BSLIVE Motion Capture and Layering Animation in Blender
In this episode, I mainly improvising with the idea of motion capturing animation and layering the result using NLA feature and mixing the action stripes. This feature of Blender is really quite powerful and especially with Blender 2.82 alpha that I am using here, we can almost perform the animation in realtime.
There are plenty of animation techniques that can be done inside Blender that I wanted to talk about:
0) basic key frame – use keying sets
1) motion capture anim / auto key record
2) action – stash – layering NLA
3) animation duplicate, offset, copy linking
4) shape keys morph, face blendshapes, sculpt
5) grease pencil hand drawn animation and loop modifier with offset
6) bone animation *
7) procedural animation, expression based, using Animation Nodes or SVerchok
8) baking animation action
Something I learn about animation: we really cannot rush animation and it’s a good idea to plan the animation before hand, like seriouly plan animation. Although sometimes it is also can be fun to improvise just like when you listen to music and start dancing.
While making this I was actually studying the opening title of “My Neighbour Totoro” (1983) and I believe all beginners computer and CGI animator should start studying this seriously:
https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/my-neighbor-totoro/
Probably TOTORO (Miyazaki Hayao and Ghibli Studio) is of the animation that really captured my passion when I was little. Besides all other animations like Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Disney animations, Japanese robot animations, Doraemon, etc. Years before Pixar and 3D animations.
These days, animators are probably overwhelmed with so many tools available. Beside Blender 3D (the best open source animation tool ever exist), you can actually animate on iPad with app like ProCreate, FlipAClip, or maybe 2D painter like using Krita, or maybe animating in VR like Goro Arts shows on his Twitter.
Animation is a great medium and especially with emerging platform like AR, animators can really have fun to tell stories and making entertainment contents.
