Character Brief
The character I made is a dark twist on an angel that has fallen from heaven and is trying to complete a mission from God despite the fact it has fallen from grace. The angel still has divine power despite falling and is supposed to be very ominous and powerful.
Ideas informed by research
I brainstormed different ideas about what the character would do and what three sequences I could make.
I had the idea of one of the sequences being a show of power with his wings extended mostly inspired by this scene from Supernatural (2005).
I also had ideas about using religious imagery like having him reach out with a hand posed like the pointing in the Creation of Adam
I also considered having his pose in the air be reminiscent of Jesus on the cross with his arms out and feet crossed.
When coming up with the sequence where the character ets up after the fall I was inspired by superhero fight scenes and had the image of a superhero climbing out of a crater after being punched into the ground in my head. I was also thinking about using a zombie inspired walk during the walk away.
Idea Sketches
References and research
I collected references of wing movement during take off and flight so I could apply it to my character.
Self reference
I recorded self-references of me acting out each sequence fully and then used these to create my storyboards to ensure I had accurate anatomy.
I am aiming to create a realistic style of animation because of the realistic character model I am using and due to the tone of the character being darker and horror themed as it fits the sort of gritty, realism vibe.
Broken down sequences
1) Get up after fall from heaven
– realign neck
-move shoulders
– slowly get up to knees/feet
– stand from crouching
– walk away with a slight limp and hunch
2) Pose in air
– crouch to build up to jump
– open wings- jump and flap
– at apex hover and pose
– land using wings to slow landing
3) Reach out and explode person using powers
– turn head towards block
– tilt head
– start walking towards the block
– reach out while walking
– touch block
– block explodes into smaller blocks
– draw hand back slightly
– carry on walking through the pile
Why these sequences?
Sequence 1 (getting up after falling from grace) is a core part of this characters backstory. It demonstrates his motivation and how durable and powerful he is.
Sequence 2 (posing in the air) is a show of power meant to scare anyone who sees it or to convince people to bow down before him. It solidifies his position as a horror character.
Sequence 3 (exploding the block) is him testing out his powers after the fall and realising he is still able to use them. He tilts his head in this sequence to show he’s curious about why he can still use them. This sequence is meant to be ominous and again show him as a monstrous supernatural being.
Applying the 12 principles
- Squash and Stretch – I don’t think I can apply squash and stretch to my animation due to the rig and weight painting of my character.
- Anticipation – building up to an action before it happens. In the second animation before my character takes flight he will crouch down and bring his arms and wings close to his body before spreading out to take off.
- Staging – I will create a backdrop and stage for my character while rendering.
- Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose – straight ahead action is when you keyframe in order one by one and pose-to-pose is when you start with the start and end then do the middle then fill in the gaps. I will be using pose-to-pose animation for all my sequences in order to get a more polished result.
- Follow Through and Overlapping Action – Wing and arm movement while walking, arm movement while flying.
- Ease In, Ease Out – more keyframes at the star and end of each action to show acceleration and deceleration, I will take care to keyframe more at the start and end of actions.
- Arcs – natural movement can be tracked in arcs it makes, The arms and wing movement will be using arcs when it is being animated with forward kinematics.
- Secondary Action – a secondary action compliments the main action going on in a scene, I will add wing movement when my character is not flying and head movement.
- Timing – more keyframes in a time will make motion look slower and smoother but less will look faster and rougher, I will work out the best timing using self reference and storyboarding.
- Exaggeration – using extreme poses to make the animation more exciting, I will push poses in my self-reference videos and try to push them even further in storyboards.
- Solid Drawing – having a clear understanding of form and anatomy, doesn’t really apply to 3D animation.
- Appeal – visual appeal, making an animation interesting to look at, I think my sequences will be interesting to look at through the demonstration of the character and the intentional movement choices.
Storyboards
Sequence 1
Sequence 2
Sequence 3
Lots of arcs in this sequence due to the arm and wing movement also good anticipation in the crouch before taking off.
References
Battell, M., Battell, R. (n.d.) CF1-20090730-1501-244-249 Swallow taking off from wire at 20fps 2-7 of 9 [Montage] Available online: Elegant Montages Show the Beauty of Birds in Flight | WIRED [Accessed: 12/02/24]
Michelangelo, B. (c.1512) Creation of Adam [Fresco] Available online: Michelangelo Buonarroti The Creation of Adam painting – The Creation of Adam print for sale (paintingandframe.com) [Accessed: 11/03/24]
PBH2 (2014) How A Bird Takes Off [Gif] Available Online: The Most Epic GIFs In The History Of The Internet (pbh2.com) [Accessed: 12/02/24]
Unknown (2013) Season 4 Castiel [Gif] Available Online: Season 4 Castiel on Make a GIF [Accessed: 06/02/24]
Unknown (2017) White bird flapping on black background shooting with high speed camera phantom flex [Gif] Available Online: White bird flapping on black background shooting with high speed camera phantom flex on Make a GIF [Accessed: 14/03/24]