Bible Animations

- Goats
   The goats are still not a topic that is finished this week. Since they are still the only animals added and the video is named after them, they also still feature (I did not change the camera's animation). What did change about them was their layout and their size (seed adjustment).

- Overall scene proportions
   While the goats got adjusted, they were not the only ones that needed it. The houses were too big compared to the palace, the pyramids were too tall and so the trees also got a pruning, hahaha. The only thing I did not adjust was the landscape or the amount the trees are blowing in the wind. The landscapes still need to have an extremely large scale feel.

- Adjustments
   While rendering the goats, the water didn't move. The reason for this is, as explained in the video, was that the empty was not on the right layer. It needed to be moved and placed where the water is, so that if the water is visible, it'll move. With that now fixed, I could also fix the compositing.
   A few other things also needed adjustment, like the background. I am still looking into the painterly effect for anime backgrounds and it is still quite a challenge. I've been really seeking GOD on it, though not as a primary. So little leading is far as it is concerned. I have received direction on using the laplace filter in Blender and that has certainly added more dimension to it. I do believe that it's very possible that as far as compositing is concerned, this is it, because even in anime, the paint does not move as the characters and the camera does. I really feel strongly lead to focus on the shaders from this point on more than the compositing - primarily on getting:
 - The beveled look on square shapes
 - Higher, yet uneven and not-washed-out contrast.
   And of course the sky was also replaced with the original and the adjusted one removed, because of the weird stretching on the horizon.

- Compositing
   My compositing was an absolute mess. When I opened it, I'll be honest, I did not have a clue where to start - it was that messy! I just felt like GOD told me to wipe it all and start from scratch with better organization (thankfully only for compositing, hahaha, not the whole scene). So instead of just grouping them, which hides them, I used the frames, which work amazingly well for also moving collections of nodes around and allows you to add nodes and label each frame for what it contains. Give it a try, even on simpler scenes - it speeds up your workflow even after you return and if you are working on a project with other people, it'll also make your setups a cut above the rest! :D

- Extras
   In the video, I talked about the uneven glow and why it was needed this week. One thing I didn't go into was how challenging it was to get a recording done for O Holy Night that I was actually okay with sharing.

   Primarily, the reason I don't share performances easily is because I have an old fear of rejection concerning my voice. For years, I have been told to be quiet, you suck, don't sing, etc., yet it was something I loved to do and felt called to, even as a small child. Despite opposition, I never let it go and oh wow, was I in denial about how I sounded... That was an interesting day when I heard myself the first time, hahahaha. I felt sorry for people who had to hear me, but GOD did not let it deter me. In fact, I didn't feel sorry or hopeless, I just knew right away that research and learning how to do it properly was to be the next step.

   I came across Brett Manning's website for singing success and applied some of what I read there and didn't get back to his website for a very long time. I still practiced, I worked on how I sounded and improving pitch as well as strength in the higher notes (still a challenge that last one). You could say I started taking it more seriously in gr 11 (JESUS saved me 2 years later, but HE still worked with me before that), so now we're many years on and today I get a very different review, yet in all these years, it never occurred to me, to deal with the rejection from before - only recently. I still am very hesitant to share a new piece and have people listen to it while I am present, but it is a lot better already, because I don't hold a grudge against the people who did reject my voice (and some still do). It's just a fact, some people just won't like your voice, and because of that, tell you that you can't sing (even if you have great tone, excellent technique and are 100% in tune - not that I am 100% on any of those, hahaha). Learn from my experience - forgive quickly, it harms you to stay mad or hold a grudge!

So, in conclusion, here is O Holy Night: