Research and Modeling

This week, my team mainly focused on continuing to model assets. One of the things we received feedback on in terms of our animatic was that the beginning was more comprehensible than the rest of the animatic due to having clearer modeled assets, so we need to focus on equally building up each part of our short rather than one specific set.

My focus was more on research and development for the roc in our short, as well as beginning to model the leg brace for the character's brother. I spent more time on the roc, so I didn't end up getting very far on the brace. It's also been quite a while since I've done any hard surface modeling, so it took a little bit to get back into the groove of it and figure out how to tackle this particular model.

[ID from alt text: A wide screenshot of Maya, showing models of a pair of legs and the beginning of a leg brace blocked out. There are two image places of an old polio leg brace for reference. End ID]

I mostly did research on how to accomplish the feathers for the roc. When attempting to us XGen for them, I found that they would be pretty hard to maneuver if we wanted detailed control over the wings when animating. However, I wouldn't be opposed to using it for the feathers of the body.

I think that ultimately, a combination of simulated feathers for the body to enable realist wind and movement for those, with modeled feathers for the wings in order to have better control over them while animating, will be the best avenue to explore for future research.