I have an hour before a render finishes so I thought I'd struggle to update this blog on a machine that's crying out in agony as it tries to render keyframes and keep up with my keystrokes. I've been quiet but busy. Perhaps too busy. Here is my latest effort from the teach-myself computer animation course I've been struggling with for the past few months. All I can say is that it doesn't look like the product of three week's work. There are still countless mistakes and problems with it – a hand passing through a microphone at one point, some spelling mistakes, the poor quality voice acting, the writing… However, this was another exercise in making mistakes and learning new tricks. Plus I got to mock Putin and his cronies for their criminal attitude towards dissent and their treatment of Pussy Riot. I've nearly solved the problem I had with animated clothing layers. The simpler way might have been to actually use a simulated cloth but that's far too advanced and I doubt if my computer could handle it. As it stands, Putin is wearing a very thick jacket and trousers and there are few problems with his body protruding through his clothes. I am however making improvements as I go along and I'm learning short cuts to make the whole process less elaborate. In fact, time permitting, my next effort might make it to this blog within the week. It's beginning to feel like many of the technical aspects of animating are solved. I know how to model a mesh, retopologise it, texture it, rig it, produce decent lip sync, and get it all rendered. My next task is to get to grips with the techniques of animating. I need to learn how to use f-curves to make movements feel more realistic, perhaps try some of the techniques outlined in animation manuals such as 'squeeze and stretch' method which is probably only half as less filthy as it sounds.
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