Description

In this exercise, students will practice modeling, rigging, and animating a quadruped animal.

Instructions

  1. Watch the tutorials.
  2. Create a polygonal model a quadruped (four-footed animal) from scratch. I suggest a variation of a cat or dog.
  3. Use the Rigify add-on to add an animal rig.
  4. Adjust and paint vertex weights to create pleasing deformation as needed.
  5. Create an animated walk cycle for the animal.
  6. Set up a camera to frame the shot.
  7. To create a video of the viewport’s animation, save the file and set the render settings output folder to the project folder. Under File Format, choose FFMpeg Video, change the encoding format to MPEG-4.
  8. Choose View ⟶ Viewport Render Animation to create the animation.
  9. Save as LASTNAME-animal-rig-animation_.zip_ and upload to the submission dropbox.
  10. Double check that you’ve included all files and that your .zip file can be downloaded and opened. This should include:
    • .blend file
    • .mp4 video file
Learning Objectives

  1. Practice setting up Inverse Kinematics (IK) bone constraints.
  2. Practice modeling to good edge flow for deformation.
  3. Become familiarized with creating and binding an armature using the Rigify add-on.

Blender Tutorials

To get a deeper understanding of how Blender's rendering system works, have a look these tutorials

    Low Poly Animals

    Quadruped Locomotion

    Rig ANYTHING with Rigify

    Rubric

    Criteria Description Assessment Weight
    Attention to Detail This criteria looks at if the assignment was submitted on time, if each step was completed to a high degree of accuracy, and if file naming conventions were followed. 5 pts
    Learning by doing (Completed all steps) This criteria assess whether you completed the assignment's given set of instructions. This indirectly infers how well you acquired foundational skills and theory. 5 pts