3D Animation Journey

During this blog I will be documenting my journey in creating a set of animations for a character of my choice.

The task at hand is to create thematically linked animations.

As a Game Designer, I understand the importance of well-crafted character animations in enhancing the overall gaming experience. Therefore, in this module, I will be exploring the art of character animation and applying the techniques, skills & principles of animation, to create believable and engaging animations.

I will be sharing my insights, challenges, and successes in creating these animations, as well as showcasing my creative process.

I hope to provide a glimpse into the world of character animation and highlight its significance in game design.

Introduction & Tutorials

Before starting this animation module, I had no prior knowledge of Maya and the little knowledge of animation I had came from my personal anatomy practices.

These are some of the notes I've been making to help solidify my understanding of the principles of animation.

At first I was overwhelmed with the new program I would be using due to it all the features it had.

I had to start by breaking down the program into smaller steps and only focus on what I would mainly be using, in this case the animation sections.

The notes below show how I covered the main interface and the most commonly used shortcuts.

The notes then take a jump to how I incorporated the principals of animation into the tutorial animations I made.

More detail is provided on these tutorials below.

These are a set of my in class notes on the principals of animation.

I started by following the tutorials provided by the university. These tutorials covered basic shortcuts and navigating through the software, which helped me get familiar with the interface and tools.

Next, I moved on to tutorials that taught me to use the principles of animation in practice, such as the use of antics, easing in & out, and the importance of the initial key pose. One tutorial focused on animating a spaceship-like object with a tail, which helped me understand how to create a believable animation by applying these principles.

To solidify my understanding, I took notes and annotated images from the tutorials. For example, when learning how to animate a jump, I made notes on the starting pose, anticipation (antic), breakdown pose, and overshot pose. This helped me remember the different steps involved in creating an animation and allowed me to refer back to the notes whenever I needed a reminder. I tried to incorporate these elements in the animation and despite not being able to smooth it out as much as I would like it was a good reference point for how I could implement these skills in my overall project.

For the jump scene I took advantage of the squash and stretch principle to make an exaggerated but believable jump.

Finally, I practiced creating a walk cycle by following a tutorial that showed the contact pose, down pose, passing pose, and up pose. This allowed me to apply what I had learned about the principles of animation to a more complex animation such as the use of timing and the importance of it in making animations seem fluid.

Unfortunately I had an issue with referencing so my Maya file stop showing my rig before I was able to record the video for this tutorial.

Models & Research

After I finished the University created tutorials I went on to undergo some of my own research. This included other helpful videos I found on YouTube which explained animation from other perspectives and highlighted relevant information.

A helpful tutorial I covered was the "12 Principles of Animation (Official Full Series)" by YouTube channel AlanBeckerTutorials. This tutorial gave me the opportunity to go over the principles of animation and add to my notes,

After extensive research I decided it was time to start scoping my project.

The early guidelines I will be setting for my animation are:

• I want the character to provide a sense of mystery, power and loneliness.

• I want the character to express themself through body language.

• The character should be diverse and unique

These are due to change as my development progresses but this is the initial scope and theme I will be trying to generate for my animation project.

I did initially struggle with finding a compatible rig for this theme but after deliberating I settled with the 'Jack of Blades' rig I found on sketchfab.

Before I begin animating my project I did another extensive reference dive on YouTube, Pinterest and other websites. My goal here was not just to find how I wanted the animation to play out but instead to see how others have conveyed similar atmospheres to what I want to present.

Here is a compilation of some of the videos I will be using as reference.

The first video in the compilation shows Allucard from Castlevania in wolf form swinging his sword before transforming back into human form and the sword floating besides him, before both independently yet still in sync perform a string of combos. The second video is also a slowed down scene of Allucard unsheathing his sword which remains floating before spinning and stopping by his side. What Inspires me from this is the strength shown by the poses yet Allucards ability to still remain simple and graceful. The combination of simple and complex shapes and movements helps create a specific tone for his character which is further shown through his sleek and fluid movements.

