A comparative discussion on filmic and visual narrative techniques

INTRODUCTION
Comics and films are both visual mediums by which the creator of the comic or film conveys an idea to the reader or the audience. This however is the only similarity between the two because films and comics utilise different visual narrative techniques that enable them to communicate information. The articles by De Grauwe and Ault further reiterate this fact as both these authors identify and discuss the different narrative techniques used by these two genres of communication.

This essay attempts to present a comparative paper on the visual narrative techniques used by films and comic books as identified by Donald Ault and Sophie De Grauwe in their articles entitled “Imagetextuality ‘Cutting Up Again” and “The Possibility of Minimal Units in the Filmic Image” respectively.

Ault, using Bark’s Narrative strategies and some of Lacan’s categories puts forward that comics make use of imaginary, symbolic and real visual narrative techniques as they relate to the gaze, which is identified as seeing in different context yet at the same time being able to see as a whole(Ault, 8).

According to Ault the imaginary is the visual images of the comic page while the symbolic is the language or words used to convey ideas. The real is communicated by the interruptions or spaces on the page (Ault, 2). These visual narrative techniques used in comics can not be separated and are used simultaneously in comics, as exemplified in the work of Carl Bark on which Ault offers a lengthy critic (Ault, 14).

In an analysis of the minimal filmic units De Grauwe uses the social semiotic approach based on Halliday’s systemic –functional theory as well as Kress and Van Leeuwen as a point of departure (De Grauwe, 1).

According to Halliday Semiotic systems are comprised of the interpersonal, textual and the ideational metafunction because such systems are tasked with expressing the experiential world through ideas or representational metafunctions, semiotic systems project, social relations, and they achieve this by the use of frames, angles, moving cameras and speech acts (De Grauwe, 3).

De Grauwe discusses minimal filmic units from the perspective of Metz who identifies the existence of different cinematographic codes, namely segmental units which are units that occupy a continuous segment of filmic space and time such as the object being filmed and suprasegmental units, which are more abstract like the role of colour in the filmic time and space.

Eco classify three articulations in film specifically kinesic, iconic signs and figures, De Grauwe disagrees with this approach and states that in normal viewing circumstances the kinetic figures can not be discreted by human perception. Furthermore De Grauwe puts forward that Eco’s classification is faulty in that as much as Eco claims that iconic figures do not form part of the signified iconic signs. This can said to be faulty because these figures have an inherent referential meaning, because it is possible for minimal filmic parts to refer to features or parts of the referent due to iconicity.

Groupe ‘u’ proposed an analysis of the still image by distinguishing between iconic and plastic signs De Grauwe is of the opinion that the iconic has a basis within the visual parameters of the plastic sign and that the difference between iconic and plastic meanings and subdivision does not prevent integration.

After an analysis of the positions of Metz Eco and Groupe ‘u’, De Grauwe identifies discreteness, abstraction, iconity, economy and arbitrariness. As the minimal units of filmic visual narrative, in that discreteness is create by relative contrast whereas iconicity can be retained by means of a flexible and socially determined concept. Arbitrariness which involves gradational scales is often influenced and limited by economy though to a small extent in the cinematographic system. The filmic image is less suitable for abstraction; however strategies such as changes in colour or texture can be employed to manipulate reality (De Grauwe, 21).

CONCLUSION

Though comic and filmic visual narratives utilise different techniques to convey ideas it cannot be concluded in this comparative essay that the techniques used by one medium is more effective or superior to the other because though the two are different they are both able to portray social relations in the manner in which the creator/producer intends them to. In the current diverse world system we are in, there is a need to have various methods of conveying ideas so as to be able to capture the attention of a different audience and one believes that the filmic and comic narrative are both able to do so because of their inherent differences in style.

Mime Trapped in a Box

The craft of acting is the action of a person willfully pretending to be something (an animated object or an animal) or someone for a limited period of time in any circumstance for any purpose. On the other hand, the art of acting is the use of the craft of acting for artistic purposes for example, acting used in a theater context and in some forms of storytelling. (Taylor, 1997) This discussion will be based mainly on the art of acting without props with reference to the use of mime and how it can be applied to animation.

Jeff Taylor states that, the craft of acting always has some element of communication as part of its purpose in any given instance and has highly subjective communication which deals in those regions of our humanity that are best shown and felt rather than described. An example I can give in support to Taylor’s argument is found in miming. Mime is one of the oldest forms of theater which expresses the dramatic art of representing scenes from life through bodily and facial movements. This can be seen in a pantomime, which tells a story in movement and gesture and normally consists of short comic acts. As the mime tells a stories, the movement of the hands and body help viewers picture the characters and actions in the environment. This can be applied to animation when creating key frames in order to depict strong actions which would make the animation effective and easy to read.

When looking back at pantomime in Greece, they often took the form of mimetic dances, which was the art of gesture called orchesis, were the word orchestra came from, a Greek term for dancing place. Romans also were especially fond of pantomime, sketching plays often as afterpieces to written plays, or even between acts. Two famous players (both freed slaves), were Pylades and Bathyllus.

“The turn of the century saw the most astonishing burst of creativity that marked the beginning of modern day mime. Mime was popular in vaudeville, music halls, circus, and Ziegfeld Follies. Rudolf Laban, teacher and theoretician of mime and movement, trained some famous dancers, several of whom incorporated mime in their dance work. Angna Enters was truly great, the first popular concert hall mime. Charles Weidman often used literary sources, like Thurber and Beerbohm, for his serious and comic work. Kurt Jooss' anti-war piece, The Green Table, became immortal and is still performed today.” (Rensburg, 2003)

Under silent film, comics played in motion pictures for the most part, because of their many actions and facility in physical expression.

“France was the innovator, with Georges Wague who saw film as a continuation of mime, and music hall star Max Linder reeling off one-reelers beginning in 1905. Charlie Chaplin saluted Linder as his "professor"; then followed Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, and others. At first they simply improvised before a stationary camera, but soon learned that film was different from the stage, and developed the techniques that made them world famous in a few short years.” (Rensburg, 2003)

In conclusion animation can be aided through the role of acting without props, by the emotional amplification of the body movement in order to enhance action in communicating a series of expressions.

References:
Taylor, J. The Craft of Acting, the Art of Acting and their Relationship to the World of the Work. 1997.

Vanessa van Rensburg. The History of Mime. 2003.

Texturing a Pre-modelled Environment

Texturing refers to the use of additives in paint to give depth and texture to the surface being painted. (Gillette, 1999) This essay discusses the difference between 2d and 3d texture mapping techniques, including the way they are mapped. When looking at 2d mapping, one has to take into consideration the coordinates in the U (horizontal) and V (vertical) axis which go from 0 to 1. A texture map is applied using the coordinate system to match each 3D point on the surface to a 2D point on a texture (any regular image). This is called UV mapping, because the 2D surface consists of a U and V axis.

