Maya Animation and Lighting – Caroline Arnott

The focus of the animation and lighting of the escape pod will feature it travelling through an icy environment, having problems flying and then plummet into the water.

Figure 1; Story board of the escape pod animation.

The pod will fly around the 3D environment of the landscape to create a depth of field perspective it will enter from the bottom left of the scene, fly around the mountains and then crash into the water. The camera will track and follow the movement of the pod to increase the immersive 3D aesthetic of the animation.

Figure 3; Creating the landscape for the icy mountains and water.

Using Maya the environment was created in two separate layers. These feature an icy mountain range and water scene, when combined together the scene is created.

Figure 4: The two layers combined to make the snowscape mountain scene.

Figure 5; texture and shadows added to the terrain.

Figure 6; Weather elements added to the scene, fire and smoke burning in the distance. The scene is elemental and unhospitable.

Figure 7; A fly-by perspective of the escape pod over the landscape.

Figure 8; Animating the escape pod in the scene.

Figure 9; Experimenting with different weather animations.

Figure 10; The design for the sky dome lighting in Maya.

The lighting used will enhance the cold and inhospitable aesthetic of the scene. The main colour theme is blue of the scene, this space effect sky will create cast shadows and be the objective source lighting created from the sky dome in Maya. It will encapsulate the scene to create a complete environment for the final animation.

Figure 11; All elements in the animation scene; sky dome with image, ground, water and escape pod.

Figure 12; Early attempt at the animation, with some adjustments needed.

The amination above requires some adjustments. Firstly the image of the sky dome light has become pixelated so this must be designed again in a larger size, The path of the escape pod also passes through a mountain at the beginning so this must also be corrected.

Figure 13; Final version of the escape pod animation.