The next part of the video shows Claudio from Tekkan performing his basic rage art. Similarly to Allucard's body language Claudio radiates power through his use of exaggerated and grandiose actions. At minutes 0:55 - 1:05 demonstrate the clear motions with the energy of the action presented in the centre accompanied by the force. This helps in guiding the viewers eyes to the centre of the action which is primarily his hands. The camera angles also contribute to leading the viewers gaze through the gentle panning.

These lines of action help to see where the force is being generated.

The final part of the video highlights the connected actions between King from the anime 7 deadly Sins and his weapon 'Spirit Spear Chastiefol'. What I will be taking from this also relates to Allucard's initial poise but focuses more on the synced actions between the weapon and the wielder.

At minute 2:53 - 2:57 King thrusts his whole body leading with his right arm this action is shortly followed by the spear in its second form to mirror the action launching in the same direction.

The lines of action show where the gathered force and momentum generated by the action end.

Researching these characters helped me reapproach my scope when deciding the emotions I wanted to convey through my character animations.

Instead of vaguely suggesting that my character to express themselves through body language I am now specifically stating that I want them to show their power through dramatic but clear actions. I want them to appear as if they are in complete control of their strength and actions through simple but fluid motions.

I will be experimenting with different angles and hand movement in order to provide suitable animations.

I am also excited to implement a telepathically controlled sword that the character controls through the use of different actions and gestures.

I still want to maintain the mystery of the character. At this current point I haven't decided on a concrete way to implement this but some of my ideas include:

• Slow and unclear actions which may be the character performing a misleading action before the sword attacks in another direction.

• I will try to keep the characters face hidden from direct frontal view and instead focus on other features such as subtle hand movement and the floating accompanying sword.

The Animation Process

Walk Cycle

Below is a video showing the start of my animation process for the walk cycle.

The idea was to pencil out the key poses and create a basic storyboard which would help me further develop the animation.

To create this sequence I used the pose to pose method rather than straight ahead since this allowed me to refer back to my notes on walk cycles and use the key poses. The studio library plugin was helpful in this method since it allows you to store poses and easily mirror them.

I tried to keep the theme present even through the early stages keeping the characters head slightly tilted down to display a solemn feeling. I also made the movements slow in an attempt to add confidence and simple movements to the character.

I also ensured the balance was set from the start so my characters actions would be more believable. The initial staging was also important as it helped convey the theme and personality of the character.

The video below shows the second version of the walk cycle where I start to incorporate the arms into the animation and further apply the principals of animation. These include the use of antics, staging and arcs.

Compared to the first video you can now start to see a sense of the overall action through the use of follow through and overlapping action. Incorporating the arms separately allowed me to focus clearly on each part of the animation breaking it down even further than just the key poses and breaking down the key poses into sections for the top half of the body and the bottom half.

You can also see the use of arcs in this video compared to the last as the legs and arms follow a clearer swing.

In this version I tried adding more personality to the character by adding a secondary action to compliment the movement. The action is the character turning their head to the left sharply and suddenly to suggests that they are weary of the situation or simply distrusting in general. I also minimised the difference between key poses with the help of tween machine. I did this in order to promote a more confident character who is final in their movements without the extra flair which may convey a more excited and eager character rather than the controlled subtle actions I am going for.

In this version I have focused more on the weight of the actions and the arcs of the arms. The character is wearing medium weighted armour meaning the movements should be more fluid than a person wearing heavy armour. I started to incorporate the appropriate weighting of the character and their clothes in the development of my animation.

I also decreased the amount the knees were being raised to create a more realistic action. The previous version with the high knees gave a comical tone which did not match the characters weight class. I also cleaned up parts of the mesh which were overlapping on frames that shouldn't.

