As someone on the ASD spectrum who’s not too keen on change, swapping to the updated version of the ‘Rain’ rig for my second assignment, with its different set-ups, new switches/controls, and the cloud rig replaced by cog wheels was, if I’m honest, initially off-putting. However, with a little practice, I quickly became accustomed to this new rig, and the ability to switch between different software and rigs is an important skill for any animator.
With the complexity of the physics involved in ensuring my character’s movements appeared realistic and believable, my weight lift animation in this assignment certainly felt much more challenging than any of my walk cycles, and to realistically relay the more complex actions involved, I needed to stop at times to think carefully about where the centre of gravity would be. However, with time and practice I’m sure this will come more naturally, and speed up my workflow.
Additionally, while I felt quite comfortable and confident animating my lip-sync, the inability to solve the minor clipping issue in my weight lift animation left me feeling frustrated, and with this the first time I haven’t been able to rectify an issue to my satisfaction, I was admittedly disappointed. This too likely stemmed from the worry that, as I needed to fix far more issues in this animation than anything else I’ve ever produced, I felt I might have been pushing myself beyond my current abilities. However, after reading another student’s blog from 2011, who at that time was at this same stage of an online animation course, I realised I really shouldn’t be so hard on myself, and although I already knew this, that the quality of teaching at Ulster University is amazing! I mean just look at the cheating!
Source: The New Blather, 2011
Increasing pressure, submissions for the 12-week Character Creation module were also required around the same time, and given that it takes me much longer than others to gather and arrange the information needed for my blogs into a useable, linear format, this caused me to feel quite stressed. However, with similar deadlines in industry, learning how to negotiate and manage theses situations are a good learning experience, and teach us how to become more resilient.
Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I found the body mechanics and performance section of this module extremely interesting, and the lip-sync lectures and workshops particularly enjoyable. Although challenging at times, I feel I’ve produced good quality final animations for both topics that relay the skills taught so far, and as I’ve said before, even the most seasoned animators once struggled in the same way.
References:
The New Blather. (2011). Animating a Box Lift – Part 1. [online]. [Accessed: 10 December 2024].
Available at: https://wizardwalk.com/newblather/?m=201101