# data[].attributes.body
One of the main reasons I wanted to create a magician for my 3d model is because there's so much potential for animation. This is due to all the different types of magic tricks that I could potentially do as part of this project or even a larger one in the future.

Another reason why is because magicians are entertainers - as such they have very conscious body language because it's a huge part of their showmanship and performance;(for example, how they draw your attention to certain parts of the trick, typically their hands, in order to pull off the real 'trick' without you seeing. This is why some magician's are able to do their whole show without even speaking - such as Teller from Penn and Teller.

Potential magic tricks that I could try animating include:

Disappearing and reappearing - shouldn't be too difficult to actually animate because, unlike in real life, I can remove my model from the scene when he's not required to be there and then just add him back in for the reappear; the problem with this trick is that it's largely dependant on an interesting stage.

Rabbit and hat/Bird in cage - similar to vanishing trick, except that it would required a rigged model of a rabbit to achieve. This trick would be a great project to attempt after I've gotten more skilled with the software and created more assets.

Bullet catch - requires a working gun model - doesn't necessarily require a second human model to shoot the gun because it there could be a gun set up to shoot automatically. The problem with this from a performer's perspective is that it's more believable when an audience member checks the gun to make sure it's real.

Saw a person in half - this could be an interesting concept for an animation but it would require a model of an assistant or audience member.

Levitating (or flying carpet) - the most simple trick I could attempt to animate because it doesn't require extra props or a stage like a vanishing trick or rabbit in hat.

Never ending chain of handkerchiefs - this would be fun to try out because I'd be able to use nCloths for the hankerchiefs.

# data[].attributes.body
(zoom out or scroll right)

# data[].attributes.body
The aspect of this character's costume that I like the most is the buttons on his sleeves - and the long-sleeved white shirt, too, as that's something I had not considered, but I do like the look.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
Punch Dilsukhnagar Arena Award Wsssinning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More great short films on Le blog de Cheeky, the best of 3D animated short film: http://www.cheeky.fr/blog Un jour, tout les lapins disparaissent mystérieusement de la surface de la Terre... How would the world react to all its rabbits suddenly going missing, with a magician thrown in the mix...

# data[].attributes.body
Although I don't much care for the model itself, the animation in this short is almost exactly what I had in mind for mine: the taking his hat off and bowing. Therefore I can study his movements and decide what I want to include in mine.

For example, when he removes his hat, he doesn't just lower it - he sort of swishes it before he places it to his chest. This over-exaggerated movement and emphasis on showmanship is something that I should try and learn from.

Something as simple as body language tells you a lot about a character and the audience's first impression of a character - e.g. the way in which he bows - will create a certain set of expectations too. For these reasons, I should try and incorporate body language such as this in my animation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A little 3d animation test with a new character of mine. (The sound is more of a placeholder at the moment )

# data[].attributes.headline
"Ovation" - by JoAnn Kang and Sofia Wang

# data[].attributes.subject
"Ovation" - by JoAnn Kang and Sofia Wang

# data[].attributes.body
This is animated short features a magician that basically looks like a poor man's Presto - but it does make me feel like it's a good design overall for a 3D magician (the tall, thin, large nose and facial hair).

This animation is the most mature out of these that I've looked at and it does serve as good inspiration even if the production value isn't as high as some of the others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CGI 3D Animated Short HD: "Ovation" - by JoAnn Kang and Sofia Wang

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Check out this terrific 3D animated short story about a little angry boy who ends up watching a magic show, a magic show that he doesn't believe is real, but is it? We hope that you get the chills, created by the talented JoAnn Kang and Keqian (Sofia) Wang!

# data[].attributes.body
This is a teaser trailer for nWave's feature-length 3D animated film about an abandoned cat who finds a home with a retired magician. Due to the film's protagonist being the cat and not the magician, he's only in the teaser for a short section (from 0:52 - 0:57).

That said, we still get a good look at his costume and it's pretty much exactly what I'm trying to avoid - this film was targeted at children and his costume design shows it. I do not like the use of the red and blue colours for my model because I want mine to be realistic - and I think 'less is more' when it comes to use of colour in a mature magician's costume. Therefore, I will most likely just use black and white or black and grey for mine.

Another thing I dislike about his costume is the stars - although I do realise that they're clearly placed there because he's a children's magician.

The difference between Pixar and nWave is that Pixar's films are still targeted somewhat towards the parents and you can see that in the costume design.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The House of Magic 3D Teaser | Official Version

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take an exclusive look at nWave's next feature-length 3D animated film "The House of Magic" directed by renowned 3D filmmaker Ben Stassen and Jeremy Degruson. In this new film from nWave Studios, Thunder, an abandoned young cat seeking shelter from a storm, stumbles into the strangest house imaginable, owned by an old magician and inhabited by a dazzling array of automatons and gizmos.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an animation made by Pixar about a magician and his hungry rabbit. As it's Pixar the target audience will be for primarily children. This means that the magician himself will a lot more cartoony than I would like mine to be - as I'd like to create mine to be a bit more realistic. That said, I do like his suit design. I have noticed a trend of black and white in magician's suits, yet Presto's suit has a much larger portion of white overall and I think it adds a lot to the dynamic of his costume.

The main thing that I would like to take away from this is the character design - I like the snooty appearance with the long pointy nose, slicked back hair, and the facial hair too. The moustache is a great look for magicians, though in my model I think I would also add a goatee.

