Character Animation

This is the animation that i created using my own model and rig. I chose months ago to do the sequence in which my model lifts a barbell and falls over, this i felt was humorous and would also challenge my animation skills due to the use of priciples. Over all i am veyr happy with my animation. To start with i created all the basic shapes and key framed them at the times i wanted. I then went through to define all of the actions by adding extra key frames, this was to make the whole animation look smoother and more realistic.

 

Anticipation - I have used anticipation throughout, as soon as the weight appears and my chracter nods his head the audience willbegin to antisipate that he will lift the weight, but the real anticipation comes when the character bends his legs and moves his arms down, this then leaves the audience certain what will happen next.

 

Staging - I have used staging when the weight rolls in, it is the only thing moving at the start, signalling its importance and attracting the audiences attention as the focal point of the scene.

 

Follow Through and overlapping action - I have used follow through action when the weight rolls in and although it stops when hits the characters foot, his foot carries on moving backwards, therefore suggesting that the weight actually his heavy and complies with the laws of physics.

 

Arcs - I felt that arcs were the most important part of my animation because conventionally they are very important with arm and leg movement. Obviously the main arcs i had to get right were the arms moving the weight right over the characters head. I feel that i got this right and has resulted in a smooth, natural looking movement of the arm around the shoulder joint.

 

Secondary action - I have included secondary action when the character falls to the floor his body is clearly the main action however i also animated the feet to rotate upwards, this is a more minor action but supports the major action in making it more believable and realistic.

 

Appeal - I wanted my character to have a bit of 'Swag' and cockiness at the start of the clip. To portray this in the animation i made him nod his head and then keep it held high, this connotes and symbolizes that he is confident and gives the character charisma and personality rather than just a mesh shell.

 

Exaggeration - I have used exaggeration in the main action in the clip, when he falls to the floor with the weight, clearly in real life this would not happen or be very very unlikely to happen however in my clip it manages to look fairly believable and adds humor.

 

Timing - Timing is arguably the most important of all the principles as if this is wrong then everything else will not look right. I think that i have managed to get timing pretty spot on throughout the clip.

 

By no way is my animation perfect or excellent, i feel that although it has good points, there are many areas in which it could have been better. These include:

 

- the camera does not always show the best angle and could be difficult to understand what is happening

- When the character walks towards the weight it seems a little mechanical and 'robot like'

- his arms bend in the wrong direction when picking up the weight

 

If i were to redo this task i would make the above changes and spend more time on some of the finer details with the clip.

 

Done