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Hash, Inc. - Animation:Master

Poor Thom....a bad bug problem


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That looks .... really nice. I do have to wonder, however, why a hexapod would be using a barely-modified quadruped walk cycle instead of one designed to maximize the advantages of the hexapodal physiology. There is a sound reason why insects in real life are nearly always moving 3 legs at a time when they transit - they're always supported by a tripod and never have to be concerned with overbalancing.

 

step 1 - move right front, right rear, and left middle

step 2 - move left front, left rear, and right middle

 

This gives you alternating tripod support on every step, and to me would be the "natural" walk cycle of any hexapod. What I could see happening with your critter is to have it use the 3/3 walk cycle for anything up to a very fast scurry, and then transition into a modified gallop to give that "hop-leap-pounce" effect at the very end.

 

And yes, I have read entirely too much science fiction in my life. :)

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What I could see happening with your critter is to have it use the 3/3 walk cycle for anything up to a very fast scurry, and then transition into a modified gallop to give that "hop-leap-pounce" effect at the very end.
I quite agree - a last moment transition to a gallop-type motion would heighten the effect of the pounce.
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Okay... that's just wrong... I mean... I thought Thom was our mascot for cripes sake... :o:huh::blink:

 

Still... good animation though Cory... :D

Awww...he can take it! He's tough! You should some of the falls he's taken on my computer :D

The next shot would be a bloodied Thom flipping the bug over head then impaling it with a giant sword he had hidden in his waistband, and then triumphantly shaking his fists in the air while straddling the defeated beast. I just ran out of time..

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That looks .... really nice. I do have to wonder, however, why a hexapod would be using a barely-modified quadruped walk cycle instead ... gallop to give that "hop-leap-pounce" effect at the very end.

 

And yes, I have read entirely too much science fiction in my life. :)

I've experimented many long hours on this subject. The alternating gait is great for walking but even hexapods have a different running cycle (it's not the one I used either, but...). I have actions for those as well. Once you reach a certain speed the legs are moving so fast it looks ridiculous. If you want the bug to move faster, naturally you would increase the stride length. The stride length on this particular beast is limited by the physiology of his legs. There was no way to make the stride longer without having legs pass thru each other. Now I could have made some fancy maneuvering to adjst the legs to make them work, but it would look even more "busier" than the shorter stride length. In the end it has to "look" good (to me anyway). The creature's size also was a factor. This guy is much larger than a roach. I've seen video footage of even alligators abandoning the lizard walk and going straight to a bounding motion when attacking. Have you ever seen a guard dog attack? He goes from standing still to full out bounding in a matter of a coupla hops, I mean quick. I've never seen an animal go from standing, to jogging, to running, to bounding like that when they are on the aggressive. It's always PHHHTT, BOOM!, lickety split. That's what I was shooting for here. I am working on a prone to standing action to insert at the beginning, and then some feet sliding trying to get traction motion , which will act like a little bit of anticipation. Like I said in the first post, I just wanted to see if I could make this thing look like an attack. I hammered out the bounding action, animated the leap and stab in the chor, rendered, and liked what I saw, so I thought I would share. I added a coupla cameras to get different perspectives. A couple hours work. I might polish it up some more. I dunno.

 

It's true. You haven't lived until you've seen Thom pop out of the ground, grow a thick coat of yellow fur, prance around like a drunken drag queen and then get decapitated by a miniskirt-wearing cat-girl who wags his head around like a pom-pom.

 

No, really:

http://hiruko.cool.ne.jp/am/composit_02_1k.wmv

WOW! Now that was cool! What kinda weird Michael Jackson moonwalking taunt was Thom doing there?

:huh:

 

Hey, you should've warned us that this is R rated. I'm squeemish ;)

 

Nice work Cory. I guess Thom was so scared he starts bleeding before he's pierced by the creature's arm.

 

Artistic license. :)

I thought I did warn you in the sub header :unsure:

 

If I saw that coming at me I probably emit another type of fluid...

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