Benito's Interactive Book sample pages

In order to play with Benito's Interactive Book.
First, you will need to download The Unity Web Player here:
https://unity3d.com/webplayer

Then you can view the The Bellbird Book on this link:
http://www.wallsforfun.com/Benito/Book.html

Adding audio

I am enjoying adding some sounds for the final touches to the four sample pages of my interactive book.

I added sounds like a jungle enviroment, background music and sound effects. In this image below I combined the jungle sounds and Benito's sound effect for my cover page. I used Logic Pro and Audacity.

Below is an example of Benito's and the Owl's model and rigs:

Working with sprite sheets on Unity

I enjoy working with sprite sheets on Unity. You can add several elements to the scene like flowers, leaves.. and reuse them in other pages. Also when you create particles on unity the sprite sheets are very helpful. See some screen shots of my work in progress:

 

 These are some of the spritesheets I used to create the fire on the volcano, the lava and the smoke:

 

Three-wattled Bellbird.(Procnias tricarunculatus).

I want to share more information about The Three-Wattled Bellbird.(Procnias tricarunculatus) from the Enciclopedia of Life:


http://eol.org/pages/904335/overview


The Bellbird Conservation Project 

http://66.147.244.232/~fccmonte/category/bellbird-conservation-project/

The Costa Rican Conservation Foundation have a project to protect the habitad of the bellbird. The Bellbird Conservation Project is a project of reforestation for the bellbird habitat.

Working with Scripts on Unity

These are screenshots of my Scene in Unity, which has 4 spreads plus the cover and the credit page.
It has been a challenge for me to add code to some of the Unity objects since I am not a programmer, but with the help of my husband Jeff, and many hours of searching online on Unity forums and tutorials, I am able to move along with the process of creating some interaction on the book.

My firetruck bell

I am excited my firetruck bell is coming along... I have to create the skeleton and animation with sound...

Pages in progress

The first and second pages are completed with their interaction, code and animation.
This is the progress for my third page. I am modeling the bells. It is so much fun!!

Color inspiration from nature

I created several elements for my backgrounds inspired on nature colors like this insect below:

Some of the pages are completed. Currently, I am working modeling the different styles of bells for my third page, it is fun!!!. Here it is my church bell and my boat bell with controllers:

Technical errors and solutions

I encountered several technical problems during my time importing the project assets from Maya into Unity. I spent hours trying to find the solutions online - which is why I want to record the solutions in this blog, in case they are helpful to anyone else.

Problem #1:  One of my biggest problems was the blendshapes that I created in Maya for the character's eyes to blink and around the mouth. My blendshapes didn't play when I ran the project in Unity.

Solution: Save two FBX files.  One with the meshes and the skin called "main", and other with only the blendshapes called "anims". In Unity, I created an animator for each animated character on the scene.  For my animator, I used the animation from my blendshapes instead of my animation of the main animation. It works great!

Problem#2: Some of the skin of my character looked patchy with dark marks.

Solution: In Maya, you have to select the skin and delete the non-deformer history. The skins in Unity now work great!

My second page

This is Benito's second page for the thesis project. He is on his nest a bit sad because he can figure out how to make a Bellbird sound.
In this bakground, I will add 3D bells , Benito's 3D model and the Owl 3D model.

Owl creation and Benito on Unity

 I have Benito on Unity now reunited with his family.

The Owl is coming Alive:

This is another character from Benito The BellBird, The Owl. The Cute Owl is completed.

Working on skin weights on Benito's body

I created IK handles for his foot, arms and wrattles then several controls for the joins on his body. Almost done for the animation... My favorite part!

I have been working preparing Benito's body for rigging. I am using a combination of the paint skin weights tool, a weight hammer tool and the component editor tool in Maya 2014.

I think the result is pretty good. I am confident to start working on my IK handles and controls for the animation. I can't wait to see him come alive...

Benito colored and modeled

During my two weeks in Costa Rica, I had time to contemplate the beauty of Monteverde Cloud Forest, Benito's home. At this time of year bellbirds are hard to see and even though I couldn't find one, I enjoyed admiring this beautiful area and listening to the sounds of the forest.

I am sharing some Monteverde images that keep inspiring me to create this book.

Benito's model is completed. Now I have to create the rig for his animation.

 

In our way to the Cloud Forest...

 

Finally, I completed modeling Benito.

It has been a challenge, I have never done wings before, also the peak of the bird  was tricky.  I will work on laying out the UVs for paint in the next hours.

Modeling Benito

I am modeling Benito, It is a bit challenging but I love it! Hopefully,  I will complete part of his body tomorrow.

Finally the wing of Benito after trying many different styles. I decided to work with this one:

The second background Benito's new house

I am working on the design and illustration for the second background where Benito will have his nest and where he will be collecting his new bells.

This spread will allow the reader to play the sounds of various animated 3D bells that Benito has collected in his nest. These bells will sound different depending on their material and purpose.

I think it will be a good idea to place a 3D rendering of Benito here holding the bell, instead of the 2D illustration.

This is my work in progress.

Illustrator background for the first double-page spread

Today, I am working on the first illustrator background for the first double-page spread. Benito will be a 3D character flying around the forest to provide a sense of space in the environment. The bellbird's nest is usually situated in a tall tree in the forest.

I am using Illustrator and a Wacom tablet to draw my background.

The background is ready so now I have to start modeling Benito. 

 

Sketches for the Animated characters

I have strong interest in developing bilingual books in which the stories will be extended through the inclusion of games and activities to facilitate learning a new language.

I am excited to create engaging books that will incorporate animation, audio, and interaction to
create a unique experience for each reader and to make them feel part of the story. At the same
time, I am committed to developing my fine art skills to create beautiful illustrations, hoping this
will awaken children’s imaginations and cultivate a love for reading.

My Thesis project includes four illustrated spreads from "Benito the Bellbird" with 3D characters and colorful illustrations. Some of the pages will have words and sounds activated by the reader. The book will enable users to interact with the storyline through sound and touch.


These are some of the sketches for the animated characters that will be in "Benito the Bellbird".