While 2d texture mapping consists of a flat 2d bitmap image on a flat or curved 3d surface, 3d texture mapping computes the texture color by mapping the object's 3d location in a space directly into a color using small C language procedural texture functions. 3D textures may also be locally and globally transformed just as with cameras and basic geometry.

The three methods of mapping 3d objects are:
1. Automatic mapping
This method yields the fastest mapping results and is used before any other mapping tool, because it maps the whole scene regardless of any mapping procedures already performed.

2. Unwrapping
Is fast yet has high quality mapping of complex shapes

3 Unwrapping using the Interactive Mapper
Has the highest quality results for planar, spherical, polar, and cylindrical shapes, mapping different parts of the models separately available in real time interactive mapping environment.

There are bump map textures that change the way light interacts with the applied surface, these come in two types, grayscale and RGB (Red, green and blue). Bump maps change the depth of the rendered pixels and are only available in 3d viewpoint. On the other hand height maps are useful for rivets, screws, gashes and stuff that is not complex. Normal maps are RGB images, depicting where change in the angle of rendered pixel occurs. This is useful for rendering folds, wrinkles and complex surfaces like the face and body.

Different implementations of 2D texture mapping often can be distinguished from the method used to filter the texture. Since a 2D texture image must be shrunk or enlarged to match the dimensions of its projected area on a textured object, texture filtering is required so that no unusual artifacts are introduced into the final image.


Reference:
Gillette, M. J. Theatrical Design and Production: An Introduction to Scene Design and Construction, Lighting, Sound, Costume, and Makeup. 1999. Forth Edition. McGraw Hill.

https://www.okino.com/new/toolkit/1-11.htm

http://www.righthemisphere.com/support/tutorials/duv/User_Reference_for_Deep_UV.pdf

Secondary Animation - Take (Surprise)

Secondary animation is as its name implies, secondary to the primary movement. (Skidgel p.112) In 3ds Max 6 Animation: CG Filmmaking from Concepts to Completion, it is said to be any character-related movement outside of the skeleton and face and it's one of the 12 animation principles. (Fox p.382) Therefore secondary animation is the actions added to a character to bring life and to support the main action, which involves follow through and overlapping action.

Follow through and overlapping action allow a smooth flow from pose to pose, making sure that the motions are not distracting and robotic. The body parts need to overlap with a believable physics without overdoing it. In order to make animation believable, the motions need to have good clean arcs, in the wrist, elbows, feet, heel and toes as well as the head, hip and ankle. The line of action defines the clarity of the poses, therefore making sure that the poses are interesting and can be read clearly.

Another thing to consider in animation is the energy of the character. This manages the tension, energy build up and release in action. In the gun shot animation, the anticipation (movement begins slowly, speeds up, and slows down again) matched the subsequent action, which was the reaction of the gun shot by the character. The body language and gestures were synchronized with the sound which helps the animation to appear believable.

Keith Lango further suggests under silhouettes: "Make your poses read in an instant, not in an hour." This I achieved through the use of timing. In conclusion the acting done by the character matched dialogue intensity.

References:

Barrett Fox, 3ds Max 6 Animation: CG Filmmaking from Concepts to Completion.

http://www.keithlango.com/tutorials/old/popThru/polish.html

Bouncing Ball

According to Scott Owen timing, or the speed of an action, is an important principle because it gives meaning to movement. The speed of an action defines how well the idea will be read to the audience.

Therefore when looking at the difference in timing when it comes to the weight of a bouncing ball, there are certain written principles that state that heavier objects take greater force and a longer time to accelerate and decelerate. For example, if a character picks up a heavy object, e.g., a bowling ball, they should do it much slower than picking up a light object such as a basketball. Similarly, timing affects the perception of the object size. A larger object moves more slowly than a smaller object and has greater inertia. These effects are done not by changing the poses, but by varying the spaces or time (number of frames) between poses. (Owen, 1999)

In How Things Work, Louis Bloomfield explains the physics of the bouncing ball, "When a ball bounces from a rigid surface, the ball's surface distorts inward and then pops back outward. During the inward motion, the ball stores energy--pushing its surface inward takes energy. During the outward motion, the ball releases that stored energy. But not all the energy invested in the ball emerges as useful work. Some of that energy is turned into thermal energy and never reappears. A properly inflated basketball returns a good fraction of the energy it receives while other balls may not. In fact, a bowling ball bounces pretty well from a hard surface such as cement. But when it hits a softer surface such as wood, the wood receives much of its energy and wastes that energy as thermal energy."

Squash and stretch is an animation technique that illustrates the effect of gravity and force on the volume and shape, creating a believable and interesting animation, which is achieved through maintaining a consistent even volume though the shape changes. This principle when applied in real life is observed in the flexing of the muscles, or when watching a rubber ball bounce. The arm in the muscle swells when the bicep is contracted and the ball flattens and widens as it hits the ground. (Skidgel p)














In conclusion the ball I chose to animate is a baseball. The weight of the ball is slightly heavy, yet the size of the ball is small resulting in it produces less bounces.

References:

http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/timing.htm
G. Scott Owen, Timing and Motion, 1999

http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/bouncing_balls.html
Louis A. Bloomfield, How Things Work, 2008

John Skidgel, Design Menus With Encore Dvd.

http://www.mattornstein.com/images/downloads/ball_logo.jpg

Abstruction in Video Game

Cradle of Persia

In the game Cradle of Persia abstraction is achieved based on the narrative of the game, which has basic forms depicting the nature of the game, which is buying and selling. The game is designed in the form of a puzzle, were the goal is to acquire as much funds in the quickest time as possible in order for the player to either build homes, stores or buy them. The player can only move to the next level after all the bricks have been destroyed which are placed under the icons. This can only be done by matching 3 or more identical icons, were the higher the number of icons matched the more funds are made to buy buildings or even islands. This game is an example I chose to use in support to Wolf’s statement on abstract arts move into a more and more conceptual realm. The video game requires abstract imagery to be read in a new way, therefore the substance of video games is simultaneously both imagery and events, their elements can be abstract in both appearance and behavior. (Wolf, p. 49)

In the Cradle of Persia, the mouse icon represents the player’s presence in the game (the player-character); the green arrows during play indicate the computer’s presence in the game (computer-controlled characters) aiding the player’s next move; and the background environment which serves as the setting is not manipulated or altered by any of the characters during the game. These different elements help with learning to identify play during the course of the game. This game being a representational graphic game relies mostly on audiovisual media which helps the player identify what needs to be done when playing the game on the interface.

The patterns and designs created in the game represent the acquiring of funds in the form of gems and gold the player stores so as to advance into the next level. These also signify the wealth which will later be used to buy land or buildings in Persia. According to Wolf’s essay the new possibilities of abstraction in video games which are an advancement from the days of PONG is the way in which representation is done and adapted. Therefore abstraction can appear as an element within representational game graphics, or even as part of the subject matter which are found in the patterns and designs appearing on the surface texture and setting of the game.

