Week 7 - Facial Animation Research

Facial Replacements in Animation: (Research)

For the brief, I wanted to explore the technique used to make phonemes for the mouths of my characters. The process seems very straight forward in terms of making the facial parts. I would need to produce my own mould to make sure the size and shape of the face remained consistent throughout the Animation. 

I found a lot of images that would assist with this process - some of which differ in terms of their technique, although most of the Animators use moulds printed from Maya. 

I do appreciate the aesthetic of these faces, although they are not similar in terms of design and to use for an Animation that wants continuity. I love the way the necks on the characters accentuate the size of their heads and I feel as though this would be a different and quirky way to approach the construction of a character for Stop-Motion. It would allow the style of the walk to differentiate from other characters as you could 'droop' the neck to allow for more emotion from the characters.

If I were going to approach any facial Animation with Stop-Motion, I would most definitely lean towards this method as it allows you to cut out the phonemes for the mouth and add the parts onto the character. 

It would give you leeway for a smoother Animation and allow a more in-depth sense of emotion to be shown to the audience; this can range from adding in an eyebrow raise, to the cheeks puffing out to show despair. I feel as though the possibilities are endless with this method and that you would be able to manipulate the technique used here to my own Animations.

I found this video an interesting part of research as I was able to see how the facial rigs work on the character. Although the most intriguing part for me was how they continued to manipulate the characters using CGI as well. This gave an insight into using two different production means to produce the final product and give a more polished look to the Animation.

Although, with that being said I do appreciate the aesthetic and knowing that an Animation has been produced in 2D means. This is referring to the 'lines' on the face and the body of a characters where they've been made by the Artist. 

(Facial Expressions, Stop Motion Animation)

(Phonemes)

I love the detail for the wrinkles on these faces, I feel as though it brings a sense of realism to the characters. I would definitely love to experiment with having this on one of my characters, even for the bear around the eyes or the hands. I want to be able to make sure the Animation is realistic but playful for the audience. I feel as though the smoother and more defined the character, the more of a chance you have of the audience relating to their story and understanding the plot.