P5

HOW TO GUIDE 

ANIMATION 

STEP 1: 

Before you start modelling your character, it's good to find a diagram or profile of what your model is based after. 

STEP 2: Create a sphere and selected the vertices and moved them accordingly into shape with the image plain.

This will leave you with a good shape.

STEP 3: Start modelling the skin more and getting more details in my model.

STEP 4: Move onto the shape of my body. Connect these two shapes and go back your side and front profile views to morph the body according to the image plains.

This will leave you with a shape like so.
STEP 5: yYou should then focus on combining the shapes to make one body (Combing the tail with the body with the limbs and head).

Then I focused on the detailing some more before texturing the model.

STEP 6: After the modeling is complete, you need to start with the rigging. You have to create a bone structure that matches that of a real raccoon.

Step 7: Correct the hierarchy of your bone structure.

STEP 8:

Have the front and back legs of one side moving forwards every 20 frames and then backwards every 20 frames with the other side of the body moving in the opposite order to create an animation loop of your character walking.

This should be done by setting key-frames each 20 frames and rotating each of your joints individually at each point as Maya will create the transition from key-frame to key-frame.

Step 9:
Have your Raccoon's tail in an animation loop, swinging side to side.

Rotate the top two points on the tail +10 degrees each in your first key-frame, rotate them back in another key-frame, and rotate them -10 degrees in the final key-frame.

Step 10:
Next up is a sequence where your Raccoon has to push over a trashcan (or interact in any other way). Sit your character on their hind legs when they do this, before going back on all fours as the Trashcan falls down.

Follow a similar process here, marking each key-frame with some slight rotation on the joints of your character's body. This will be harder than before as you will have to move a lot more joints for this part of the animation.

The neck, tail, legs, and back will all have to be rotated and animated in their own distinct way to match how a Raccoon would move in real life.

Step 11:
Once your raccoon is at full stretch, reverse all animation and key-frames so they get back down in the same way they got up. Otherwise, the animation could be messy and result in the need for a lot more work that would have been unnecessary.