Reference:

Wolf, Mark J. P., Abstraction in the Video Game, The Video Game Theory Reader, 2003, Routledge

http://www.womengamers.com/games/play/

Video Games - Time Wastage Phenomena

In my opinion video games are a form of play that can either relax the mind or stimulate thinking in dynamic ways. I agree to the arguments made by Gee that many games assumed to be a "waste of time" are in fact excellent at teaching critical-thinking skills. Which is evident in a survey made by Schwartz in 1988 were he set out to compare customary teacher-based tutoring of reading and comprehending with practice on a set of computer games derived from analysis of the reading process. 24 Primary School children were selected, who were of average intelligence and who were 18 months or more behind their peers in reading comprehension. The children were split into two groups and assigned to teacher-based tutoring or computer game training group where they received practice on four computer games. The training in both conditions focused on word decoding and phonics. At the end of the study, it was found that almost all the students improved their reading comprehension test score, although the poorest readers made significantly greater gains in the computer game condition than in the teacher training conditions.

Steven Johnson (2005)also looks at a particular interesting skill used by video game players, which he calls telescoping, which is "about constructing the proper hierarchy to tasks and moving through tasks in the correct sequence. It's about perceiving relationships and determining priorities". Telescoping requires the player not only determine their objectives but also prioritize them, which video games rarely spell out the objective - players use what they have come to understand as probing the world to determine how to accomplish the objectives. Which is very true, because in most cases when we play video games we do not consider them as a means of learning, consciously, because play is done at our convenience, which may give ground to the time wasting argument in playing video games, though I disagree to it.

Nathan Holbert uses the example of telescoping in a classroom setup stating the struggle many students have in being given so much information which becomes overwhelming. He makes a suggestion, "As teachers, we may use spiraling and other techniques to organize the topics in a way that takes advantage of telescoping". This is in support the argument raised by Gee, that games are not a waste of time, because though mostly played as and when a player wants to irrespective of the time and place, they have a positive influence to the player regardless of intention.

Brett Brixler, cites topics of particular interest, submitted to Meaningful Play 2008 give a brake down of the meaning of "meaningful play" in two categories, exploring meaningful applications of games and issues in designing meaningful play:

Exploring meaningful applications of games
1. Games to change attitudes, beliefs, or behavior such as social impact games and personal health games
2. Games to stimulate creativity or innovation
3. Games to build social skills
4. Games to advertise (advergames)and persuade
5. Games to exercise specific cognitive functions
6. Games to explore personal belief and help make decisions
7. Games to built knowledge and skills (games for learing)
8. Games for history and cultural heritage learning

Issues in designing meaningful play
1. Game Design for specific audience
2. Story types and play styles
3. Story and storytelling in games
4. Competitive and cooperative play (single player, multiplayer and massively multiplayer)
5. Balancing entertainment and serious goals
6. Unintended and unexpected effects of games
7. Using psychology and neuroscience to design and understand games
8. Evaluation and assessment of games impacts
9. Barriers to the adoptation of serious game

This in conclusion sums up in points the term "meaningful play".

References:

Jessica Harris, The Effect of Computer Games on Children, a Review of the Research
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ72-compgames.pdf

James Paul Gee, What video games have to tech us about learning and literacy. 2003
Steven Johnson, Everything is good for you: How today's popular culture is actually making us smarter. 2005
http://techmattersllc.com/pdfs/Shooting+Aliens+The+Gamer's+Guide+to+Thinking.pdf

http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/gaming/node/458

Identification in Videogames

Oblivion and NeverWinter Nights 2

As Bob Rehak rightfully states, “The video game avatar, presented as a human player’s double, merges spectatorship and participation in ways that fundamentally transform both activities.” This I experienced in the creation of my avatar in both Oblivion and the NeverWinter Nights 2.

When designing my character in Oblivion, I chose to be a Redguard, mainly for the reason that they have a natural resistance to disease and poison. This factor also influences the skin choice which is very pale because of that special ability, which brings in humor to the character creation through my personality were based on the consumption of too much poison the hair and skin color have with time reacted to the disease and poison, yet immunity is the bonus. Being the most naturally talented warriors with cultural affinities for many weapons and armour styles would come in handy during play, especially considering the fact that play begins in a prison cell. I would naturally want to be prepared if and when I escape my confinement.

Whereas in the character creation of NeverWinter Nights 2, which I found to be more liberating in terms of variety in character choice, from race, to gender, to appearance in built and costume. I chose to be a Half-Elf first and foremost because of the romantic historic background of the humans and elves (which kind of reminds me of Lord of the Ring), while in relation to my personality, I relate more to this character being raised by an odd numeric factor in the parental system, be it elves or humans. My Half-Elf side is a bit of a rogue were if being highly skilled cannot pay off in combat, the rogue hits where it hurts the most with sneak attacks and having a sixth sense when it comes to avoiding danger is a bonus.

I chose Chaotic Good because it relates more to my personality traits, which with reference to Weber’s reading of Lacan talks about the ego of a child’s identification with an image whose otherness is precisely overlooked in the observation of similarity. Being a Wild Child in the past will allow my play in the game to have intermediary of another, making or allowing the background application to work in my favor or against me later, which doesn’t necessarily matter because there is a judgment all the same. As Half-Elf I choose to have no deity to worship in the game, because of the insignificance and impact on my character during the game as a rogue, which also could be consciously or unconsciously influenced by my person belief which comes from the Ten Commandments.

When it came to the character’s voice and name creation, I gave Daldo Le’les(character name) having a Male Dramatic voice because I, placed in the right atmosphere can be a drama queen(female), which is contradictory in my choice of male characters in both games. I choose to play a male in both games because it’s empowering in both physical appearance and strength, which also gives me the opportunity to look into my subconscious and see what kind of male I could be, or maybe the male I envision as a role model, which oddly enough Daldo’s character reminds me of my father who hasn’t really been in the picture, though we are in touch once in a blue moon. Daldo being Half-Elf is 72 years, which when read backwards is my current age, 27 that’s why though old, age hasn’t caught up with him and being part elf youth is prolonged.

Precis of Pascal Lefèvre’s “Incompatabile Visual Ontologies? – The Problematic Adaptation of Drawn Images”.

Lefèvre’s essay looks at the debate revolving around the value of filmic adaptations of comics, their popularity, differences, similarity, and why they remain controversial. After a brief analysis of comics verses film were he quotes analysts the likes of Peeters as recognizing creative aspects of some adaptations, while other critics (Fremion) state bluntly that adaptation is preferred by mediocre talents. He supports the argument using undeniable facts on these two media, cinema and comics being linked, through the ability of both in telling stories by a series of images as compared to cinema and other visual arts, which has been pointed out a number of times by Christiansen and Costa.

