Liz Ard
patreon
WIP: Still going...60%!
🕑 Added 2024-11-01 09:52:09 +0000 UTC
Hello! Weekly WIP :)
This one is taking really looong...I mean, I knew it would, but still! I'm starting to get at the stage where I already can only look at the things I don't really love of what's done, but I know if I push through and keep going at it litte by little, it will be worth it at the end. It always is! And now I really want to finish it before the end of next month because I have other new ideas pilling up that I also want to get started on...
Look at this clean and almost organized timeline!!...that's a lie, the green/nest means that there's clutter inside it. But that also means all of those are basically done!
I currently have a total of 51 seconds animated of a total of 85. So about 60%! There's already 23 separated shots/scenes animated in Blender, as well. They're all mostly short clips, but it starts pilling up.
Good thing is, I managed to do what I wanted last week, which was finish every Estinien shot, and rig at least one more character.
So now I have all of the main characters of Eorzea Academy! The student Scions: Lizard, G'raha, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Estinien and Krile. Krile looks so cute that I actually added one more shot I wasn't planning with her.
As far as I know, there isn't a single official Eorzea Academy art of her in color, so I don't know how her uniform was supposed to go. I couldn't find any fanart either, so I don't think there's a fandom consensus on that! We really need more Eorzea Academy enjoyers. Maybe we'd even get a second volume!!!
Anyway, based on this pannel of the manga, I tested out two option:
Her usual yellow looks much cuter and just right, so I went with that. She's got special permission from principal Tataru to wear a dyed one. I also increased her bow's size after to look even cuter.
I also started getting Aymeric and Haurchefant ready for their one clip as well!
I'm having a little bit of trouble with Aymeric's rig, but I know I can fix it, eventually. At least enough so I can use it in the video.
Aymeric wears his uniform like Alphinaud, except without the yellow vest thing underneath. Haurchefant's is a good boy and didn't cause me extra work with his uniform! Just his tie tucked in. I just realized I still need t o adjust the size of his ears...
And I also need at least...10 more characters?! There's so many I want to include... thankfully! We have good news~ the new Dawntrail compatible Mektools is out!!! Which is SO helpful to rig them! I already tested it with Estinien and Krile and it definitely took some time off rigging characters....and I'm sure it could make things even easier.
Apparently there's a button here to import characters without using Textools?! I didn't test it, but whenever I have the proper time I will check out all of those new functions. There's an animation library thing as well that I have to figure out, because it could save everyone a lot of time!
But right now, just from the basics, we don't have to parent the hair joints anymore. It already does it automatically! :D So if you're working on your own animations and learning everything, highly recommend checking the new version out.
I'll have to test it all too, whenever I have more free time. Maybe when I'm finished with this video!
I think it was a good amount of progress! I feel like whenever I write my goal for next week here I try harder to reach it, like I have to commit to it! So for next week...I want to have at least 3 more characters with their respective clips animated! I might get busier again with work, but I'll do my best to make it happen. I want to finish this already!!!
Thank you very much for your support!
Comments
Fioh Sion
Eyyyy lets go! I can't wait to see the finished results! π
Liz Ard
It can be overwhelming at first, but it's worth it! And it does become easier with time :) I hope you're able to get started on your ideas too! Whenever you feel like you're ready to play around with characters, I recommend thinking of simple things to get started, too! Seeing our own ideas come to life is really motivating~ I hope you have fun with it, and feel free to ask any questions you have!
Seiko Nekoya
I really appreciate it! Itβs such a big concept to just jump into animation so I appreciate the guidance! π₯°
Liz Ard
I think I have a post here somewheeere with these links but I got lost in my own page, oops. I will try to organize it here better with the proper tags! And also, if there's anything you're having specific trouble with or anything you'd like me to make a video on how I got done in any of my videos, let me know and I'll be happy to talk about it or make a video on it as well!
Liz Ard
Thank you so much!! I'm really happy you enjoy them! :) Are you curious about using Blender in general or specifically learning animation? For animation, I think it's really helpful to learn the theory behind how the characters move and try to apply to what you're doing! For me, the best starting point is to learn the basic animation principles. I highly recommend watching this series for that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDqjIdI4bF4 And then just try to practice and remember to include them. For practicing animation and Blender, I recommend starting out with a bouncing ball tutorial. That way, you can learn both the basic animation tools without it being a full, overwhleming character, and the most important principles are there, also. If you're just getting started in Blender, I really like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM4_rbrQMpo This channel has some other helpful guides to get started in both animation and Blender that are worth checking out! When you're past the very beginning basics, I also recommend keeping up with this one: https://www.youtube.com/@BrianKouhi They have helpful videos and shorts highlighting animation tools in Blender, and some good ones about specific animation things, like a specific one about eyebrows and such. Let me know if they're helpful! If there's something more specific you're looking for, I'd be more than happy to help you with it!! :)
Seiko Nekoya
Absolutely love your animations <3 I was wondering if you had any tips or go-guides for people just learning how to animate?
Liz Ard
Even so, it sounds really helpful!! I hope I can test it out soon :) There must've been a lot of hard work going into the tool, I'm so happy to finally see it out!
Riihu'ta
You can export characters with baked DT shaders and pre rigged though textures might be wonky