I made sure to correct the wrist swing on the arms and experimented with different timings and spacing to make it correctly looks as if the wrist were leading the action of the arm swinging forward. The spacing allowed me to keep the frames I had but change how they were presented and help me polish and tweak the animation.

These changes focus more on the personality of the character.

Since I reached a point where I was happy with the main breakdowns and keyframes I started adding further breakdowns to enhance the personality and give unique movements to the character.

You can see I have also cleaned up the legs by adding specific 'in-betweens' between mainly the passing, up and down poses of the walk cycle. These are accompanied by antics which help the viewer perceive the animation as I would like them to and ease them into it.

There is also a slight shoulder shrug as the neck aggressively moves from right to left. Here I am trying to suggest a sense of impatience and possible frustration whilst also highlighting the flexibility of the characters outfit.

In previous versions it was unclear which leg was leading the action but after further research in "Character Animation Fundamentals" (Roberts, 2017) I gained a better sense of leading actions.

In the next version I will be applying this concept to the arms and shoulders so they are as fluid as the leg movements.

This is a diagram from "Character animation fundamentals: Developing skills for 2D and 3D character animation." By Steve Roberts.

The diagram shows a clear basic example of how the arms should move for a walk cycle.

This is final rough version of the walk cycle which includes all the changes mentioned with cleaned up and more exaggerated extreme positions to clearly show the purpose of the animation.

The final version will contain small tweaks for minor positioning and involve me going through the animators checklist to ensure my animation is as smooth and appealing as possible.

I will also be receiving feedback from the an animation server that I have joined to gain insight from other people's perspectives.

And here is the final version of the walk cycle.

To summarise my process with the walk cycle I started by implementing the main key frames which I took from the tutorials I completed at the start of the module.

After receiving feedback it was pointed out to me that the legs dropped too far forward for the stoic character I was trying to represent, this has been remedied in the final version.

This helped me in creating the animation since I had a clear reference of how it should look but still the freedom and flexibility to tailor the animation to the theme.

I am satisfied with how this turned out as I was able to keep my theme present through the walk cycle and the sword pairs nicely to the overall action.

Attack Combo

Here are the rough ideas for the attack combo. These ideas came from my research into floating sword wielders. When creating the combos my main idea was to show style and flair paired with exaggerated arm motions which the sword would mimic whilst still possessing its own unique personality.

Before continuing any further with these sets of animations I decided to create a reference video with my prop sword in order to gauge the weight and timing of the actions.

This is the drafted attack combo based on the reference video I created.

The idea was to create an attack that was initially hard to read. This is show by the character teleporting side to side before reappearing with the sword in hand ready to deliver a powerful strike. I show the weight and power of the attack by squashing the character's body, I mainly targeted the hips and spine for this squash. I also used some stretch as the sword strikes down to make it seem as if it is moving faster.

Throughout the combo I am trying to keep the theme of reserved power present through simple but exaggerated actions.

After comparing this version to the reference video I created it was clear that I was missing some character appeal. I decided to remedy this by making the actions clearer by exaggerating parts of the animation.

For instance when the character is raising the sword to prepare for the downswing I curved the body to match the line of action and provide a sense of the momentum the character was generating. I also applied this for the downward swing and the beginning hand actions by increasing the range of their arcs to convey a more exaggerated action.

The clean up for this was relatively straight forward but reasonably more difficult. Due to the nature of the animation I didn't have a specific reference. It was also difficult to recreate myself due to the nature of the sequence i.e. the floating sword and floating character. I instead enjoyed lighting the scene, since I wasn't able to reach the desired animation I set out to.

With the lighting I used a combination of different spot lights to light the box the subject of the attack. By keeping the lighting strength weak I am able to keep my character in the dark until they step up to the box and lift their head. This increases the staging aspect of the animation and also increases appeal in terms of the story being told.

Here is the final attack combo animation.

