# my R33 GTR transformer 3d animation WIP



## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

hey guys
posted this up on socom but forgot to stick it here too doh!

Basically its a work in progress I'm doing. I decided seeing as I'd modelled the car earlier on in the year it may be fun to try and do something quite technical with it. After watching Transformers2 recently i thought I'd have a go at it myself lol!










click on this link below to watch the animation as it stands right now... (qtime mov approx 3mb)
http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/wip/r33gtr_wip/movies/r33transformer03.mov

I just bolted the audio from the first movie into that render and it seems to work quite well I think. Its still a fair way off being done and I plan to do a few shots not just the one and also composite it into the car park around the corner from where I live but i think its quite promising...


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## x.laura.x (Apr 8, 2009)

hmm it wont load the clip i got sound but no image not unless it my laptop bein a turd!


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## blue34 (Jul 28, 2005)

That is brilliant - very clever! thanks for sharing

works just fine - right click the link "save target as" to download, then run it locally - you'll need quick time or a player that can play quicktime .mov files.


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## Moff (Sep 27, 2004)

haha, awesome.. works in VLC player 

Is the car going to be a decepticon by the look of it ?

I think you should have the car drifting in, stopping for a quick gawp and the car before transforming... 

What about adding in lightsavers and stuff.. wait, now I'm getting silly


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

Moff said:


> Is the car going to be a decepticon by the look of it ?


hehehe you can see that then? Great stuff :thumbsup:

my plan is to do a short 30 second composite. There's a car park round the corner from me I plan to shoot the footage in and I've got an actor (my sisters partner lol!) whom I'm gonna get running through the car park with the gtr drifting behind him. The guy falls over near the exit but the car drifts around him and transforms before him looking down at him. From there he'll get up, run out the car park and be followed out by the robot that turns back into the car lol. I've got it storyboarded out at home. I'll get it scanned in and put it up to see 


cheers for the kind words guys!


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## ru' (Feb 18, 2007)

That's cool :smokin:


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

yeah..cool


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## hodgie (Oct 23, 2003)

very clever.


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

update time - nothing major but got a foot done on him and found 'homes' on the robots body for other bits of the car. I've done a couple of renders of it in white to see how it looks too:

http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/WIP/R33gtr_wip/movies/R33transformer05.mov

heres the renders too..


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## x.laura.x (Apr 8, 2009)

oooo i like


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## Micky Hanson (Oct 1, 2006)

nice one, what are you using Max or Maya ? 

keep up the good work


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## agent-x (Jul 26, 2008)

thats clever mate :bowdown1:

will be good to see the finished product :thumbsup:


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## Rain (Apr 8, 2006)

Looking really nice;

When you get the full model up just do what ILM did with the actual models, and add the parts you need just make sure they "hide" themselves later if you plan on doing a full transformation. 

Pretty obvious that there are lots of "parts" on the T1 and T2 models that have no place at all, just happen to appear and disappear they just integrate them very well.

edit: Would love to see your riggin network to this  Little things from watching the first vid, lots of twining happening, i guess it depends on how the rig is layed out.


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## Satansbodyguard (Oct 29, 2007)

thats AWESOME mate......any Chance of you doing a Black R32GTR as well ????


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

Rain said:


> Looking really nice;
> When you get the full model up just do what ILM did with the actual models, and add the parts you need just make sure they "hide" themselves later if you plan on doing a full transformation.
> Pretty obvious that there are lots of "parts" on the T1 and T2 models that have no place at all, just happen to appear and disappear they just integrate them very well.
> edit: Would love to see your riggin network to this  Little things from watching the first vid, lots of twining happening, i guess it depends on how the rig is layed out.


cheers mate yeah I was having a look at ILM's approaches and quite relieved to find some videos on youtube from a siggraph show and they show how their transformations look like a big old mess from certain angles but from the camera angle they needed they work a treat. I was quite relieved to see that lol!

My rig doesn't transform anywhere near as complexely (if thats a word) as theirs (yet hehehe!), but i think most of the impact is in the little details like for example when optimus pulls up for the first time in T1 and the front grill just pops apart, then concertinas into itself or when they finish transforming but theres just little parts of the character that are still slotting and moving into place.
My rig actually uses the bits I liked from various bots - like ratchets full body 180 degree motion and bumblebees bumper/chest section dropping down over his head - I've kinda borrowed the bits I liked from numerous bits.

