Thesis_3_Preliminary Research for Thesis

Posted on 1st December 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This blog will look into the anti-hero culture. It will investigate and summarize the concept of the anti-hero as well as its historical origins. I’ll gather more information to assist me in writing the thesis. Of course, as my research progresses, I will add more information about anti-hero culture.

Anti-Hero:

An antihero (sometimes spelt as an anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions that are morally correct, it is not always for the right reasons, often acting primarily out of self-interest or in ways that defy conventional ethical codes.

An early antihero is Homer‘s Thersites. The concept has also been identified in classical Greek drama, Roman satire, and Renaissance literature such as Don Quixote and the picaresque rogue.

The term antihero was first used as early as 1714, emerging in works such as Rameau’s Nephew in the 18th century,  and is also used more broadly to cover Byronic heroes as well, created by the English poet Lord Byron.

Literary Romanticism in the 19th century helped popularize new forms of the antihero, such as the Gothic double. The antihero eventually became an established form of social criticism, a phenomenon often associated with the unnamed protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky‘s Notes from Underground. The antihero emerged as a foil to the traditional hero archetype, a process that Northrop Frye called the fictional “center of gravity”. This movement indicated a literary change in heroic ethos from feudal aristocrat to urban democrat, as was the shift from epic to ironic narratives.

Huckleberry Finn (1884) has been called “the first antihero in the American nursery”. Charlotte Mullen of Somerville and Ross‘ The Real Charlotte (1894) has been described as an antiheroine.

The antihero became prominent in early 20th-century existentialist works such as Franz Kafka‘s The Metamorphosis (1915), Jean-Paul Sartre‘s La Nausée (1938) (French for ‘Nausea’), and Albert Camus‘ L’Étranger (1942) (French for ‘The Stranger’). The protagonist in these works is an indecisive central character who drifts through his life and is marked by ennui, angst, and alienation.

The antihero entered American literature in the 1950s and up to the mid-1960s as an alienated figure, unable to communicate. The American antihero of the 1950s and 1960s was typically more proactive than his French counterpart. The British version of the antihero emerged in the works of the “angry young men” of the 1950s. The collective protests of Sixties counterculture saw the solitary antihero gradually eclipsed from fictional prominence, though not without subsequent revivals in literary and cinematic form.

During the Golden Age of Television from the 2000s and into the present time, antiheroes such as Tony Soprano and Dexter Morgan became prominent in the most popular and critically acclaimed TV shows.

An Archetypal Character who is almost as common in modern fiction as the Ideal Hero, an anti-hero is a protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of a hero. They may be bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely apathetic. More often an anti-hero is just an amoral misfit. While heroes are typically conventional, anti-heroes, depending on the circumstances, may be preconventional (in a “good” society), postconventional (if the government is “evil”) or even unconventional. Not to be confused with the villain or the Big Bad, who is the opponent of Heroes (and Anti-Heroes, for that matter).

Most are to the cynical end of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism.

There are just as many variations on Anti-Heroes as there are normal heroes. Some common attributes are: rarely speaking, being a loner, either extreme celibacy or extreme promiscuity, parental issues, occasional Past Experience Nightmares and flashbacks relating to a Dark and Troubled Past that can take many forms depending on the Anti-Hero in question; and being able to tell the story of their life through any Nick Cave song. Some won’t Save the Villain, but they will Shoot the Dog, and they will not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens them.

Other characters may try to impress upon them the value of more traditional heroic values through The Power of Friendship, but these lessons tend to bounce more often than stick.

What amoral antiheroes learn, if they learn anything at all over the course of the story, is that an existence devoid of absolute values offers a lot of isolation. Which may be to their liking. Don’t You Dare Pity Me! is common, and gratitude may be repulsed with Think Nothing of It (just to get them to leave them alone).

These often crop up in deconstructions of traditionally heroic genres. As the struggling, imperfect protagonist begins to gain more respect and sympathy than the impressive-but-impossible-to-relate-to invincible superhero, “anti” heroes have come to be admired as a perfectly valid type of hero in their own right.

Sometimes, they’re not the “star” (protagonist), but serve as The Rival or Worthy Opponent of the protagonist and are prone to becoming an Ensemble Dark Horse as fans enjoy their interactions with the protagonist. If they are part of a Five-Man Band, they will most certainly be The Lancer. Well-liked ones may become a Deuteragonist or at least get A Day in the Limelight to please the fans.

The term is used more loosely today than it used to be, at least on This Wiki. In one definition of the word, the appeal of an antihero is that they’re often very literally a hero: Namely; they do heroic deeds. But whereas Superman, Wonder Woman, and many other conventional heroes have both the physical and moral capabilities to do it, an antihero almost never has both.

Anti-Heroes are spread all over the alignment chart, tending towards Neutral types (and Good ones if the anti-heroic side of his character is less prominent). While the Knight in Sour Armour or the Classical Anti-Hero aren’t actually morally flawed, and can even be Pure Good characters, the other anti-hero types are never Pure Good, as they tend towards the morally grey zone.

Traditionally, in literary analysis, the meaning of antihero was different from the now common usage, lacking the elements that make a hero “cool” rather than the elements that make them “good”. Willy Loman and Shinji Ikari are archetypes of this form, in contrast to someone like Spawn or Kain.

Compare and contrast this trope with its antithesis, the Anti-Villain. A character who is a Wild Card or a Heel–Face Revolving Door can be capable of being both an Anti-Hero and an Anti-Villain depending on whether or not they are acting for or against the protagonist at the time. For an ensemble of these heroes, see Anti-Hero Team.

Anti-Hero Examples

Example 1: Annalise Keating from How to Get Away with Murder

“Anti” — Annalise Keating is a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who drips seductiveness and arrogance, with just the right amount of like-ability thrown in. These attributes make her similar to fellow anti-hero Don Draper. Annalise has no problem manipulating others to get her way and commits cruel, self-serving deeds without a second thought.

“Hero” — Annalise is the type of morally grey main character that many viewers love to watch, but sometimes struggle to like. While she does a lot of things viewers fundamentally oppose, she has also lived through a number of traumas that inform her crooked actions (hello, Unscrupulous Anti-Hero!). Ultimately, she fights on behalf of the innocent and bounces around the top 4 positions of the anti-heroes sliding scale.

Example 2: Sherlock Holmes

“Anti” — Sherlock is a genius — or “high-functioning sociopath,” as he’s presented in the BBC modernization — and he gets bored easily. Solving crimes gives him something to do with his superior intellect. While Holmes might appreciate the fact that his work allows justice to be served, he’s largely motivated by the novelty and challenge of cracking cases.

“Hero” — At the end of the day, Sherlock helps fight crime. Whether or not he’s doing it for selfless reasons, he has still dedicated his life to stopping criminals, and he does this using noble means. Different depictions of Sherlock also portray his sympathetic side to varying degrees — some allowing audiences to glimpse emotional connections between Sherlock and the crime he solves.

Example 3: Michael Scott from The Office

“Anti” — Michael makes the lives of his employees at Dunder-Mifflin paper company very hard sometimes. He’s constantly distracting them with his need for attention and validation, and he ends up making some very questionable decisions that can harm others in his need to come across as a hero — you could even classify his need to be liked as a tragic hero’s fatal flaw. Oh, and let’s not forget about the way he treats poor Toby.

