Tuesday 2 March 2010

"Nnfffhghghhhhh!"

In case you didn't guess from the title, this week I have started a weightlifting shot. To be honest, I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about this. I got completely carried away by the Winter Olympics, and was thinking about doing some kind of ice related sport as my final body mechanics shot this term. However, in the end I decided to go for something I thought I should do, rather than for what I felt I wanted to do. The first two shots I did were both propelling the body along, so I thought it would be good practice to do a more stationary shot. And everyone loves a good weight test don't they?! I was also attracted to the challenge of making something look really heavy.

And actually, once I started to really analyze the video reference for this, I got really into it! I have no idea why anybody would want to engage in this sport, as it looks painful and dangerous, but once you really go into what they do, it's fascinating! The key to it seems to be to get some momentum going on the weights to launch them upwards, and then get the full body beneath it to power it upwards.

Really interesting body mechanics vs. physics.

So here's my first blocking pass. I'm pretty pleased with it, but feel that it's lacking character and any real oomph. I think I'm starting to get the hang of blocking things out, and continuing with my shot to a certain stage. However, the polishing stage is still a real issue for me, and also, I tend to err on the repressed side of caution. I feel that everything I animate is just a little dull. And the motion might all be correct for the most part, but there's no wow factor to it. So I think I need to start trying to exaggerate things a little more.

...That sentence illustrates the problem exactly. I end a sentence about exaggeration with the words "a little more". Aaaaaargh! I need to get out of that mindset! I'm going to exaggerate things! By a lot! That's what makes it exaggerated!

So anyway, let me know what you think of it so far. Thanks for dropping by, I appreciate you reading my woffle :)


Weightlifting animation blocking from Sarah Knight on Vimeo.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Sarah,

    I think it looks really good. I'm only in class one, but I don't even know how you manage to do this! I hope they ease you into this at animation mentor.

    It looks GREAT.

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  2. Haha, thanks Derek! Yeah, don't worry, they definitely ease you into it. I only knew the very basics of Maya before I started, and now I feel confident about tackling body mechanics shots that involve picking objects up! All thanks to AM. So just give it your best shot, and get lots of feedback from people, and you'll pick it up in no time. Have fun!

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