POST 4 Workflow/ File management

Task 1
You will need to explain how asset management and file management are applied in the development of digital media outcomes.

What is an asset? - an asset is an element that is managed only within a particular application You will need to identify these elements and explain how you manage them in the development of your animation.

My Character

Assets:

• I was firstly able to manage my video by first creating a character to move in my walk cycle. The character was created from a 'cube' which was cut in half and then mirrored using the mirror modifier. This ensured that if I changed one side of the cube, that same change would occur on the opposite side. I then shaped the cube into a character like figure using object and edit mode in the interface. I changed the colour of the character using the material button. 
• I also used a 'camera' in order to check what my character would look like if it were rendered. At first there were a lot of lumps on my character that could not be rendered but I was able to fix it by deleting the faces on the inside using edit mode.
• I also used a 'lamp' so that I could get a clear rendered image of my character and also pin point the exact location of where I want the light to shine on my character. If needed I would have created multiple lamps to show the main parts of my the different areas.
• After my character was fully created I created an 'armature' in order to give movement to the limbs/ body parts of my character. The armature allowed me to actually move my character into the positions for the walk cycle. 

What is a file? - a file is a document that is saved outside an application, typically in a folder somewhere on a computer, cloud or external device. It can also be used within an application or be created as a result of that application.

Files:

• I used file management to structure all my files in a way that would enable me to find and modify anything if necessary. I used file management to save an image that was needed to move my character in my walk cycle. I also saved all of my screenshots or snipping (using the snipping tool) in a folder so that I could find it in a easier fashion. I saved my images as a PNG file because it is a lossless form of data. This means that I can reduce the size of the file without having to worry about the quality of it being reduced.  

Images of the Assets

Model Files

Task 2 
For this task you will need to discuss the importance of effective and appropriate asset management and file management in the development of digital media outcome.

Firstly file management is something that plays a big part in the production of my final digital outcome. I took all of my files and placed in an appropriate structure so that it would make it easier for me and anyone else to find the files needed for a specific task. For example I sorted my images and blender files in different folders. I also used file management to place all of my photos taken During the production of my character constantly saved my work but I didn't save my progress as a new file and instead always saved overwrite the same file.

Proper File Structure

In terms of assets I was able to manage most of them in an appropriate fashion so that I could create my both my character as well as my animation and my walk cycle.

I order to create the actual structure of my character I started out with a cube:

Cube

In order to get the basic shape I first had to subdivide the cube into different parts. I then cut it in half and added the mirror modifier. As I changed one half of the cube it also happened on the other, this is how I was able to make my limbs and head. I then applied the mirror modifier so that the opposite half will stay in its current form, instead of moving when I change the other half. After creating the structure of my character I then viewed it in rendered form and noticed that there holes in my character. I then had to get rid of all the cube faces on the inside of my character by using both edit and object mode. I then did the same to the extra faces on the inside of my cube.

Armature

The armature was responsible for allowing me to move my character. In order to create an armature, I fist created a bone and subdivided it into 2 cuts. I then grew the middle bone to make it fit the torso of the character. I also grew the top bone to reach the middle of the torso because it was too small for me to see and so it could control the top part of the torso. I clicked on the top bone and used extrude to grow a bone big enough for my arm. I then subdivided that bone into two parts. I also did the same thing with the legs. I then duplicated the bones of the arm and leg onto the opposite side of the character. once again I used extrude on the top bone to grow a bone upwards and that became the head. In order synchronize the armature with the main body I had to select both the armature and the body, and use the parenting or weighting the bones. weighting the bones means that one bone automatically controls the vertex of the mesh/ character that it is closest to. for example if I selected the bone that on the far left it would only control that part of the arm. After that I used pose mode to test if all the bones had been weighted and it was a success.

As a result i was able to do my walk cycle for my mesh and this is an image of me working on it. All of these asessts allowed me produce my digital outcome.

Walk Cycle