Finished model 3/4

Finished model Front

Penguin Animation

In order to produce this animation I started with the modelling of my character. I have a male and a female character but I used the same model for both and I only added a pink ribbon bow on the head of the female penguin, which I did not model myself because it was a last minute touch. I gave my model a simple rig with controllers that provided me with the freedom of movement. This is how my rigged model looks like:

I was trying to follow the storyboard I created before starting with the animation and I managed to work with it and it was very helpful in the process of animating.

In the first couple of frames the male penguin passes through an open door and notices the red present box on the table. He displays curiosity by peeping into the room behind the wall. He looks around to check if somebody is watching which indicates his cautiousness because he is still not sure if the present is for him. He gets a bit closer and examines the object, the eyebrow movement shows his doubtfulness but keeps his curiosity. When he decides it is safe to get even closer he gets under the table. The scene with the flipper looking above the table gives the character personality and adds a more cartoon-like look of the animation. When he reads the little card by the present his movements get quicker, showing his excitement. While he is opening the gift box he is facing the corner of the room as if he was hiding from someone. But he is not because the present was addressed to him, his behavior shows us that he is shy by nature.

He opens the present and he presents it to the camera...but he is not very fascinated. Why would anyone give him a present with a female ring? This is not a problem because he knows just the penguin who would love this little gift. The movement of the camera, slowly zooming to is eye, sends us to the last scene where he gives the ring to the female penguin. The clumsy way of walking indicates his growing excitement.

Overall, I am happy with the animation, it successfully shows the character thinking, which was the task. It also brings out the character and follows a consistent story. The thing that can be definitely improved is the walking of the character. As he is walking he is tottering, he is being clumsy because of the size of his body and his little legs. But the feel of weight when he is shifting from a foot to foot does not feel quite right. This can be improved by some slight changes on the rig because this is what limited the movement.

Critical Evaluation `Partly Cloudy` by PIXAR Animation Studio

Here is my critical evaluation of the Pixar short animation movie "Partly Cloudy"
The video is available from youtube: 

A study in Body Acting

Body acting is not much different that animating a character..well, it is from a technical point of view, but the animator turns into an actor in the process of animating and should think as one. This skill teaches you on how to express your characters emotions throughout body language. Plus, you have the freedom to exaggerate your animation in a way you can not if you were an actor for instance.
Body acting is a non-verbal way of communication which is one of the most powerful elements that make a believable and dynamic animation. The movements of your character do not always need to be realistic in order to be believable. Here is an example of one very realistic animation :

This example is realistic and believable without any use of exaggeration, squash and stretch or slow in and slow out, but when we animate we also consider the 12 principles of animation. In the next example we can easily see the application of many of those principles which improve the animation and make it more dynamic:

As we can see there are a couple of moments which clearly show the use of squash and stretch, overlapping action and others. Pausing you character for a couple of frames makes a huge impact and brings out the way they are thinking aswell.

Character expressing Fear

Here I posed a character (which I do not own) expressing the emotion Fear. There are several components that build up the emotion and help make it believable. The legs and arms are as close to the body as possible, there is a big curve in the spine, the tail is pointing down and the ears are dropped down. Doing this, the character is trying to get as small as possible, almost invisible. The posture of the hands in front of the face also indicate protection. The slight bend in the front leg has a protective indication aswell. The facial expression has a major role in the expressing of any feeling - in this case, the eyes are wide open and the inner points of the eyebrows are lifted up while the outer corners are pointing down.

Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication or body language is the way humans communicate most of the time (60% to 80%). This is the way of expressing emotions, thoughts and feelings without talking and is also applied in animation movies. It is important to understand how to use it in your work as it can often drive a whole story in the opposite direction.
Everything you can express with your body is considered a non-verbal communication: facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics, body posture, eye gaze etc. All those components help you build a more believable character with unique traits and personality. It also plays a major role in how you convey what your character is thinking.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdyll8gBRBc