“Hero” — While Michael can be incredibly selfish, unaware of how his decisions negatively affect his coworkers, and downright rude, he has a good heart and loves (most of) the people who work for him. In the face of major downsizing, he fights for his branch and the job security of the people who work there. Michael has shining moments of kindness (such as the bird funeral), and viewers root for him — and pray for his continuing self-improvement.

Example 4: Veronica Sawyer from Heathers

“Anti” — While the rebellious new kid, J.D., might be the person who starts Veronica down the path of killing her classmates, she doth not protest enough to avoid eventually pulling the trigger herself.

“Hero” — While Veronica does murder a student, she’s portrayed for the most part as an impressionable and bullied teenage girl who gets carried along by the sinister doings of J.D. Still, for much of the movie, she can definitely be considered a Hero in Name Only, as she’s absolutely complicit in the homicides. In the end, we see a glimmer of humanity when Veronica stops J.D. from bombing his school and reunites with her social outcast friend, Martha.

Example 5: Tony Soprano from The Sopranos

“Anti” — A number of things put the “anti” in Tony’s label as “anti-hero”: murderer, thief, con artist, extortionist, to name a few. He is the capo di tutti capi (the “boss of all bosses”) in the crime world.

“Hero” — Apart from being the protagonist of the TV series, things like his unshakeable love for his family, his kindness to his friends, and the occasional pang of guilt or moment of vulnerability let viewers glimpse Tony’s human side. What solidifies his status as an anti-hero, however, is the fact that his enemies are portrayed as being far more evil and sinister than he is.

Sub-tropes and related tropes:

Character types particularly prone to anti-heroism (though many have their share of straight-up heroes, and villains too) include:

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Thesis_2_Research on the Structure of the Thesis(2)

Posted on 1st December 2021 by Jianyu Yin

I will continue to update this Blog with my research on the structure of the thesis.

Research Methodology (1200 words)

Data Analysis (1600-2000 words)

This should describe the basis of your chosen research method.

This is often referred to as your research philosophy.

You should record whether you are using a qualitative or quantitative approach, or a mixture of both and why.

Qualitative.

A measurement of the quality of something.

You may consider this to be part of your research. For example, this may be written feedback on your work.

See here for a more in-depth look at qualitative methods. You might think of this as the numerical part of your research and how this relates to your thesis. This could be how many people choose yes over no in a question.

Please see here for a more in-depth look at quantitative methods.

What you can include in your research methods (these are commonly used methods).

Interviews.

Observation.

Questionnaire surveys.

Literature analysis.

Interviews.

An interview is a guided conversation between the researcher (you) and the person you want to learn. They may be called ‘informants.’

The questions can be structured around pre-prepared questions or general guidelines that the interviewer will follow. It is best to involve only one or two people, as large groups of people may get lost in multiple conversations, or overlapping speakers may make it difficult to gather qualitative data from them.

Interviews are time-consuming, so please be careful when planning them.

Informants should be chosen carefully at all times as they should be specific to your area of research.

Observation.

This can be thought of as research into someone or something in a particular situation.

For example, you may wish to observe someone (or film yourself) creating something from start to finish to understand the process whether it is a rig used to set up an animation or a particle effect. Once the observation process has taken place, markers should be taken that are relevant to your area of research. You may wish to think about the ethical aspects of observation. Do the people being researched know about this? Can they give their consent? If they are not happy to be observed, will they opt out of the arrangement? What would they do?

Questionnaire.

This can be either qualitative or quantitative.

Interviews are more in-depth, whereas questionnaires provide a snapshot of people’s views (generally speaking).

Develop questionnaires with clear and easy-to-understand questions. Not everyone knows about the subject and your data should be able to include more volunteers. Be specific about what the objectives of your questionnaire are.

You may wish to use a pyramid approach, narrowing the focus of the question with each successive question.

You can use these data to compare groups or to measure parameters within groups.

Document analysis.

This is the process of looking at existing documents (articles, books, films, software, etc.) without talking to someone.

Documents such as films, songs or even websites can reveal valuable information about the area you are researching.

In this form of research method, you are using the documents and analysing them in any way you can. Be careful when selecting documents, as some may still be confidential and require permission to use.

In this case, you will need to consult the property holder to grant permission for use. Literature analysis is often compared to a literature review. However, it is the length of this analysis that makes it different. A literature review is more of an overview of the literature that has been prepared for the dissertation.

Document analysis is an in-depth and more extensive analysis of the entire document.

Structure.

As always, be clear and concise.

Make sure there are no problems with sample selection or distillation of results etc.

You can include your research questions here and how you will address them.

It would help if you mentioned whether a research method is a more ‘tried and tested’ method or an experimental method. Are the research methods appropriate for your field of study? Are you testing them to see if they are adequate?

Summarise your research methods.

You may wish to talk about the main challenges in your research.

These are the things you may wish to revisit in your discussion.

Example：

Example：

Here, students use a documentary analysis approach to research a piece of literature in more depth. They will then present their findings and summarise what they have found. They also use a handy picture to demonstrate this qualitative information.

Results / Findings(500)

This is one of the more specific parts of your paper.

You are simply recording your most relevant results and findings.

These results and findings should be presented in a way that is easy to understand and directly related to what you intend to discuss.

A more traditional approach to writing a paper includes only the results and should not discuss the implications of other literature or research findings.

These hints are specific to the discussion section of your paper. This will be discussed in next week’s session.

It would help if you began by outlining any descriptive (qualitative) or exploratory/validation analyses.

These could include the results of interviews or qualitative-based questionnaires.

Next, you should describe the results of the hypothesis testing. These could be the questions listed in your summary/introduction. It would help if you used tables and/or graphs to help illustrate and/or summarise all numerical (quantitative) information.

You can organize these results/findings logically according to the pre-defined themes in the literature review or research methodology. Don’t write down the entire conversation transcript to fill up word space.

Be brutal and reduce the content to the most relevant citations.

If necessary, use them as hyperlinks to specific quotes (not listed, of course, and with the interviewee’s permission if they are from an interview) uploaded to a video sharing platform (i.e., youtube). If the quote is indeed too long, another option is to include it as an image. This will not be put into the word count, which is perfectly permissible!

The summary here is key to your results and findings, as you do not want to reveal everything in this section. Save the full details for your appendix and/or blog!

Discussion (800 words)

The Discussion section of your paper is the section where you discuss the significance, meaning, and relevance of your results.

You will need to explain and evaluate your findings from the Results and Findings section.

Ensure that the results/findings are linked to the research questions and literature review.

This will in turn be used to present arguments to support the conclusions.

The discussion is important because it addresses the following elements.

It answers the questions posed in the introduction

Shows how the results support these answers

Explains how these answers relate to the existing knowledge in the chosen field of study

Overview of the Discussion-Structure :

1. restate your research question. You should then state how your findings (if indeed there are any) answer this question.

2. Relate your findings to the topic or question you raised in your introduction.

3. If there are unexpected findings, you may be able to explain, and sometimes lead to a reconstruction of the hypothesis or even rewrite your introduction, depending on your approach.