Lefèvre looks at four main problems at the creative level of the adaptation of drawn images. He points out that the broad usage of the term “adaptation” specifying the inclusion of films directly inspired by certain comics or comic series.

The two main differences between comics and films are the material shape of the images and the social aspects of reception. According to Lefèvre, The difference in reception or consuming mode is individual activity (comic) verses group experience (cinema). While reading a comic is a solitary action, viewing a film in a theatre is largely a group experience. I agree to some extent with Lefèvre’s statement, however when I look back in the days I used to read the Archie’s comics, it used to be a group affair were my cousin and I would share a comic and read it at the same time. As far as watching film too is concerned the viewership change when one chooses to buy or rent a DVD and watch the film alone.

When looking at the characteristic differences between the two media, deletion/addition is one of the problems associated with rewriting primary comics text for film, another problem to note is the page layout as compared to the screen. Comics are more spatial with a variety of sequences as compared to the linear nature of film. The translating of drawings to photography is the third problem, this is due to the nature of drawn comics, in that they offer many possibilities which comprise of new worlds or civilizations. The creativity in comics is allowed to brake the boundaries and the laws of gravity without any consequences.

In conclusion, the use of sound in films plays a vital role to the appreciation and interpretation of the film. According to Bordwell and Thompson, “Sound is a powerful film technique, because sound engages a distinct sense mode and sound can actively shape how the spectator perceives and interprets the image.” Comics however are not audible according to Lefèvre, which therefore allows them to be heard through still and visible signs. Once again this is true, however a thought comes into mind which involves the use of greeting card with sound, it is equally possible to add sound to comics just as sound is generated in some birthday cards which could pass as a comic. Therefore I do not completely agree to the statement, comics do not have a sound track: music, voices and noises, it is a choice by the artist to leave them as there are, for in the world we are living in technology is advancing so are the techniques being used in the various visual media. Hence a solution to the sound in comics can be generated.

Narratology verses Ludology

Frasca considers video games as extensions of drama and narrative and his essay focuses on reasons why the storytelling model is inaccurate and limits the understanding of the medium. His strategy however as a ludologist is to show how games and narratives provide authors with essentially different tools for conveying their feelings. In his support to the discussion of simulation verses representation, he quotes Turner as stating "narrative mechanisms are cognitive structures deeply hard-wired into the human mind." In addition Frasca says, scientists traditionally used simulation to explain purposes and also to predict the behavior of complex systems. As simulation can exist in nonelectronic devices like traditional toys he did not refer to computer, stating that traditional media are representational, not simulational.

In my opinion, I think to some extent Frasca has a point in saying that simulation contests our notions of authorship and also the boundaries that we are used to apply to works of art because it announces the end of a representation being an alternative not a replacement. Unlike narrative and drama its essence lays on a basic assumption that, change is possible.

On the other hand Jenkins raises a stronger argument from a neutral academic stand by basing his essay from a middle ground position between the Ludologists and the Narratologists as opposed to Frasca who personalizes his argument based on his stand. Jenkins starts off by pointing out the points the two groups might agree stating:
1. Not all games tell stories, for example Tetris, Blix and Snood.
2. Narrative aspirations can be found in many games.
3. Analysis of narrative does not have to be prescriptive.
4. Game play experience can not be reduced to the experience of a story.
5. Games as a medium needs to be distinguished from other narrative tradition.

In Jenkins analysis of evocative spaces, he discusses the construction of the environment through narrative to accomplish familiarization of narrative to game without limiting the designers. His essay focuses heavily on the narrative aspects of games without belittling the Ludologists. Therefore in conclusion I would tend to agree more with Jenkins as opposed to Frasca because he (Jenkins) gives a stronger argument as compared to the latter.

References:
Frasca, G. Simulation verses Narrative: Introduction to Ludology.

Jenkins, H. Game Design as Narrative Architecture.

Modelling (Loop edges)

When modeling a character, one needs to consider basic sculpting, the functions the character is going to have in terms of movement, and a sound framework representation. The structure, or shape of the model, as well as it's line of symmetry play a very important role when constructing the model. This, I discovered on my second/third trail of attempting to model a male character. Initially when I started to model, I was using spheres which seemed like a good idea at the time, because I was creating the torso. However as I began to give the model limps the idea of using a sphere was now backfiring, because my alignment/symmetry was not working. I then started all over, using the cube and it created an orderly model, which was easier to manipulate.

While adding limps to the torso, I used the ray trace selection then I extruded along the axis, pulling out the limps. This I applied in most of the cases, be it when selecting the edges or nodes. It was particularly helpful when constructing interesting features such as the ears and nose, which were a bit challenging because of their many curves. This however is were edge looping came in handy. Edge looping is formed/done by interlocking a series of mesh edges used to accurately control the smoothed form of an animated sub division surface. The function of the edge loop is to closely mimic how real muscle works giving control over the contour and silhouette. In some cases, I discovered that in order to be able to construct an edge loop, I had to cut the edges in the model to allow additional nodes or points to be made on the model. Therefore the importance of constructing a sound humanoid model is to enable manipulation of the model when texturing and moving muscle.

http://maxrovat.sns.hu/subdiv/subdivmodeling.htm
http://cube.phlatt.net/home/spiraloid/tutorial/modeling.html
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/__data/arts_pdfs/cap56_3dface.pdf

Johan Huizinga

Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon

Play is the amusement of oneself by engaging in imaginative pretence, which according to Huizinga is older than culture. Huizinga goes on to describe the nature of play in comparism to human and animal behavior patterns as ceremonious attitudes and gestures, which is explained in an example on the behavior of dogs play, were they exhibit pretence anger resulting in psychological reflexes in their playful attacks on each other, without intention to harm.

Plays origin and fundamentals are described as a discharge of superabundant vital energy, the satisfaction of some imitative instinct and or simply a means of relaxation. The training or grooming of the young through play has been considered as a foundation for future work and is also a form of exercise resulting in domination or competitiveness which keeps up personal values. This statement is applicable to both humans and animals, as I am reminded of how our parents playfully teach us coordination of our eyes and limps as infants. Though we are considered to be rational beings our take on play is irrational, therefore it should be looked at as it is intended to be, a social construction. Were grasping of the value and significance of play are observed and understood as an act in the cultural factor of life.

Huizinga’s essay distinguishes the nature of play without interweaving it with culture, yet he still relates pure play as the main bases of civilization. He also looks at another form of play which evolves around the abstract expression in language, “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy” and attributes play to non-seriousness, yet at the same time can also be serious depending on the form play takes. Play isn’t foolishness as Huizinga notes, but it is between wisdom and folly. Hence play is voluntary in humans, while the same cannot be said in animals, because their instincts drive them. Play is done as leisure or during free time and sometimes one can go without it. It isn’t binding, however once one is bound to play, it seizes to be play, becoming a cultural function. Play allows temporary stepping out of reality, yet an existence of absolute order remains.

