butterflies for a musicvideo

[mental]

hello jan,

i just completed a similar shot myself with a swarm of 30 hand keyed butterflies. a few observations:

- first, use simple placeholder objects animated on motion paths to block out the general shape and timing of the handkeyed portion of the swarm. start with one cube animated at the correct velocity and path; then build from there.

- the motion path has to make sense physically but remember that you're animating for the camera. keep the butterflies close and have the same butterfly go off camera and come back into the shot if needed.

- velocity is really important. in your test animation they are a) going too slow) b) flying at a constant speed... they should not be constant. butterflies alternate between flying and gliding depending on the situation. this effects both the speed at which they travel and the rate at which they flap their wings.

- you're using each cube's path as a guide but be sure work in deviation from the flight path. they should move all sqiggly when flapping and smoother when gliding. in the particle animation loop you have the body tilting up or down depending on which stage the wing is flapping but the whole butterfly needs to move up or down as a whole.

- be sure to add slight collision events where butterflies narrowly try to avoid each other. this will add some sense of chaos to the swarm.

- you did hit the correct 'rowing' motion with your particle animation loop but just remember that butterflies flap their wings at up to 6 times per second when they become excited. in normal flight they average 4-5 flaps per second for the smaller variety and 3-4 for the larger. the larger butterflies such as the monarch glide as much as possible to conserve energy.

- depending on the size and type of environment the butterfly will move in different ways. if they're in a cave, there's going to be much more flapping and avoidance. if they're in a field the swarm should be alittle bit more spread out and calmer in their movements.

- think like a butterfly. go run around a field, flapping your arms if you have to :D

hope that helps
-mental

[bananamation]

many thanks to you mental, I appretiate your reply, lots of good stuff to think about. Now back to work, but first...put on my butterflydress and run out on that field ;)

/ jan

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.