4. detail your main findings, which may include an introduction to your research’s theoretical and practical implications. This is essentially an assessment of your findings.

5. You may then discuss how these implications will influence future research and study future researchers. You may even wish to outline the steps they will take.

Discussion-Structure Suggestions :

1. Restate your research question. You should then state how your findings (if indeed there are any) answer this question.

This should be a transitional sentence.  For example：

How did the animation industry develop during the New Crown Pneumonia epidemic? The report Animation, VFX and Video Games in Africa: Strategies, Trends and Opportunities (2021-2025) recently surveyed the market size of the global animation, VFX and video games industry, with a result of “USD 261 billion by 2020”. Due to the flu pandemic, one might expect this figure to be significantly lower than in previous years, but compared to $264 billion in 2019, we only see a reduction in the value of $3 billion21.

2. relate your findings to the themes or issues you raised in your presentation.

Compare and contrast similarities and differences, noting any common or different trends.

How does this compare with the findings of previous studies?

Does it support them?

Does it refine them?

Does it confirm them?

Example：

3. If there are unexpected findings, you may be able to interpret them according to your approach, sometimes leading to a reconstruction of the hypothesis or even a rewriting of your presentation.

Note the careful use of language here. The authors point out that the results here are generally unexpected for the post-production sector but equally desirable in terms of the specificity of the actual job role.

4. Detail your main findings, which may include an introduction to your research’s theoretical and practical implications.

The determination of these statements should be absolute.

Even if they contradict your previous plans.

5. You can then discuss how these implications will affect future research and conduct research for future researchers. You may even wish to outline the steps they are going to take.

This could refer to feedback and criticism of the work and how it could be improved.

This is usually the shortest amount of writing in this section.

When redisplaying results.

The current study found that…

The results of this study show that…

The results of this study do not show…/any significant increase in…

In describing your findings.

These results further support…

These results confirm that…

These findings are consistent with…

These match/do not match what was observed in earlier studies…

These findings are consistent with previous studies…

These findings are consistent with the results obtained by…

When assessing the results.

There are several possible explanations for the results…

It seems likely that these results are due to…

The reasons for this are unclear, but may be related to…

The data must be interpreted with caution because…

The present results are significant in at least two main respects…

You may wish to check out these links for further advice and guidance on your dissertation research：

12 Steps to Write an Effective Discussion Chapter

https://users.clas.ufl.edu/msscha/thesiscss/thesis_disc.html

How do I write the discussion section?

Conclusion (800 words)

Review the main points made in your paper.

Be sure to remind the reader of its relevance to your field of study.

In this case, this will leave the reader or marker with something to think about.

Do not use quotes here!

Conclusion – Structural overview.

Review the main points made in your paper.

Why is your work relevant?

Leave something for the reader to think about: information.

Conclusion – Structure Suggestions.

1. Rewrite your thesis statement.

The structure can be completely different but say the same thing.

Do not sound like you are apologising for a thesis that reads.

“This thesis is an attempt to demonstrate that ……”

Start with a strong statement that reflects your thesis.

2. Read your thesis from beginning to end.

If you have not already done so, take notes on the topic of each paragraph/chapter.

Your choice can be either praise or contrast.

The best practice is to choose both.

What do you want your readers to take away from your dissertation?

3. Why is your work relevant?

Encourage your audience to question themselves.

But don’t leave a loose end to your line.

Be sure to address your question.

Always ask yourself why this is relevant?

4. Leave the reader with something to think about: the message.

Why should we care?

End with something interesting to say.

Perhaps an awareness, a call to action, or a warning.

This will make the audience remember something when they review your work. Make them care!

References / Bibliography

These are the places where you directly quote or cite sources, which must be mentioned in brackets or as a reference in the text. Your reference will be added to the bottom of the page and checked for completeness as a bibliography at the end (you can also call this reference if you have to).

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Thesis_1_Research on the Structure of the Thesis(1)

Posted on 1st December 2021 by Jianyu Yin

I’ll start with a thesis structure that combines the thesis writing skills I learned in class with my research. I’ll be able to complete my research more quickly once I know what I need to do in each thesis section.

Thesis structure：

Abstract.

Introduction.

Literature Review.

Research Methodology.

Results / Findings.

Discussion.

Conclusion.

References / Bibliography.

Appendices.

More specific thesis structure：

Introduction

Title page

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Contents page(s)

Introduction

Literature review (sometimes within the introduction)

Materials/sources and methods (can be part of every chapter if these are different per chapter)

Themed topic chapters

Results

Discussion or Findings

Conclusions

Your publications

References

Appendices

Abstract(300 words)

The abstract should be approximately 300 words long.

This is true for any paper length, whether it is 8,000 words or a 100,000 word Ph.D. thesis.

This should be a concise summary of your thesis.

In general, the abstract should cover, as briefly as possible

The question you wish to answer.

Your main arguments.

Your conclusions.

If we look at the abstract in more detail, we can see that there could be a more solid and formulaic approach here.

The structure from the previous slide could be further refined, for example.

What is your area of research?

Whether there are gaps in knowledge in your field.

The overall aims and objectives of your thesis and how it will address these gaps.

A brief description of the methods you will use to achieve these objectives.

Your most important results and findings.

How the results of your dissertation will be used to further your understanding of your research area.

Simple structure：

Introduction

Aims and Objective

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Be unique – write these sentences.

Your sentences should be short and concise. No exceptions. These sentences should give the reader new and useful information about your research. For example, you could introduce your subject area in one or two sentences. Gaps in knowledge can be filled in one or two other ways. You do not need to include references in your abstract, as this will be covered in the main body of your paper.

Your research should be explained.

You can write down your general objectives or present your research question, which is the most concise.

This is ultimately up to you, as long as the reader or marker clearly understands what you intend to achieve.

Once your findings in the main body of the paper answer the research question you outlined in the abstract, the reader will better understand. Objectivity is essential and the content of the abstract should be based entirely on facts. Don’t give too many opinions here.

There is no better opinion than this. Opinions can lead to ambiguous points and may ultimately lead to a lack of concise structure. It would help if you told the reader what new knowledge has contributed to your field. Just don’t exaggerate the conclusions, implications and significance of your work.

Example:

Introduction(400-800 words)

In this section, you should provide background for your paper.

In this paper, clearly list your goals and the scope you want to achieve.

You should also include a clear overview of each chapter of the paper to guide our readers to understand the main body of the paper.

This may be an opportunity to include a directory. Your introduction should account for 5% – 10% of the total words.

Like the summary, you may want to divide the introduction into the following sections:

Identify your readers (who are your readers?)

Attract readers (attract attention)

Background (make relevant)

General knowledge of the subject

What’s next (preview your points)

Identify your readers (who are your readers?)

Who are your readers?

Another person to include should be someone who is not familiar with your major. Remember this person. Your goal is to be as clear as possible. Therefore, your paper will become easier to understand and more enjoyable.

Attract readers (attract attention)

It is common to start with a question or a quote, but this technique may become obsolete.

You may want to start your introduction with a broad statement. This will attract a wide audience and expand its appeal. You can write down the most interesting topics in your field.

