Animation
Bear Metal Animators
by Justin M.
The animation team is an activity of Bear Metal that is almost completely separate from the actual robot building. Although our end is different from that of the rest of the club, the means to the end are fairly similar in some respects. Where the robot design process is about solving engineering problems effectively and efficiently, the animation process is about creating a work of art that communicates an idea effectively and, in our case, efficiently.
Every year Autodesk, a major sponsor of FIRST, releases an animation "prompt" that asks young animators in FRC teams around the world to answer its question. For example, the prompt for the 2010 season asks teams to design an invention. "It might be something that makes a positive difference in the lives of individuals, in your neighborhood, in the world at large, or - even - in space. It may save lives or make daily life easier. It may be the next best thing to clean our oceans, generate power, or sustain & steward our resources. It's up to you."
Some things that have not changed are the parameters of this animation. There can be no more than 30 seconds of animated video total (extra things like title slides, credits, live video, and pictures don't count towards this), it must answer all aspects of the prompt, and it needs to be done using Autodesk software.
The Bear Metal animators use 3D Studio Max, which is used by industry professionals worldwide. Autodesk grants all FIRST teams free access to this software, effectively giving high school students free training on tools that they could end up using in animation and design careers later in life.
The exact process, from concept and storyboarding to final rendering and competition animation, is more complicated than it may seem:
- Prompt is revealed, brainstorm ideas.
- Do storyboarding and sketching.
- Build geometry for rooms and characters (shapes and objects).
- Add textures to the shapes.
- Light the scenes.
- Add characters to the scenes and animate them.
- Do camera work.
- Do rendering and post-production (transitions, title slides, credits, etc.).
Why is it so complicated? First of all, 3D Studio Max is no picnic to work with; this is professional level animation software with a steep learning curve. Second, the team has only about six weeks to complete and submit their video, the same timeline as robot development. Finally, each of those eight steps has many smaller steps and sub-steps that must happen. Nevertheless, the animation team works hard to get it all done!