Challenge 7: Record/find reference footage
For the body Mechanic exercise, I have selected an online video reference on kicking a ball. In the preparation stage, I added timecode displayed in frame numbers. In addition, I rendered an image sequence in order to use it in the viewport for Maya. 4 frames in the video are actually 1 frame, because the original video I downloaded was slowed down 4 times, so I speed it up in After Effect and now the number of frames in the video divided by 4 is actual frames. When I was doing it, I found that this was not a good reference, because the lens was shaking, so I could not measure the amount of movement when he was moving, and the figure was too far away from the camera.
For the advanced body mechanic, I found this as reference footage:
For the audio clip, I found this one as reference:
Challenge 8 (Part 1): Setting Up Maya, Exploring Rigs & Blocking Out Body Mechanics
And for the rig I just choose the simple Bony rig because all I need is to show character’s body mechanic rather than facial expression. For running movement I prefer IK handle to FK, so I decide to use both IK handles for arms and legs.
For the blocking stage, I decided to do more frequent key poses rather than 8 frames a pose. Because I need the position of my feet on the ground or up in the air. I think it will save me a lot of works in the polish stage later. In addition, I animated a ease out at the end of the movement to show that’s the end of whole animation.
For the camera, different from the one in reference, I chose a close up view which allowed audience to see more details.