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hype 2,964 posts
i've never done a REAL character animation, so i'll give it my best shot. this could be hard for me, though. its good to know i have the best bunch of animators on the web to ask questions of!
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ivanisavich 4,196 posts
Hey man,
Great to hear that you're in! Would be happy to help ya through it
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hype 2,964 posts
holy cow, I have been slacking on this one... what little time i've been in front of my computer, i've been working on that compositing challenge at VFXtalk, cuz it's kinda easy.
but today, Mechis kickstarted me a bit, got me thinking of using AE as my base, instead of an entirely 3d animated scene - basically, playing to my strengths, what i'm best at. thanks for that, mechis!
so, being all invigorated and what not, I got started modelling my character. nothing great yet, but wanted to show my progress.
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ivanisavich 4,196 posts
Hey hey, now we're talking!
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mechis 520 posts
good start!
~Mechis
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mahmoudnahmad 1,159 posts
oh loooky!!, hype is in this ROCK ON!
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whats he going to be? A little boy? girl? monkey?
Cant wait to see more!
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hype 2,964 posts
gonna be a mouse. i'm gonna shoot a live-action part, then incorporate my little character and the gift box into it.
i tried to keep my character as simple as possible for rigging, and if it goes pretty simply, then i wanna add some flex jiggle on his ears, tail, and belly. but we'll see.
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hype 2,964 posts
little update. i'm gonna texture the character, but the modelling is pretty much done. it's super simple, but that's cuz i've never animated anything really acting before, so i'm just keeping it simple.
then rigging. i'll really kick into high gear the day after xmas.
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mechis 520 posts
Nice. Don't forget the secondary animation on the ears and tail. Cute model!
~Mechsi
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hype 2,964 posts
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flashmasterfong 238 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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flashmasterfong 238 posts
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JonyK 42 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
ok, looks like this is gonna be my last update before actually animating my little mouse.
just some temporary lighting, and this is straight outta Max, so, of course, it'll look bunches better after compositing. but this is the basic scene.
still need to texture my mouse and remodel the crappy bow on the present. but i'm ready to begin animating! how exciting! (for me, anyway...)
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iest_rob 1,671 posts
Excellent man! Really looking forward seeing what you come up with! The bow looks great in my opinion! I had so much trouble doing mine that Ive decided not to include one!
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effstops 83 posts
Looking really cool! Cute mouse model.
Man, I should have followed you and created a more simple, less realistic character...
Keep it up! Can't wait to see some animation!
--Colin
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hype 2,964 posts
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Jake 212 posts
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zachm 1,230 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
so last night i tried for a few hours to have my little mouse character run from point A to point B, and have come to the conclusion (yes, in that short a time) that i am not cut out for character animation.
i'm not giving up, of course. its just REALLY HARD! i don't know how you guys do it with so much character! after a few hours of making crap and deleting keyframes, i stopped and watched some video tutorials on rigging and making walk and run cycles. i may re-rig my character's feet to animate in the style of one of the videos i watched ( a Kurv studio video).
this is really hard.
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iest_rob 1,671 posts
Nice one Sean - I'm glad your not giving up on this! Character Animation is a very very hard thing, and practice just will make you better. Take some time out to look at reference (ha ha - pretty hard for you to look for a little mouse pushing a box i know) - but search YouTube etc for some good box pushing video reference - and try and study - why makes this guy looking like hes pushing the box? Look for the archs in his back, and shoulder etc.
Same with running - Id start off with the centrer of gravity - try to get that flowing nicely, then work on his little legs then move up to his arm, if you nail that COG then everything will flow very efficiently from there.
Don't give up man! Hang in there!
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ivanisavich 4,196 posts
Glad to hear you're not giving up hype!
Maybe you should post your progress? I'm sure some of us could help you and give you a few pointers (no matter how good or how bad it may look at its current stage!)
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hype 2,964 posts
thanks guys, i will post something when i have something more than that last video i posted. everything i made last night i deleted cuz it was horrible. but after watching that Kurv video, i think i might have a slightly better handle on it. i was trying to move the body first, to get the overall timing blocked in, but i think i may just write down what frame and where he needs to be at that time, and then just animate straight forward, with no overall blocking. i just don't know how to refine the body to make the leg motions right over top of already blocked in animation.
hopefully i'll have something not worth deleting in the next day or so.
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Richard 1,943 posts
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MikeWilson 638 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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bzudo 151 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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kilroy 787 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
there is no way i'm gonna make it by tonight.
I'm certainly gonna try, but I know for sure I'm not gonna make it. And I'm not sure if I'd make it by Sunday, either. This is a hard one for me.
I'm happy with everything I did, setting up the scene, the box falling out, modelling and rigging the little mouse. But timing and character animation is tricky, and I spend SO MUCH time doing things over and over and over...
I'll post something tonight, probably close to midnight in my time zone, but right now, he doesn't get very far. Only to the leg of the chair. Maybe by midnight or so I'll at least be able to get him over to the box. oh well, we'll see.
