Touched Up Motion

In response to feedback I received on Monday, I tweaked the animation in both shots where you can see the mom. People suggested that she looked a little stiff and that I should add some more motion in her legs. So, that's what I've done :)

color ideas

Animatic!

Here's the animation I am submitting for the animation grade. Hope you enjoy it!

Updated shot 4

Animatic version2

I have made some improvements upon the last animatic. Namely, I adjusted some of the timing and improved the animation of shots 1,2,3, and 5. I think with the timing changes and improved animation, the story is more clear. I will be adding animation (beyond the plain blocking) for the rest of the shots as well. Also, I changed some of the cameras for these shots slightly as well. Please comment if you have any more suggestions.

I am worried that the pacing of the beginning is a little funny. The dog builds up excitement, and then by shot 4, it looks like he is just lying there. He is supposed to be panting, and I believe with actual animation (coming soon) I will make this more clear. However, I'm wondering if the shot before that (from the dog's point of view where he looks up at the cabinet) is slowing down the pace too much? I believe sound effects will improve this (panting/whining...). But, to see, I rendered a version with and without this third shot. Perhaps without the shot, the pace is better? Again, comments would be great!

With shot 3




Without shot 3

Animatic Version1

Here is my first version of the animatic. The goal of this is for me to get the layout and general timing/action figured out. At this point, my action is just blocked in, and the motion is stepped between keyframes. I haven't added much detail or finely timed out the motion.
I am planning on adding time to both the third shot where the dog looks up at the cupboard, and add a little time to where the mom holds the empty box.
If you have any suggestions, please leave me some comments--all suggestions are appreciated!

Blocked in motion coming...

I have been working on setting up all my shots and blocking in the motion to make sure the overall timing and story make sense. The goal is to get a complete first pass together by tomorrow. So, look back tomorrow...

Character Traits

Dog (aka "Sparky")
-Simple, gullible, pleases easily, trusting
-Persistent because he's an optimist and expects everything will work out
-Loves mom and bones
-His reaction to not having the bone is at first surprised because he was really expecting it to be there then really sad it's not
-Then he's happy and all transgressions are forgotten

Shot List

1. Close up of dog's nose sniffing--omh010 (for Old Mother Hubbard, shot 1)
   
2. Wideshot of kitchen as dog sniffs and barks--omh020
3. Dog's point of view looking up--omh030
4. Over dog's shoulder looking up at the door--omh040
5. Over dog's shoulder as mom's hand opens the cabinet (perhaps same as 3?)--omh050
6. Looking down at the dog's sad reaction from the mom's point of view--omh060
7. Looking up at the mom with bone (from dog's point of view or perhaps higher?)--omh070
8. Same as 6--see dog's happy reaction--omh080
   

Rigging Update

This week, I have been in the process of rigging my models. So far, Mother Hubbard has an FK spine and IK legs/arms because she mainly will be reaching for things (doornob, cupboard, bone box). She also has stretchy arms, facial blend shapes for her smile, and set driven keys to control her hands and feet.

My doggie also has IK legs and an FK spine. His tail is FK, and his ears are stretchy with an IK spline solver controlling them. I am considering adding a jiggle deformer to the ears if I have time to figure it out. He also has blend shape facial expressions. Both models have yet to be weight painted, but that is coming soon!

Principles of Animation

Here are some youtube links of clips that highlight some of Disney's principles of animation that I plan to use in my video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ZKGaxflCs&NR=1
*This shows the anticipation of the dog about to bark as well as the follow-through of his ears.

http://www.youtube.com/user/boltmovie?blend=1&ob=4
*In this clip, bolt looks up at the tall buildings, and this is an example of staging that I would like to use when the dog looks up at the cabinet. It will show how small he is in relation to the kitchen.