Slide to the left...

This term I had been quite busy animating, which means that I have had no time for reporting updates on the program, but finally here I am!

During this class, the assignments are due in 4 weeks... first I though it was way too much time to do a 100 frames animation, but now I know it's not at all!

I selected to animate a side step, and the first step was to record myself doing it. It is vital that you shot as much as you can of the footage that you need. That way you can feel the way your body is moving and apply it to the character.

Then you block the animation, which basically is putting down all the key poses and breakdown poses. Once the poses are established, you can start adjusting the timing. The weight, and the movements have to be easy to read.

The next step is working on posing passes. I this step you will be changing from stepped keys on Maya to splines. Which means the movement will flow from pose to pose. Don't forget to add all your pauses, otherwise the character will be floating around. Also, lock the feet before the body.

Finally, solve all the knee pops that could appear, and keep cleaning the animation until all the poses are interesting, and your timing feels right. Don't be afraid to ask for feedback on each stage.

So here is a video with all the stages of my animation. Enjoy!