Introduction
This week, I focused on animating Skullchaser’s run cycle, as I categorized it as an A-Shot (High Difficulty) and this sequence is going to appear in several other shots. In addition, I also worked on animating the bat’s flying cycle.
Run Cycle – Animation Process
Reference
I used The Animator’s Survival Kit to analyze the keyposes and gain a better understanding on the timing of the run cycle.
Animating the Run Cycle
I animated the run cycle on the spot, which means without translating the character on the X axis. This enables me to import the run cycle into different sequences and then adapt the movements according to the scenes.
Animating Towards the Camera
Another thing I learned is that sometimes animators can get away with some issues as long as they are not visible to camera. For instance, Skullchaser’s head is clipping with his helmet, however, since the character will always face towards the camera, the audience will not see it.
Using Studio Library
I learned that a very efficient way of working is to save animations and poses in Studio Library, as it enables animators to implement their saved animations into their different scenes.
Flight Cycle – Animation Process
Reference
In order to start animating the bats’ flight cycle, I looked for reference pictures and I found this diagram by Terrana Cliff on the Internet.
It helped me to understand the keyposes and breakdown poses of the animation.
Animating the Flight Cycle
I animated the flight cycle on the spot to save the animation in Studio Library. Then, I imported it into the different scenes and animated the master controller to create the movements for the bats. Since the rig only had limited joints and controllers, I animated as well some of the vertex points, for instance, in the ears and toes.
Further Comments
Applying Studio Library into my work methodology was essential, as it enabled me to save plenty of time. Finally, it was my first time animating characters on the spot, so I had to pay attention to not animate on the X axis.