OBLIG 1 - STUDENT PROJECT- NOROFF INSTITUTE

PROJECT 1/Oblig 1 – ANIMATION OF A HEAVY LIFTING OF A CHARACTER

By Alf Inge Moseid – Student on Noroff Institute – Kristiansand- Norway


Noroff Institute have given us students our first project to solve.

Project 1 is to make an animation of a rig lifting a very heavy thing and display the drawings of the key frames, some pic with explanation what we have done and why we did it, and also write and explain our plan and why we took that decision.

I have chosen to use NorOff Institute’s rig on this project 1, named “Finn-Rig”. It is okay to use since we can not give that rig any facial expressions, only blink with the eyes on it and that is inside the criteria for this project.


Planning for character animation.
First I do when I get a project like this is to get some good preferences. It is needed to get the animation to be believable. Preferences to this case I get easy. My nearest naboe lifting steel as training and I get him to lift some heavy thing for me when I study him and made some fast drawings of the most important positions he had when lifting. That one I used to make the key frames in the animation here (see my drawings and screen savings).
As you can see on the animation, screen savings and drawings I planned how the gravity balance on the character and the heavy object will be and how the power going in directions. Where the feet is placed, when it is placed there is fundamental to lift so heavy. Also important detail is that character need to change position on of the hands and then need to help to hold the heavy object with pressing the knees hard to the heavy object before he can continue the lifting. Balance, gravity, power and how they have influence on each other is the key on this animation of a heavy lift. I get my friend the naboe take a look at my animation when it was finish and he said it seem correct.

How key frames were set in the block.
In the 3 screen savings publish here you can see I have 5 key frames and I started placed them like this in the animation: One key frame in the beginning of the animation where character standing in relaxing gravity position, but I tried to let character use his lines with the head, eyes, right hand and one finger to “tell a story” to you as observer that “something will happen soon with that heavy object”.
Next key frame is around the middle of the animation and there I try to collect massive of power in the character, it is the moment before character will start lift and he have already put his feet, arms, body and head in the ready start position. A very important key frame this.
Next two key frames are in time between the final key frames in the end of the movie. This two key frames cud normally have been secondary key frames or between frames, but I determine to also use this two as ordinary key frames because it is needed for the character to change the grip on the stone and move and use his knees to full end his heavy lifting to let it be believable.
The last key frame is in the end of the animation and here again the gravity, balance, power, direction of this things influence to each play a important role if the animation get believable or not. You can see the blue and red marker I placed on the screen savings of balance on gravity, character use of power, heavy object gravity drag downwards, character personally gravity…

How moved from block, to rough, to clean (final) animation.
I used my stop watch on my naboe when he lifted heavy things for me and found out I cud make this animation in around 1 minutes playtime. Then I placed the character (rig) in the key positions after my fast drawings of the naboe when lifting. First and last key frame positions were easy because it is on the beginning and end of the animation. Key frame where he collect power ready to lift and the two key frame positions where he change grip and moving and using his legs to the object I placed after using my stop watch on the lifting to my naboe. After that is only to do the between animation, let the hands following the object and as an example.

Explanation of decisions about placement and design of storytelling poses.
The first thing come in my mind when I get this animation project is that I need to show plenty use of power of the character and the placement of the hole characters use of body, arms, leg and also his head is important to make it to a believable animation. This is way I placed the character like I have done and the design of the posing character have. In the book "Animators Survival Kit - Richard Williams" they placed both feet in same position and I place one feet in forward position to what I feel give more balance and power to the character when thinking about that heavy gravity power to the heavy large object. Character cud not lift a stone in that size because the stone would have a weight maybe around 2000 kilo and still if character was strong enough for that lift, his body weight would have been to less to get a correct balance in my animation. But if the object has near the same weight as the upper part of the characters body, it can be believable and balance in the animation.

Relationship between character personality of emotion and final animation.
My dear naboe here is strong, he have compete in Norwegian championship in lifting steel before and he do like other who will lift heavy. He first relaxing, then have focus on his goal, then going to his start position and collect power, then use fast explosive power in short time. And he knows how to use other parts of his body like his knees as helpfully tools as a technique on this lifting operation. I try to observe my naboe emotion when lifting and put it over to this character on this animation.

The blue and red stripes show directions of power and gravity... Character measure his power against the gravity-power of the object there in the first posing to left, a magic moment....

14 september and the day before deadline for sending in this project to the school :-))

I have get some advices a couple of times from teachers in school and enjoy it for sure, have tryed to following it up as best as I can. I notice one of the teachers cud not find some blockings/drawing of frames in this my oblig 1, but it has in fact been published here already the second day after we get this project and it is still here as a easy hand drawing with number of keys upon here...Maybe the teacher just didnt see it ?
 It is that drawing of the most important keyframes I have used to block out this short animation movie as you can see on youtube on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GalaxycosMovies
I also used a electronic blocking/ Storey Board who is fast to make since we have already the rig disponible and we dont need to think about facial expression on the character. As you can see the I have split the blockings up to keyframes, secundary keyframes, re-action and secundary re-action. I have given them different color so you easy can see what I mean. I just placed the character on that frame numbers and did the "between" animation after.

I chosed a lifting object with large volume because I did then not need to move the character so much since a large volum lifting object will block most of the possibilityes for the character to move like the oposite from a smaller volume lifting target who will be liftet in around chest position and then give the charater possibiltyes to move near like normal.

Have a nice day then :-))

Alf Inge Moseid- Kristiansand - Norway