Class 8 10/22/2015

Head Turn Animation

Hello everyone!  

Here are some helpful references on the topic of head turning.  Hopefully these will reiterate what I went over in class, and you can use these as helpful reference for when you are doing your homework assignment.

Jack Jack's head turn

Pocahontas

Please take note, there are many different ways to do a head turn.  A neutral head turn is completely valid, but whatever the emotion of the character might be would also affect how the turn is happening.  For instance, my animation that i worked on in class the other day was of a scared man.  He turned his head quickly, looking around to make sure nothing will hurt him.  If someone is relaxed, they might turn their head more slowly.  

Topics Cover in Class

My animation that I made during class:

aTools

I used the tween function of aTools quite a bit.  I hope you guys will continue to use it and become familiar with powerful a tool it can be.  As a reminder, here is the youtube video demonstrating aTools and how you can use it:

Review of Morpheus Face Rig

Please watch this video if you need any reviewing for the face rig on Morpheus.  Start at 14:30 to begin right at the face.

Morpheus Rig 101 - "The Rig As Is" from Josh Burton on Vimeo.

If there is anything I showed in class, and it is not review on this blog please email me with any questions or additional information you might need!

GRADES

On a separate note, I would like to sit down with each of you and talk about your grades.  I realized I haven't given you any yet, but I do have them for your previous projects.  I will discuss them with you so you know how you are doing in the class, and you can also mentally prepare for the final which will be about half of your final grade.  I will be emailing each of you to begin a conversation about meeting up.

HOMEWORK

Part 1

Please revise you run cycles based on the feedback given in class.  Practice makes perfect!  I guarantee the more run cycles you do the better you will get with each other.  I will be looking at how the speed feels, if it is readable, how are the arcs on the feet and hands, and overall if it is believable enough.  Please refer back to the previous blog post for reference.  

Part 2

Based on what was shown in class, and the reference I provided in this blog post, please create your own head turn.  This is your chance to get creative.  Don't just rotate the head and blink the eyes.  Make me feel the turn in the body and the shoulders.  Create an expressive face that might communicate what your character might be feeling on the inside.  Please feel free to explore and experiment.  Remember you are creating art.  Let's see some emotion!

Don't forget to create a new perspective camera to view our animation with.  I usually rename it "RenderCam" which is what many studios do.  Find a good place for this camera, and lock it in place by locking attributes, or just keyframe it.  Make sure this camera view is the best angle for viewing your work.  Remember what I said about the eyes.  Our animations will work much better when we see both eyes in the shot.  Use your RenderCam to figure that out.

*I will give you bonus credit if you film yourself doing these actions for reference.  ACTING!!  If you do, please them along with your final animation. so we can see how you did it.  If you want to do this for your walk cycle revision, feel free to do so*

Before the next class begins I would like to have quicktimes of all of your run cycles and headturns.

If you have not turned in your revised walk cycles, please do so as soon as possible!!  So far, I only have Fernando's.