Assignment 5: Walking Legs

Due 3/6

Create a simple walk cycle with the Ultimate Walker rig.  What I will be looking for is:
    - A clean cycle (so there's no jump between the last frame and the first frame)
    - That the walk contains all of the poses needed to identify it as a walk (contact and passing positions)
    - The character shows balance and weight.  This can be done using the body/leg positions, squash and stretch and overlapping action/follow through.
    - Any technical problems - popping knees, choppiness in the animation, feet sliding, etc.
    - Use of the Graph Editor to smooth out problems in the In-Betweens
    - Bonus points if the walk shows character/personality.

The walk cycle will be rendered out in a front, side and 3/4 view, to show the walk at different angles.



Components and Character of a Walk Cycle

This Tumblr post has a man on a treadmill emulating many very different types of walks.

The character of the walk shows in a variety of ways, including the shoulder and hips position and rotation, the timing of the arms and legs, the weight of the character (are they stepping lightly, stomping down, do they favor one side or the other), how broad or subtle the steps are, etc.

When thinking about how your character can walk, visual references - whether they're videos or just people watching in a public space - can be very helpful.

The most important two poses that every walk must have are Contact and Passing.

A walk typically doesn't have any frames where both feet are off the ground at the same time (that's usually a run), but there are some instances where it may happen, such as a skip.

Example:

Assignment 4: Dynamic Poses

Due 3/4

Choose one of the provided rigged characters.  Take the character and keyframe them in 3 different poses.  The poses should push the figure into very different gestures (try not to have two gestures too similar to each other).  Push the rig as much as you can, to get as much exaggeration and performance from the character.  Use the camera to render a picture of each of the three poses (totalling three images).

You may edit any of the characters (such as changing their colors/textures) or acquire your own rigged model for the assignment so long as the character has a rig you can manipulate, and that you put the model into the poses yourself.

What I will be looking at with grading:
      - Does the character show weight and balance?
      - Does the character show personality?
      - What actions are they performing?
      - Does the figure push the rig, or does it play it safe?
      - Does the camera enhance the figure?

Helpful Hints:
      - References such as 2D drawings or photographs can be used to help figure out what pose to do and the mechanics of that pose.
      - When putting the character into a pose, especially if it's referencing a photograph, can that pose be exaggerated for more clarity?
      - Some rigs are more versatile than others.  Explore the rig and see everything you can do with it.

Student Examples

Project 1: Character Interacting with Prop

Due 4/3

For this project, you will animate a provided character picking up and interacting with a simple object that you design, texture, rig and model.

This project will be divided into sections:

Part 1: Model and Texture a Simple Prop.
     The prop should be an object with flat color textures.
     The object can have moving parts, including but not limited to:  A piece extending, such as a beam coming out of a light saber, or a piece that spins. 

Part 2: Create simple rig for the prop.

Part 3: Create a short acting animation piece with a provided character model/rig, interacting with your prop.

Part 4:  Add lights, set up your camera and render the scene.


Rubric
The project will have checkpoints throughout, but everything will be due on April 3.  The project's grade is broken down into the following categories:

Prop:  How well-modeled is the object?  How is the edge flow?  Is the object overly basic, or overly complicated with too many edge loops?  Are there any problems or mistakes with the textures? 

Animation:  Does the character show weight when they're interacting with the prop?  Is the animation snappy?  Does the character show appeal?

Technical:  Is there any popping or errors in the animation?  Are there any problems with the way the prop interacts with the character? Is the rig functional?  Does it feel like it's in the character's hand?


Recommendations
The heavier the object is, the more your character will need to show weight in order to pick it up and use it.

It is possible to use an object that the character tosses, changes hands (or changes what part of the body the object is attached to, such as the head, but it is rigging challenging because it requires building in parent constraints (or multiple instances of the object with visibility/invisibility switches).  It's allowed, but not required.


Student Examples