Run Cycle Results

That's it then, I have completed my run cycle challenge.

I have done my normal run, knight run and soldier run cycles over the past 3 weeks and I'm pretty pleased with the results (although I'm sure I wont be in a few weeks).

Ill post the 2 run cycles I've already posted up first and then I'll post my newest run, enjoy...

I've also started work on my next project, which is something different for me.

I decided to attempt some modelling as I have done very little of it in 3DS Max so far and its something I would like to get good at. I've not attempted a human character yet so its been quite a challenge so far.

Don't worry about thinking how bad it is, and how many horrible mistakes there are, I'm sure ill find most of them as I work on it, but by all means point any out if you spot them, it will help me further down the road :)

I've also updated my artwork page, so give that a look too :) 

Cryptic Soldier Run

So the final run cycle of the challenge is upon us, and time is running short...

The cycle is going well so far as I have animated the feet manually again and not like I attempted to with the knight. The weight is coming along better with this run although its not altogether there and I struggled slightly with the arm movements which need some more tweaking.

Other than that the run is going quite well and its done in the style of a soldier keeping low to avoid fire while also running. Here it is, feedback will be appreciated. :)

2 Down 1 To Go

Today marks the end of my 2nd weekly run cycle and the beginning of my 3rd and final run cycle...the soldier.

As for the knight, it turned out well after the problem with the feet and legs, which I had to reanimate, but the final piece would have been better if I had managed to put more time into it and didn't have so many problems.

The main problem I can see with the animation is the weight. Especially the weight of the steps which hasn't come across very well for such a heavy character.

I tried to get the sword arm to rotate less than the other arm and I think that worked fairly well with the lean to one side, but I would have to spend more time getting all the weight right on this character.

Enough excuses though...here it is...

Cryptic Knight Run

I've been working on my knight run over the past few days but haven't got much done recently due to being busy (although its not that bad most of its been fun) so I best work harder as I only have till Wednesday before the deadline for this run is up.

When doing this run I decided to use the Cryptic AR's foot controls rather than moving the model manually as I did with the first run, this has made it harder for me to get to grips with how this works and I have experienced problems with the legs twitching that I haven't quite been able to fix yet.

I decided to have the shield on the back of the knight as I have already done a run animation with the Roman soldier who had a shield and a sword so I decided to mix this one up somewhat. 

I also need to work on the weight some more as the knight is carrying heavy armour and weapons. The idea was to have the sword arm much more tense and not swinging much to contrast the other arm which is working harder to compensate.

That's it for this update, as always any feedback is always appreciated .

Weekly Running Challenge

I've decided to make myself a challenge, I may not go through with the whole thing but having some solid deadlines should get me to work that bit harder.

The challenge is to do a different run cycle every week using the Cryptic AR's different characters, that being a normal person, a knight and a soldier.

I can go back to the run cycles afterwards and polish them some more afterwards to make them better and make them more like portfolio pieces than something I did for a few days but for now I only have a week per run :)

So the first week is now over and the normal run is done, well for the week anyway. Here it is.

Next up, the knight run...

Cryptic Run

Well I'm back in Cardiff to clean up my room and grab all of my stuff from uni this weekend, and then the joy of trying to get all that stuff back on a 2 and a half hour train journey.

But in terms of work...I decided to give the tiger animation a break for a few days as its gotten to the point where I need some feedback and by waiting a few days I can see it from a different view and possibly spot the mistakes and things that need editing. Its nice to have the luxury of leaving it for a while which is something you don't get when working to a timeline.

So the past couple of days I've been playing with the Cryptic Animation Rig which Cryptic Studios have released (http://www.crypticar.com) and I'm really enjoying using a rig that is used professionally and has so many customization options to look and work exactly how I want it to.

So to practice using this I've been working on a run cycle using the AR and I can already tell its an intuitive way of working and I have already got something that looks decent even after only a couple of days of work.