Another thing about the model design that I think has been done intentionally and adds to the character is his hands - they're quite large and have very long thin fingers. This is great for a magician because it allows him to emphasise certain aspects of the performance a lot easier and just generally follows in with the themes that magicians follow - such as sleight of hand etc.

# data[].attributes.body
This costume is a lot more old fashioned because 'The Prestige' was set in the Victorian Era (1837 – 1901). That said, his suit is better fitted than those in 'Now You See Me', which I think gives a better look overall. Also, he has a blazer in addition to the suit's shirt and jacket.

This is my favourite costume out of each film. The only thing I'm not sold on is the tie - although that can easily be fixed by using a different tie (or a bowtie)

# data[].attributes.body
Here we see the costumes worn by the characters in "Now You See Me". There's nothing too out of the ordinary here - just standard black suits.

One thing that is unusual however is Woody Harrelson's character's hat - the standard hat for a magician would be the top hat, but his is more like a bowler or a trilby.

I think overall the costume design in this film is lacking compared to in 'The Prestige' and 'The Illusionist', but it does give me an idea of what not to do.

# data[].attributes.body
Edward Norton's body language is perfect for that of a magician. In deciding how I want to pose my magician I can look to scenes such as the above because body language is extremely important to the performance.

It also shows him with and without the gloves - this further reinforces my idea that the gloves are not mandatory and I think I won't add them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lance Burton Magician Commercial - Austin Visuals 3D Animation and Visual Effects Studio Company

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Visit us at http://www.AustinVisuals.com For more samples of our work. We are Austin Visuals, a 2D and 3D Animation Studio Company based in Austin Texas. We specialize in creating realistic and stylized animation to fit any budget or price. We give you the highest quality and a very fast turnaround time every time guaranteed.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an advertisement for a magician called Lance Burton. It features clips of Lance performing various well known tricks that are composited onto individual cards from a pack.

The pack of cards is important due to the popularity and number of different card tricks. I could use card tricks in my animation because they're easy to model, but on the other hand, being able to animate a card trick would require an extremely detailed hand and rig (which might be too difficult for me at the level I'm currently at).

Another worthy mention is the dove - a classic prop for the magician where he'll make one disappear and reappear. The dove would be a nice addition to my animation but it would be too complex to create and rig a whole second model.

For the costume design - Lance Burton's suit has white gloves and a white bow tie - I haven't considered adding a bow tie to my model, but maybe I should because it wouldn't be too difficult, and it could even add potential animation aspects to my project (e.g. it spinning).

# data[].attributes.body
In order to animate my character I need to design a character rig that uses IK and FK and bind it to the skin of my model. Therefore I have to build the topology of my model with animation in mind; it needs to be able to deform properly to be able to animate so I have to keep all the faces on my model quads.

# data[].attributes.body
I can use references like this to guide my animation process.

# data[].attributes.body
I could use this for texturing the shirt on my model, however i need to make sure that I have good UVs otherwise there will be loads of seams in the model and that would be unseemly.

# data[].attributes.body
Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco in "Now You See Me"

# data[].attributes.body
Hugh Jackman in "The Prestige"

# data[].attributes.body
Edward Norton in "The Illusionist"

# data[].attributes.body
For my 3D model I really wanted to create a human character model. I liked the idea of the challenge it represented and found other ideas (such as robots or vehicles) uninteresting in comparison. I decided on trying my hand at making a magician because I feel like there's a lot you can do with a magician in animation, and it's a subject that is interesting to me.

For his costume I wanted something that paid homage to traditional magician clothing but not over the top - I looked to films for inspiration such as "The prestige", "Now You See Me", and "The Illusionist (2006)".  In reviewing these films, the theme I've found most common in costume design for magicians is the black suits, the top hat, and the gloves. Another thing I will think about is whether or not I want to include facial hair - such as Edward Norton's character in 'The Illusionist' or Christian Bale's in 'The Prestige'.

I feel like the gloves and the hats are generally only really used well if they're complementing the magician's performance, so, with this in mind, I will not be using gloves for my magician as he is not going to be doing a trick or performance that requires them.  I do want to give him the hat though, because it carries more importance to a magician's showmanship - and, aside from just adding more character, opens up more opportunities with animation (for example I could make the animation part of the assignment him removing his hat and bowing).

In looking to create a 3D model of a magician one think I can do is to look at where it's already been done. I have found a few different animations that incorporate magicians by searching on YouTube.

# data[].attributes.body
This was what I used to create his head - I wanted to use an real life reference photo because there's loads of detail with curves and imperfections (especially around the cheek bone area that I couldn't find in drawn orthographic images.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the blueprint I used for creating the hand. I found it from a youtube video tutorial on creating 3D hands with proper topology

# data[].attributes.body
This is the blueprint I ended up using for my model. I liked it because it was simplistic but still detailed enough  and I thought it would be easier to model around a T pose.

# data[].attributes.body
This was the second blueprint I attempted to use for my model. I tried this one because I liked the suit and thought the character looked like how I had imagined my magician to look like anyway, but I ended up not using it because of the position of his arms; I found it hard to get a good shape of his back because his arms were in the way on the side view - however I did save the image so that I could use the suit as inspiration.

# data[].attributes.body
This was what I used for my first attempt at my 3d model - I decided not to use it because it wasn't detailed enough and it wasn't symmetrical