I've got some cool redesigns of my models that I'm making progress on! First, however, I would like to regale my experience of an animation test. This happened on Monday and Tuesday so it doesn't really qualify for what I would call "this week" for the blog, but it's fresh in my mind and I wanted to talk about it.
I've mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was in contact with a recruitment agency that could potentially get me a chance to have a short term animation gig at a company. I animated the horse rig and added it to my reel. To my surprise, the company wanted me to sit an animation test for them! Just to see if I was able to do what they wanted of me. Through out the weekend, I was super excited. I was telling all my friends about it, and I was really nervous about the whole thing. I was told that the test was scheduled for Monday, so I put an alarm on to make sure I wake up early as possible for it.
Come Monday, I wake up, get on my computer and mentally prepare myself for the upcoming assessment. I woke up at around 9 to give myself some leeway for it. Whenever I have something big planned for the day like a phone call or an appointment, I usually try to not start anything that would take a long amount of time. I'm just waiting around at this point.
An hour goes by. Then another. And another.
It isn't until 2:30 that I actually get an email from the company. That's fine, they're probably busy, they're a small company. I get introduced to the CEO and the lead of the dev team, and get some info about how long the test is intended to last for, 3 hours. I also get some link for resources that I will need for the test. I run into my first problem. I don't actually have access to the google drives that have what I need. I request access and shoot some emails off just to let them know that I need to be given access. Half an hour goes by before I'm able to actually see anything. Ok, annoying, but whatever. I get given some models and a brief on what is needed of me. I also get some links to reference videos that I can use for my animation. I did not get warning, however, about the content of the videos. I figured it would be something unsavoury based on the description of cattle being "stunned". What I did not expect was, with no warning, cows dangling from a hoof with a slit throat and blood pouring out. I'm not the type of person to trudge the horrors of the internet for irl gore, so this certainly was upsetting to me.
I eventually get started on the animation. Mind you, the rig wasn't really much of a rig. It was basically just a model with some joints. No controls at all. I stomach as much as I possibly can of the video and animate for about an hour and a half. I then get a message from the CEO. Asked me how I was going. I said I was doing pretty good, and that I was just a bit confused on what I actually needed to animate. He then asks me if I had spoken to the dev lead. To be fair, I didn't. I figured that I had everything that I required for the test. After this, I get sent an email from the dev lead himself. More resources, a proper explanation of the task, and a little warning about the content of the videos (hour and a half late, but thanks for the warning). I had a look at the new set of resources that I got given. Another problem. This is completely different to what I was given and what I was working with. Alright, hour 30 down the drain, but I've still got time. Once more, another problem. The animation that is required of me is much too complex to animate in 3 hours, let alone with what was basically an unfinished rig. At this point, I'm stressed, panicking and trying to figure out what on god's green earth im supposed to do for the rest of the day.
By the end of the work day, I'm done. I can't do anything. Things are unclear. It's all a mess. It's at this point that I break down. I'm sobbing and I cannot control myself. I would also like to mention that I was more or less given my friends a play-by-play of what was going down throughout the entire day, and I made it very clear that I wasn't happy with the situation at hand. I hobble over to my brother's room and console in him about the entire ordeal. He helps me to write up an email to explain the situation to the woman at the recruitment agency. She's an absolute angel and responds that she will have a talk to the company's team about everything the next day. I end the day off really upset, but a bit better despite the messy ordeal.
Tuesday rolls around and I get an email from the CEO. Basically asking if there's anything I've done, since the folder for results are empty. I explain to him that the woman from the agency will be talking to him and the team, and that she will explain it. Tuesday is also the day that me and my brother have a big ol' day. Nice walk to the bus interchange, head over to Costco for some yummy yummy cheap food, then head to the library for me to do some uninterrupted 3D. It's around when we're leaving Costco when I get a call from the dev lead. I explain everything that's happened the day before and he's very sympathetic about it all. I tell him about the cow rig, and he asks me if I could rig it myself. I'm not happy about this situation, as I assumed that the animation test was going to be animating. I say that I can, but it won't be great since it isn't my area of expertise. My brother and I head over to the library and I get started with doing something that would make this rig at least a little bit usable.
It's also around this time I get a call from the woman from the recruitment agency. She says she told them about the whole situation, that I wasn't happy about being given a warning about the videos after the fact, and that I should limit how much I do today to a max of 3 hours. Not just because that's the time for the test allotted, but also because they would have to pay me for any more. As much as I would like the cash, I really don't want it to be some such a messy situation, so I do an hour and a half of trying to figure out how Maya's IKHandles tool works and head back home to do at least a little bit of animation. I get back and do as much as I possibly can with a half-done rig and whatever I can. By the end of it, I've barely done anything, but I just want it to be over with. I send it over and send an email to the CEO and the dev lead about what I did, how much I did, and the circumstances that lead to me doing so little. The dev lead was, again, very sympathetic and appreciated the honesty in my email. I ended Tuesday a lot better since I felt as though a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders and that I was able to finally relax after what was two days of mayhem. I wouldn't have to deal with any of this anymore and I seriously doubt that they will hire me. Not only because they should focus on refining their process (it was mentioned they recently shifted from outsourcing to in house stuff, so it's understandable), but because the work I did isn't indicative of my skill as an artist. If I get a word back from them asking to progress my hiring further, I would have to put some serious stipulations in place before they hire me.
I reckon that's enough of that, I would much like to show what else I've been doing recently!
For starters, I'm working on a redesign of my Navi model!

This is still a work in progress, but I think it's coming together quite well! For this version, I'm adding more volume to the model lengths way, rather than adding things that add to the verticality of the model. One of the main reasons for this is the two spokes on either end of the model. I plan on adding some holographic-looking hands on the ends so the model isn't just a floating ball with eyes. I reckon it would also look really neat and add more character! You might have also noticed the little cap like overhang as well. I want to make it look sort of like a cap, like one you might see a mailman wear. This is again to add length to the model, and to also make the silhouette more interesting. On the original model, the only part of the model that extruded outwards was the antenna, which resulted in a pretty boring silhouette. I'm making the top half of the model a different colour compared to the rest. To lean into more of the hat part, but also to make it more interesting! My plan for the original model involved a lot of plain white colours. This looked clean, but also kind of boring. Another focus on this model is reducing polycount and simplifying UVs. Despite the simplicity of the original model, the UVs were a bit of a pain to deal with. I'm hoping with this next iteration it will be a bit easier to wrangle.
Also, here is some redesigning of my persona's clothes!

This is still very early, and not at all finished, but it's a start! The main focus for this redesign in particular is to focus on the silhouette, even more so than the Navi model. What I intend on doing is eventually redoing all of the clothes to make a bigger focus on the bottom half of the model. On top of making the model look more interesting, it's also just because I severely neglected the clothes during the making of the model. That isn't to say that I didn't put effort in! Just more that I had the mentality of focusing on the body primarily and the other parts second. I'm also considering changing the colour scheme of the clothes as well. Right now, the clothes have very basic colours. Red shirt, blue pants. Kind of bland. What I plan on doing is trying to get more oranges and blacks to not only make it more interesting, but to also get it closer to the colours that are on the model itself. Orange, yellow, and purple are the main colours that I've picked for the model, and the clothes didn't really reflect that at the moment.
I think that after the debacle that was the animation test, I might take a break from 3D for the rest of the week. Simply to collect my thoughts and to depressurise after everything that went on. I'm sure that I'm going to work on stuff regardless because I'm like that, but I think I'll stick to having a break for the most part. This would more than likely mean that I won't post next week. I hope this is understandable.
Thank you and good-bye for today!