Gameplay Pack

Idle

When creating the idle pose I opted to expand on the characters possibilities and skill set by giving them a hover mode. Instead of creating a simple breathing effect for the character I decided to take them to the skies similar to some of the references I used (King from seven deadly sins). Here are the rough key poses I created keeping in mind the theme of a silent powerful warrior.

To Improve on my idle animation I again went back to the principles of animation. I found that staging, spacing, timing and easing in and out were the key factors in making this a believable idle animation.

There was also some elements of arcs involved as the character is floating on the spot so the up and down arc needs to be natural to be believable. The arc this character followed was slightly curved outwards as it went up.

The spacing and timing were fundamental parts since they had to be precise throughout the animation since it was only a few frames so any irregularities would stand out so I had to make sure the frames followed fluidly and move precise amounts.

This is the completed version of the idle animation.

The changes here are due to feedback and more research.

I decided to change the centre of gravity to the middle of the body to show where the weight of his armour is..

Curving the body inwards also allowed me to reinforce my theme and match the appeal of my other animations. I was now able to more believably angle the character's head down.

Run Cycle

When creating the run cycle I used the same process as I did when creating the walk cycle which was the pose to pose method instead of the straight ahead method.

They key idea for this gameplay pack was to create a mysterious and powerful character I kept this in mid when creating the key frames.

The key steps in the process again involved the specific key frames: contact, passing, down and up.

After creating the poses I flipped them using studio library's mirror tool to create the poses for the other side of the body.

Here is my initial run cycle.

To improve my run cycle I focused on the the line of action on the body. I wanted the player to feel as if they were powerful and quick whilst maintaining a realistic aspect for the armour class.

I decided to rotate the characters torso forward to provide a better sense of the speed rather than have an upright run I opted for the character to be closer to the ground to really feel as if they were cutting through the air, similar to the eccentric runs seen in "Devilman Crybaby".

I again kept the hood down to partially hide the characters face to continue the theme of mystery, suspicion and tenseness. All of these factors add to the appeal of my animation.

I added antics and eases to the increase the fluidity of the animation.

I added the sword animation to compliment the run by giving a quick and sharp movement contrasting that of the heavy movements of the run. The overlapping action of the sword in this case adds to the overall animation rather than distract the viewer.

And here is the final version taking all the changes into account.

I am quite happy with how this run cycle turned out as it shows how my sense of timing and spacing has improved in comparison to the walk cycle.

Here I am really able to convey the weight of the character and upon seeing the animation It's almost as if you can hear the heavy thuds being generated by the character. It was at this point I began to really enjoy and appreciate the hard work that goes into creating each and every animation that goes into some of my favourite games.

Dash/Deflect

This is the final animation I will be creating my for my animation module.

In this section, I will be discussing the dash animation and how I incorporated the concept of a deflect into it.

The essence of a dash is to avoid damage, so the decision to add a deflect to the dash animation seemed like a natural fit.

The deflect animation has a small cast time, during which the character performs a movement before the deflect begins, which adds a sense of anticipation to the animation. To achieve this, I drew inspiration from my references, such as Alucard from Castlevania, and other characters. All of these characters have unique dash and deflect animations that I analysed and incorporated into my own work.

In the following sections, I will explain in more detail how I utilized my references to create my animation.

The first version of my dash.

For this animation the idea is that the character would be dodging projectiles.

I imagine the spin at the start would dodge the first round of projectiles. The sword would then transition into defensive mode where it would grow slightly in size and start rapidly spinning to deflect the oncoming projectiles.

This idea came to me from some of the scenes in the seven deadly sins as a lot of the weapons have transformative properties. To match the the style of my references I did more research into sword swings because despite the nature of the floating sword I wanted to keep it relatively grounded matching more of an urban fantasy setting.

Here is how I used the line of action of the sword to see where the sword should appear when it is spinning. Since I only had controllers on the ends of the sword I wasn't able to manually rotate the sword in the area I wanted to. Using the blue pencil tool I was able to draw out the arc which made the work flow of animating the sword spin more efficient.