If the current event is related to your topic, you can associate the two. The key is to start from a broad perspective and then focus on specific topics and thesis statements.

Background (make relevant)

Your introduction should include enough background information to ensure that the reader sufficiently understands the statement and its arguments.

Of course, you should note that different fields have different amounts of background information. There should be enough background information in your introduction so that when you talk about the main body of the paper, it will maintain this interest without spending too much time writing it again.

General knowledge of the subject

It would help if you let readers know what the purpose of this study is.

If you don’t describe the motivation that drives you in the first sentence, you should mention it here.

Describe your research topic and scope

Why is your research relevant to practice? That is, why is it relevant to the subject of your paper?

If there are topics from a scientific or artistic perspective, you may want to include examples of other articles, briefly explaining them and how they are relevant to your research.

What’s next (preview your points)

Let the reader know what will happen next.

This should give readers enough interest in the key points.

You must leave the best to the main body of the paper.

It would help if you made it the first part of your topic, whether a statement or the first topic.

Example:

Literature Review (2400 words)

The purpose of the literature review is to:

Discuss and review work, ideas, research and theories related to your research problem.

Prove that your work will fill the gaps or deficiencies in previous research.

This must prove that the research that your paper will continue to discuss is correct.

This can be integrated into your paper in three ways:

introduction

Just like its own chapter

Organically incorporated into each chapter.

Like your summary and introduction, you should write an original version and then rewrite it. Ensure that this is taken into account in the workflow of the paper.

Literature review must do the following:

Have a clear understanding of your thesis and works/videos/movies related to your research field.

Demonstrate that you can integrate these contents into your paper clearly and coherently.

Demonstrate evaluation ability.

Your marker must know all the above (remember your audience).

What should my literary works include? Your literature should:

Deal with a theory that supports your work.

Make a statement related to your research field.

Either within the scope of your topic or obviously, overlap.

Recognize the work of others.

It helps to form a coherent argument.

Define the current research status of your research field.

You shouldn’t just describe other people’s work in your literature review.

When you think analytically, you should ask yourself important questions:

Who said that? Why do they say that? What is the basis? Is the foundation clear? Is this reasonable?

When you think analytically, you should ask yourself important questions:

What are the prospects?

Have others reviewed the work? What did they say?

What does this have to do with your research?

Your comment structure should be considered here.

Like every aspect of this paper, it needs to be clear, concise and modified after the initial writing.

Is it meaningful for others to read?

Your structure can be:

Chronological order (you can simply and clearly complete this work in the first draft of the paper and adapt it into a more mobile structure. Chronological order is as the name suggests, or in the order, you study the literature, or according to the date of its publication.)

Topics (divide the literature into topics related to your research. Make sure these topics are clear and cross-reference them as you move between them in your writing.)

Wheel (most suitable for the research of different disciplines in your research field. The name behind this method is related to the aggregation of these research points in your review. For example, you can write down how they are connected and then show how they work together to support your research. This is different from the theme because you didn’t write according to their original theme.)

Pyramid (start with a broader topic, and then you will begin to determine the focus and narrow the scope to more specific literature more directly related to your research field. You may think this is a writing method similar to the introduction.)

Chapter by chapter (this is the most organic way of writing and naturally the most difficult. If your chapter adopts a more narrative approach, you may want to introduce a literature review related to the chapter topic in the chapter introduction (you will see examples in this regard)

Be sure to focus on creating a “narrative voice” for your comments.

This is to ensure that your work is smooth and create something for the audience to follow. I can give you a guide if you like. Reading book reviews in journals can help you determine a formal style of academic review.

A reminder of places to find such texts:

https://www.disneyanimation.com/publications/

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/animation/

https://animateprojectsarchive.org/writing

Example:

Other research into the thesis structure will be updated in my next blog.

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Term3_Project Summary_ Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques

Posted on 16th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

I have undertaken three projects this semester, and I will summarize my learning and gains in this BLOG.

1.[FMP Proposal &Presentation]

These are the links to my [FMP Proposal &Presentation] project for this semester.

Application of light rendering technology in stained glass scene model based on MAYA_Proposal:

Application of light rendering technology in stained glass scene model based on MAYA_Proposal

FMP Proposal Presentation:

FMP Proposal Presentation

Process:

I was a little confused about what I wanted to do when I initially started my FMP studies because there was so much I wanted to do. Then I remembered my research on lighting in children’s animated films from Term 1, and I decided to try my hand at lighting rendering. I assumed that the physical aspect of lighting would provide me with some motivation for new research because I intended to undertake more academic study in my future job.

After deciding on lighting, I began looking into more particular study directions. Although numerous illumination evaluations are available, there are still many aspects of Arnold rendering in MAYA that can be investigated. I began by looking at many lighting renderings and analyzing the various types of renders available. Then I discovered that there was very little study done on materials with transparent characteristics. ‘Frozen’ is an animated children’s film in which ice plays a central element, and this type of transparent ice produces a representation with a dreamy artistic impact. I came up with two different ideas, one for bubble elements and the other for glass elements.

When I told KK about it, he told me about the qualities of both the bubbles and the glass and some of the production experience I needed. I decided that glass would be a better material to research because it contains more real-life substance and would be easier to compare and observe.

My FMP was supposed to be an animated short film at first. However, after talking with KK, I decided that removing part of the footage would help me display the rendered work more effectively. As a result, I opted to concentrate on rendering the scene architecture. As part of my FMP research, I chose to develop stained glass scene lighting.

Conclusion:

I had a more specific idea of the end FMP production for the project when I researched and composed my Proposal. I chose stained glass scene lighting as a subject that intrigued me more after comparing and analyzing the material accessible. I’ve also come up with some new ideas for my project’s final product, and I’ve assigned myself the chore of researching lighting rendering for stained glass scenarios. I also had some more precise thoughts regarding the research’s direction and some of the data setup required for the FMP generation, such as the lighting setup and part of the scene’s lighting data. This procedure aided me in completing a research outline and organize better the content of the projects I need to accomplish for the remainder of my studies.

Feedback:

The feedback from Luke gave me more ideas on the extended materials for colored glass scene lighting project research. I will book KK’s session to ask questions about the materials and lighting research of colored glass (also prisms and water). I think this summer holiday I still need to research more and more lighting work.

2.[Personal Project]

Process:

https://3danimationyu.myblog.arts.ac.uk/category/advanced-experimental-3d-computer-animation/

I produced a script, character setups, storyboards, and outdoor scene models for this personal project. I also put the stained glass materials and illumination to the test. The textures and lighting in the project still need to be investigated, and the current results are a little off from what I envisioned. I’m talking with KK about how to improve and work on my renders. During the holidays, I’ll continue to improve my stained glass textures and lighting renders.

Conclusion:

Preparation for my FMP project was the focus of my personal project this semester. I had a clearer purpose for the direction of my FMP research and an initial notion for the substance of the Thesis during the course of my personal project. The most significant benefit, I believe, is that I have gotten a better understanding and production technique in depicting stained glass materials and lighting as a result of my investigation of my personal project. Despite the fact that some of the statistics were not successful, I realized wherein the project I might improve.

