Within our 3D animation, my character to design and model is the venus flytrap which I had chose myself. So far I have drawn up a character design and I’ve made two models so far but I’ve yet to model the final model that will be used for our animation.

Character design:

This is the initial character design I drew up on my iPad using the references I had gathered above the drawing. I made sure that I used accurate references to make sur that my design was as accurate as possible to a real venus flytrap. I drew it from a couple different perspectives to make it easier to model it as I would have an idea of how it should look from each angle.

3D models:

The first model is my first attempt at modelling the venus flytrap. It’s not great but I think it was a good starting point and gave me an idea of how the overall shape of the model should look.

The second model was my second attempt at modelling the venus flytrap. I think it looks much better than the first but, after receiving feedback from lecturers, the stem needs to be straight in order to make rigging the character easier. This model will be used for the pre-vis however as its simple enough to be used for that.

The third model is my third attempt at modelling my venus flytrap and could possibly be my final model for the 3D animation. Based on feedback from lecturers, I made the model completely vertical as it would make rigging the model significantly easier than if the stem was bent. I also added the teeth separately mainly so that they can be textured separate from the rest of the model.

Final model:

The above image is my final model that was used for the final animation. I think the model turned out well and I think the textures suit it well. I initially struggled to rig it as but with some help from my teammates and lecturers, I was able to rig it well and effectively. I kept the model simple to keep it within my capabilities and so it’s easier to animate. I think I did well with my model and I’m proud of how it turned out.

Practice animation:

Once I finished rigging my model and before I textured it, I made a quick hop animation to make sure the rig worked properly. I did my best with it and I think it turned out pretty well. I’m glad the rig worked although I think the jump is a little slow but good nonetheless. I’m proud of how my practice animation turned out and I’m confident in my ability to animate it for real for the final animation.

Assets:

In the above image is all the assets I had made for our animation. I’m fairly proud of how each of them turned out, especially the tree stumps and some of the leaves. Unfortunately, most of the assets I made weren’t used in the final environment made for the animation but I had fun making and texturing them nonetheless.