Part 1: Chameleon Animation
For our second environment, the Minar-E-Pakistan, we decided to include a another a creature apart from the snail: a chameleon.
Why a Chameleon?
Chameleons are one of the most versatile animals in nature due to their high ability to adapt their color and movements to their environment. Therefore, they can be perceived as symbols of transformation and change.
Chameleon Reference Videos
In order to create my chameleon animation, the first thing I did was look at reference videos in Youtube. Then, I combined them into one video, making sure I had shots from different perspectives. These reference videos were crucial in order to edit my animation from different viewports in Maya.
- Reference List:
- Around The World (2021). Chameleon – 4K Video – Chameleon Changing Color – 4K Animals Collection with Nature Sounds. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h88091zO3nc&t=271s&ab_channel=AroundTheWorld (Accessed: 03 March 2023).
- duncantakeru (2015) Eye movements of the flap-necked chameleon, Chamaeleo dilepis. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olS7UKZ7C-c&ab_channel=duncantakeru (Accessed: 03 March 2023).
- T3 Times (2015) Veiled Chameleon Walking Funny and Then Changes Color. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls8k4_EHUQQ&ab_channel=T3Times (Accessed: 03 March 2023).
- Thiago Oliveira (2013) The routine of a Chameleon. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNj7ngzDHfk&ab_channel=ThiagoOliveira (Accessed: 03 March 2023).
Chameleon Animation Planning
After watching reference videos, I started planning my animation by analyzing the different body parts and structuring each movement into a timeline.
Chameleon Animation
I animated the chameleon considering that we would place him on a tree branch. I did not add any textures or lightning into the scene since we would edit that in Unity.
Part 2: Critical Setback
Problem: How to export animation files from Maya into Unity
We faced one major challenge when we tried importing the snail and dolphin animations into Unity. Even though I exported them as an .fbx file, part of the 3D model was not visible in the Unity scene.
I had an emergency meeting with our animation mentor George, who advised me to bake the animation. This solved the problem of importing the rig, however, the animation was still not visible in Unity. Even though the keyframes were visible in Unity, the animation did not work.
Solution: Export the animation as an alembic file
After several attemps of fixing this problem, Shizra came up with a solution as she faced a similar error in her previous job. Instead of exporting the animation as an .fbx file, she advised me to export it as an alembic file. Fortunately, this fixed our issue, and both the rig and animation were visible in Unity.
Part 3: Frameless Immersive Art Experience
This week, we went to the Frameless Immersive Art Experience and it personally helped me to structure our VR project by asking some questions.
- What story are we going to tell the audience?
- How are we going to engage the senses?
- How can we create the experience immersive?
The concept of our VR experience is to showcase the consequences of a climate apocalypse on our planet. The audience will be invited to travel to different countries and discover what is left over of some emblematic monuments.
We will mainly focus on the visual aesthetics of the environment but also make sure that the music communicates the idea of a desolate place.
The experience will be immersive, as the player can walk through the environment and watch how life has evolved into different creatures and spirits.