3.[Collaboration Project]

Process:

https://3danimationyu.myblog.arts.ac.uk/category/advanced-experimental-3d-computer-animation/

We collaborated on setting up several cyberpunk features in the early stages of the project. I was in charge of developing the models for the study room and the sleeping cabin on the first floor for this collaborative project. This was my first attempt making a cyberpunk model, and there were a few that I wasn’t sure what to do with at first. However, by looking at materials and reference photographs through the process, I was able to come up with a number of new ideas for the models. I’d also talk to the other students in the group and solicit their opinions on the models. I’ve made some development in my modeling abilities as a result of this.

In this cooperation project, we have not fully realized the final expected effect. In the initial discussion of the project, our group’s idea was to create ar interaction effects with character and character interaction. But because we all have other different projects to take up time, so at present, we have only completed the modeling. Because I have other personal tasks to do, in order not to delay the progress of the cooperation project, I first create the model of the cooperation project this semester. First, I finished the scene modeling of the second floor according to Yufei’s design. But maybe my modeling style is different from Kay’s, so later, after she finished building the scene model on the first floor, we found that we would not have enough time to submit the project if we modified it. But thanks Kay for sharing some modeling suggestions and letting me know some modeling considerations. Although this cooperation project has not been completed, we also found that if there are many members in the cooperation group, we need to pay more attention to the time arrangement of various work. We will continue to improve this modeling project when we have time.

Conclusion:

This was my first try at modeling an interior scene in a cyberpunk style. I was first concerned about a large number of decorative models in the scene and confused about how to construct a model that met the project’s requirements. But in the process of exploration and production, I gradually found some rules of modeling. Faces limit the creation of this project model, and I have good control for the number of faces in the model within a reasonable range. We all provided some suggestions for improvement throughout our interactions with the project team members, which helped me gain some modeling abilities as well. I’m no longer frightened to build models in a new style I’ve never explored before because of this modeling.

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WEEK6_Scene Lighting Test

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This week I will be testing the scene lighting for the stained glass building.

I started by finding some videos of Arnold lighting renders on the web:

I found all these videos very helpful, and I will light my scenes mainly with three points of light. I also found some reference pictures of lighting in realistic scene towns.

To give the scene some realistic light response, I will add a [aiSkyDomeLight] with HDR mapping.

The effect with only white light and the effect with HDR mapping:

After adding the [aiSkyDomeLight] light with HDR mapping to the scene, you can feel the light in the scene is more realistic. This is because, at this point, the model will have reflections from the lights on the HDR map.

I am going to start by referring mainly to the lighting in this photograph：

I will design the scene with the main light source on the left side, as the clouds will be a little brighter on the left side. Also, colored buildings would have a better visual effect with more lights. I needed to keep only one of the lights created when creating the lighting effect, so I hid the HDR mapping [aiSkyDomeLight] first.

Tips:

There are six types of lighting in Maya: ambientLight and directionalLight, which have no decay. Other lighting control methods are as follows.

1. PointLight: pointLight properties in Decay Rate: you can achieve linear linear\square Quadratic\cubic three attenuation methods but can not control the attenuation range with the light intensity control simulation.

Another control method: in Hypershade – mental ray – MentalRay Lights – find mib_light_point and drag the middle mouse button into the pointLightShape property under mentalray on the LightShader channel, click on the back entrance, open mib_light_point light_point property panel, ensure that the Attenuation attenuation item is checked and adjust Stop to control it.

2.SpotLight: spotLight properties Penumbra Angle penumbra angle: control the degree of light edge defocus. Dropoff attenuation: control the light attenuation range.

[Intensity] The default value is 1. The larger the value, the stronger the light. Decay Rate] has four modes: No Decay, Linear, Quadratic and Cubic. The square decay simulates the real scene best and is the most common decay mode we use. Cone Angle] is used to indicating the size of the spotlight; Penumbra Angle] controls the attenuation of the light, simulating the real and imaginary changes in light. Dropoff] light inward attenuation, combined with the semi-circular angle to make the light more realistic changes in light.

3. AreaLight: areaLight to adjust the attenuation range combined with the properties of light [Intensity]and three types of attenuation to control

4. VolumeLight: properties volumeLight Light Shape to Cylinder cylinder or Cone vertebrae, then Penumbra properties open, adjust the value of selected Value can control the attenuation range.

I first created an Area light as the main Fill light for the scene, the difference between [Intensity] 20,000 and 40,000 with only white light. I chose an Intensity value of 40,000.

According to HDR lighting, set the time of the scene to [Noon],test the value of 5500-6500K.

Test：

The scene with Fill light added (the image on the left shows the scene without Fill light added)：

Now create the key light for the scene:

You can clearly see that the front of the scene is illuminated and that the mapped light from the stained glass on the right is also reflected on the stained glass building at the back.

The scene with the addition of Key light (the image on the left shows the scene without the addition of Key light):

Looking at the stained glass buildings on the right at this point, you will see that their translucency through each other has also increased, and the overall texture will have a more refractive feel of glass.

Adding Rim Light to the scene:

I have added a Rim Light on the right side, reflecting light to the yellow glass buildings.

Rim Light has been added to the scene (the image on the left shows the scene without the addition of Rim Light).

On the colorless glass building on the left, the reflected yellow light is more visible.

Current lighting effect of all lights on:

Now, add some lighting details to the scene:

Fill light on the stained glass’s right side (to add a light-transmitting quality to the stained glass).

Create a directional light that looked like this at first, but the light was quite strange.

So I changed the position of the direction light and the value of the [shadow color] and it looks much better this time:

But I was still not quite satisfied, so I continued to adjust. This time the houses on the left and the right are shaded.

I want to make two Area Lights to light up the front of the house.

But the reflections on the ground are not so wonderful, so I tried to cover them with a mask. But then the other lights wouldn’t work on the ground. So I considered relayering the rendering, but it was a little tricky. In the end, I found a simple solution.

In the [Rendering] screen click on [lighting/shading], then [light linking editor] and click on [Light centric]. On the left side, select the light; the illuminated objects will appear on the right side. By default, all objects are selected. If you do not need to light the model, click to cancel.

Current lighting Layout:

Current integrated lighting effects:

Summary of this week:

This week, I mainly tested the scene lighting of stained glass, but I feel that the lighting effect has not reached my expected goal. Because I have many projects simultaneously, I am worried about the production effect and time limit of the current lighting. I told Luke that I have tried to balance the time allocation of different projects. Luke told me that he understood my situation fine and told me not to pressure, just try to complete the schedule as much as possible. My anxiety was relieved a lot.

Although the time is very tight, I still try to consult with KK about modifying it and then do as many tests as possible. After KK gave me feedback on the colored glass materials and scene lighting production about my project, he said that I could book a session. He would help me analyze and put forward some suggestions. We quickly decided the time of the session.

I’m now working on the content of these links. The good news is that after this exploration of materials and lighting, I have more information and data about the research direction of the FMP project. This semester I will try my best to improve my materials and lighting. During the holidays, I will continue to study stained glass building materials and lighting rendering.

I really want to express my gratitude to my teachers and friends!

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WEEK5_Material Testing and Scene Lighting Rendering Testing

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This week, I’ll be focusing on the development of glass materials. To investigate this glass material study, I want to employ the Arnold renderer in MAYA 2020.

