Creature Study Locomotion (Polish)
This is a polished version based on the feedback I received from my tutor last week. In particular, I focused on improving the facial movement by adding clearer directional changes, such as looking to the right and left. I also refined the ear movement, foot movement, and foot joint positions. In addition, I corrected the leg rotation, especially in areas where the legs were moving inward unnaturally.
Actually, this creature animation has been very difficult to create because I need to understand the animal’s body structure properly. This type of creature has completely different proportions, movement patterns, and body features compared to the human characters that I usually animate.
For instance, tigers and leopards move using four legs rather than two legs with arms and hands. They also have characteristics as carnivorous animals, which influences how they move and behave. Because of this, I need to carefully observe real animal references in order to create a more believable and natural animation.
Advanced Animation Shot (Planing)
Before I received feedback from my tutor, I intended to create a new animation shot based on this planned idea. However, I realised that it was more important to refine and complete my previous work rather than start another animation. Therefore, I changed my approach and decided to focus on polishing my existing shots to a higher standard so that they could become stronger pieces for my showreel and portfolio.
One of the ideas I had planned was a body mechanics animation focused on a jumping action. In the future, I would like to create realistic body mechanics performances, so I believe it is important to first develop a solid understanding of fundamental movements such as walking, running, and jumping.
For this shot, I wanted to create a convincing jumping motion while also including a simple narrative. My idea was that a small child accidentally loses a balloon, which then floats into the sky. The main character notices this and jumps to catch the balloon in order to help the child. After catching it, the character returns the balloon, creating a simple but heartwarming moment. Through this idea, I hoped to improve not only my understanding of jumping mechanics but also my skills in timing, spacing, dynamic movement, and camera staging. However, after discussing my plans with my tutor, I realised that finishing and polishing my existing animation shots would be more beneficial than starting a completely new project at this stage.
Furthermore, I learned that I should avoid using slow motion references or references taken from already animated videos. Instead, I should use real life footage, preferably recorded by myself, to ensure that the movement is accurate and believable. This feedback helped me understand the importance of quality over quantity. Rather than producing many unfinished shots, it is more valuable to complete a smaller number of animations to a professional standard. Moving forward, I will focus on refining my current work and paying closer attention to observation, reference gathering, and animation polish in order to improve the overall quality of my work.