For the 3D Character Animation module, we were instructed to create 3 animations lasting at least 10 seconds long. These animation sequences would relate to our characters whilst using of the 12 animation principles where we can.
3D animation is entirely new to me; I have experience with 2D animation but have never attempted 3D animation before. I also would like to preface that these ideas have changed numerous times due to a multitude of issues with Maya.
Link to YouTube Animation Inspiration Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDRPVmk_QCwX2_ll4MaYyEBrGloJYfljt
ANIMATION #1: IDLE AND WEAPON INTERACTION
For the idle animation, I looked at videos of UFC fighters and WWE wrestlers warming up. With these videos, I found that typically both fighters keep their limbs loose and not tensed until they have to strike, which is something that I wanted to replicate in my animation, almost as if my character was preparing to fight.
The inspiration for the weapon design and interaction originates from Cyberpunk 2077 (CDPROJEKTRED, 2020), drawing inspiration from the animation that plays when the player reloads Johnny Silverhand‘s weapon in the game. The inclusion of the weapon interaction in my animation allows for me to explore the timing of the rotation. If the gun were to have a slow rotation, it could lose appeal to the viewer, whereas having a rotation that is too fast can appear confusing due to the limits of the human body.
To start this animation, I drew out a few key frames that I wanted specifically and then progressed to creating an animatic that I could reference.
ANIMATION #2: VAULTING AND TAKEDOWN
One of the scenarios that I envisioned my character in was a takedown sequence, which would involve her vaulting over a small wall. As my character is a mercenary, I imagine that she would maintain her momentum in chasing a target down by quickly vaulting over any objects in front of her rather than slowing to a stop. Additionally, to tie in the UFC inspiration in her character design, I decided to incorporate a double-leg takedown, referencing fighters such as Jon Jones, George St-Pierre and Brock Lesnar who all used the double-leg takedown.
To start this animation, I created an animatic of the vault based on the reference video as I felt that this would be the hardest to animate; I drew the key poses first and then went back to fill in between the frames.
ANIMATION #3: PUSHUPS
To start the third animation, I created a quick storyboard and animatic of my character doing pushups; this was the subject of a 2D animation that I had created previously, so I felt comfortable I could create a good animatic to reference.
As my character has a cybernetic arm, this animation lets me explore using exaggeration in the pushup movement, as when my character moves into doing a one-armed pushup, the movement will be faster, whereas realistically this would cause a person to move slower due to increased weight being applied to one point.
Referenced Material:
CDPROJEKTRED (2020) Cyberpunk 2077. steampowered.com. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1091500/Cyberpunk_2077/.
Kugut, D. (2021) Malorian Arms 3516 – Silverhands Weapon (Cyberpunk 2077). ArtStation. Available online: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/L3V4qP.
Submission Radio (2014) How to do a Jon Jones Double Leg Takedown (Like against Alexander Gustafsson) for MMA. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gksZKjHnmUM
Totten, C. (2021) 12 principles for game animation. Game Developer. Available online: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/blogs/12-principles-for-game-animation.
UFC (2021) Live Reaction to McGregor Knocking Out Aldo at UFC 194. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TX7tr98R08
Ultraclocked (2021) Cyberpunk 2077 – Johnny Silverhand’s Pistol (Malorian Arms 3516) – Animations & Sounds w/ Slo-Mo. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG9_I81dcZI
WWE Universe (2023) Rhea Ripley Warm Up For A Match #wwe #rhearipley #shorts #wweshorts. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p20L50EXZk8