Based on the literature reviewed last week, the glass material was investigated, but it did not appear to operate very well. (Blinn is used as material.)

This is the current property parameter:

I discovered a problem when I used the Arnold renderer to render the Blinn material. The rendering interface material will most definitely not be rendered. This time, I’m going to use the Airstandsurface material to make the model’s substance. I recognized some issues with my current study direction, so I went back to several Arnold renderers to create glass videos.

Ok, don’t worry, let’s start again. I’ve set the model to the Aistandsurface material. Our main concern should be the [Transmission] property, as this property is important for us to set the transparent material of the glass. Some objects do not absorb or reflect light when it hits them but rather cause the light to change angle once it has passed through them. This process of changing the angle at which the light hits is called refraction. Where light passes through an object without scattering, the object’s surface is transparent, while where light passes through an object with scattering, the object’s surface is translucent. In both cases, an interaction between the light and the object through which it passes occurs.

(I have quietly changed the Base color to make it easier for me to see the material effect of the stained glass directly)

I have adjusted the [Weight] of [Transmission] to 1, but the effect is not a glassy texture at this point.

Next, we need to unset the [opaque] setting in [Arnold] because we want to make sure that the [Arnold] renderer guides us to render not a matte material but a transparent glass material.

At this point, I discovered the mistake I had made. I could have done without adjusting the [Base color] color setting. Adjusting the color in [Color] in [Transmission] is also possible, and the difference in rendering effect is not too big. Increasing the [Depth] and [Scatter] values can supplement the ambient color of the surrounding mapping. You can see that there is purple in the scatter color of the object.

Since the glass material I wanted was not designed to disperse the color values inside the object more, I decided not to adjust the [Depth] and [Scatter] values for now. (Depth and Scatter can also be used to create liquids with a viscous consistency, such as milk or honey)

Scatter Anisotropy] is an attribute of scattering and will generally have an initial value [0]. Dispersion Abbe] can be changed to add colored refracted light to the model (similar to the texture of a gemstone) and [Extra Roughness] is to help add roughness to the model (similar to the texture of frosted glass). So far, these three attributes are not needed for this project.

The next thing to note is the [IOR] value in [Specular], [IOR] means Index of Refraction. Water has an IOR of [1.333], glass has an IOR of [1.5 to 1.7], and diamond is [2.418]. It is important to be aware of the refractive index than the material itself will produce. This operation will help the model to render the material better.

OK, so the initial plan for the materials has been decided. The next step is to create the different colored glass materials for the models in the scene.

The initial set of material effects :

At the moment, I have only given each building model one color material for them. I am going to take the base material model first to test the lighting effect. This will reduce some of the rendering time. (Right now, there is only one [aiSkyDomeLight] lighting the scene)

Summary of this week:

I have been doing some initial material testing this week and I have realized that the stained glass material does present some difficulties. My scene has a stained glass look, but the glass is not very transparent, and I am not sure what stained glass building material will help create a better lighting effect for the scene. I will ask KK for some advice on stained glass and outdoor lighting after I test the lighting next week.

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WEEK4_Modelling The Outdoor Scenes Of The Town

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This week I started to create a model of the scene. As I have a lot of projects this semester, I will create just one exterior scene of the town to test the stained glass material and the rendered image. I also want one side of the town to be stained glass and the other side to be uncolored glass. So for the outside of the town, I will design half of the scene to be a stained glass building with an exaggerated shape and the other half to be a more regular colorless building.

Here are some of the reference images I found for the scene:

This is the first version of the scene model:

The second version of the scene model: (I reduced some buildings in order to test the materials and lighting of the scene as soon as possible. And I also modified the wiring)

Yann and I shared a video on the creation of the material for the stained glass.

This video is interesting and in summary, the author shares with us the use of textures to create light coming through the model. After using the base material model, add colored images to the [texture] in the [transmission] section so that the light shows colored light when it hits the model. This might be suitable for me when creating interior scenes, as I have a plot design where the furniture in the house glows with colored candy when the candy on the tabletop shines on the scene inside.

For this outdoor scene, because of the large number of models, too much-colored light can cause the models to reflect light that is uncomfortable to look at. Therefore, I will create a different color of colored glass on each model and consider reducing the glass’s transparency to reduce the amount of light cast from the houses. As I intend to create the outdoor scenes separately from the indoor scenes, this will reduce the number of faces on the model.

For the exploration of glass materials:

Material is the essential material on the surface of an object, such as wood, plastic, metal or glass. Among the various materials used in 3D models, glass is often used and is a difficult material to represent. Many CG designers make glass materials that are not ideal. The designer in the creative process is completely dependent on personal feelings and subjective understanding of things, directly with a material ball for parameter adjustment. Still, the final effect of rendering and the actual glass material is very different. Therefore, we should first analyze the physical properties of the glass and its parameters and then test and adjust them in the software according to our analysis and understanding. To analyze the physical properties of glass, we should start with perceptual cognition and rational analysis: 1. Perceptual cognition of glass, first of all from the visual perception of transparent, reflective, high-gloss. A rational analysis of glass materials should include more scientific knowledge of physical theory. For example, the refractive index of glass and the conservation of light energy, etc., but also through the Internet or other literature to find its physical properties.

The more important properties of glass are refractive index close to 1.6, the reflectivity of approximately 15%, incident light energy = reflected light energy + transmitted light (regardless of absorption) in addition to glass also has the Fresnel effect. The French physicist Fresnel found that the amount of light reflected from a surface is related to the viewing angle when looking at it. When the line of sight is perpendicular to the object’s surface, the reflection is weaker and the transparency is higher. In contrast, when the line of sight is not perpendicular to the surface, the reflection is stronger and the transparency is lower. What causes the difference in the amount of reflected light is the angle of the viewing glass.

The following is a brief analysis of how to use MAYA to achieve a more realistic glass material.

First, determine the basic material sphere because the surface of the glass material is brighter and more reflective, so use MAYA’s Blinn material sphere as the base material for the glass. Then, you need to adjust the values of the Blinn material sphere. The process of creating the glass material should be based on the physical properties and then add artistic embellishments.

The color property should be black or near black. Although, in reality, glass looks mostly transparent and colorless or close to colorless, there is a gap between software and reality, and the physical properties here are only used as a reference direction, and the parametric properties in the software are not fully equivalent to the physical properties. For reasons of mya software implementation algorithm and a lot of practice tests, it is concluded that, in general, the color is black or close to black, whether it is made of glass or metal.

Transparency is the physical property of transparency, which is known to be around 15% reflective, so the transparency setting here can be close to 85%. However, because glass has a Fresnel effect, the material’s transparency must have a gradation from strong to weak from the viewer’s line of sight perpendicular to the object to parallel to the object. So you must use the light and dark of the ramp map color parameter, i.e., select color, to control the average value of the ramp map’s select color, which is approximately 85 percent. If you want to get a stained glass effect, you can also adjust the transparency color directly. I will test this by simply giving the glass material some color first.

The Diffuse property, because glass is transparent, most of the light will be transmitted out of the object, so the Diffuse parameter is very small and can be set to around 0.3 for now.

Eccentricity, this parameter controls the range of highlights. Decreasing the value of this property here will result in a smaller range of highlights and a smoother surface for the glass.

