3d character animation last semester was a struggle, skinning,rigging etc is fiddly work and by the end i had lost all drive for it.

luckily it`s a brand new semester though! and now i don’t have to spend obscene amounts of time animating while looking at a butt ugly mesh, now using the power of mudbox (a absolutely incredible modeling program,i highly suggest you check it out) i`ve made some nice looking models.

i`ll post my storyboards (which look like they were drawn while riding a camel) but i`ll also give a quick description of the plot.

the character wakens hanging from a construction line surrounded by other, limbless beings. he tries to break free but when that fails he tried to get the others attention. this only results in a nasty scream using the windows error noises (that`s gonna be easy to get a hold of 😉 ) he then forcibly `extrudes` cables from his underside to lift himself off the hooks to land atop a half finished robot dog. he is then passively disappointed and then prowls off in a upbeat fashion.

so yeah,kind of a huge atmosphere shift at the end. but it`s quirky and interesting at the least. obvious inspirations come from terminator and matrix. as for the dog moment, i`ll try and have it move like the dog from up, very jumpy and fast. even though it`s only in the animation for a few seconds at the end,

both characters are modeled and textured but i only have a rudimentary skeleton in place and no skinning to speak of. these are both very different characters to my one from last year, and all my documentation for animating a 3d character is specifically for a regular shaped human being, and even following it to a t didn’t do all that good in last semesters animation. (it came tragically wonky) all i can do for my next step is to consult (and bug) my tutor.

i was originally going to have extruded planes on the dogs mesh with a PNG see through fur texture but it didn’t look quite right that and doing it for the whole mesh would have taken forever, i figure the dog wont be seen for very long so i just left him as is.the mesh for the dog started off as a cow, then i shaped and sculpted until satisfied.

Moo?!

but yeah,this human mesh character. get ready to have you mind blown. i did the base mesh in a hour, my very first time using mudbox

amazing program, love it. mainly because i got so burned trying to use zbrush beforehand, which is a very complex,NOT user friendly sculpting software. be wary of it

of course, i`ve tweaked with his mesh since then, i added a bump map and a glow on the robotic veins.

i really hope this module goes a little smoother then the last one, i`d love to have a portfolio worthy 3d animation under my belt. wish me luck peeps!