Animation Work

For the TV series "Things (I Cosi)" by B. Bozzetto, I implemented a MEL script that can create a database of actions that each character is able to perform. The system was dynamic in the sense that any animator could build the character action (e.g. walking) and, once saved in a particular folder, that action was immediately available for another animator. Selecting a character in the scene launches a special script which shows a graphical interface with a description of the icon buttons, each representing a cycle of movement for the selected character (see figure).

Pressing the icon for the relevant action to transfer the scene, the system enables scaling of the duration, at which point the action is inserted at the point in the timeline selected by the cursor. Differences compared to Clip-to Maya Animation: the leaders needed to create clips of animation, but also to intervene on the keyframe, which as not particularly agile within Maya. Clips are structures that allow you to touch the keyframe, but not after you bake the animation, however the revised method completely alters the curve of the original animation by inserting a key (keyframe) for each single frame.