This week, I focused on developing the environment for the remaining scenes and continued refining the animations based on George’s feedback. The process involved polishing earlier work, adding more props, and ensuring the entire project looked cohesive and well-integrated.
Environment Updates
Over the summer, I had created rough layouts and modelled the basic structures of the environment. As the project progressed, I worked on polishing these elements and adding more details. I modelled most of the props myself, including the room, but for some smaller items, I used pre-made assets to save time. However, picking the right props for each shot was challenging. I had to ensure that everything worked together visually and didn’t feel like random elements from different projects. It was important to make the environment feel cohesive and consistent with the story’s tone.
One detail that made a big difference was the addition of wires. It might sound simple, but the wires added a lot of depth and helped bring the environment to life. They tied everything together and made the scenes feel more complete.
Animation Challenges 1.1
While finalizing the environment, I continued working on the animations and addressing some lingering issues:
- The Turning Scene:
Even after applying George’s earlier feedback, the robot’s turning motion still felt unnatural. The hips and weight shift were tricky to fix, and the robot often moved awkwardly or clipped through the camera. After additional adjustments and guidance from George, I managed to improve the motion, making it feel more balanced. At one point, we even considered deleting the turn altogether, but since the camera animation transitions through this moment, focusing on the wires before moving to the next shot, we decided to keep it and refine it further. - Picking Up the Blower:
This scene also had its share of challenges. Initially, the blower’s rotation was incorrect, and it moved toward the camera in an unrealistic way. I reworked the motion and adjusted the placement to ensure it felt more natural within the scene. - Pressing the Blower:
Another tricky part was getting the thumb press right when the robot pushes the blower. The timing felt off, and it didn’t look convincing. George helped me by sketching over my animation to show how the motion should flow. With his input, I adjusted the timing, and the scene started to come together.
Balancing the Process
Between refining the animations and building the environment, this week required a lot of attention to detail. Making sure the props, animations, and camera transitions all worked cohesively was a challenging but rewarding task. The tweaks and adjustments were small, but they made a big difference in tying everything together and creating a polished result.