#7: refined design

My character design for Project 2! Percy is a woodpecker, and also a low-ranking police officer, so he tends to only get little, inconsequential cases (but he gets really excited about them anyway!). His prop is a cartoonishly proportioned magnifying glass.

#6: Post an idea or sketch from your journal + Project 1 Revised Video

Another sketch of Lina this morning, this time a little more formal (but still wearing her trademark choker). If appearances don't tip you off, Lina is, in fact, a demon, but she's no where near your standard concept of demons with all the fire and brimstone and stuff. She's just a gal who loves a good prank (and really, who doesn't? At least in her philosophy). She tends to bug her housemates with her shenanigans, but she knows when to put the antics on the down low for a more serious event (like something where she would be wearing an outfit like this, maybe).

And also, my revised Project 1 video! The walk cycle is much more natural now, and the lighting is better; I'm happy with the results!

#5: Final Project 1 Video

My final render for Project 1! I'm really proud of it. Could probably use some tweaking here and there, but as a whole, I rather like it.

#4: Post an idea or sketch from your journal + Render Finished Model with Texture

I figured I'd post two drawings this time, since they're both the same character (and only one one of them is properly in my sketchbook for this class!). Lina's actually a character I've had for a while now, and she's part of a comic that I'm intending on starting next summer (I wanted to start it this semester, but with all of my other work, I just can't balance it), but I also thought that her design is simple enough and her personality is just so conducive to a one-minute short that she'd make an awesome candidate for that project!

I did both of these drawings with Microns and Sharpies. The Sharpies are kinda streaky after scanning them in, but they actually look pretty nice on paper; it's rather surprising.

And finally, my final render for Project 1! The burlap texture is all fixed, and there's a bump map on it too, making it look really nice. c: I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

#3: Post an idea or sketch from your journal

Just a couple of sketches from my journal: A side view of my character for Project 1 that I used to create the model in Maya, a headshot sketch of one of my characters--Layla Alexander (she's a space pirate!)--and then a little doodle of a bird-cop-vigilante character (who is currently named Mr. Tweetums, though that might change). I kinda drew him as a joke between friends, but I kinda like him enough that I might want to use him for Project 2!

And here's my final model with textures! I need to fiddle with a couple of things still, but I'm really pleased with the result!

#2: Project 1 Final Character Design

This was the final design that I chose for my character walk cycle animation! I thought that the pointed legs would be the most interesting thing to animate, and I just like the design of the character overall.

And here's the final model of my character! It still needs textures: the organic parts are going to be like cloth or burlap, while the mechanical parts are going to look like chrome. I'm really excited to start animating!

#1: 3 Possible Character Designs for Project 1

So, in designing my characters, I wanted to keep them simple enough that they wouldn't be excruciatingly painful to model and animate, but I also wanted to differentiate them all in someway; specifically through their possible walk cycles.

The first design is actually based on a character of mine from a comic I've been writing for a while, but this little guy is a little more simplified for the sake of animation (since facial animation is too complex for the allotted time). He's basically half-rabbit and half-robot construct: his legs are entirely metal, but they're still extremely light, so his walk cycle would be very bouncy. He would almost walk with a skipping motion, having a good amount of "hang time" in between each contact point. He's also supposed to be very childlike, so the walk would feel very lighthearted and airy: he should almost leap off of the ground at each contact, and shouldn't stay grounded for very long.

I initially thought of something like a satyr for the second design (and tested a few colors on it out of curiosity), but I opted for this lumbering shadow creature instead. In case it's not clear from the sketch, its torso is actually disconnected from its limbs, so there are iron rods supporting his body. As shown in this creature's slouched position, this guy's much more grounded than Mr. Robo-Bunny: his walk is more of a shuffle, each leg movement takes a loooong time, and it should seem like a massive effort for him to take a couple of steps. Also, the gear embedded in his back should spin as he walks. NIFTY

 Last but not least, there's this little darling! I really wanted to play with different kinds of legs, and so I went for the really pointed, insect-like legs for this last one. I can imagine her walk cycle being either these very deliberate steps (like a ballerina on point), or almost skitterish, like she's try to keep balanced while positioned on a single point.

And then just a little group shot doodle to finish it all off! Look at these cuties. They are too cute.