Deflect Version 1

After revisiting this animation and receiving feedback from classmates I decided to record myself performing the animation to a get a better sense of the steps.

These are the key frames I will be using to recreate the spin in my dash animation.

Line of action illustrated on the starting key frame.

Here is the second version of the deflect made using the reference images I made to improve the animation.

You can now see the body is properly rotating on the right leg and the weight is shown through the in-between poses which show the torso being twisted more than the legs to show the leading actions.

I also got specific feedback from animation server I joined which includes people I have connected with in the past with an interest in game design.

The feedback was mainly that after the spin the animation looked flat since the character stopped moving and the sword continued spinning.

It was also mentioned that the deflect might be more believable if the sword starting spinning earlier in the animation. This would also increase the sense of urgency since the player would be using this ability to avoid damage so a more rushed tone would increase the direness present.

After receiving some feedback from a colleague in the group I present my finished animation.

The improvements I made started with adding more in-betweens for initial spin and adding antics where necessary.

I improved the final pose by adding a breathing effect by slightly raising and lowering the shoulders.

To finish the animation I added a head raise to reinforce the power being emanated from the character. The fact they are looking directly in the direction of the oncoming damage reinforces the theme that I have been trying to implement throughout my animation process.

Animation Blog Conclusion

In conclusion, this animation project has been an exciting and challenging creative process that has helped me develop my skills in both animation and game design. From ideation and storyboarding to character design and animation, every step of the way required careful consideration and attention to detail.

One of the most significant challenges I faced was learning how to use the animation software efficiently. However, through a combination of research, practice, and feedback from others, I was able to overcome this obstacle and produce high-quality animations

Throughout the project, I also gained a deeper understanding of the principles of animation and how they can be used to create compelling visual narratives. For instance, the use of squash and stretch, timing, and spacing helped me bring my character to life and convey their emotions effectively. Moreover, the project allowed me to experiment with different animation techniques, such as frame-by-frame animation and rigging, which expanded my skill set and knowledge.

While the project was a significant learning experience, there were still limitations to my knowledge, such as the technical constraints of the animation software and the intricacies of character rigging. Nevertheless, I was able to address these limitations by doing more research, seeking feedback from my peers and mentors, and practicing continually. Through this process, I discovered new resources, such as online forums and tutorials, that I could use to further enhance my skills.

To conclude, this animation project has been a rewarding experience that has helped me develop my skills in animation and game design. It has allowed me to experiment with different techniques and styles, improve my technical knowledge, and gain a deeper understanding of the principles of animation. I look forward to applying these skills and knowledge to future projects and continuing to improve my craft.

References

Roberts, S. (2017) Character animation fundamentals: Developing skills for 2D and 3D character animation. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Pixar Animation Studios (n.d.). Pixar in a box: Animation. https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar/animate

Kingston University (n.d.). Maya tutorials

https://canvas.kingston.ac.uk/courses/23442/pages/maya-fundamentals

Williams, R. (2001). The animator's survival kit: A manual of methods, principles and formulas for classical, computer, games, stop motion and internet animators. Faber & Faber.

Goldberg, Adele. (1996). A History of the Disney Animated Universe. The Journal of Popular Culture, 29(3), 183-192.

Pinsky, Mark. (2001). The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects. John Wiley & Sons.

Lasseter, John. (1987). Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation. SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 21(4), 35-44.

Allucard from Castlevania (TV series):

Ellis, W., Shankar, A., & Frederator Studios. (2017). Castlevania [TV series]. Netflix.

Claudio from Tekken (video game):

Bandai Namco Studios. (2015). Tekken 7 [Video game]. Bandai Namco Entertainment.

King from The Seven Deadly Sins (anime):

Nakaba, S., & Studio Deen. (2014-2021). The Seven Deadly Sins [Anime series]. Netflix.