Johnny’s Boogie

3-D Animation

"Johnny's Boogie" is a 3D animation project that has been in development throughout the year. The project showcases a character named Johnny, dancing to the iconic tune "Johnny B. Goode". To bring this character to life, I utilized industry-standard software Maya to design, rig, and animate Johnny with meticulous attention to detail.

Introduction

Introducing "Johnny's Boogie," my remarkable animated project that showcases my creative talents and technical skills. Through meticulous design, rigging, and animation using Maya, I bring the character of Johnny to life as he dances to the iconic song "Johnny B. Goode." Join me on an immersive journey filled with vibrant visuals, dynamic movements, and a unique blend of artistry and technical expertise. Get ready to be captivated by the world of "Johnny's Boogie," where my creativity takes center stage.

Johnny’s Turn-a-round Sketches

  • Black and White

  • With Color

  • Colored with Clothing

  • Face Close-up

3-D Modelling

It took me quite a few months to completely model my character. All together, without clothing, he totals at 15,177 vertices.

Design Process

Joints and Skinning

Joints are very important in 3-D animation because here is when the animator decides how they would like their model to move. For me, Joints and skin binding went mostly smoothly. This part only took me a few days of on and off work in order to complete this. I desired a more cartoon-like movement, so he totals at only 38 joints.

Editing Joint Influence

After the animator binds their skeleton to their skin, they must edit how much each given joint affects any surrounding veracity. In my case, I has a lot of vertices,, which required me to individually set influences of most of the 15,177 vertices. This part took me a moth to complete.

Adding Inverse Kinematics

Inverse Kinematics are important, especially when working with bipedal characters. What they do, is they helps animate the movement of complex objects by determining how the joints should move to reach a specific target or goal. Instead of manually manipulating each joint individually, animators can focus on positioning the end effector, and the IK solver takes care of calculating the appropriate joint rotations.

Creating Controls

Instead of animating joints alone, the animator must add controls to make animation easier. Here, I also set some constraints on my controls so that I could not accidentally shrink his arm, for example.

Animating and Editing Movements

Animating went mostly smoothly, except for missing some milliseconds, which resulted in loss of frames. I don’t have much experience with movement animation, but this part was by far the most fun.

Modeling Results

  • Front (unclothed)

  • Front (clothed)

  • Side (unclothed)

  • Side (clothed)

  • Front (face closeup)

  • Side (Face closeup)

Challenges Faced During the Project

Technical Issues

  • Facial rigging is extremely difficult according to my research. Unfortunately I was unable to add facial rigs to Johnny, due to the time constraint. However, his polygons are constructed in such a way that It is very possible to still do so.

  • It was not at all difficult to rig Johnny’s fingers. However, It was very time consuming to animate all 10 fingers individually.

  • My biggest struggle by far with this project has been, trying to de-bug my nCloth simulation. My cloth’s polygons continuously break, and are very susceptible to deformation. I’ve researched the issue for hours, but could not come to any successful conclusion.

  • Since I chose a specific song so map out Johnny’s animations, I mapped out which movements would go where, and when. However, there are many time editing mistakes. Nothing that cant be solved. It is difficult to keep track of song time and the rate of frames.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

"Johnny's Boogie" is an impressive animated project that showcases my creative talents and technical skills. Through meticulous design, rigging, and animation using Maya, I bring the character of Johnny to life as he dances to the iconic song "Johnny B. Goode."

One notable aspect of the project is the significant challenges I encountered during the implementation of nCloth simulations. Working with nCloth, a dynamic simulation tool in Maya, proved to be highly intricate and demanding. I faced difficulties in achieving the desired cloth behavior and realistic draping effects for Johnny's costume. However, I tackled these obstacles head-on, constantly experimenting and refining the settings to obtain the desired results.

This journey was an exceptional learning experience for me, as I delved into the complexities of nCloth simulations. The challenges I faced allowed me to gain valuable insights and develop a deeper understanding of the intricacies involved in creating realistic cloth dynamics. This newfound knowledge and expertise will undoubtedly contribute to my future projects.

With an original character like Johnny at my disposal, I am excited to work on various upcoming projects. Armed with the lessons learned from "Johnny's Boogie," I am poised to embark on new creative endeavors, leveraging my skills and experience to bring Johnny to life in exciting and engaging ways.

"Johnny's Boogie" serves as a testament to my commitment to pushing boundaries, learning from challenges, and utilizing my original character as a foundation for future artistic ventures. The project not only showcases my technical growth but also foreshadows a promising creative journey ahead as I continue to collaborate with Johnny in new and captivating projects.

 FAQs

  • Actually, I didn’t choose the song until I was done rigging. I needed a name for my character, and something to bring him to life. While driving to the grocery store one day, I heard this song, and I felt it was the perfect fit for who is now, Johnny.

  • When I think of Johnny B. Goode. I think of him in the summertime, simply having a delightful time. But I also get a late 50’s vibe from him, because thats when the song was published. I chose muted yellow for the shirt because yellow connoted a happy and positive feeling. The shorts are blue to compliment the yellow shirt. Then I gave him some slip-on Vans to complete his happy, 50’s summertime appeal.

  • Absolutely! For my very first human rig, I think I did a pretty amazing job. Johnny will definitely be appearing all over in my portfolio to demonstrate the 9 principles of animation.

  • all four of my ncloth simulations were wretched, however, the shirt was the worst one. I really preferred him not to be naked for my final project, so I just chose to include his shorts and shoes. I will continue to work out the kinks.

  • It kind of happened by accident. I kept dedicating so much time to my Johnny, that I did not have enough time to rig my dog model.


I am a Senior student at The College of New Jersey, where I have pursued my passion for design and creative technology. Graduating with a major in Design and Creative Technology, I have delved into the exciting world of digital innovation and artistic expression. Alongside my major, I have also honed my skills in Graphic Design, allowing me to blend aesthetics with functionality to create visually striking and impactful designs.

In addition to my major and Graphic Design expertise, I have cultivated a deep appreciation for Art History through my minor in the subject. Exploring the rich tapestry of artistic movements and cultural influences throughout history has enriched my understanding of design and provided me with a well-rounded perspective on the creative world.

Throughout my academic journey, I have eagerly embraced opportunities to apply my knowledge and skills to real-world projects. Whether it's developing interactive digital experiences, crafting captivating visual identities, or exploring the intersections of art and technology, I thrive on pushing boundaries and bringing innovative ideas to life.

As I prepare to embark on the next chapter of my career, I am excited to leverage my diverse skill set and passion for design to make a meaningful impact. I am eager to collaborate with fellow creatives, embrace new challenges, and continue to evolve as a designer in this ever-changing landscape. With a strong foundation in design, creative technology, graphic design, and art history, I am equipped to navigate the dynamic and competitive world of the creative industry with confidence and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Original Idea…

OrdinaryChase

My original idea was to model and animate a dog chasing a ball. Then I got really ambitious and I wanted to add a person. Then, I spent so much time on Johnny, that I had to ditch the dog idea last minute.

Leading the Field

Whether it’s Walt Disney and his hundreds of notable characters, or Chuck Jones with his contributions to Warner Brothers, All have played very important roles in the animation world. Jones and Disney have obviously brought joy to millions of people around the world and will forever be 2D animation legends. Tim Burton changed the game in terms of stop motion animation. And John Lasseter’s characters from Toy story, Bug’s Life, and countless others are simply iconic. However, the most important inspiration to me and my career as an animator is my two college professors at TCNJ; Philip Sanders and Claire Smuga. These two people will never understand how grateful I am to them, and the foundation they’ve built for me and my future in animation.