This project was a collaboration between me and two other classmates at Futuregames. I did the animation for this project. We wanted to get some learning experience by testing the workflow of a character artist, technical animator and animator working together.
The character was made by Eric Richardson that did an amazing job with it! Check out his profile for a breakdown of the character!
https://www.artstation.com/fikapausr
The rigging and cloth physics in engine were made by Fredrik Jansson. The rig was a pleasure to work with for me as an animator. Check out his profile for a breakdown of his work!
https://www.artstation.com/fredrikjansson
I imagined this character with a heavy walk, using his staff for as a walking aid and for support. I wanted to get the weight and balancing right.
I started with a faster walk pace but I realize that a slower walk pace was more fitting to my vision.
After I felt that I figured out the pace and motion for the walk I started to add some motion for the face. The ears follow the steps, I also did the same thing for the eyebrows, trying to give the troll an expression of slight discomfort.
I wanted to break up the walk cycle so I added a turn of the head like the troll reacted to something. I also slightly opened the mouth to empathize the motion.
Lastly I animated the bag to follow and react to the motion of the leg. I also corrected the motion of the staff.