Character Animation 2010

To be successful in creating a convincing bipedal 3D character, it is important to study how the muscles in a biped are placed in relation to each other. It would be easy to create a stickman and wrap it around the biped, but creating an anatomically correct character will appear to be more realistic. Human anatomy will be used as the example:



Using this example, I sketched a diagram showing the different sections of muscles which would be modelled in 3DS Max to give my biped a convincing shape:



Regardless of whether the biped will be human; robotic or alien, the same anatomical principles apply:



Honda's ASIMO robot has arms with shoulder joints, upper arm "muscles" and lower arm "muscles" to help with movement and lifting and its legs have two distinct sections connected by knee joints. The NS-5 robot on the right from the film I, Robot has a similar structure and the mechanical muscles are clearly visible.



As seen here in the movie AI, the humanoid alien creatures carry the same upper body muscular structure; albeit with elongated necks.

In conclusion, when creating a bipedal character, it is important to get the basic anatomy correct as inaccurate body structures will look unrealistic and will make it harder for the viewer to accept the way the character moves. And if the viewer is thinking "how does that thing move?", any suspension of disbelief quickly disappears and it distracts them from the point/story of the video.

In this module, the brief is to animate an emotive character for up to 30 seconds in 3D Studio Max. We started off by learning the basics of the Character Studio features in Max, which involved the creation of a Biped.

Bipeds are a useful basis for characters as they contain a pre rigged skeleton structure which a mesh can be wrapped around. After creating a Biped, I used the footstep creator under Motion Tools which enabled me to create a path for the Biped to follow as well as select the type of gait it had (Walk/Run/Jump).

The next task was to attach an object to the Biped to simulate a head. I chose a sphere, which I applied a Physique modifier to. In the modifier, I attached the sphere to the Biped node and increased the Radial Area (the area of influence the Biped has on the model) which is marked by red dots on the areas where the object is fully attached to the Biped.




The video above is purely a technical demonstration of my ability to use the Biped features.

To enable me to create a successful video product, the first task is researching human body language and expressions. I have found three examples:



The video above shows a character interacting with an object and shows in detail the gestures required, which will be useful for my project. Also, the character has a "stony"/pensive facial expression with subtle changes throughout.



The above clip, as well as having comedy value, also shows a fair amount of dramatic body movement as well as dramatic facial expressions such as smiling (out of fear?), shock, confusion and curiosity. It could also be used as a good example of how the facial muscles relate to each other.



The video above is useful as a reference for raw emotion - upset and shock in a crowd of people and the body language of the people who are comforting each other.