551310 - 3D Character Animation

:: Production ::

I was able to find a very useful reference for this animation (Ref.1). However, many things went wrong which required fixing in the design process.

endlessreference (2011)

I began by importing the video as a tiff sequence (Fig.1), and immediately ran into an issue with the weight paints around the elbow (Fig.2).

Fig.1
fig.2
Fig.3

I redid the weight paints for the arm (Fig.3) and elbow joints (Fig.4). I also attempted to set up control handles for the elbows, however this didn’t work and when I deleted the ctrl curves after Maya sadly glitched, resetting my body weights. forcing me to redo the paints for the character. From here, the right hand would not weight paint correctly or mirror paints from the left hand.

With the elbow paints fixed (Fig.5). I moved onto the characters chest (Fig.6). Fixing my paints slowed my progress massively and wouldn’t be fully fixed until my third animation.

Fig.4
Fig.5
Fig.6
Fig.7

Other than the issues with the paints the animation process was the same as the previous cycle. Though with more exploration of the graph editor (Fig.7).

Run Cycle (gif)

:: References ::

endlessreference (2011). ‘Jog: young adult female: half speed – Animation Reference Body Mechanics’. [YouTube Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=filSEGMGbd8&ab_channel=endlessreference (Accessed 02/06/2022)