Overall I am really pleased with the outcome. This was the first project I have created using Maya, and at time's I really didn't think i'd see the end!
Rather than sticking to the safe options of modelling and very simple animation; I really pushed myself to learn other techniques such as nCloth, and how to use emitters and particles. I am really pleased I pushed myself to this extent as it's most definitely brought a more professional and visually pleasing aspect to my project.
Another part that I was very pleased with was the lava and Lavalites. This was really challenging to create (in the case of the flowing moving lava) as I had no clue where to even start. But once i'd found some guidance online how to create the blobby moving effect, and tweaked it to suit my own needs; i began to feel a little more confident. I then needed to create the texture that would compliment the movement. I wanted something with a glow and various colours and textures, such as the fluid extremely hot lava, amongst the black cooler sections that exist in natural lava. After creating a ramp using a cloud texture to different sections and colours in the ramp and applying these to the required attributes on a lambert texture, I was able to achieve my final result.
I'd also noticed a great difference in my skills from the beginning of the project to the end. Other than the obvious of being able to perform overall tasks such as modelling, rigging, animating etc that I wasn't able to do easily to begin with; i'd also noticed a difference in the quality within each of these aspects. When I modelled and rigged terrance i found it very difficult and there were a few faults as mentioned in my critique. However, when I rigged the Lavalite's I had an understanding of what I needed to do and corrected any faults giving them a better range and outcome of movement.
I'd also noticed a change in the overall animation. The beginning scences are obviously what i'd animated first. There are points where Terrances movement aren't as smooth or as fluid as i'd liked, yet as it gets to the end the quality is slightly higher as I was able to understand problems and the best way to create my desired result.
Overall, there are things I would change with this project; like with anything, but I am extremely pleased with the outcome. I kept my idea and target audience at the forefront of my mind throughout, and ultimately really enjoyed making this piece.
Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOykKgH7t7Q
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