The Indian Institute of Digital Art & Animation - "iidaa"

On the occasion of World Photography Day we are showcasing some of the works of our Faculty of Photography Department.

On the occasion of World Photography Day we are celebrating by showcasing some of our students works.
Wish you all a happy world photography day.

TRY 5 CREATIVE FORCED-PERSPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

Forced perspective photography is used make us, the viewers believe that certain objects are smaller or larger than they really are. It’s the manipulation of the human visual perception; some call it optical illusions.

Taking a forced perspective photo is not difficult and doesn’t require any special skills. As you can see in the following examples, you can try forced-perspective photography at your Lawn or at home.

If you have clicked such photographs, do share the links with us in the comment box.

A forgotten history of Indian Animation

The history of animation in India can be traced to the early 20th century. Precursors to modern animation such as shadow puppets and slide shows entertained audiences before the advent of the cinema. Pioneers such as Dadasaheb Phalke, Gunamoy Banerjee, K.S. Gupte and G.K. Ghokle kept the tradition of animation alive during the first half of the 20th century. Such individuals were usually self-taught and were inspired by foreign cartoons.

The first Indian animated television series was Ghayab Aaya, which aired in 1986 and was directed by Suddhasattwa Basu. The series, made in 10 parts and was a complete Indian production, it was first shown on the National television network Doordarshan in 1990. The story revolved around the adventures of Ghayab the friendly always do- gooder 'Casper type' naughty ghost.

Ghayab Aya was directed by Ashok Talwar and animated by Suddhasattwa Basu, who first started his career in 1981 as a designer and an illustrator for the TARGET children's magazine. He was born in 1956; an Indian author, painter, illustrator, and animation film maker. Born in West Bengal, he spent his childhood in the suburban town of Chandannagar, West Bengal. Basu studied fine arts at the Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata. He began his career as an illustrator and designer for the children's magazine Target. He has illustrated several children's books.

Basu designed, directed and animated India's first indigenously made animation television serial for children Ghayab Aya. It was made in ten parts and first telecast on Doordarshan in July 1990. Basu worked and lived in New Delhi, India

Ways to make facial expression and lip movements interesting in Animation.

Many of these tips are based on the dialogue principles and how they are portrayed in animation.

Before focusing on the face and mouth, animate the body, head and hands to convey the attitude and emotion of the character. Listen for the accents in the dialogue, and emphasize them with the whole body. Think about the line of action through the spine, and the angle and movement of the head. If the head moves work with the dialogue, the expression on the face and the mouth shapes become less critical, especially when the character is very active.
Shooting a close-up video of your face as you say the dialogue along with the track is very helpful. It is also recommended that keep a mirror next to your computer, so you can quickly try out expressions and mouth shapes. If you watch yourself in a mirror, don’t speak too slowly— speak at the same speed as the recording. If you speak slowly, you tend to over-enunciate which will lead to more mouth shapes than you need.

Generally, you can animate the dialogue using pose-to-pose animation a layered approach, or a combination of the two, both the approaches are recommended. First, work on the key poses in the scene, touching the jaw rotation, mouth shape, cheeks, eyes, and eyebrows. Then go back to the start of the scene and do a jaw pass on one phrase at a time, focusing only on the jaw rotation (opening and closing).
Open the jaw on the vowels A,E, I, O, and U. As you open and close the jaw, vary the amount, as in the photos below. It’s important to emphasize the big vowel accents with wide, open mouths.

You should close the mouth on consonants like B, P, and M, and usually for at least 2 frames. If you go from an open mouth to a closed one and only hold it for one frame before opening it again, it can pop and look like a mistake, or not read at all. Keep in mind that a closed mouth isn’t always a straight horizontal line.

Once the jaw pass is working, select all of the controls on the lower half of the face, set keys on them to match the jaw keys, and then start to refine the mouth shapes. It is recommended to usually do the mouth corners next, then the cheeks, then the lip controls.
Look for interesting mouth shapes that reflect the personality of the voice. Enjoy the process of animating lip movements.