For today, I spent some time researching how to rig and skin a character in Maya. The first place I looked was Youtube for some tutorial videos on how to do this.

Furthermore, I discovered that there is a quick and easy way to rig a character by using the ‘Quick Rig’ tool. This is a fast way of rigging a character however, it isn’t perfect and adjustments have to be made. When I was going through this method I came across issues such as problems with the skinning and weights so this is something I definitely need to revisit over time.

During this experience, I learnt more about rigging and the tools Maya provides. I have learnt more about Maya’s interface and worked out where certain tools can be found and what they do. This was valuable learning for me as I encouraged myself to do this research in order to get a better understanding and I learnt that it is always worth looking up my questions about Maya and how it works.

With this learning, I will implement what I learnt in future projects so that I can quickly create rigs for characters.

Youtube video I found and watched to learn the quick rig method.

In my own time, I have been researching and finding out how to 3D model characters using Blender. I haven’t used Blender before so I was completely new to this software. I have been meaning to learn this software as I am starting to notice that it is being more widely used in the industry.

Moreover, I did some searches on YouTube and came across a bunch of videos explaining Blender for beginners. I watched the video below which talks more about sculpting in Blender and explained the different brushes and tools. This was useful information, especially for when I begin to sculpt characters of my own.

This was a valuable piece of research as I was completely unaware of how to use Blender and I wanted to learn more about the tools so that I didn’t go into sculpting with no understanding whatsoever.

In terms of what I will do with this learning, I will try and use Blender for when I want to create characters. I will try and sculpt characters from scratch using Blender.

Youtube video I watched during my research into using Blender.

As part of my research into 3D animation, I watched this short animation made by the Pokémon company. I was intrigued by this animation initially as I thought this was 2D animation, given Pokemon tend to use 2D animation for their anime series. However, this short animation is actually in 3D and used cel-shaded like textures to give off this 2D look.

Personally, I haven’t seen a 3D animation done in this way before and it was really nice to watch the Pokémon company try something completely new and unique to what they usually produce. Furthermore, the details put into this animation is extraordinary, considering it was made in 3D. The facial expressions of the characters, especially the lead ‘Bidoof’, really create the character and bring them to life in a way I haven’t seen too often.

Moreover, I believe this animation style and techniques would be a great use for films and even video games going forward, as the immensely stylised world that’s been created in this 8 minute short is highly engaging and a fresh take on what animation could look and be like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTidwW3iLHk (Link to video)

For the first term, I have been introduced to animation in its many forms such as 2D, 3D and stop motion/puppets. This has been a very useful term in learning what area I wish to pursue in animation. I’ve discovered that I am enjoying 3D animation the most and I aim to continue improving and learning this topic.

I’ve also learnt more about my weaknesses and strengths during this first term and that I should focus all my time on what I am better at or what I am enjoying more and willing to learn and improve.

Overall, the first term flew by very quickly but I received a lot of information that I can carry over to the next term.