Need some animation and modeling insight

#1

I’ve never had proper CG education so everything I know is from books, videos and personal experimentation.
I have some knowledge gaps that I want to fill and hope you can help me. I don’t intend to practically use any of these so you don’t have to be really explanatory, it just bugs me not having the slightest clue.

  1. How do you start modelling eyelids and what method is used for animating them ?
    What I find mind boggling is the polygonal density of the eyelids in the corners and the upper section where they fold when eyes are open. Also I’d like some elaboration on making eyelids for cartoon characters like Sonic where the eyelids are big and don’t have the usual “hole” (round) characteristics.
    As for the animation I have the feeling that morphs are used rather than bones but still don’t know how that folding to a so narrow space is done (the tool used).
  2. How do you model and animate a limb separated from a body (zombie style)?
    I don’t even think this is possible in C4D … I don’t know whether they model the two separated parts as a unified model and use some modifiers to decimate it or model two parts and be really careful to hide unattached polygons to avoid phong breaking.
    As for the animation I think bones do have to be linked with each other. Can they be unlinked during animation ?
  3. How do you animate a really stretchy character ? (Like Elasticgirl from the Incredibles)
    Can bones be scaled or deformed during a skin deformation to retain their properties ?
  4. How do you lip-sync (in C4D)?
    Do you make a library of morph-poses for every letter of the alphabet for every character ?
  5. How do you start modelling and how do you animate a character like Yaphit (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5691552/characters/nm0005172?ref_=tt_cl_t10)
    I can’t imagine how they bone something that grows hands and how they model those parts. Do they model it with the hands stretched or have a very dense polygon area that they deform freely with modifiers ?

I don’t think those questions are part of the standard GC classrooms …

#2

Answers (I think) I know…

  1. For a cartoony eye I make a spherical eyeball setup (I don’t connect eyelids to face). I use rotational pose morphs. See here:
    Rigging Eyelids through Pose Morph in Mixing (Rotational)

I then use an FFD deformer under each eye to make the unique shape I want.

  1. Look at Aleksey’s tutorials here:
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBG-e3Usr3b4oMyxG66imQ

Stretchiness can be activated in basic C4d rigs and still retain volume, but you’d need custom SplineIK solution. See here:

  1. Usual way: Modelling a small library of morph phenomes is needed for lip syncing. Example here:
    http://www.garycmartin.com/mouth_shapes.html
    Then animate between those few shapes to make lip sync animation.

Newer way: Still need to model a small library of morph phenomes. Get an iPhone with depth sensor (iPhone X or above). Use and app like Moves by Maxon to control your morphs with a recorded face capture session. My example.

#3

Hi - You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Those are 3 different disciplines that take a long time and hard work to learn.

Modelling / Rigging / Character Animation

Start with getting your models right so that they will deform well with animation… Then learn some rigging … then learn some character animation in that order… it’s a lot to learn even though Cinema 4D has made it simpler than other 3d packages …

90% of most people’s knowledge who’ve been doing this stuff for a long time comes from studying stuff online and from friends … And from posting here :slight_smile:

(Sorry don’t want to sound patronising you may already know this)

#4

Great and spot-on info. Thank you!