VIRTUAL PUPPETRY A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Matthew Lee Derksen, B .A. ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Master's Examination Committee: Approved By Dr. Midori Kitagawa, Advisor Dr. Terry Barrett Amy Youngs / Advisor Department of Art ABSTRACT Obsessive-compulsive disorders plague many of us in our every day lives. The purpose of this study is to successfully display the emotional and physical attachment to these behaviors through the use of three-dimensional character setups and straight ahead, non-linear and looped animation. The technique deals with the interactivity of a three­ dimensional character after it has been setup for animation and is related to the idea of puppetry. The goal of this project is to create a better understanding of obsessive­ compulsiveness for myself and to give the viewer an idea of the process, my struggle with various behaviors, and a new way of seeing animation. ii rI i' I I dedicate this to my family and friends. lll ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my parents, Larry and JoAnn Derksen, for having and supporting me through thick and thin. I also owe them for passing on their creative talents and minds which has allowed me to keep my head in the clouds but also my feet on the ground. I would like to thank Todd for showing and giving me the chance to do what I love to do. I thank Julie for being the strongest women that I know and for constantly being supportive in all of my efforts. I would also like to thank my advisor Midori Kitagawa, Maria Palazzi, Terry Barrett, and Amy Youngs for allowing me to roam free and supporting me in my creative and educational efforts. Thanks to Matt Lewis and Peter Gerstmann for teaching me what it truly means to optimize. Thanks to my friends Mandy Bauerle, Dan Elsen, Scott Swearingen, Kyoung Lee, Vita Berezina-Blackbum, Todd Delman, and Ryan English. iv VITA August 19, 1979 .........................................................Born - Celina, Ohio 2001 ......................................................................B.F.A. The Ohio State University 2001-2004 ................................................................ Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Field of Study: Art Major Field: Art and Technology v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract. .............................................................................................. .ii Dedication ............................................................................................. .iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................. .iv Vita ........................................................................................................ v List of Figures ......................................................................................... vii Chapters: 1. Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Artist's Background ................................................................ 1 1.2 Inspiration ........................................................................... 4 1.3 Past to Present ....................................................................... 5 2. Character Setup and Rigging for Three Dimensional Computer Animation .........7 2.1 Description of Process .............................................................7 2.2 A Brief History ..................................................................... 10 3. Past Works .................................................................................. 14 3.1 Addiction (computer generated, still image, 2001) ........................... 14 3.2 Reach (computer generated, still image, 2001) ................................ 15 3.3 Childhood (computer generated, still image, 2002) ........................... 16 4. Interpretation of 330 (a series of computer animated loops, 2003) .................. 18 Vl 4.1 The Medium ........................................................................ 18 4.2 330 (computer generated animations, looped, 2003) ......................... 19 5. Artist's Voice ............................................................................... 22 5.1 Importance of Process ............................................................ 22 5.2 Conception ......................................................................... 23 6. Conclusion .................................................................................. 24 Bibliography .........................................................................................25 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Edvard Munch, Self-Portrait with Burning Cigarette 1895; Oil on canvas, 110.5 x 85.5 cm; National Gallery, Oslo----------------------------28 2. Edvard Munch, The Scream (or The Cry) 1893; 150 Kb; Casein/waxed crayon and tempera on paper (cardboard), 91 x 73.5 cm (35 7/8 x 29"); Nasjonalgalleriet (National Gallery), Oslo---------------------------------28 3. Addiction, digital print, 4ftx3 ft, 2001---------------------------------------------------------29 4. Reach, digital print, 4ftx3ft, 2001-------------------------------------------------------------30 5. Childhood, digital print, 3ftx3ft, 2002 -------------------------------------------------------31 6. Nails, 3D looping animation, 2003------------------------------------------------------------32 7. Alarm, 3D looping animation, 2003-----------------------------------------------------------33 8. Sway, 3D looping animation, 2003------------------------------------------~-----------------34 9. Push, 3D looping animation, 2003------------------------------------------------------------35 10. Stain, 3D looping animation, 2003-----------------------------------------------------------36 11. Wash, 3D looping animation, 2003----------------------------------------------------------37 12. Popcorn, 3D looping animation, 2003-------------------------------------------------------3 8 13. Matt Derksen, Shower 1, digital rendering, 2002-------------------------------------------39 14. Matt Derksen, Shower2, digital rendering, 2002-------------------------------------------40 15. Matt Derksen, Shower3, digital rendering, 2002-------------------------------------------41 16. Edvard Munch, Madonna 1894-95; Oil on canvas, 91 x 70.5 cm; National Gallery, Oslo--------------------------42 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Artist's Background I was born August 19, 1979. It was the only day that my father had missed a day of work up to that point. At least that is what I have been told all of my life. I think that this is one of the reasons that I hate being late. I grew up in a very small town in the state of Ohio. I lived in the same house along with my mother and father, two older sisters, and a brother who loved to pick on me as much as he could. As I look back on it, I don't mind. The town I lived in had nothing for me to do for the most part. I mostly goofed off with my friends, doing the usual childish things, trying to stay out of trouble. I was pretty much a "moma's boy." I found out early that if I told my mother what I was doing and did not lie, I usually could stay out longer than the rest of my friends. I started to draw at an early age. In elementary school, which was K through six in my town, I often found myself loosing interest in what the teacher was talking about, so I would bury my head in my notebook and doodle. My doodles soon turned into full page compositions. My drawings would always become a human-like character that was more detailed in the face than anywhere else. I remember that I could take a bundle of scratch marks on the edge of my page and create a bulbous character out of them. For the most part, I didn't think about what I was drawing, I would just create. Most of my classmates 1 caught on to my secret distraction from class and soon after I started to receive requests for drawings. This was the first time that my artwork had a purpose. I became obsessed with my style, or trying to achieve one. I never wanted my images to look like the cartoons that I watched every Saturday, but those wonderful, half hour comedy bonanzas influenced my early works heavily. I take parts and pieces of what those artists where doing in their drawings and cannibalize them. My main motivation for creating some of my early works was to make other people laugh. I loved to provoke raw emotion. I remember a specific incident in elementary school. One day a young girl who we used to hang out with was being quite short with us. So I was commissioned to draw an image on notebook paper that displayed a caricature of evil with a caption that was not very respectful. Then I was asked to deliver our idiocy to her. I have never been slapped so hard. I have not had such a reaction from my work since; I was quite successful for an elementary artist. As I moved on to high school, I got my first job creating advertisement art for a local grocery store. It involved creating small cartoons on chalk boards every week, showcasing the fruit of the week or maybe the vegetable of the day. I worked at this store for the better part of my high school career. At the same time, I began to create caricatures of my high school teachers and students. They got so popular that other students would request an image of their teacher or a student and I was happy to supply them. At the time, I began to start using white paper, no longer note book scraps, and a black marker. The marker