Comics and Games - Transitional spaces in comics and games

Taylor's "Compromised Divisions: Thresholds in comics Books and Videogames" When looking at the study of comic books and video games, Laurie Taylor has noted that both these media have been looked at as juvenile work. However the association of video games to film or digital media have given them scholarship and popular reception, which seems odd considering that comics have an influence on video games. Hence, the need for comic books to be explicated on their importance in their relation to other media, which authors like Lev Manovich and Jay Bolters have chosen to neglect in their discussions on hybrid media. On the other hand, Scott McCloud distinctively states the difference in interactivity between comics and video games are based on spatial interaction, rather than sequential or narrative interaction.

The places where the view point dramatically changes after movement over a specific line or point are thresholds. In her discussion on threshold and demarcated spaces Taylor says, "Exacting thresholds exist in both video games and graphic novels, and their usage in one medium bears more than a passing resemblance to their usage in other, relating to the depth of field in the spaces of each." The significance of spatial borders in comics and video games illustrates the connection between panels and frames within each medium.

In discussing the role of thresholds as applied to the South Park's version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" the focus is on the character action which can vary in position depending on the action done, though as stated by Taylor it is always in the center of the screen even though the center of the screen can some times be the borders. Re-tracing or re-covering certain spaces in the game is required to be done by the player in order to continue the game's narrative, this mostly happens when the player loses a life in the game therefore causing the player to start play from the beginning.

Super Mario Bros. 2 allows the player to move back and forth in a linear manner, which though possible has no consequential purpose except loss of life if the time limit expires before completing a stage. However, back and forth movement is not possible as far as thresholds of this games are concerned.

The single panel used in the game does give an overall placement within the larger story, though the individual relationship of the panels on a certain level does change the understanding of the story.


In conclusion, "space is the defining element of video games, but as that space must be transversed movement is equally pivotal to any video game design and play." (Espen Aarseth) This essay looked specifically at the role of thresholds in the South Park, Super Mario Bros. 2 video games.

Reference:
Taylor, L. Compromised Divisions: Thresholds in Comic Books and Video Games.

Constructing a Character Rig using XSI

Comparison of XSI's Biped Guide with my rig

XSI's default Biped Guide
When we look at the XSI's default Biped guide, which is generated by simply opening the Softimage XSI application, which by default opens a new window, we choose the Animate tool bar and open the Character settings, were the Biped Guide is located. Clicking on the Biped Guide opens an information window, which allows changes on the type of Biped Guide one requires to be made and then"ok" accepts the approved settings. The Biped Guide is a ready made skeleton that one can use to create a character from. However a Biped Guide is difficult to use because of it being unstable and underactuated, so for one to us it, there have to be some adjustments made to suit the type of character rig one may want to design. Choosing to use the Biped Guide can be advantageous when one has to construct a character in the shortest time possible, because all the controls are ready made. However changes would have to be made if the character has abnormalities, like for example the character rigging done for the animation, The Incredibles.

Rigging my Character

When it comes to rigging a character one has to consider a lot of things, the kind of character to be rigged, whether human or otherwise. Making the rig as simple as possible is a bonus, which in this assignment, was a normal human rig. We started off, creating one leg with the foot, which had four chain bones, the thigh, the calf and the foot which has two separate chains bones. The leg was then duplicated after a knee up vector was added to it as well as a foot control and foot roll. Then hip control was given to the rig.

The spine was then created using two chain bones and a curved null was placed within the spine to give it normal body movement. Three ribs were created to give the spine and body form and better control. Then the arm was created by giving it a shoulder blade, an arm, wrist and finally fingers. These were parented to the spine and given controls.

XSI Biped Guide is less time consuming as compared to my rig, which was created from scratch in a sequence I chose. I determined the shape and size and the constraints as well as the body mass and characteristics, while the Biped Guide restricts these. Overall the rigging I did was very difficult and it gave me an idea as to why constraints are necessary and how they help control the rig. There was also a better, clearer understanding as to why parenting is done in a rig and body controls are added.

Film Abaptation of a Book

Meet the Robinsons a film adaptation of A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce (1990)

The book written and illustrated by William Joyce was based on his childhood in Shreveport, the science fiction movies he enjoyed watching and the cartoons he loved. It has the sweet domestic experiments with science in the form of curiously sensible philosophical inventions, the fox terrier, twisted comedy sensibility and the music he had heard by Ellington and Louis Armstrong were particularly infused into the book.

The book was rewritten by Jon Bernstein and Michelle Spritz, directed by Steven J. Anderson and produced by Dorothy McKim.
The storyline is based on a young orphan called Lewis whose dream is to belong to a family and has a difficult time in being adopted. Lewis meets a strange kid by the name of Wilbur Robinson who claims to be from the future and whisks him away to the future, were their adventure unfolds.

Semantic Analysis
A horrible rainstorm brings a stranded mother to the doorstep of an orphanage, were she abandons her son Lewis. Mildred steps out after a calm knock is heard at the door, to find lying in a basket a child crying. She takes Lewis in to the orphanage there raises him, while hopefully awaiting his adopted.

Here we have a tragic beginning to unfold the plot were Paul Thibault's semiotic system langue2 evolves using sign types, with opposition of forms in syntagmatic and association groups with cross coupling . This is depicted by the two opposite characters, a mother abandoning her child, leaving him to a fate unknown, and Mildred who runs an orpanage, taking in the child to nurture and care for him. The affection is portrayed visually, when no words are spoken, just soft sentimental music and a crying baby are heard in the background with dim lighting depicting the mood on the set.

Pascal Lefevre sites that it is hard to have a film adaptation because the reception of a book as compared to it film counterpart, differ in that, the creative scenes of the film are done by a group of writers, photographers, directors, actors, editors and the like, using a bigger budget. There sometimes is the case were deletion and additions are made by the writers to make emphasis on a subject matter or scene as seen in this picture were there storyline is changed.The translation of drawing to photography is clearly distinguished, as we can see, but not hear, thus the added sound is also of importance, it enhances the emotional aesthetic to the film and the audience can hear and watch as the film caters for a larger audience capacity as compared to the silent epic which limits readership and visual pragmatics.

Lewis grows up, aspiring to become a great inventor, though his inventions fail. His roommate Michael Yagoobian(Goob) is a tyke with a propensity for sarcastic one liners which hit home.
Here the story moves from a social semiotic to a humorous twist with the introduction of the sarcastic roommate who in this scene introduce comic relief. This is achieved by Goobs' disjointed stream of conscious speech construction, when he reflects on his dreams of becoming a future baseball star, which proves crippling and exploitable, while Lewis' determination in constructing his latest invention also cripples his perception of failure and the lack of forward thinking.

