Post 07 - Additional Modelling & Skinning

Since setting up the Human IK, I wanted to add some other detail in order to create a series of animations with two different characters. I have created and skinned the shorts as well as some trousers, knee pads (a set for trousers and for the shorts), elbow pads and a stab vest). I have also changed the material attributes of the figure from grey to a skin colour. I have also altered the figure's chest to a white in order to appear like a t-shirt. These have all been skinned and placed them onto separate layers.

Armour

Trousers

These have been given an extra division so they appear much smoother. As I need to flip between the lower and higher resolution (for quicker animation and skinning); I have also added an additional attribute in the command panel, allowing for both divisions to be switched on the fly. I initially had a skinning problem with the chest plate when switching between high and low, but I resolved this by only skinning on the lower resolution and removing all of the non deformable history. (Note that the t-shirt colour has been added to the higher division so when the mesh is lowered, the white material attribute becomes scattered. This is not a problem however as the lower mesh is for skinning and quicker animating and all renders will be done using the higher division level).




I feel much better about this progress as I was concerned that any animation would suffer from the feeling of not being complete. Once I have fully tested the skinning and Human IK, I will begin to concentrate on animating. Most recently, I devised a plan of what animations I am going to be creating. This is a mixture of cycles and short animations involving two characters. They are as follows:


1) Walk cycle - Relaxed
2) Minor injury walk cycle - Clutching side, minor limp
3) Severe injury walk cycle - Very erratic walking, 'pain cycle'
4) Death one - Fall to knees, then stomach with arms up
5) Death two - Slips 'curves and twists', flips onto back
6) Close combat: Assassination one - punched then knife into chest
7) Close combat: Assassination two - sneak from behind, struggle then knife to slit throat
8) Close combat: Assassination three - punch blocked then kick to the side and knife to the head

This is the initial structure of what I intend to animate and are subject to change according to time and feasibility.