In Week 6, we started working on facial animation to make the character’s performance more expressive. I focused on creating basic expressions and blinking.
The feedback I received was mainly about naturalness and subtle details. For example, my blinking animation was too synchronized, with both eyes moving at exactly the same time, which feels unnatural. Also, the facial expressions were too symmetrical, making them look slightly mechanical.
The tutor also suggested adding more in-between frames in facial animation, instead of switching directly from one expression to another. This would help create smoother and more believable transitions.
In terms of body animation, I continued refining my polish. One key issue was still the center of gravity, which affected the stability of the movement. Additionally, my hand animation looked a bit floaty and lacked a clear sense of control and weight. I made some adjustments to improve these aspects.
This week helped me realise how important subtle details are in animation, especially facial asymmetry and a proper sense of weight. I will continue refining these elements to make the performance more natural and convincing.