Animation Project: Body Mechanics - Part 2

 

 Animation Project - Body Mechanics

Part 2 - Blocking In-Betweens

May 2021

This latest progress report has taken me through the next and likely final blocking phase for this animation. Additionally, in response to my previous render, I have synced the key poses up with the reference video.

This time around was much easier, as it was mainly based around tweaking and foresight going from blocked to spline animation. In preparation for the next step, it is essential to actually take a few segments and analyze the start and ending keyframes in spline, since joints can have extra movements that occur in passing, not important enough to carve out an entire pose for the entire character. Certain arm flourishes, leg twists, and overall timing of the body flexing were implemented. Some parts needed to be sped up or slowed down when approaching the next key pose.

The challenges this time centered around the accentuated poses. As a creative choice, I want some movements to be exaggerated in order to convey a better flow of body mechanics. Since the reference only goes so far to help drive the animation, I had to imagine what areas could be pushed further, and what needed to stay dialed back for the sake of realistic movement.

With this next part of the project finished, I now move on to spline animation, which will test whether or not my blocking was effective enough. I hope to also add in the finger joint movement in effort to match the reference even better. I may slow down and split the overall scene to focus on specific segments for the following progress reports. Eventually, all should come together for a presentable final product.