Process
We got the first few days to create our little worm dude, it took me longer than most because I kept changing his design. At first, I wanted him to be a monarch caterpillar but I couldn't get that to work, so I tried another design, but that one didn't work either. So I used reference pictures of tropical worms to create my lil' dude. After the worm was created we got to put it into, you guessed it, Adobe Aftereffects! The first thing in this program to do was to use the puppet pin tool to be able to create the arch of the worm. But, before you make the arch you must make a keyframe of the worm laying flat. Then just grab the pins and move them around until the worm is arched but it doesn't look too awkward. To fix the problem with the antennas you starch them and they should move naturally with the head instead of going way too far forward. After that is set, it's time for the background and shadow. I added the background first but the order doesn't really matter. I imported the files from the bouncing ball to create this background and make sure to drag it down to the timeline. For the shadow, copy all the worm layer and make it into a new comp. and change the brightness to put it all the way down so it's dark. Then flip it upside down so it's right under the worm and make the worm parent the shadow so now the shadow will follow everything the worm does. After the background and show are added create a null object. The null object will guide the worm across the screen so you just have to parent the null to the worm. Use the positional keyframe to get the null on both sides of the screen and the worm should follow it across the screen.
Learned
I have learned many things in this project. As I have mentioned in my last blog post, we have started working in a new program so all this stuff is pretty new to me. I am still trying to figure out which keyframes I need to make because not all are going to be rotational or positional. I am still working on trying not to let things slide around too much and trying to get used to the null object dragging things across the screen. I learned how to better my skills in Adobe Aftereffects and Photoshop.
Different
If I could change anything about this it would be the way my inchworm inches. I think it looks too awkward or maybe I didn't make it arch enough or there could possibly be some small sliding going on. It just doesn't flow effortlessly, the head looks a bit weird everytime the worm goes up. His colors also match the landscape in a way, which makes him sorta blend in, around his back at least. I would probably change the amount of time I spend adding detail than animating, but then again, it wouldn;t look this good would it?
Same
I think the background looks cool, it is the same one as the bouncing ball, but sadly in class, if I want the animated subject to look good I can't work on a different detailed background every time. I do like my worm, he's cute and the animation looks ok. I really like the shadow that follows him and his eyes are really cute. As I have said, the animation looks good, just not great.
Experience
This has been a very fun experience because I have gotten to learn how to animate an even bigger and more complex object. It took me a while to do this project (Up until the last day I believe) but I am glad I took my time because I think the extra time I took made it look better. The detail is definitely better than most of my classmates but it may not look the best in terms of animation and technical stuff.Overall I am happy with how my worm turned out, I think it's really cool and I really like it. I am really excited for the next project and for the rest of the year actually. As always, I am excited to continue my learning in animation and for whats to come next.
Stay healthy at the beginnings of the sickness seasons,
SophietheFirst
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