District Arts Fest 2020

Manga Edits in Blender

I have found that I have been getting back into a lot of the things that I have liked in middle school. So for this blogpost I am going to attempt to create those manga edits in blender. Normally people do them in after effects but I don't want to learn how to animate in a whole new program so I am using blender. My general knowledge of these edits is that they take a panel or drawing and split it into separate layers that they then animate. I feel like I can manage to do this in blender since I like to make things look more 2D and I hope shape keys will help in making flowing hair.

 This is a very good example of what I am talking about:


 I'm doing it with this image though:


 So first in ibis PaintX I took the manga panel I wanted to animate and broke that into separate transparent layers. I also drew in certain parts like the antlers so I don't have to worry about blank space. I then saved these as transparent images.


 Then I put these into blender like I did with hair textures in the sims hair blogpost and arranged them so they matched up.


 Next I played with shape keys to see if I can deform the mesh that way. I figured out that I need to subdivide the mesh in order to actually morph it but it does seem to work.


 Then I animated the planes the way I wanted and exported it. I did not experience any problems with this other than the gray of the background matching the shadow on the neck but this project wasn't something too big to motivate me to go back and change that.

 I noticed while animating I forgot to try and make the eyes blink which I think would work if I made the eyes a separate layer and used shape keys but, although this is very simple in comparison to most edits, I figured out something pretty cool. Maybe I will even try this with my own drawings.

Planning Out

On tik tok, I saw this thing with frogs and it kind of made me think of a pixelated frog like something you would see on a playstation game. Because of that, I decided I wanted to make a piece with pixelated frogs. That was like three weeks ago. I tried three separate times to make something and I do not like the results. So I am hoping putting it out on paper would help me figure out what I want for this piece. I know I like the color scheme but it does not spark joy.

So first I tried to draw the character out on paper and see if I did not like that. I wrote out some characteristics I wanted and tried drawing the face based on that. With these two sketches I got the silhouette that I was looking for but I did not feel it would work with the piece.

 From there, I thought that maybe its her lack of a body so I went on forever 21 and chose an outfit for her. I like the drawing, and it gave me the idea of drawing a normal human and using the color scheme and frogs to make it look crazy. I also think I need to change the background even though I do like it. I feel that it is currently too simple which is holding me back with the character. So I think the background is something I should visit afterwards.

 Lastly, I have three ideas on making the frogs: pixel art, draw it, or model it. At this point I think that I am going to do the drawing one since I feel it will take less mental power.

A VRoid Continuation

This blogpost is going to continue on VRoid and discuss how to export those models and import them into Blender. I used this video to do this:

 Basically VRoid files are the same as GLTF files so in order to import them you have to download an addon. The one used in this video is the Ksons GLTF 2.0 addon. Once the addon is installed in Blender you should then be able to import these models(you have to click on the funnel thing on the top in order for the .vrm file to show).


 She looks not too good in object mode but is completely normal in render. Her armature also works. 

Additional things I have found:
-A better way to shift the screen is by holding down both buttons.

 -In the camera/exporter tab they have set animations that you can play with that you can record and take pictures of however there is not any way to import these into blender but it would be helpful for making references.


 -If you want the hair to move you simply click on the hair group and click “create bone group”. Otherwise, the hair will not move.




 -Also in order to adjust the hair net when creating hair you have to be in the select mode. Then the net will have dots on it that you can move around and customize.


 -Lastly, I figured out how to import and export the textures. You have to right click on the layers/images you want to save.

Exploring VRoid

For this blogpost, I will be exploring the program VRoid. VRoid is a program created by pixiv (aka that anime fanart site) where their goal is to essentially make going from 2D to 3D for artists easier. The program from what I have seen is a base mesh that you can customize through sliders. I initially did not have much interest in this program because I just felt that the results through customization would be very minimal and you would basically have the same model every time. But I have decided to explore this because I think their hair feature is cool and I am getting lazy so maybe I can create some Frankenstein model out of a VRoid model and parts that I model.


Downloading VRoid:
 VRoid has a computer program and an app but the app is currently unavailable in our country(I would like to check it out eventually). Other than that there seems to be four various links: VRoid Studio, VRoid Hub, VRoid SDK, and VRoid WEAR. VRoid Hub looks like a place where you can share and download models and VRoid WEAR appears to be where they highlight various artists.


VRoid Studio is the actual program where you can create these models but from my current understanding is that in order to use the model outside of VRoid I will also need to download VRoid SDK(but I need to apply as a developer in order to get the program so we’ll see what I can do without it). VRoid Studio is free and has both a Windows and MacOS version.


 Exploring the Program:
In order to create a new model you click on “new avatar”. From there you will choose the gender. I’m not using a mouse so without one the controls are zooming by using your fingers, rotate using the right button and shifting the screen by holding the shift button and the left button(there also seems to be no way to change that). From there there are a bunch of sliders where you can customize your character. This is the same for the body editor.


