3D Character Animation Evaluation

At the start of this unit, we learnt the basics of 3D animation and how a 3D character is created and controlled. Through a series of different tests and model rigs, we were able to animate a variety of different movements on a character, such as walking, sneaking and changing emotions. While working with existing rigs and testing out their controls, this helped us learn to develop our own character model and create a rig ourselves to control the necessary parts of the mesh. While that was being worked on as our character design project, we were also given a group task to produce a 3D animated film, running for approximately less than five minutes, and  using a character rig of our choice. Any additional objects in the scenes would have to be modelled, and also simple to make more time and focus on the character.

As part of a team of three people, we discussed on a few possible ideas for a short animation. The final idea we chose would be about a couple friends playing football. Character A would demonstrate the game to her friend, Character B, and how to kick the ball. Character B would then try it herself but accidentally sends the ball flying over the goal. The football heads towards an old person, a retired football player who is painting a masterpiece on his canvas, until the ball hits his canvas and destroys all of his work. Reacting to the man’s anger, the girls start running away, only to receive the ball being kicked back and knocking them over to the ground. The man realises how far the ball went, and is impressed by how his ability is still inside him.

For the animation, we split the characters to one rig each. We agreed that I and one partner would work on the two main characters, while our other team partner worked on the old man. Finding a rig meant that it had to be free to use, while also compatible for Autodesk Maya. The rig I chose was called the Morpheus Rig, created by Josh Burton, as it had been a rig I was already aware of, and had experience with using the controls before. The Morpheus rig enables me to easily adjust the gender features of the character, while also changing any other facial features instantly, including eyebrows, hairstyles, nose size, etc.  The controls were fully functional, thereby having no trouble of moving the arms and legs of the character. However, seeing as the original rig had not clothing at all, I needed to follow some instructions of how to make a separate mesh of the clothes, and combine them with the body, so the controls take effect on them altogether. But this was another simple process to follow, and was easy to make in a short amount of time. During the process, we would check on each other, to see if our characters were moving correctly, and if we made any errors that could be adjusted. Once we made a full video, compiling our tests, we noticed that my character was moving at a slow pace, in comparison to the speed of every other character. I easily decreased the amount of frames on the timeline, to increase the speed of the animation. Aside from the characters, we also worked on a few quickly modelled objects for the story. One of our teammates worked on the ground, with grass texture, and I modelled and textured a football. I also modelled and textured an art canvas, but the team member working on the old man scene already had a canvas model to work with.

Everyone did a great job and chose some interesting rigs to animate their character with. They each had a unique design for the characters, especially the look of the old man rig, and the team knew how to work the rigging controls. As for the animation on my part, it was mostly approved. Some issues were the timing and movements being slightly off, but there was some character movement at least. There were some moments where I did think the leg movements were thrown off with the hips. I may have to consider this later on, to look at the movement structure of the person and improve on the animation with this bit of information. As for the teamwork, we were all helpful to one another and were able to communicate frequently, exchanging elements for our animation references. The one thing I tried to do with give the football a bump map, highlight the ridges on the texture pattern. But the reference could not recognise the map, and therefore it was left as a plain texture on the ball.  The background was very useful, and had a nice bumped texture for the ground. The sky was a little bland, but had the right colour texture and lighting. While the animation on my part was complete, I have yet to see the final outcome, combining all 3 of our rendered characters.

Working as a team was pretty hard, but we gave some good advice and feedback on our progress, which was useful for me when working on the project. As for the rig, it was very functional and easy to animate with, and would consider using again in any later projects, while also understanding how the rigs are made and how they are connected. 3D character animation is generally easy at the start, but it does become a challenge to get the right movement going on your character, depending on how you want it to move. Using an already-made rig can be simple to use in its own form of methods, but the additional tools help adjust the character style much more than just one basic design. However, if I was not already experienced, I reckon the rig would already be easy to use for newcomers as well, as opposed to modelling and rigging your own created character would be more of an achievement once you have a working rig, and can use it in your animation.