Specular roll of (high light intensity), glass should have stronger and sharper highlights, so this parameter should be increased appropriately.

Specular color, white or grey, represents the highlight color determined by the light source color and is the most commonly used and most natural. White or slightly greyish is used here. It is important to note that colored highlights are only available for metallic surfaces.

Reflectivity (reflectivity), the physical properties of glass reflectivity, is 15%. So the parameters here can be close to that value. Still, because of the Fresnel effect, the reflectivity here should also be gradual. Use the amp mapping color light and dark to control the change in its parameters, just like the transparency gradient control above.

Refractive index (refractive index), the previous physical properties of the analysis already know the refractive index of glass, directly adjusted to about 1.6 can be.

Refraction limit, which requires an analysis of the actual refraction of light in the glass bottle.

The higher the Refraction limit, the whiter and brighter the entire bottle material will be, and vice versa, the darker it will be.

If you want to get the ideal glass material, not only do you need to adjust the material sphere itself carefully, but you also need to set the light and render it correctly. Otherwise, you need to check the refraction box in the renderer settings. Otherwise, the light will not be refracted in the glass.

I will be working on the glass material settings and lighting next week.

Summary of this week:

This week I completed the creation of the scene models. I deliberately created the houses on both sides of the street differently during the scene design. I wanted the stained glass buildings to have a more interesting shape and the colorless buildings to have a more rigid Cube shape. This way, when creating the materials for the models, there will be an interesting shape in addition to the different materials later on. In addition, it helps to add some artistic detail to the lighting renders.

I also explored some glass materials and learned about the parameters. I think this will help me to create better materials and lighting for my scenes.

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WEEK3_ Complete Character Design And Storyboard

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This week I will finish the character design and storyboard drawing

I hope the female role is a professional woman who looks a little bit colder, while the little boy’s part is cute.

Female role design reference:

Design inspiration for a little boy:

Screenshot of some of the reference drawings:

Black and white suits for female characters references:

Three views of a line drawing of a female character:

Three views of the line drawing of the young boy character:

Scale drawings of female characters and young boy:

Female character colouring image:

Coloring page for a small boy character:

Storyboard plan:

1. The heroine is dressed in a black and white suit and carrying a suitcase, ready to move into the town.

2. As she walks under the sign for the town, she notices that the town is half colored and half black and white and grey buildings.

3. The heroine walks towards the black and white building with her luggage.

4. and takes an envelope out of her clothes. When she opens the envelope containing her keys in her hand, she finds that her keys are colored.

5. With a grimace on her face, the heroine glances at the black and white building and heads towards the colored part of town.

6. After the heroine enters the colored building, she finds her room is full of colored furniture.

7. The heroine was dressed in a black and white suit, which was incongruous in the colored rooms.

8. She took a look at the colored building and immediately rushed out of the house. The lady calls the moving company outside the building to come over [the moving company only needs to appear in the picture with a car and an outdoor scene, driving from right to left].

When the moving company leaves, all the furniture is changed to black and white.

10. The lady sits on a chair and nods in satisfaction.

11. and filled a decorative tray on the table with black and grey sweets.

12. the next day, the heroine went out with a frown on her face

13. accidentally dropped her folder on the floor.

14. A young boy in a colorful costume helped the heroine to pick up her folder.

15. The heroine frowns and looks down at the little boy and tries to smile.

16. The heroine gives the boy a handful of black and white sweets as a token of her gratitude.

17. When the heroine returns home in the evening, she runs into the little boy again. The boy’s schoolbag had a hole in the bottom, and his books had tumbled to the floor.

18. The boy greeted her excitedly when he saw her.

19. The heroine sighed and walked over to help the boy pick up his school bag.

20. When the boy and the heroine returned to their black and white home, the boy looked around at the heroine’s room.

21. The heroine sews the colorful schoolbag (it has black and white threads on it.) The little boy bows with the bag on his back to thank him and leaves a jar of rainbow-colored sweets for the heroine.

22. The heroine places the colored sweets next to the black and white sweets. At night under the light, the colored sweets are mapped out in a grey room with a colored glow.

23. Many days later, the heroine was smiling and greeting the little boy on the roadside.

24. She would often admire the rainbow-colored sweets at home and decorated her room with little colorful ornaments.

25. However, the heroine received an envelope with a black and white key.

26. The heroine examined the black and white key in her hand, followed by the colorful key next to the colored sweets.

27. The heroine packed her bags, and when she left the house, she still looked reluctantly at the colored room. Then, finally, the door slowly closes, and from the room, which is already partially furnished with colored furniture, the heroine looks out of the room, dressed in a black and white suit, and her expression changes from a smile to a frown of unhappiness].

28. The heroine takes her suitcase and moves into the empty black and white room.

29. She looks around the black and white room [the layout is the same as the colored room, but without the decorations], and some colored decorations are flashing for a few seconds [it is the heroine’s illusion, she is starting to miss her once colored room].

30. The heroine waited from day to night, the room was only black and white candy, and the heroine looked at the colorless light in a daze.

31.A colored candy fell from the heroine’s garment hung on the wall, and the heroine glanced at the colorful candy with a dazzling light.

32. At this point, the black and white room is filled with colored light.

33. The heroine’s expression changes from lost to happy. She immediately takes out her mobile phone and calls the moving company to come over [the moving company only needs to appear in the picture with a car and an outdoor scene, a car driving from right to left].

The moving company came and changed all the furniture to the same color as the previously colored room.

35. The protagonist sits on a chair and nods in satisfaction.

36. and filled the decorative tray on the table with colored sweets [colored light shone throughout the room].

[Storyboard]

Summary of this week:

I finished character design and storyboard drawing this week. Even though I may have had time limits during production, I wanted to produce as full a tale as possible, and KK suggested I try to build a montage of clips, which I thought would be a nice approach to highlight my rendering work and plot. I’ll begin prepping the scene models for creation next week!

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WEEK2_Refining The Script Writing

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

This week I will be refining my script design.

After talking to Luke, he suggested that I try to cut out some unnecessary storylines. For example, the old grandmother’s story. This might help me to reduce my workload a lot. I think this advice was very helpful to me. This way, I can reduce some of the model creation and character animation. The main thing I wanted to do with this project was to show the effects of the lighting.

KK also gave me some suggestions：

After some discussion with KK, I found that I was more interested in creating a stained glass-like material to create the scene than a bubble material. Although the main thing I wanted to showcase in my project was the lighting, I could use a montage editing technique to minimize the number of tasks outside of lighting production if I wanted to maintain the story’s integrity. This idea has inspired me. Perhaps I could add storyboards to my stories to show the whole story in a minimum of shots.

I have revised the script again and this time it looks and feels much better.

The film’s audience：

Teenagers

Characterization ：

The female protagonist is a working beat worker who looks very serious and wears a black and white suit. Age is around 20 years old.

The heroine is dressed in a black and white suit and carries a suitcase to move into the town. As she walks under the sign for the city, she notices that the town is half colored and half black and white and grey buildings. With her bags in hand, the heroine approaches the black and white structure and removes an envelope from her clothing. She discovers that her keys are colored as she opens the packet containing them in her palm. The heroine looks at the black and white building with a frown on her face and walks towards the colored section of town.

