ⅠExperimental Animation
Bingrui Li & Xiaomeng Jiang
We made a video essay about prompt writing in AI generated animation.
I’m responsible for the preproduction, the character design, part of the animation making, and editing the video essay.
Ⅱ Animation Showreel
this week I polished the shot, adjust some poses, exaggerate the timing.
still need to smooth out the cog movement. The bouncing after landing need to be bigger.
Anim Layer
use anim layer to help the flower move around.
This week i keep working on my blocking, add a few more angles, and try to make it look attractive at all angle.
I also adjust the timing a little bit, to add some rythem to the animation.
Animbot- flower attacking
Plan: Gameplay animation
I plan to create a game action design piece. It will be a three-hit combo animation for a character using a staff/club. At the moment, I am still working on the action design.
The rig I’m using:
Munkei Maya Rig for Maya 2020+
Reference：
Melee Weapons Animation Tutorial #animation – YouTube
【好棒的图文教学！棍棒连击逐帧拆解分析-哔哩哔哩】 https://b23.tv/2s17av4
First Attempt
I try do design my own combo, but failed, the animation doesn’t look reasonable.
Reference:
I find some reference and try to make the movements snappier and more exaggerated based on the reference.
Secont Attempt:
Now the movements looks more reasonable, but the key poses need to be more attractive.
Some more reference on the jumping:
Dialogue Shot
finish and clean up the lip sync
Creature Locomotion (Polished)
Final Version:
More Reference:
Further adjustments:
About the front view: the lion walks with a cat-like gait. The front paws first turn slightly inward, then outward, creating a motion similar to pulling the hands out. The two feet need to be placed closer together, and the head should gently sway left and right with the steps.
About the mouth: need to keep the mouth shut, or add breathing to it.
Lions should feel heavy, powerful, and controlled, not bouncy or nervous.
In a walk, use a steady four-beat rhythm. Keep the body fairly stable, with subtle shoulder and hip movement.
The shoulders are very important. Big cats have a rolling shoulder motion, especially when the front leg reaches forward.
The head and neck should feel heavy. The head can stay low and forward, with only small movement.
The paws land softly but with weight. Avoid foot slapping.
The tail follows the body with delay and helps balance turns. Do not make it too active unless the lion is alert or angry.
Dialogue shot polish
The body and the facial are both moving too much, need to clean it up and focus on pose to pose for now.
Creature Study (Reptile)
Reptile: turtle, snake, lizard, crocodile
Turtle:
The diagonal feet move almost simultaneously, with the front feet slightly faster than the hind feet. The head stays mostly still, held up, only turning to look in the desired direction. The tail also remains largely still. The front feet move first; the hind feet barely leave the ground and quickly follow. The lower body stays close to the ground, propped up by the front feet.
When swimming, it relies mainly on the front feet for paddling; the hind feet seem to only participate in turning.
The larger the turtle, the slower its movements.
Lizard & Crocodile: (this seems to be the main focus)
The diagonal feet move almost simultaneously, with little noticeable difference between front and hind feet — though the hind feet might lift just a tiny fraction slower. The body twists with a wide range of motion, forming an S-shape. The tail acts as a huge follow-through.
They can stand up and run — it looks hilarious, with their legs swinging in circles. It feels like the wild running seen in cartoons was modeled after lizards. This could probably fill its own page.
The smaller the body, the faster the movement.
Crocodile swimming:
It mainly propels itself forward with its tail; the limbs stay mostly still, only moving when turning or grabbing onto something.
Crocodile running:
It’s actually quite similar to a leopard — a fast forward leap.
Snake:
Undulatory movement — they send a wave down their body and move forward.
Pre-structure notes:
Creature animation in general
Body shape
Using the Icelandic horse as an example, demonstrating 5 gaits.
Dialogue Shot (Blocking Plus)
First Version
Second Version
Breathing animation
breathing animation is basicly pose to pose animation, using cycle to create a looping animation, mind the offset between different body parts, also details matter a lot.
Use animation layers to add extra movements to the character.
Results
Dialogue shot blocking
·leave the camera movement while animating
·adjust the camera angle, Frankie is blocking the camera too much
·sholder and cog are quite stiff
·facial can be more exaggerated
Overlapping
first version
second version
Lip Sync
pipeline: Blocking-Blocking Pius-Polishing
while doing blocking plus, need to do the mouth shape as well.
Lip Sync: Jaw opening-phonemes-polish
Dialogue shot planning (reference)
Subtext is what a character really means beneath the words they say. To design strong subtext, animators should first understand the character’s goal: what do they want in this scene, and what is stopping them? The subtext should connect clearly to this objective.
A good subtext is usually a clear feeling or opinion, not something vague. For example, “I’m fine” could really mean “I need you to notice me,” “I don’t trust you,” or “Please leave me alone.” Each choice would create a different facial expression, eye movement, pause, and body language.
Before animating, it helps to define three things: character, situation, and motivation. Once the animator knows what the character is secretly thinking, every small movement becomes more meaningful. Good subtext makes animation feel like real acting, not just lip sync.
Heavy Object（polish)