In WEEK 03 of Computer Animation Fundamentals with Professor Ting Liu, I received another set of Golden Pose tasks to create. I used the Ultimate Bony rig and Ultimate Beefy rig before, but this time I got to work with the Body Mechanic Rig. This rig was more advanced because it closely replicated real human body mechanics, like actual muscles, leg movements, and body balance. It was a bit more challenging, but also interesting because it felt more realistic while posing.
However, unlike the previous assignments, this time I was not allowed to use animated references. Professor Ting clearly told me that I could only use real-life photos or live-action videos as references, not anything already created by other artists in animation. She explained to me the importance of this rule, saying that using real-life materials helps me observe natural motion better and also teaches me about copyrights and creative originality, which are important for the professional field. This made me more aware of how essential it is to build my own observation skills rather than depending on existing animated work. It had four levels of challenge:
Level 1: Create a sad pose
Level 2: Create a regret pose
Level 3 (Final Boss): Make a 360-degree rotation video render of the pose
Since Professor Ting mentioned that she liked my previous week’s Ultimate Beefy Rig poses and saw good improvement, I wanted to push myself further this week. Based on her earlier feedback, I focused more on the shoulder joints, knee positioning, and overall balance of the rig. I tried to replicate the real-life references as accurately as I could while still keeping the poses expressive and natural.
A) SAD POSE
Step 1: Choosing the Reference and Planning
Step 2: Defining Silhouette and Final Render
Step 3: Adding Lights and Shadow
Step 4: Composing 360 degree Turntable
A) REGRET POSE
Step 1: Choosing the Reference and Planning
Step 2: Defining Silhouette and Final Render
Step 3: Adding Lights and Shadow
Step 4: Composing 360 degree Turntable
Step 4: Receiving the Feedback
After I submitted my animation, Professor Ting mentioned that she really liked my poses and said both the sad and regret emotion poses looked good and even the lights and shades are upgrading too. So, there wasn’t any specific feedback for me this time. However, At the end of the class, she gave a general feedback to everyone:
“When you are choosing your reference, don’t just go with your first idea. Try to go for the fourth idea instead, because the first idea usually comes to many people’s minds, and you might end up creating similar poses like others.”
So to make my work stand out, I have to think deeper, explore more ideas, and find something unique that reflects my own creativity.