 In the texture tab, you can select the textures you want to edit by selecting “layer” and then edit them. They also have a layer system so you do not have to draw on the photo. In the texture editor you can either do it on the model or on the UV. It also has a brush, erase and blend tool that you can use to make these textures. I also cannot find the texture files so we are stuck with this texturing method for now.


 I really liked the hair feature in this program because you simply draw the hair on. I had a lot fun playing around and overall it is very good but there is this mesh over the head that limits the hair length which is very constricting when it comes to hairstyles. For clothes, you basically have a very limited number of options to choose from which I find pretty disappointing but I could maybe use them as a base to make my own clothes.


Final Thoughts:
 That is basically all there is to editing these models. Currently, although the program is still in the works, I feel very limited when it comes to making the model especially for textures and hair despite both being cool features. I feel that if I can find a way to import these models in Blender and find their textures then I would really begin to rely on this program as a base mesh for my models in the future.

End of Marking Period 3 Blogpost

Intention Definition & Exploration of Ideas:
I continued the theme of looking inward where I focus on various emotions I feel or feel is very common for others to feel. This marking period I continued to work on the piece that responds to the piece from the second marking period that discussed the lack of trust formed. Other than that, I have continued to create less formal pieces that include discussing blooming relationships(among that same family), music as a way of healing and changes in someone as they grow and whether these changes are real or fake. Also, I have decided early on that I did not want a screen for my display since I do not animate and all my animations from tenth grade have been lost in the void of Youtube and not wanting students to have accounts, so for my two favorite animations from sophomore year, I recreated them into still images.

Planning: I have not really tried to do anything new this marking period in terms of planning. I have kind of just stuck with the drawing the scene and sticking to that plan to the best of my ability. I have noticed however that I have kind of found inspiration in small things and developed them later on to match my theme. Like for the music piece, I was just playing with the flash on my phone and decided that I wanted to make something with them. That’s when I eventually decided that it would be cool if I modeled a mouth and related this to healing. I also did some research into typography and basically every time I think about all the words and stuff my head hurts. So although I like a more crowded scene, I have decided to stay simple when it comes to using text . My plan is to usually play with the size and color and try not to think too much into it. Lastly, I have looked into a whole lot of photo editing apps since ibis Paintx does not have things that can add noise for bringing up the sharpness and that kind of stuff. With this two blogpost long search I settled and have played with Picsart since it reminded me a lot of ibis Paintx but also has a lot of unique things to it as well.

Producing:

This basically came when I decided to draw the boy in all these other pieces and then decided to draw the parents when I finished that. I liked how they looked so I wanted to put them together in a piece but I was not exactly sure how. So I kind of did this formation with them and when I wanted to fill the background I got the idea of a piece that is not as detailed as the other two but one that is more positive. So I chose to draw leaves, flowers and fruit to resemble a blooming relationship to show the group kind of rekindling and coming closer together. Overall, I think the piece is really nice and it makes me feel lighter when I look at it which is definitely something I wanted to come from this piece. The only thing I feel iffy about is that even though I used a set color scheme from a website, I feel that the mother is too bright in comparison to the rest of the piece.

 This piece is about music for healing. Personally, I really like the colors I used as they really worked well together. I also like how I combined pictures and models in this photo as well although I had trouble trying to make the two blend in together as much as possible since the models were very round and the pictures had a high contrast.

 This piece kind of questions the changes and growth in a person and whether it is actually real or just a facade. I personally liked all the drawings I made on their own but I did have some difficulty putting them all together in one whole piece. I also felt when this piece was all put together that it was very simple, which is why I added noise to kind of fill that emptiness. Other than that I really like how the text turned out as it was exactly how I envisioned it.

 This is one of the pieces that are a remake of one of my animations in my sophomore year. The only thing I had left of this was a still of the hand and the cake and so I used it in this piece. I had this general idea of what I wanted but I could not exactly put it on paper. However I really liked how it ended up and I love the colors and outlines on it.

This is the final piece of the family piece. Currently, I get mad children's book cover vibes from it. I feel like this is because it’s not flat enough, but at the same time I like it how it is. I also feel that the colors are too vibrant and I should probably turn the saturation down on the whole piece.

 This is the second piece based off an animation I did in sophomore year and overall I like how it turned out. Originally, I had the dots on the background but I felt like that it did not look right. After a lot of thought I determined that this is because it created too much emphasis on the people which I did not want and moved it onto them. I have also moved the border to be under the people since I have uploaded the photo.

Evaluating:
For this marking, I spent a majority of my class time working on finishing the models for the piece I started in the third and then began a lot of small things that eventually contributed to these pieces. Modeling the small things was so relieving because I spent so little time on them in comparison to the big model. I also noticed that I have kind of been at a loss at what to do when I do not get the result I want for my pieces. Like I kind of stare at them and know that it looks wrong but I do not know what exactly is wrong. I have kind of worked this out by asking my siblings for advice and working off their feedback but I also kind of want like a “dictionary” of sorts where I can like know that when I feel or see this that doing that can give this effect to it. I feel like that could help me better understand what I want to do. I liked how I created outlines on some parts and not on others. I feel like that it creates a nice contrast and gives off even more of that 2D look that I like. In fact, that might be something I try for the rebellion piece. Lastly, I like how my colors turned out for most of the pieces. 

