Challenge7 & 8 & 9: Footages & Body/Advanced body Mechanics

1. Inspirations & References

I would like to create an animation with body mechanics, which can be way more appealing, dynamic, and carry me long rather than the common one that we can see everywhere by the majority of animators.

The videos below are what I collected earlier, which I feel funny and attractive and I can’t help rewatching them thousands of times. I realize 3D characters combined with dancing is a rather good way to show the dynamic of body mechanics.

Plus

I was trying to record the reference by myself but it turned out not that good because the prop didn’t fit..

2.Select a suitable rig

  • No facial expressions needed, and it is a simple-looked character rather than a over-designed one.
  • Quite mini but also cool kind character.
  • Way more visually enjoyable.

3.Highlights of the class and applications on my project.

Body Mechanics

Advanced Body Mechanics

Considerations of reference footage

How to export footage with timecodes by using After Effect

Import the video → Menue – Effect – Text – Timecode

Export image sequence(important process about the name!!!!)

Setting footage camera & Import images sequence

-Create camera named”footagecam”

-Change to camera view – image plane – import image

-Channe – use image sequence

Stepped keyframes VS Spline keyframes

Stepped keyframes: Everything in between is turned off.

Spline keyframes:

Preferences settings:

Create character/ set:

animation mode-key-create character/subcharacter set

Using and Creating Script Editor:

Adding breakdown poses/inbetweens

Converting to Splines

Polishing: Graph Editor Clean Up1

Key Retiming: Checking Rhythm

Elbow & Knee Popping

Polishing:Graphic Editor Clean Up 2

Globally Retiming

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Render …

Bring to After Effect

Need to change to 25fps

Retime the sequence– 100% → 90% means 10%quicker

Add motion blur in AE-to smooth things out

See the difference between adding motion blur and not adding it

Adding motion blur in Arnold–Render out a vector path in Maya

To conclude

  • Pixel motion blur in AE : Quite useful but sometimes it does kind of strange results, not that accurate.
  • Render out a vecor path in maya: more accurate but could double the time of rendering because we also need to increase the render qualities.

4. Final Demo