Final Animation Work.

   After much experimentation with rigging and control grouping/linkages, I managed to make an animation from a model I designed. The design of this gunbot was made with animation in mind, as all the leg joints are spherical, allowing for 360º movement articulation. By linking the legs to the waist rod, I was able to make control groups on the waist rod, chest plate and feet. I also made a 'child' link to the head and shoulder guns, allowing these parts to move more realistically and mechanically with the legs. The long perspective lines in the previous posts screenshot illustrates how these child control groups work with the movement. The head slides round as the waist moves forward, as does the chest plate, allowing for a genuine 'targetting matrix' aesthetic. I feel this has succeeded, especially with the turn and shoot part of the animation. Achieving a sense of weight was the most difficult part, considering the rules of animation. Counter movements, slight juddering frames on the waist between big movement frames created a more robotic walk cycle. 

 

These films illustrate the animation style I have been making. I will continue to evolve this in the coming weeks, to see if I can achieve any further movement cycles, although the continuity of this remains difficult. However with the learning curve I have undergone during this module, I am confident I will be able to make the animation 'better' in every sense. The end in particular, I was attempting to make a jump... Obviously this was more taxing than I had first thought...