Datasheet

Sound
Sound design can add an entirely new dimension of reality or mood to any CG. The audi-
ence needs to associate visuals with audio. Even a basic soundtrack adds a boost to a simple
animation by enhancing realism, mood, narrative, and other aspects of its “feel.” A good
music soundtrack and well-placed sound effects can be very powerful.
Sound effects, such as footsteps, can be added to match the action in the animation;
this type of sound effect is also known as Foley sound. Just as with any film, adding music
to most animations can help with pacing as well as mood. In this case, music and live
action sound design are pretty similar. Once you combine everything, you assess the
sound needs.
The one glaring difference between CG and live action sound relates to dialogue. When
you shoot live action, you generally capture the sound and dialogue live as you shoot. With
CG, all dialogue needs to be recorded and edited at the beginning of the production phase.
In other words, dialogue is a part of the CG preproduction and postproduction phases.
This is because animators need to hear dialogue spoken so they can animate images to
match the lips of the characters speaking (this is known as lip-sync). Recording the dia-
logue with actors also helps you animate the CG characters because you can imitate the
gestures and actions of the live actors to help make your animation more real.
CG Workflow
CG is a collaborative effort in which all the stages of production work hand-in-hand to
achieve your final images. Because of how CG comes together, following a structured pro-
duction pipeline or workflow generally works best. The layout of this book and its exer-
cises follow this overall workflow. You begin by modeling, texturing, animating, lighting,
and then rendering. You can texture after you animate, if you wish; however, for most
projects, the workflow described here is best. What is universally true is that you will go
back and forth between these stages several times throughout the process as you assess and
further define your needs. For example, you may have to change some textures once you
see the lighting or change a model according to an unexpected animation need.
Modeling
Modeling is the topic of Chapters 4 through 6 of this book. Modeling is usually the first
step in CG creation, and it can sometimes take the longest time. You probably already
know that modeling and modeling tutorials are popular on the Internet, where you will
also find a generous number of free and fee-based models. You might be able to find a lot
of the props and characters you need for your scene there. Unless you enjoy modeling,
take a look through Google (or another search engine) and see what’s already available,
especially at sites such as www.turbosquid.com.
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