CAT 09 Animation

T
owards my 2020 showreel, I aimed at creating an outro animation, showcasing my CAT09 PC model; with the monitor displaying the D_ROGUE title. See here for my 2020 showreel.

At first, I had no idea how I would display the video on the monitor screen without using a shader for the mesh in Unity (my game engine of choice). While watching tutorials for the software Marmoset Toolbag 3, I discovered there was a free plugin made by an artist which creates a sprite texture sheet of all the frames of a chosen video; playing them in sequence similar to a GIF. The process is quite straightforward and once complete, the custom shader is simply added to the selected material texture slot.

Jason Bartlett ©

Above is the complete CAT09 model animation in Marmoset Toolbag 3. Below the 3D viewport is the keyframe and timeline editors. These editors enable you to select numerous elements of a scene and create an animation. In the outro, I wanted to utilise a slow push pull effect to evoke a sense of unease. Combined with this, I wanted to create a slow push-in dolly, approaching the monitor as it turned on and ending the shot going into the screen. Luckily, these were all in-camera parameters that could be accessed in the keyframe editor. At first, I struggled coordinating the xyz translation of the camera movement, from its starting and end positions. Eventually, with enough trial and error, I understood all the features enough to manually drop in keyframes and achieve what I envisioned from the start. On the image above, the little red vertical line on the monitor screen is a preview of the camera's path. The change in height on the camera path is due to the camera perspective to create my idea; ending the animation full-frame on the monitor. I had to not only push in on the y axis but push up the x axis too!

Jason Bartlett ©

Here is the first frame from the final animation. I tweaked the lighting and sky light settings to get a mock studio setup. As this was for my portfolio, I aimed at presenting the model in a professional manner and with consistency with my other 3D artwork.

Jason Bartlett ©

As the camera eases into the monitor, the screen comes to life and the title animation begins to play. In order to fade the title animation in, I had to do this in post-production of my showreel within Premiere Pro. I did this by rendering the animation in two passes and fading one in on top of the other. The first, with a basic material of the monitor screen and the second, with the customer shader playing the title animation video on the monitor.

Jason Bartlett ©

I created the dimensions of the original title video in 4:3 ratio, hoping one day I could actually incorporate it onto a PC model. However, it wasn't an easy journey adding it into the custom shader. Although the screen measurements were exact to 4:3 scale, the video still appeared distorted in Marmoset and it took a lot of tweaking dimensions in Premiere before I got the final product!

Jason Bartlett ©

I was really happy with the animation of the camera path going into the screen. What also made the results quite interesting, were the timing of the glitches of the title animation. I created these as though some interference was distorting with the screen after the reveal of the title D_ROGUE appeared. As the camera approaches the screen, it looks as though the camera or the viewer is creating the glitches on proximity!

Jason Bartlett ©

Above, is one of the last frames of the title animation glitching, and below, the end credit link...to this very blog site!  

Jason Bartlett ©

Overall, I'm really pleased with this animation, displaying my CAT09 PC model in my 2020 showreel. It showcases my skills across multiple disciplines and software, utilizing my technical knowledge and demonstrating my capabilities.

Thanks for reading and have a happy new year!  :)