards the Sun. I did intend to do this solar system recreation as much accurate as possible, but as it would not look too appealing to the viewer (the planets and satellites would look too small and the Sun too big), I tweaked them a little bit so it would fit nicer in the frame. I made the planets slightly bigger than they are in relation to the Sun, and just added the most important satellites of each planet (Saturn and Jupiter have way too many satellites to be able to fit them all in this model).
Once I had a definitive position of my solar system, I started to animate it. This animation took a bit longer than I thought, as I had to calculate how many times each planet would rotate around the Sun in 300 frames (length of 1 full loop of the animation) so the looping cannot be noticed. As I also wanted to make it as accurate as possible, I also researched online how long each planet uses to take to rotate around the Sun. Since Neptune is slowest of all, I took this planet as the reference one to loop the animation, so it would rotate 360° in relation to the Sun in 300 frames of animation. The rest of the planets are rotating more times being Mercury the quickest. I set the rotation to start from slower to quick in the mid point of the animation and slowing down towards the end until they all stop in the same initial position. Obviously, it is not accurate rotation as if it were, Mercury’s rotation would be invisible to the eye in relation to Neptune’s. Then I did the same with the satellites of each planet, but these animation were more approximated than the planets as it will not be as noticeable. I also parented the satellites to their respective planets so they would rotate around the planets but would also follow the rotation of the planet around the Sun. Then, I gave some rotation movement to the Sun, but as I wanted to add glow to it, I do not think it would be visible. Lastly, I added the gears that would be attached to the planets and also parented them to their respective planets so they would have the same rotation. I am not too convinced about the gears shape so more than possible I would change their design.
I am happy with the planets look and animation, however, I am thinking in changing the model of the gears as they look to ‘spiky’ to me and not too realistic.
References
arbenl1berateme (2019). Oddly Satisfying 3D Animations [Compilation 5] – arbenl1berateme (online). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRsCtd5P9s [Accessed on 12 February 2023]
Cogito (2015). 1900 Alphonse Mucha “Dessin de Montre” Jewelry Design Illustration for Georges Fouquet (online). Available at: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/150738-1900-alphonse-mucha-dessin-de-montre-j [Accessed on 12 February 2023]
McAllister, C. Cathleen McAllister (Online). Available at: http://www.cathleenconcepts.com [Accessed on 12 February 2023]
Müller, B (2020). Impossible Oddly Satisfying 3D Animation (online). Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Ye43ed [Accessed on 12 February 2023]
Staines & Son. The Diary Of An Orrery Maker (online). Available at: https://www.orrerydesign.com [Accessed on 12 February 2023]
Willard, Jr., A. Willard Orrery. National Museum of American History (online). Available at: https://www.si.edu/object/willard-orrery:nmah_1183736 [Accessed on 12 February 2023]