The hallmark of Lewis' invention is the Memory Scanner, which extracts one's memory and display them on a screen. It is pieced together by old household hardware. As necessity is the mother of invention, Lewis' invention has an ulterior motive, which is to locate his mother and surprisingly turns out to be climax of the plot.

The Bowler Hat Guy, a canny, sinister antagonist from the future, travels back to Lewis' time to steal the Memory Scanner and here the plot thickens, with an overplayed villainous buffoonery, portrayed by Goob's character, who meets his future self, the Bowler Hat Guy, portrayed with an ingrained childhood mindset that is manipulated easily by outside influence, ultimately transcends and compliments the wacky time travel adventure. Where we meet very vibrant, extreme eccentric personalities in the future, with a rich arrays of colour in the form of landscape and futuristic buildings. A robot house helper called Carl, who in the book is depicted as Wilbur's robot, an octopus as the butler, coupled by innovative transportation, which ranges from flying cars which enable time travel, uncle Arts' flying saucer, cousin Laszlo's anti-gravity device and vacuum tube elevators that take you from one place of the house to another.

In conclusion the story ends with order restored when Lewis returns to the present, gets adopted and become a successful inventor while the future gives Lewis a glimpse of Goob's ambition and a reflection of his selfishness, a change of fate occurs with Lewis now helping Goob win the little league, when he catches the ball, which causes the team to win the little league. All ends well like a happily ever after epic.

Reference:
http://djfowlie.blogspot.com/2008/01/dvd-review-meet-robinsons-2007.html
http://www.avclub.com/content/cinema/meet_the_robinsons
http://www.flipsidemovies.com/meettherobinsons.html
http://www.comicbookbin.com/Meet_The_Robinsons_3030.html

Outlined key points of Neil Cohn's "A Visual Lexicon" and "Visual Syntactic Structure"

A Visual Lexicon

Abstract
- Recognizing visual languages

Attention Units
- Panel or frame are the most basic representation in visual language
- The two obvious characteristics are the positive and negative elements, which translate the overall sequence
- Positive represent the figures and focal action of the panel and negative, the background
- Panels are categorized as the Lexical Representational Matrix(LRM)
- Micros are at the bottom of the LRM, featuring less than one grammatical entity, positively charged, often as close-ups
- Monos are singular entity panels, one level above micros
- Macros precede monos, containing more than one entity
- Above the hierarchy are Polymorphic panels with grammatical structures and event representation within boundaries of one frame.
- The “windowing of attention” is what Leonard Talmy(2001) referred to in an event that unfolds in full within a single panel

Maximal Windowing
- My bike is across the street from the bakery
- Jane sat across the table from John

Medial Gapping
- My bike is across from the bakery
- Jane sat across from John
Initial Gapping
- My bike is across the street
- Jane sat across the table

- Inclusionary panels embed a panel into another panel

Smaller than Syntax
- Panel structure change constantly internally, however, productive elements stay the same
- The sand narratives of the Australian Arrernte community appear mostly in fixed representations
- The sand narratives are created temporally, with each sign created and used on its own, represent lexical items, relating Arrernte to English-type morphology than the visual languages that use panels.
- Arrernte also enforces real time interactivity and a canvas of sand, which brings about disregard to detailed representation, however at the same time the sand narrative of the Australian Walpiri, being similar to the Arrernte have what Nancy Munn calls, an “actor item”, which is the simplistic pairing of objects to convey a large amount of narrative information.
- Path lines are another form of visual representation which depicts a trajectory attached to an object to give it aesthetic value or meaning, making it a unified semantic bundle.
- Closed class items like hearts, speed lines and word balloons contain higher degree of symbolism, while productive, nouns and verbs belong to an open class of visual signs.

Construction
- Constructions vary in size, form-meaning patterns in language and length can be longer than individual words.
- Set up(humorous dialogue/situation) – beat/pause(no text) – punch line(delivers the joke); Neal von Flue 2004

Conclusion
- A lexical item is meaningful unit or a combination of units of form-meaning pairing which can be either productive or non productive.

Visual Syntactic Structure

Transitional Syntax
- Analyzing the grouping of words and phrases into sentences is known as syntax
- Visual language syntax is the study of sequential images organized structurally.
-

Brief History of the Comic Medium - Timeline

1835
America's first superhero, created by Nathaniel Hawthorne as The Grey Champion appears in New England Magazine.

1842
Wilson and Company reprints Rudolphe Topler's The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck. Believed to be the first comic published in America.

1895
A boy in a yellow nightshirt in a series of comics by Richard Outcault, which takes place in Hogan’s Alley is published by Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World, becomes very popular in 1897, known as “The Yellow Kid.” Outcault is then hired to draw the cartoon by William Hearst of New York Journal resulting in Pulitzer hiring George Luks t draw his own version of The Yellow Kid. The strips both end in 1989, after both are known to tell tales, rather than sticking to reporting facts, which in turn is known as “yellow journalism.”

1897
The Katzenjammer Kids appear in the New York Journal for the first time on December 12, starring a set of twin brothers, Hans and Fritz, telling a story in a series of panels. As the oldest strip in syndication, by Rudolph Dirks, it is still running today.

1901
The Scarlet Pimpernel, the story of a French hero during the Revolution who disguises himself as an English fop, runs on the London stage for 4 years as a smash hit, prompting endless series of sequels.

1905
Windsor McCay with the first continuing story in the form of a comic strip, noted as one of the most richly illustrated of all time begins running Little Nemo in Slumberland in the New York Herald.

1907
The first successful daily comic strip, known as A. Mutt, by Mutt and Jeff is made into a series of animated films in 1913 and the strips continue to be published through 1982.

1912
Under the Moons of Mars by Edgar Rice Burrough begins in Munsey's All-Story Magazine (six issues) which features a man who gains super powers by traveling to another planet.

1913
Krazy Kat starring Ignatz Mouse, Krazy Kat, and Offissa Pup by writer and artist George Herriman which originated as filler drawings at the bottom of The Dingbat Family, is spun off into its own strip, though never very popular, it has a small and devoted following that fortunately, includes William Randolph Hearst, who owns King Features Syndicate, which carries the strip until Herriman's death in 1944.

1914
The first of Rube Goldberg's ridiculously complicated contraptions, the "Automatic Weight Reducing Machine," is published in the New York Evening Mail.

1919
Gasoline Alley the first strip ever to have characters who age in real time begins. Frank King's characters go to war, marry, have children, and so on. The strip is still running today.

1920
Chronicling the trials of a woman working to support her family Winnie Winkle debuts, featuring a working woman, while not the first comic to do so, it is the first to gain widespread attention and it lasts until 1996.

