Helping Hands Timelapse (Patreon)

I think they’re getting bigger :) 14 hours, oh boy... I hope someone is watching these... :)Maybe I need another format? Something more focused on specific things or techniques?Tutorials instead of raw footage?

Let me know in the comments.

Anyhow! Animation Tier supporters have access to a 14-hour-long video of me doing Helping Hands from start to finish.

As usual, some thoughts...On one hand, it was much easier than the others. I had a clear scope in mind: something small and focused - one loop, one camera angle, done fast, no new techniques, no new things to learn, and so on. It helped because even when I eventually went off the rails, everything was still relatively focused. And I finally feel comfortable with the tools and workflow, so this time there was much less frustration and backtracking. Animation Tools were crucial here, because they allowed me to focus on animation and leave all the technical hiccups behind. I used bone constraints constantly throughout the process.

On the other hand, animating such a small movement was hard! Most animations are aggressive, with wide arcs and a lot of jiggle. They’re relatively easy to make and loop, and because they’re naturally very action-driven, it’s easy to make them interesting. But what if you need to animate only a small hand movement, while everything else still has to stay interesting and feel natural? It took me a while to figure out how to approach this. Layer by layer, I had to build smooth animation for every part. In the end, the result is great - I love how it came out — but it was not an easy road :)

For someone very far removed from any rigging shenanigans, I was very proud to set up a rubbing setup with constraints in such a way that I only needed to animate one bone, while the body, fingers, and hand all acted naturally.

My expression workflow has also improved, and now her emotions are clearer and more interesting. Still not perfect - my eye movement, for example, is still far from perfect - but I’m getting there :)

I’m continuing to improve the tools, and I have a lot of ideas for how the animation process can be automated and assisted even further.

I need to think in advance about sound design and VA. They take time, and I’m not always prepared for that. I was hoping to release HH for patrons first, but unfortunately sound and VA took more time than expected.

Anyway, I think I’ve got this :) Hopefully my next animations will come out more steadily and with better quality.

Thank you for your support! Find Timelapse and Full video in the archive! Timestamps if you interested in the content:

1. Pose block out 2. Lighting - 00:35:003. Sculpt - 00:50:004. Constraints Setup - 01:10:005. Loop 1 - 01:43:006. Loop 1 Expression - 03:47:007. Physics and polish - 04:52:008. Loop 2 - 05:25:009. Loop 3 - 06:52:0010. Polish - 10:28:0011. Hands - 11:46:0012. Davinci Draft - 13:40:00