CAGD 493 Week 6 Reflection - Christopher Coombs

    Hello, and welcome back to my blog, everyone! My name is Christopher Coombs, and this is a reflection on my sixth week of working with quadrupeds. For my quadruped run cycle, I have only a minor update on my overall progress. I think the leopard's motion is looking pretty good now. I made a few minor adjustments to the animation. This is what it currently looks like:

    I fixed the issue with the shoulders, and gave them a bit more of an offset, though it's not super noticable. Using the motion trail tool, I was able to give the head more of a natural bounce. I've also separated the back legs just a bit more. Lastly, I spread out the toes for the front and back paws upon making contact with the ground, to add a bit of a squash effect. As for the latter half of the week, I've been working on completing my blockout for an idle animation. Rather than creating a stale game cycle where it just stands there doing nothing, I decided to push the idea a little forward. My plan for this new animation was to have the leopard hear something and wake up from its nap, stretching its legs and yawning before standing fully upright. As always, there are plenty of good references to find in relation to this.


Here is the rough blockout that I managed to accomplish:

    Since then, I've played a little bit with the timing and added in some small details, such as the ear twitching before opening its eyes and the turn of its head as it yawns. I've just put it into spline today, in fact. Here is what I have so far:


    Of course, there are many things I need to iron out in this version, but it is most certainly good progress. I've added some holds in the two stretches, but I think it also needs a little shake to it. I've not paid much attention to the tail or shoulders yet, but that is definitely on the list of things to do. Hopefully, next week I'll have an opportunity to show my progress to the class and get more great feedback. Regardless, I'll do what I can next week to further adjust the timing and get the movements flowing more naturally. 

    That's all for now! Thanks for checking in. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on the idle by the end of next week. 

                                                                                                                                   - Christopher Coombs



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