Animating HEAVY creatures

#1

Hello,
i’m looking for resources/links/tips&tricks about animating HEAVY and big creatures, quadrupeds and bipeds.
I am interested in understanding what makes a creature (or even a realistic cg big animal) looking HEAVY, big or huge…
I’m analyzing a lot clips from movies (i.e. Ice age, Jurassic park, iron giant, godzilla, king kong…) and a lot of live footage of elephants, hippos and rhinos… but now i am confused.
I understand what can make a human look heavy (or carrying/lifting a weight). But expecially with strong&big creatures (i.e.trex) i have a lot of doubts…

Thanks

#2

Animation Mentor is offering this new master class for Animals and Creatures:

http://www.animationmentor.com/masterclass/animalscreatures/overview.html

It’s a little expensive, but having graduated from AM, I know you will get out of it, what you put into it!

#3

I thought it’s all in the timing and spacing isn’t it ? Regardless of the animation character whether it’s human, creature or machine ?

Increasing the contrast between the key poses and using easing will make the animation more pronounced, no ?

Kind of like swinging fist in an arc motion and slamming onto a table top. If the frames of the fist were evenly spaced out and each frame is separated by a constant time (linear) as it falls from the top | position to the impact _ position, it doesn’t have as much “force” or “weight”. If we however, change the frames so that there are more frames closer to the top | position and lesser frames towards impact _ position, the impact will feel it has more energy or weight behind it.

#4

Yes i agree with chewedon,
it’s really very interesting to animate, such characters,

heavy, large, heavy weighted,
moves slowly,
assimilates a lot of energy for big movements (big anticipation before animation)

#5

Thank you ^ ^
It’s really very interesting to animate such creatures because of the amount (and the need) of overlapping actions and anticipation. But it’s easy to make mistakes and to have a slow-motion effect instead of the feeling of weight.
However i think that the best (and easiest) reference are well-animated dinosaurs (like Jurassic park) because of the clear exaggeration of secondary action (In legs, muscles, body and tails) and the release of energy.
I think that AM masterclass it’s very interesting but for the moment i can’t afford that.
Other tips are welcome ^ ^

#6

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