Introduction:
Now we are getting into the point where the animations we are making are going to be a little more complex. In this assignment, you will be animating your character experiencing not two, but a shift of four emotions. This will take some time, and the key will be planning out your movements so that your animation is clear. Planning ahead for this assignment will make a better animation because it provides clear direction and a focal point.
This assignment is very similar to the first Gear Change exercise you completed earlier, and the process for creating this assignment is very similar. In the first gear change exercise, the character expressed an emotion, experienced an event, and afterwards, displayed a different emotion. In this exercises, you will create an entirely new scenerio, but after the second emotion is displayed, the another related event occurs, creating another gear change, totaling four emotions.
(Link to Example Here)
Assignment Description:
Using a rigged character, animate your character experiencing four emotions.
Competencies:
By the end of this exercise, the student should be able to:
- Pose CG characters in emotive poses.
- Link these poses through an off screen event by animating a trigger reaction.
- Create a smooth transition between the two poses.
- Incorporate animation principles of overlapping action and anticipation.
- Incorporate subtle movements in the animation called moving holds.
- Incorporate another related event to trigger another set of reactions.
- Be familiar with connecting a series of emotions to convey a story.
PrePlanning:
This preplanning advice is similar to the advice given in the previous section. It is placed here as a reminder. Before you begin, it is important that you are familiar with your concept and identify your four emotions. Keep it simple. You will be begin in a similar fashion as the previous gear change assignment.
VIDEO REFERENCE:
An essential habit to get into before animating, especially if you are a beginner, is to shoot video reference for your shot. This is an important pleplanning concept that enables many things to happen to make you better. The more complex your shot, the more planning you are going to need. This exercise is complex, so shoot reference so the assignment is easier.
You will have reference to create an emotive pose, it enhances your power of observation, as the camera will record things you might have missed in the portrayal of the emotion.
You’ll be able to see the timing required to animate each pose.
SKETCH IT OUT:
VIDEO REFERENCE:
An essential habit to get into before animating, especially if you are a beginner, is to shoot video reference for your shot. This is an important pleplanning concept that enables many things to happen to make you better. The more complex your shot, the more planning you are going to need. This exercise is complex, so shoot reference so the assignment is easier.
You will have reference to create an emotive pose, it enhances your power of observation, as the camera will record things you might have missed in the portrayal of the emotion.
You’ll be able to see the timing required to animate each pose.
SKETCH IT OUT:
Once your video reference is created, sketch out the main emotions, and see what you can exaggerate in order to achieve a clear presentation of the emotion. The main purpose of this is to nail the exact pose, gesture, hand and eye positions that make up that particular emotion. This is perhaps the most important part of this assignment, so that you can see and analyze what it is that exists in the character that makes the emotion happen.
CG Process :
Bookending Keyframes:
Once you have done the proper preplanning and you have the exact poses for the scene, you can now begin posing your character on the computer, and you will follow the method explained in the last assignment of bookending your keyframes. Which means that you will set keyframes for a particular pose that are exactly the same, that are placed many frames apart. This is essential because it gives the audience a chance to see the pose that you have studied and analyzed earlier. Refer to your video reference for how long each pose is held.
CG Process :
Bookending Keyframes:
Once you have done the proper preplanning and you have the exact poses for the scene, you can now begin posing your character on the computer, and you will follow the method explained in the last assignment of bookending your keyframes. Which means that you will set keyframes for a particular pose that are exactly the same, that are placed many frames apart. This is essential because it gives the audience a chance to see the pose that you have studied and analyzed earlier. Refer to your video reference for how long each pose is held.
(Link to Book Ending Demo)
Adding Moving Holds:
Once your character is holding the emotions, add moving holds to keep the character from staying perfectly still. Things to add that prevent this are eyeblinks, subtle spine and joint rotations. The goal here is to add subtle movement to make the figure less robotic. One could also add overlapping action and anticipation during and after the event trigger.
Let’s say that your character is happy, waves to someone off screen, and then becomes embarrassed, at which point, he sits down and appears to hide in a closed posture. When he gets into this closed posture, you could add overlapping action in the arms and wrist and spine as he gets into the embarrassed position.
The Trigger:
Unlike the previous Gearchange assignment, you will have two or more trigger events.
The scenario now plays like this: The character is happy and waves to someone off screen, when he sees this person, he is surprised that its not who he thinks it is, and then looks embarrassed. So there is actually three emotions that you are going to be animating in this assignment.
EVALUATION:
Here are some questions to consider asking yourself to make sure you are on target with this assignment.
Adding Moving Holds:
Once your character is holding the emotions, add moving holds to keep the character from staying perfectly still. Things to add that prevent this are eyeblinks, subtle spine and joint rotations. The goal here is to add subtle movement to make the figure less robotic. One could also add overlapping action and anticipation during and after the event trigger.
Let’s say that your character is happy, waves to someone off screen, and then becomes embarrassed, at which point, he sits down and appears to hide in a closed posture. When he gets into this closed posture, you could add overlapping action in the arms and wrist and spine as he gets into the embarrassed position.
The Trigger:
Unlike the previous Gearchange assignment, you will have two or more trigger events.
The scenario now plays like this: The character is happy and waves to someone off screen, when he sees this person, he is surprised that its not who he thinks it is, and then looks embarrassed. So there is actually three emotions that you are going to be animating in this assignment.
EVALUATION:
Here are some questions to consider asking yourself to make sure you are on target with this assignment.
- Are the emotions clear? If not what could we do to make them clear. Consider also the silhouette of the pose.
- Are the transitions clear?
- Is each pose held long enough for the viewer to see the emotions and poses?
- Does the character appear to be reacting to what is happening off screen.
- Show this animation to someone and see what they think? Can they understand the situation?