I'm in the process of adding 'bespoke' bits at the moment which resemble the car, but will hide or tuck away once in car mode. the rigging skeleton is actually mostly joint chains parented to a simple character skeleton. things like the doors for example are on a 3 bone system and that helps to allow me to keep the doors out the way whilst the rest transforms. I also did things like mirror sections of the bodywork so rotations were the same on both sides yet I can still animate them independently

I'll get some screenshots up of the rig without polys and other bits shortly 

thanks for all the kind words everyone :thumbsup:


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## LiamGTR (Nov 26, 2006)

That is amazing


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## Moff (Sep 27, 2004)

Good effort, keep it coming


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## fourtoes (Feb 27, 2003)

He hee great suff mate!

bob


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

quick update.. hands for him at last lol!! just need to work some more detail into various areas but its well on its way methinks  soon be time to start putting a composite together!


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## Robbie J (Jan 8, 2005)

what software are you using? max, Maya or xsi?

the transforms of the little components make all the difference, the transformers from the movie normally slow the sequence and focus on little bits for a few seconds more

first year i didn't make SIGGRAPH, flipping credit crunch


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

using maya mate with mental ray for rendering.

yeah its the little details like the little components still clunk clicking away even tho the robot is in motion. I want the broad strokes in first then the details can come later  I've rigged up sections of the bot so a full intricate animation of one section of the car can be driven off one slider mid transformation, which saves time animation wise and allows me to concentrate on animating the bigger sections. most of it tho really is just move it till it works and I'm glad ILM adopted the same approach lol!


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## Rain (Apr 8, 2006)

How many animators on here anyway?


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

some uppitydates:



















and as promised some wireframes...




























its approaching 2,500 nodes now and will probably hit 3,000 by the time I'm done with the head and other details. Then I've gotta do some various rigging bits to get pieces to move as the character does erk! That will probably double the amount of nodes in the model and kill my laptop in the process too hehehe!

ILM said their Bumblebee was about 4,500 nodes in maya and they had a team working on separate sections of his body lol!


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## mrobinson2 (Jul 10, 2008)

Nice work !!!


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

Robbie J said:


> what software are you using? max, Maya or xsi?
> 
> the transforms of the little components make all the difference, the transformers from the movie normally slow the sequence and focus on little bits for a few seconds more
> 
> first year i didn't make SIGGRAPH, flipping credit crunch


I found a couple of clips on youtube with the guys from ILM explaining some of their workings for the first transformers movie - I've downloaded em as I didn't want them taking down and never seeing again (just in case lol!) but here's the links 

production technique
YouTube - Transformers: The Movie - Production Technique

transformations
YouTube - Transformers: The Movie - Character Transformations

enjoy


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## Moff (Sep 27, 2004)

Coming on nicely materoo...


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## MS33 (Jun 27, 2007)

Superb!! Keep it coming. :chuckle:


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

link below:

http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/WIP/R33gtr_wip/movies/r33_tf_comp01.mov

lots to do on it yet, but its on its way I think


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## ru' (Feb 18, 2007)

That's coming along very nicely


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

back from Barcelona now. Corking weather. V.sunny but bit too hot for me. Bloody riddled with mosquito bites bah! Fantastic time overall tho and the missus got me in the sea for my first time and now I'm hooked  I spent every morning in there altho wigged out a bit when the fish come up to your feet and have a gentle nibble on your toes!

Anyhow took my laptop out there and in the hours in the evening I chilled outside in the garden with a beer and did a bit of work on this project. I decided it would be good fun to make it a kind of Sector7 video evidence clip. I've animated the car coming into shot, grabbing the camera then transforming back and driving off. I've tried to make it a bit more 'cloverfield' in its feel with blurring of the camera and digital distortion altho not gone overly crazy. I've also added smoke, atmos & dust fx in along with the headlight glows and the like. This clip below isn't rendered - its just a hardware rendered playblast with the composited fx on it to see how it all times up. Just gotta model the head (lazy and not done it yet lol!) and add some cars in the background parked up along with textures and more grime on the walls and other bits n bobs to make it feel more real. Quite happy overall tho but I'll see what you guys think 

http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/wip/r33gtr_wip/movies/r33_tf_comp02.mov


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

done a few more bits today - decided to just go at it and model the head. I'm quite chuffed as the first thing the missus said is 'it looks a bit like an insect' which is cool as I was going for that look after looking at the decepticons on the Michael Bay movies  pics below:


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

thats the buisness mate, really good work, it would beeven better if it had sound too 
the amount of work to do this bamboozles me TBH, i wouldent know where to even start, hats off to ya


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## Lith (Oct 5, 2006)

That is amazingly cool, nice work!