Integrating:
This is basically all I plan on doing for the rest of this year, so I am basically ready to start preparing for the District Arts Fest. I feel that I started off really well and really stuck with keeping organized, but during the end I really began to feel out of it. I feel that from now on if I continue making art as a hobby I will really take my time. I felt that I really tried to hit a deadline with these last couple of pieces and never really gave myself the time to go back and get a second look. In fact, getting that second look later on and changing a couple things have really made my art a lot better. I also think I need to plan out my art more like the way I did in the first and second marking period so I could be able to base my work off more. In general, this marking I really went through senioritis and I just needed to find the will to work, but at the same time not force myself to finish something because I will not be happy with the results.

Work Log:
Monday:modeled scene
Tuesday:modeled scene
Wednesday:worked on blogpost
Thursday:worked on blogpost
Friday:worked on blogpost

Testing Photo Apps Part 2

In the last blogpost, I went through half the photo editing apps that I have downloaded but never used. For this blogpost I will go through the other half.

PicsArt:

 I found this app through an advertisement as I did with ibis PaintX. What really made me interested in this app was that it lets you add objects to photos and draw on it as well which I thought would let me add some cool things to my works. Once entering the app it looks like it is its own social media platform like VSCO meaning I can check out everyone else’s works too.


 Under the tools tab, there is an option that lets you multiply a certain selected area in a certain pattern that makes it look like there is motion. Personally seeing it work I thought that it was a cool feature however the selection is basically a do it once thing instead of how their normal selection is like where it lets you erase parts and add parts to the selected area.


 There is also a similar feature called dispersion where the selected area, which is done like their normal selection, creates that Thanos snapping look. It looks cool but I know the effect in ibis PaintX looks so much better so I think I am going to stick to that.


 They also have a curve option that works like color balance in ibis PaintX but uses the curves to change the photo color rather than sliders.


 Their general photo editing setup is also in this tab and even gives you the option to only have this work on a certain part of the photo which is something I like even though it does not blend that well.


 The next tab is the filters that give you a whole gallery of filters and if you do not pay for the premium option only get like three in each tab. You, however, can select only a certain part of your photo like the previous feature and they come with sliders to adjust the filters.


 After that there is the beautify tab but since I don't really care about that stuff we are skipping over that and looking at the very interesting sticker gallery. You can basically choose stickers other people made that are not premium and erase certain parts and add effects to them so they blend in with the photo. In the next tab, it gives you the option to create your own stickers and this is where I basically lost all my work when testing this to it only being this fist. Luckily I figured that out right now so I do not ever make that mistake ever again but I still need to recreate what I had.


 Other than that there were some various things that were similar to other features discussed like add text or photo and brushes. Overall I like all the features of this app and had great fun using this. In fact, I feel that this would be of more use to me than Bazaart would be because of all the things I can add.


 Facetune2:

 This one will hopefully be quicker because the face stuff will not be important to me leaving us with like three options. Without buying anything Facetune only gives you eight filters to choose from which is pretty disappointing but pretty normal for these photo editing apps.


 It also has the same general photo editing options that all the other apps have as well. I was a little interested in the paint feature but upon using it it seems that it is just a feature you can use to fix your makeup since the colors are light and will only go on certain areas of the photo I was using.


 Two cool features I did see was light FX which let me add rainbows to the photos and the self-explanatory vignette.


 Overall, it is very clear that this app's main thing is editing people’s faces to supposedly make them look better and in terms of actually editing photos does not do that much.



 Photo Editor:

 This app only has five things you can do so it is pretty clear I am not going to keep but for a quick rundown this app lets you:

 -Choose from two effects


 -Choose from two filters


 -Choose from two light effects(these could have been really cool)


 -Choose from two gradients


 -Add grain


 It is fair to say that this app is pretty useless even if you do pay for premiums.


 Color Story:

 This app basically advertises that it can change the colors of your photos which is why I got it, but it seems to be like Photo Editor with limited options of photo editing and no sign of color changing.


 Like the other apps, it has limited filters and effects.


 And adjust has the same general stuff, but this is also where the color change is. In the color tab it basically only takes the colors you have and refines them to look more vibrant and chromatic just does the channel shift thing. One thing that does change colors is the curves, but it does the whole photo and not certain parts.


 So, clearly this app does not actually do that much with color changing and has a lot of features that I have already seen in other apps and so it is not that appealing to me.


 Work Log:
Monday:Modeled Flowers
Tuesday:Modeling Flowers
Wednesday:Modeling Flowers
Thursday:Modeling Crane
Friday:Modeling Star