After the heroine enters the colored building, she finds her room is full of colored furniture. Dressed in a black and white suit, very incongruous in the colored rooms, the heroine took one look at the colored building and immediately rushed out of the house. The heroine calls the movers outside the building to come over [the movers only need to be in the picture with the car and outdoor scene, a car driving from right to left]. When the movers have left, all the furniture has now been changed to black and white. The lady sits in her chair and nods in satisfaction. And she puts black and grey sweets on a pretty tray on the table.

The next day the heroine frowned as she went out and accidentally dropped her folder on the floor. A young boy in a colorful costume helped the heroine pick up her folder. The heroine frowns and looks down at the little boy and tries to smile. The heroine gives the little boy a handful of black and white sweets as a token of her appreciation. When the heroine returns home in the evening, she runs into the little boy again. The little boy had a hole in the bottom of his school bag and his books had fallen on the floor. When the boy saw the lady, he greeted her excitedly. The heroine sighed and walked over to help the boy pick up his bag. When the boy and the heroine returned to their black and white home, the boy looked around at the heroine’s room. The heroine sews the colorful school bag (which has a black and white thread on it.) The little boy bows with the book bag on his back to express his gratitude and leaves a jar of rainbow-colored sweets for the main character. The heroine places the colored sweets next to the black and white sweets. The colored sweets are mapped out in a colored light in the grey room at night in the lamp’s light.

Many days later, the heroine would already be smiling and greeting the little boys on the roadside. When she is at home, she also regularly admires the rainbow-colored sweets and decorates her room with small colorful ornaments. However, the heroine received an envelope with a black and white key. The heroine looks at the black and white key in her hand and then at the colored key next to the colored sweets. The heroine packed her bags, and when she left the house, she still looked at the colored room with reluctance. [At this point, the door slowly closes, and she looks out of the room at the heroine in her black and white suit, her countenance turning from a grin to an unhappy frown] The heroine pulls her bag and moves inside the vacant black and white room. She looks around the black and white room [this layout is the same as the colored room but without the decorations], some colored decorations are flashing for a few seconds [this is the heroine’s illusion, she is starting to miss her once colored room].

The heroine waited from day tonight. The room was only black and white candy. The heroine looked at the colorless light and stared in awe. Then, a colored candy fell from the suit the heroine had hung on the wall, and the heroine watched the colored candy glow brightly. At that moment, the black and white room was filled with colored light. The heroine’s expression changes from lost to happy, and she immediately takes out her mobile phone and calls the movers to come over [the movers only need to appear in the scene with the car and the outdoor scene, a car drives from the right side to the left side]. The movers came and changed all the furniture to the same color as the previously colored room. The protagonist sits in the chair and nods in satisfaction. And filled the ornamental dish on the table with colored candies [a colored light radiated throughout the room].

Summary of this week:

This week, the script was perfected and the process of creating the story was pleasant. After discussing with KK this week, I will make the lighting effect of the colored glass in Maya. Keep going! Next week, I will prepare to draw character drawings and a storyboard.

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WEEK1_Personal Project Preparation

Posted on 14th June 2021 by Jianyu Yin

Personal project:

As part of my personal project, I’d like to research my final graduation project. I want to refine the script and character design with my project before creating bubble or glass characters and scenes for the final animation. Simultaneously, I’d like to experiment with character modeling and rigging, as well as composite test lighting for individual scene models. I also wanted to test the three-dimensional rendering of the animation’s two-dimensional effect for the final rendering.

This is the first draft of the script I designed (similar to the initial inspiration, and I will continue to refine the plot):

There are two communities in town: one is a colorless community, and another is a colorful community. People in the colorless community are unconcerned about helping others. They are only concerned with themselves. Our protagonist carries a suitcase and moves into this town.

The protagonist appears serious in a black and white formal gown, but she is kind-hearted and frequently assists others. The protagonist has already imagined her life in the colorless community when she arrives at the house allocation center. However, the staff gave her the wrong form and assigned the protagonist to the colorful community. Then some amusing little stories occur.

The staff came to the door to inform the protagonist that she has entered the wrong house. The protagonist has been reassigned to the colorless community. The protagonist realizes that she begins to miss her colorful life despite being a serious person. After a few more vignettes, the protagonist achieves a balance between black and white and colorful life.

Reason for research: Because I didn’t find much more information about using three-dimensional rendering of the two-dimensional effect of the bubble-type character and scene animation on the internet. Therefore I thought this might be an exploration for me to research more skills.

Some images of scenes with bubbles that I found:

Similar types of character design :

[The first version of the script]

The film’s audience:

Teenagers

Characterization:

The female protagonist is a working beat worker who looks very serious and wears a black and white suit. Age is around 20 years old.

The main character is dressed in a black and white suit and carries a suitcase to move into the town. As she walks up to the sign for the city, she notices that the town is half colored and half black, white and grey buildings. When she opens the envelope containing her keys in her hand, she discovers that her keys are colored. The protagonist looks at the black and white building and frowns as she walks towards the colored half of the town. The moment she walks into her room, she realizes that her room is full of colored furniture. The protagonist immediately called a moving company to come over. She is replacing all the furniture with black and white. The protagonist nodded with satisfaction as she sat in her chair. And placed black and grey sweets on a beautiful tray on the table.

As the protagonist was leaving the house, he accidentally dropped his folder on the floor. A young boy helped the protagonist pick up the folder. To show his gratitude, the protagonist gives the boy a handful of black and white sweets. When the protagonist returns home in the evening, he runs into the little boy again. The boy’s school bag had a hole in the bottom, and his books had spilled onto the floor. When the boy saw the protagonist, he greeted him excitedly. The protagonist walks over to the boy and helps him pick up his bag. The boy and the protagonist look around when they return to their black and white home. The protagonist sews the school bag (it has a black and white thread on it.) The little boy bows with his bag on his back to thank him and leaves the protagonist a jar of rainbow-colored sweets. The protagonist bears the colored sweets next to the black and white sweets. The colored candies are mapped out in a colored light in the grey room at night under the light.

When the protagonist returns home, he finds a grandmother pushing a cart full of items next to the stairs. The protagonist helps the grandmother to push the trolley up the lift and delivers it to her house. The grandmother gives the protagonist a pot of colorful flowers. When the protagonist gets home, he puts the flowers on the bedside table. The clock on the wall turns (indicating the passage of time), and the protagonist’s house is now full of colorful objects.

The protagonist receives an envelope with a black and white key. The protagonist packs his bags and then looks reluctantly at the colorful room. The protagonist pulls his suitcase into the empty black and white room. The protagonist looks around and remembers his colored room. The protagonist summoned the movers to replace all of the furnishings with the same color scheme as the previous room. The protagonist nodded with satisfaction as he sat in his chair. And I piled colorful goodies on the table’s attractive tray.

This week’s summary:

I’m still undecided on whether I want to make a bubble or glass structure. I figured some teacher advice would help me find some inspiration. I’ve been fascinated by rendering lighting and materials since writing an article on lighting in 3D animated films in Term 1. This personal project could also serve as a warm-up for my FMP project.

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