1924
Harold Gray begins Little Orphan Annie, a tale of rags to riches... to rags, to riches, and back again, as the indomitable orphan and millionaire Daddy Warbucks find each other and part over and over. Annie also finds success as a radio show, a Broadway musical, and a movie.

1925
Frank Armer adds Pep to his line featuring "snappy, spicy stories and art" Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson is cashiered from the US Army and takes to writing adventure pulp stories. In October he opens the Wheeler-Nicholson newspaper syndicate and attempts to peddle features and comics to newspapers across the country, including adaptations of Treasure Island and the Three Musketeers.

1926
The first science fiction pulp magazine begins from Hugo Gernsback. Wheeler-Nicholson's syndicate goes bust and he temporarily, resurfacing as a pulp writer for Adventure and Argosy in Amazing Stories.



1927
Frank Armer's Thrills, an adventure pulp magazine debuts and runs for atleast five issues.

1928
Amazing Stories, debuts Buck Rodgers.

1930
Chic Young begins Blondie. She marries Dagwood in 1933. In an unprecedented set of crossovers in 2005, dozens of comic strips join in celebrating its 75 years in print.

1933 Funnies on Parade, a collection of reprinted newspaper comic strips, is given away as an advertising promotion. It is the first to be printed in what becomes the standard size for modern comic books: 5.5" x 8". It's followed by Famous Funnies, a similar collection sold for ten cents.

1934 Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates begins. The popular strip features the adventures of Terry Lee in the Far East.

1937
The first issue of Detective Comics is released by the company that will eventually be named Detective Comics.
1938
Action Comics features the first superhero ever: Superman making its first appearance, but he isn't yet able to fly though he can run faster than a train, leap over tall buildings, and block bullets with his chest,. The character is a hit, and many more superhero comics follow.

1939
"The Bat-Man" makes his first appearance in Detective Comics. Unlike Superman, Batman has no powers; he fights crime using martial arts, technology, and his mind. Timely Comics releases Marvel Comics, including Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner and several other heroes. Timely will eventually be renamed Marvel. DC introduces The Flash, a superhero who can run faster than the speed of light.

1940
Detective Comics presents Alan Scott, who makes a ring that allows him to use the light of the Green Lantern. Brenda Starr debuts. The star of the strip is a redheaded reporter who often visits exotic places. It's notable for being created by a woman, Dale Messick. The strip continues to be female-created, now being written by Mary Schmich and drawn by June Brigman.

1941
Steve Rogers is given super-soldier serum and a mighty shield in what will become the Marvel universe, becoming Captain America. Detective Comics introduces Wonder Woman, designed by psychiatrist William Marston to embody female ideals of heroism. Redheaded teenager Archie Andrews makes his first appearance in Pep Comics. In 1945, the publisher will change its name from MLJ Comics to Archie Comics.

1947 Donald Duck's Uncle Scrooge makes his first comic book appearance.

1948
The daily Pogo comic strip starts by Walt Kelly. The Pogo Possum character had been introduced in the first issue of the Animal Comics comic book in 1941, but gained fame for his topical political humor in the newspaper strips.

1949
Casper, had been introduced in a cartoon in 1945, the Friendly Ghost, then gets his own comic book fur years later.

1950
Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts, the most profitable comic strip of all time, begins its 50-year run. He'd wanted to name it Li'l Folks, but the United Feature syndicate changed its name over Schulz's objections. Spinoffs of the comic, which features Charlie Brown and Snoopy, will include many animated TV specials and a Broadway musical, not to mention every imaginable merchandising tie-in. The strip ends the day Schulz dies, but newspapers continue to reprint the older installments.

1954
The Comics Code Authority is created in response to public and Congressional objections to comic books featuring tales of crime and horror.

1959
Detective Comics introduces Supergirl, cousin of Superman.

1961 Marvel presents Stan Lee's The Fantastic Four, a superhero group consisting of Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl, The Thing, and The Human Torch. Unusually, the team members didn't hide their real identities (Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm). Reed and Susan would marry in 1965.


1962 Marvel adds another two superheroes: Spider-Man and The Hulk. Bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker gains the proportionate strength of a spider, and designs his own webshooters. He soon learns that with great power comes great responsibility. Dr. Banner, belted by gamma rays, turns into the Hulk, a giant green monster with matching purple pants.

Archie Comics debuts Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in the back of Archie's Madhouse. She'll get her own title in 1971, eventually starring in several cartoon shows and a live-action TV series.

1963
Josie McCoy is introduced by Archie Comics in She's Josie. In 1969, she'll become the head of a rock band, in Josie and the Pussycats. Marvel Comics starts its first series of mutants, the X-Men, led by Professor X. The other founding members are Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Iceman.

1964
Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, appears in his own Marvel Comics title. This superhero was blinded by radioactive waste, which heightened his other senses. In the DC universe, the Teen Titans makes its first appearance, consisting of Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and Wonder Girl.

1968
Tom Wilson create Ziggy, an executive at the American Greetings card company. He'll get his own daily newspaper panel in 1971.

1970
The first strip to be carried by Universal Press Syndicate, Doonesbury begins appearing in daily newspapers by Garry Trudeau's combining the ongoing stories of various characters aging in real time with political satire, and becomes the first comic strip to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, in 1975.

1974
Wolverine makes his first appearance, as a Canadian superhero fought by the Hulk, later joining the X-Men and getting his own monthly title.

1976
Cathy Guisewite introduces Cathy, a comic strip loosely based on her own life. The Everywoman main character struggles with "the four basic guilt groups: Food, Love, Mother, and Career."

1978
Garfield begins his long nap in the nation's newspapers. The strip becomes one of the most widely syndicated—and merchandised—of all time.

1979
Telling the story of the Patterson family, Lynn Johnston's creation, For Better or For Worse comic strip debuts, with characters aging in real time. The strip becomes known for its realistic portrayal of life events and is eventually nominated for a Pulitzer, a rare distinction especially for a non-political comic strip.

1980
The Far Side, a strange but popular daily panel, makes its first appearance in the San Francisco Chronicle on New Year's Day. Bloom County begins in December. While modeled on Doonesbury to some extent, the strip has a wackier tone and includes talking animals. Its two most famous characters are Opus the penguin and Bill the Cat. (Ironically, Bill—specifically created as an unmerchandisable parody of Garfield—turns out to be highly mechandisable himself.) The strip wins a Pulitzer in 1987.

1984
Pat Brady's Rose Is Rose begins its run in syndication, a consistently cheerful comic about everyday life, it often shifts to fanciful—sometimes surreal—points of view.

1985
Calvin and Hobbes, the adventures of an imaginative boy and his stuffed tiger, begins its daily newspaper run. Author Bill Watterson becomes known for his refusal to merchandise the wildly popular characters in any way, and for insisting —in later years—that the Sunday strips be run in his preferred format or not at all. While the strip ends in 1996, it is still rerun in many papers.