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

audio will be added deen't worry


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## Major_Sarcasm (Jul 28, 2004)

Bloody brilliant.


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## G40tee (Feb 25, 2008)

that is amazing!


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

anthonymcgrath said:


> audio will be added deen't worry


top man

my wee boy is mad on transformers and to see dad's skyline change into optimus prime will just blow him away!!!
i cant wait to show him the finished result, do you know if there is anyway i can use your transformer as a screen saver?
he would love it

alex


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

hi guys thanks for all the kind words - its been worth the extra effort building the garage and the hi resolution head - its really brought the piece alive and given it a moodier feel.

alex - there may be a way to fire it out into a flash .mov file and have that as a screensaver. I'm going to do a heap of high resolution renders for ppl's desktops too and if your son likes it enough I may put some posters together if ppl are happy to chuck a couple of quid my way for printing


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

okay well I think its just about finished now. I do need to add audio to it which I plan on doing once my own car is sorted and then I can take it down to the carpark and get me missus to record the audio from me driving my car lol. Then I just plan on adding some audio transformation sounds, skids, squeals, maybe a shout of pain from the cameraman along with a thud from his arm hitting the ground etc..
All in its taken about 6-7 weeks of evenings and some wkend time. I'm quite happy overall with it altho there are things I wish I could do to finesse it further. I might find some time to composite some cars in the background to flesh out the carpark a little and maybe some dirt n grime on the walls or grafiti but I like the fact its quite clean around the car - doesn't distract that way 
anyhow.. movie - right click on the link and download the qtime .mov (about 10mb)

http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/wip/r33gtr_wip/r33_transformer_final_composite.mov

hope you all like :cheers:


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

anthonymcgrath said:


> hi guys thanks for all the kind words - its been worth the extra effort building the garage and the hi resolution head - its really brought the piece alive and given it a moodier feel.
> 
> alex - there may be a way to fire it out into a flash .mov file and have that as a screensaver. I'm going to do a heap of high resolution renders for ppl's desktops too and if your son likes it enough I may put some posters together if ppl are happy to chuck a couple of quid my way for printing




mate just give me the nod and i will happly pay what i have to to get him one.
it's his 5th birthday on the 30th and this would be great for him, so please do what you can and let me know how much money you will need to make it happen, thank you very much for the extra effort on my behalf 

alex


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

hi Alex - I'll have a chat with printing company near to our place of work and see what they can do. I'll do a couple of renders this week featuring the robot stood behind the car, and post them up on this thread then you can take your pick on which one you like and I'll get it printed for you - it sounds like he's skyline crazy lol!
My nephew is 10 now and adores skylines & transformers and it just never entered my head to do a poster like design for him lol!


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

yea he is rather daft on both skylines and transformers
his pedal kett car has rb26 and gtr badges on it, he even compares EVERY car to dads skyline
can i just make one request please, can you make the skyline purple for me?
also i like the idea of the car infront of the transformer, god im even excited about it now! lol
i can only imagine what he's going to be like

so far for his 5th we have him a bumble bee transformer, a optimus prime lorry, a megatron and a transformers skateboard.
i told you he's transformers daft!!

thanks

alex


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

no worries Alex - I'll get onto it this week - got a coupla things to sort out for another person but they'll be done quick. I'll post up the poster ideas in a day or so to show you what I were thinking.

reet - updated the anim. Added a couple of cars in the background just to break up the lines a bit visually. I made the headlight glow alot more like a halogen gas glow which looks alot better. just right click on the link and download the same .mov at the bottom of the page 

Anthony McGrath - WIP - R33GTR TRANSFORMER


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## Tarmac Attack (Oct 2, 2008)

This. Is. Awesome! Well done on a brilliant project.