1986
The very first version of Maus, Art Spiegelman's story based on his father's Holocaust experiences, appeared on three pages of Funny Aminals in 1972. It got underway in earnest in 1980, when a 10-page installment appeared in Raw magazine. In 1986, the revised first six installments are published as a graphic novel: Maus: A Survivor's Tale. A second volume is published in 1991 as Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began. The combined work wins a special Pulitzer Prize. In addition to being a powerful story, Maus helps graphic novels begin to gain respectability among mainstream readers and critics.

1987
Greg Evans' Luann appears on the comic pages, chronicling the life of teenager Luann DeGroot. While a lighthearted strip in general, it's addressed heavy topics such as drugs, drunk driving, and cancer. It's also the first strip ever to feature a character getting her first period.

1988
FoxTrot, Bill Amend's comic strip about the Fox family, begins.

1989
Neil Gaiman begins The Sandman, published by DC Comics. Along with Swamp Thing, it is used to launch the Vertigo line of comics aimed at adults. The popular and complex series runs for 75 issues, with the occasional followup miniseries or graphic novel.

1990
Baby Blues, a comic strip, about the ups and downs of child-rearing, is written by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott debuts with the birth of Zoe MacPherson to parents Wanda and Darryl.. Characters in the strip age one year for every two or three that pass in real life.

1995
Stone Soup begins to be served. Jan Eliot's strip is one of the few to be centered around a single mother, Val Stone. A widow and full-time worker, Val has two children, Holly and Alix (aged 13 and 9). At the start of the strip, she lives with her mother, and her sister, a divorcé with a toddler, Max. While the characters don't age, Joan eventually marries their next door neighbor, Wally, who's taken in his teenaged nephew, Andy.

1997
Zits, begins a strip about the family and friends of 15-year-old Jeremy Duncan which makes frequent use of surreal imagery reflecting and exaggerating characters' points of view, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman.

1999 The Boondocks, by Aaron McGruder, begins syndication in more than 150 newspapers. The strip stars African American children in a mostly white area. Its bitingly satirical commentary on racial and political issues has earned it both praise and protests.

2001
Pearls Before Swine, which has been published on the Web since 1999, begins appearing in newspapers on December 31. The strip, written by Stephan Pastis, features Pig, Rat, Zebra, Goat, and The Fraternity of Crocodiles. The characters are aware that they're in a comic strip, one which often parodies other strips and the medium itself. The simplistic art style plays off a quickwitted and quirky comic sensibility.

2002 The first American edition of Shonen Jump, dated January 2003, is released the preceding December. This 288-page digest of Japanese comic books, or manga, includes installments of Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece. The first issue sells almost 300,000 copies, a definite success, and another installment follows each month thereafter. The magazine is a spinoff of Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump, which has been running since 1968. Pages in the American edition are read "backward," from right to left, so that the artwork appears as it did in the original Japanese version.

2005 The publishers of Shonen Jump introduce Shojo Beat, a manga digest targeted at older teens, particularly teenaged girls. ("Shonen" means "boy," and "shojo" means "girl.") The tagline is "Manga from the heart."

2007 Captain America is shot and killed by his nemesis, Red Skull.

References:
http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/dchistory/DCHISTORY-1.htm http://www.crumbproducts.com/history/timeline.htm http://www.gayleague.com/gay/timeline/timeline3.php http://www.supermansupersite.com/timeline.html

Research Essay/Synopsis

A 3-point lighting system is basically set up using three different lights, which are categorized under key, fill and back light. These lighting techniques serve to create illumination to a scene which has total darkness. Figure 1 illustrates this.

figure 1


The key light sets the stage for the rest of the lighting because it is the strongest light, which gives body to the scene and casts shadows.


figure 2

While the fill light, fills or tones in the shadows created by the key light giving the scene a sense of time, place, mood and drama. The fill light as a result also brightens the scene and should always be to some degree less brighter than the key light using soft light.


figure 3

The back light is essential to three-point lighting in that it separates the scene from the background, by giving definition and subtle highlights.



figure 4








figure 5(before rendering scene)









figure 6(after rendering)


Below is a classic example on the study of 3-point lighting

The Key light This light is placed at a 45 degree angle to the left giving the oranges a spherical nature and casting shadows on the floor to show that they are stacked on top of each other on a surface. However, the image lacks detail in the shadow areas. This can be rectified by adding another light to the right of the oranges to add some illumination to those darkened areas. The light added is known as the fill light.

The Fill light This light as mentioned earlier is used to illuminate those areas of the image which are found in shadow when the key light is placed. The fill is only used to allow us to see a little more detail. The key light is about 2-3 times brighter than the fill.

The Key and Fill light The combination of using both key and fill light gives the image a better appearance than when each light stands alone. The image has more depth and detail. It is neither too dark, nor too washed out. However, the 3-point lighting requires there be added a third light which is known as the back light. The right side of the oranges are losing their depth against the background, therefore in order to counteract this we then add a back/rim light.

The Back/Rim light The rim light is placed behind the objects being illuminated and is angled so that the light glances off the surface of the object at the narrowest angle. The intensity of this light is often quite high, often brighter than the key. Due to its intensity and placement it creates a line of bright light around the object and in doing so lifts the object away from the background. The rim light is principally used to ensure that a dark object does not blend in with a dark background. OK now the lighting is complete let's examine the finished result.

The Finished Render The image still has contrast and a good range of tones from black through to white. The floor shadows and the shadowing of one orange onto another are still there showing each object's relationship to the next and detail be seen even in the shadow areas on the fruit.

References:
http://www.andrew-whitehurst.net/3point.html
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Tutorials/Three_Point_Light
http://highend3d.com/maya/tutorials/rendering_lighting/general/235.html

3 Still images

1. Dreary Mondays

I titled this scene Dreary Mondays because of the gloomy feeling one always gets when approaching Monday mornings after a blissful weekend. The tones of the lighting are pale soft lights with low intensities to depict the sorrowful mood. The shadows are also soft and barely noticeable, while the tips of the lamp, table and china are caressed by soft rays of light.



2. Untitled

The ghostly setup of the lampshade represent the lifelessness of the scene, yet a contradiction is noticeable when we relate the lampshade with the other objects in the indoor environment. This ironical lighting scene has sharp spot lighting directed at the base of the lamp, giving it a glowing feel and the scene which is set in a slightly brighter light than the first scene has a pleasant atmosphere.



3. Daybreak

This scene was set up using a comparison of two different riggings to explore the use of the three point lighting and rendering methods.
A spot light was used to setup light to the scene, then 4 was used as the intensity lighting with some added green and blue tones to depict daybreak of values G 0.971 and B 0.895. I enabled the shadow and left the umbra at a default of 0.75. The cone angle was also adjusted to 43.075 giving the room an intense isolated lighting. Similar processes were done to the fill light and back light, this can be seen in figures 3 and 4 above.