Justin


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

newest version is brilliant mate, i really like the hand at the end, maybe a little blood would be great, you know just a little puddle on the floor and some on the hand (pffftttt who am i kidding i couldent even start to do this)
top work dude


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

cheers chaps - yeah I had considered a spot of blood but didn't want it to look like the robot had mauled the guy - more like he'd maybe knocked him out or something


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

hi guys
right - at request of Alex on here and a couple of mums who have emailed me after seeing my project on my website!! - I've put a few poster-style renders together of the robot posed against the car. the posters will pretty much look as is with the exception of my url being added at the very bottom in small grey text so as not to interrupt the render.

Alex let me know which of these you like and I'll get it printed up for you for your little uns birthday 

just incase anyone is not sure on how big these posters would/could be try this with any letter dossing around the house for a rough guide....

A4 - piece of letter paper
A3 - 2 A4 next to each other (open magazine)
A2 - 4 sheets of A4
A1 - 3x3 sheets of A4 (hooj)

If I can get a few ppl who would be interested in this I can get a fair bit of price reduction, altho that would have to be on the same print. the posters would be full colour with glossy finish.

anyhow just some thoughts - if anyone else is interested let me know. I can make the car any colour too altho bespoke prints would have to be a one off print which would cost a bit more to get printed.

dunno if fuggles would be interested in putting it on the gtroc mag cover too?


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

defo the first one mate, it's cracking! as for the size i recon a A1 is in order, thats going to look great above his bed, he's gonna love that (if he doesnt i will!!) lol

anyway thanks alot for the efforts, top man


alex


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

hi Alex
no bother - glad you like - had a feeling you'd pick the first one!

I'll chase up the best place to print out the image for you


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## Moff (Sep 27, 2004)

Awesome work... Love the posters...


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

Alex - just a quick update mate. I've got the image rendered off and been stitching it together ...the image is about 8000x10,000 pixels in size - its took about 3 days to render and i had to do it in sections then stitch it together hehehe :flame: I have also adjusted the colours and for the sake of the robot I've adde a few subtle body scratches on the robot 'car' parts just to make it feel a bit more like the transformers robots. The car is still gleaming tho lol!

anyhow I've priced it up for you - printing is £26, postage is going to be about £5 and the roller that protects it for delivery is about the same price so in total it tots up to £36! I realise this is a massive amount for a poster so I'm saying this to make sure your ok with it before I send off the file for printing tomorrow! I think it takes 3 days to print then I'll post it to you.

let me know mate and I'll get it sorted. I am going to get one printed anyways so if you change your mind its not a problem but if you still want to go ahead it'll be in yer little uns mitts by the wkend


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

Awesome bit of animation, posters look cool as well


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## AlexH (Aug 17, 2008)

you have p.m mate 

Alex


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

okay guys its FINALLY finished! I've been working on the audio all evening and I think I'm gonna put this anim to bed now. I removed out the arm at the end as I thought it obscured the car transformation too much and I wanted that to be the focus really. The audio is samples from the movies, video game & numerous other little bits and also recording my own car pulling up to my video camera.. thats my blitz blowoff valve you can hear hehehe!

Overall I'm quite happy with it - yes there are things I could do to make it better but 8 weeks of evenings is enough now lol!

download the .mov file here (approx 20mb)

http://www.anthonymcgrath.co.uk/movies/r33_transformer_final.mov

enjoy guys - its up on youtube too btw for ppl who cant view it for some reason.. just search for nissan skyline transformer


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## Lith (Oct 5, 2006)

Youtube search doesn't bring it up


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

you could have just downloaded it from my website? It would be in better quality anyhow 

okay I put it back up on youtube now - linky is here - only just submitted it so it may take a short while to go live:

YouTube - Nissan Skyline R33 GTR Transformer animation


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## Moff (Sep 27, 2004)

Me likey... Good work tha man...


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## Lith (Oct 5, 2006)

Nice, thats come out awesome! Good work  And I could have downloaded it but I have no quicktime player and use a PC which I shouldn't install stuff on.


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

no worries Lith - glad ppl are liking it  sound makes all the difference methinks! :flame:


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## anthonymcgrath (Feb 22, 2005)

new link - original uploaded anim was very dark so adjusted it for youtube..

YouTube - Nissan Skyline Transformer 3d Animation


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